History of Life

Never to Reach the Sun

Ah! Sun-flower

By William Blake

Ah Sun-flower! weary of time,

Who countest the steps of the Sun:

Seeking after that sweet golden clime

Where the traveller's journey is done;

Where the Youth pined away with desire,

And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow

Arise from their graves and aspire

Where my Sun-flower wishes to go.

Yellow petals and black centers open to the sun, bowing to it's greatness. Sunflowers live for the sun and shine their faces to this massive ball of heat in hope of life. For this plant, the sun is their survival, giving them energy to grow and live. In human life, individuals elevate themselves upward, to the sun and God. Similarly to these plants, God and heaven is their survival as it gives them impetus to live. In William Blake's "Ah! Sunflower," he uses the symbol of a sunflower and simple stanzas to project his religious beliefs. Blake through this poem argues that God is the universal, unattainable hope in the world for every living thing.

Noticeable in Blake’s poem is the simple structure. The rhyme scheme is abab cdcd. This minimalism strengthens Blake’s message of hope, so that it is easily understandable. As put by William J. Keith, “the apparently simple lyrics can be far more complex than they seem” (Keith 56). There is deeper meaning in the content of this simple form. With this eight-lined poem, Blake is able to capture a readers mind because of the length. This condensed form will be able to hold the reader’s typical nine-second attention span according to B.B.C. News. With the advice Blake has given in the poem, the readers are now easily able to apply the simple message into their daily life because they are able to remember it because it was so short. (stats). Blake’s message to readers is clearly a reflection on the effects of religion on society.

The form is deceptively simple to express the overall contexts of the poem. Blake is showing how relgion is an excellent goal but...