Hello and welcome to the Discourse. To Summer is the second lyric poem of William Blake’s collection Poetical Sketches which was published in 1783. In his Season Songs, William Blake gave a hint of the major characters of his personal mythology. In the first poem, he invokes Spring which turns out to be an embodiment of Tharmas, one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. Tharmas or Spring is the peaceful embodiment of sensation and youthfulness. Next comes Summer, which can be equated to Blake’s mythological creature Orc—the embodiment of passion and energy, and the opposition to Urizen, who is represented in winter. Spring is the season that spreads the seed of innocence and the summer is the period when that seed is used and offspring are to be produced. Summer is the immediate state following Spring where marriage is consummated with fertilization.
To Summer is again an invocation in which Blake personified and celebrated the summer season.
Structure of To Summer:
The poem is composed of nineteen lines set in three stanzas. The first and the last stanzas are sestets containing 6 lines each while the second stanza is a heptet with seven lines. There is no particular rhyming scheme in any of the stanzas, however, Blake used half-rhymes in many of the lines. In this poem, Blake expresses his deep appreciation for the natural world and its transformative power on the human spirit. Through vivid imagery, sensory language, and musical rhythm, he invites the reader to join him in a joyful celebration of life and creativity.
Blake used Personification, Imagery, Enjambment, Caesura, Apostrophe, Anaphora, Metaphor, and Alliteration (use of the same consonant sound multiple times) in this poem.
Summary of To Summer:
Stanza 1 Lines 1-6
“O thou who passest thro' our valleys in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched'st here thy goldent tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.”
Blake begins with the personification of Summer and describes how Summer has arrived, and pitched his “golden tent. “ He “slept“ underneath the oak trees while “we, “humanity, enjoyed his presence. He depicts summer with ‘ruddy limbs and flourishing hair’ like a strong man. One may notice the use of Apostrophe as though Summer is present, it cannot respond to the invocation. The poet is addressing something incapable of responding. Blake imagines Summer as a god-like figure who visits England each year and brings pleasure to the worlds of the young men, women, and artists of the nation. The fire of the sun is a metaphor for passion, the speaker recognizing the “fierce stead” of “the heat [and] flames” and the “joy” the natural world experiences in its glow.
Blake's use of the word "thou" instead of "you" suggests a sense of intimacy and familiarity with the season. It suggests that it is not the first time but summer arrived in the land in the past also. In the opening two lines, Blake used Enjambment while in line 5, he used Alliteration, repeating the sound of ‘b’ (beneath, and beheld).
Stanza 2 Lines 7-13
“Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o'er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy valleys, on
Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our valleys love the Summer in his pride.”
The second stanza is a heptet in which the poet describes the importance of summer for the people of his nation and how they feel rejuvenated and joyous at the arrival of summer. The poet describes how good it was when summer arrived in the past “upon his fervid car, “ and brought joy for the people. Enjambment has been used in lines 8 and 9. In addition, Blake used Caesura in the 9th line, breaking it in the middle ( “Rode o’er the deep of heaven; besides our springs.”) Blake used sensory language and alliteration to make the poem lively. He repeats words starting with ‘r’ and ‘s’ which offers an idea of the sound of a rushing stream. Blake describes summer making love or consummating the marriage with the valleys of his land. The valleys have dropped off their clothing and are in a naked/natural state (‘Silk draperies off’) and they ‘love the Summer in his pride’.
Stanza 3 Lines 14-19
“Our bards are fam'd who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat.”
This stanza is again a sestet. The poet continues to describe how summer strengthens and brings joy to the people. Everything appears more beautiful in this ‘naked/natural ’ state (“silk draperies off”) and nothing is “lacking” in the “dance” and “sultry heat” of this euphoric season.
Blake begins with Anaphora, repeating the word ‘Our’ at the beginning of lines 14, 15, and 16. The whole of England is celebrating the marriage of summer with the English valleys. The bards, singers, and writers of poetry are striking their silver wire, playing their instruments. The youths are bold in their warmth and joy.
Blake also expresses his nationalistic fervor when he compares the English youth with ‘the southern swains.’ He says that the English young men are bolder, and the English maidens are ‘fairer in the sprightly dance’ to celebrate the summer. This suggests that English people are more passionate and alive than those living in southern parts as they are more used to the weather of summer.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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