[97] The Fly

Guest poem sent in by Sriram <sriram@>

Little Fly
Thy summers play,
My thoughtless hand
Has brush'd away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink and sing
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.

If thought is life
And strength and breath;
And the want
of thought is death;

Then am I
A happy fly,
If I live,
Or if I die.

    -- William Blake

The Fly touches me, like all great art, at several levels. The words are
simple yet so profound- le mot juste. The structure is perfect for the
subject, the tone and the meaning. The rhythm simple yet powerful, again
eminently suited to the tone, and the message. The "meaning" is so clear,
Blake succeeds so  well, seemingly effortlessly- a 5 year-old and a 50
year-old can both access it equally well:

   ...the pages blur,
                            the walls
                                          transparent.

Finally, it is a delight to read aloud, and silently- a joy of a poem.

Sriram

From: Nicholas Horsburgh <nicholas.horsburgh@>

A great little poem! And here is another by Ogden Nash:

The Fly

God in his wisdom made the fly
And then forgot to tell us why.

Regards,
Nick
PS A great little site, too.

From: sandi_ordinario@

Comments on Poem #97 William Blake's Little Fly

The poem opens with Blake inadvertently ending the life
of a fly. Perhaps in remorse he asks if there was a
difference between the fly and himself.

He sees a similarity for some men live out their 
seasons in enjoyment (dances, drinks, sings) until
some unthinking happenstance also brings them to an
end.

Now he is led to philosophize if thought is pertinent.
He comes to the conclusion that if thought were life, 
strength and breath and absence of it is death then..

"Whether he lives or dies, he is a happy fly." I would
like to interpret Blake's point as he subtly put it, that 
thought does not have anything to do with enjoyment. 
Perhaps we could claim that hedonism (sex being an aspect) 
is not intellectual but physical. A large number of people,
however, would take the contrary view citing the Socratic 
dictum that "an unexamined life is not worth living" with 
the valid claim that serious examination do require thought.

Sandi

From: "Jason Nyilas" <nyilasj@>

I agree with Sriram. Like most of Blake's poems, the complex is simply put
which is a true mark of genius. As for being enjoyed by a fifty or five year
old, my five year old son, Justin, loves to read this poem again and again.
He laughs at its humour and simplicity as well as its rhythm. As for his
Dad, the poem changes meaning with each reading.

From: "aizramelav" <aizramelav@>

Thank you Sandi!
Your poem's interpretation will be very useful for my oral exam about
the poem of William Blake!
bye
marzia