Blake's "Garden of Love"

"The Garden of Love"
~William Blake
I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And ``Thou shalt not'' writ over the door;
So I turn'd to the Garden of Love
That so many sweet flowers bore;

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tomb-stones where flowers should be;
And Priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars my joys & desires.

I was a little saddened after reading William Blake's "Garden of Love". It took me reading it about five times to get a sense of the meaning of it. After I came to the realization of what that meaning could possibly be, I was rather saddened by it.

This is the conclusion that I came to, (copy from the forum I posted): The poem "Garden of Love" argues that the relationship between religion and freedom cannot be. The gates of the chapel were shut, not letting anyone in, with the beginning words of most of the Ten Commandments (Thou Shalt Not . . . ) written above the door. However, there was no follow up to the "Thou Shalt Not", indicating that perhaps one just couldn't do . . . anything. The garden was not filled with flowers, being allowed to grow freely, but was filled with graves. I.e. the flowers have no freedom to grow. I think that Blake is suggesting that if one is religious, they have no freedoms in this world; they are constricted by laws and moralities from doing whatever they will. One might even say that religion could be seen in his eyes as the leash to conscious morality.

I was saddened basically because I believe personally for the opposite to be true: it is through religion that we possess the greatest freedom. In my religious belief, which is that I have a personal relationship with Christ, I have the greatest freedom~ the freedom of being forgiven and loved unconditionally. And from that freedom flows all kinds of love. Deep amorous, committed, respectful love for my husband, plutonic love for friends, love for God's creatures. From that freedom of being forgiven, I can let go of wrong doings and hurts and move on and forgive those who hurt me.

I don't think that the Lord's commandments were made to keep us from doing what we wanted, but to protect us. I also don't think that it is the Priests' job to go around keeping us from doing what we want, but to shepphard us, as keepers of the flock.

I sort of feel like I'm able to get my point out that I want to get out, so I'll use an illustration from my life.

In the 10 Commandments, it is written "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery". This commandment is not to keep us from the pleasure of love making, but to serve as a guide in our commitment and covenant in marriage. Sure it can be fun going around having one night stands with no strings attached, "two ships bumping in the night" and all that. But in the soul, it can leave one feeling haunted, unattached, lost, and unworthy even. In a marriage, you can have that kind of fun as often as you want, and it is so much more than that. The intimacy between a husband and wife can grow and blossom into a beautiful act of commitment, love, cherishing one another, selfless giving on both partners and even a form of worship (after all, God created sex and He knew what He was doing). There are no fears of abandonment, consequences or loss. Instead of leaving the soul empty, it leaves the soul nourished, nurtured and fulfilled. Joy and desire are completed in oneship between two people.

I hope that helped get my point across a little better. I hope that Blake was writing about the institution of the Church putting restrictions of the Word of God and how it is for every person and not personal convictions . . .