Week 4 Journal Poetry Class

For the 4^th week journal, I decide to discuss THE SMILE by William Blake (1757-1827). This poem has four stanzas and four lines in each. When I read this poem I can feel something unique because William Blake used the word ‘smile’ and ‘frown’. These two words totally have different meaning and stand in the different path, don’t they? We can analyze this poem using norm strata analysis, but there’s something still undecidable for me from this poem. So I’ll make it short to try revealing my opinion about this poem.

According to me, this poem tries to show us that as human, we’ll always have two kinds of condition against each other which we can’t avoid it. It sticks in the heart’s deep core / And it sticks in the deep back bone, these lines explicitly tell us that this ‘smile’ and ‘frown’ or the ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ side will always stick on us. And it happened during our life, just like the lines: That betwixt the cradle and grave. This smile itself can be the real one or just fake (deceit) or another kind of smile (love). Also, the frown can be a real frown, frown of hate, or frown of disdain. And only the smile of smiles which is invisible because placed in the inside of our heart can end all the misery.

I am not so good in analyzing poetry, so I’ve tried my best by revealing my opinion for this weekly journal. But, I can feel that this poem has a message inside. William Blake may say in this poem that everyone can live happily when they honest and sincere to their self and everybody else, so all misery will end. This is a great poem, I think.