-INTRODUCTION TO POETRY-

AN ANALYSIS OF WILLIAM BLAKE’S THE FLY

By :

Name : Muhammad Rizqi A.

NIM : C0306035

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS
SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY
SURAKARTA
2009
The Fly
By, William Blake (1757-1827)

Little Fly,
Thy summer’s play
My thoughtless hand
Has brush’d away.

Am not I 5
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance,
And Drink,& sing, 10
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.

If thought is life
And strength & breath,
And the want 15
Of thought is death;

Then am I
A happy fly,
If I live
Or if I die. 20

Of the Poet
 William Blake was born on 28 November 1757, and died on 12 August 1827.
He grew up in London. In his early life, he began his career not as a poet rather as
painter. He published his poem collection for the first time in 1784.

The Fly is a poem in the poem collection entitled Songs of Innocence and of
Experience that was published in 1794. Most of poems in the collection tell about
William Blake’s experience in the life. As a poet, he has his own style. He never
typed his poems. Rather, he handwrote it. He also painted his poems after the poems
are copied. William Blake is also known for his religious side. The poem that is going
to be analyzed also depicts religious side of William Blake.

A Brief of Synopsis

In the first stanza, the poem tells about “I” (it could be Blake himself). The “I”
thoughtlessly kills a fly. He thinks nothing the moment he kills the fly. However,
instantly, he thinks what he has done as what the poem tells us in the second stanza.
He thinks the similarity between the fly and himself. He thinks what differs his life
from the fly’s.
Starting in the third stanza, he thinks more profoundly about the similarity of
his life and the fly’s life. The man enjoys his life and even he lives in hedonistic life
where he always dances, drinks, and sings. He compares his enjoyable life with the
fly’s life. The fly lives only for eating, drinking, and may be playing as what the poem
suggests to us. Hence, he thought that his life is no different from the fly. However,
suddenly, the fly dies because killed by him. He then thinks what if he dies suddenly
as the fly.
In the fourth stanza the “I’s” thought enters a deeper world. He enters the life
and death world. He thinks that his life means nothing. He never does any valuable
deed until the moment he kills the fly. His life is full of satisfying his desires to fulfill
his worldly things whereas he is capable of doing more than what he has done. And
finally, in the fifth stanza, the “I” then realizes that he is no different from the fly. Fly
is an insignificant insect. Its life is often regarded as nothing. Then the “I” concludes
that his life means nothing whether he lives or dies. There is nothing to feel sorry
when he dies, as no one feels sorry for the fly’s death.
Setting
The setting of the poem is not clearly shown. The setting is intangible. It is
not stated directly. However, we still can analyze it through the general setting of the
poem. The most obvious setting is the setting of time. According to the line Thy
summer’s play, it can be concluded that it happens in a summer daytime. The
summer is clearly shown in the line while the daytime is implicitly stated. I am going
to refer ‘fly’ as the argument. ‘Fly’ is an insect that is usually found during daytime.
It is seldom found in the night.
The setting of place is not clearly stated. It can be anywhere such as at home,
park, or anywhere else. The reason is because the fly itself can be found anywhere.
The poem does not give exact boundaries of where the poet truly is.

Persona
The poem employs first person point of view signified with the use of “I”. The
‘I’ becomes the active participant. ‘I’ becomes the one who kills the fly. ‘I’ also thinks
about the fly’s life and death. Eventually, ‘I’ considers his life as insignificant as the
fly’s life. However, in the third stanza, the ‘I’ enters the fly’s mind. He fuses with the
fly. ‘I’ is no longer ‘I’. In the third stanza, ‘I’ refers to the fly. Therefore, in general,
the poem still employs the first person. Nevertheless, the first person point of view
that is embodied in the use of ‘I’ does not merely refer to the man. ‘I’ also refers to
the fly as in the third stanza.

Themes
The nature of life
One of the themes in the poem is about the nature of life. This theme is the central
theme of the poem because throughout the poem, this theme becomes the breath of
each stanza. The poet as if wants us to have a contemplation to reconsider what life
actually means to us.

The nature of death

This theme that is embedded in the poem brings the reader to also think about death.
As the fly that dies suddenly because of brushed by the poet, we may die suddenly if
God wants us so. It is the nature of death that it comes anytime.

The balance of life and death

The third theme of the poem is about the balance of life and death. The balance is
needed to create a happy life both in the mortal and immortal world. This theme is a
satire to human life since human no longer clings into religion values as they did in
the past. Even at the time William Blake wrote the poem, religious values were started
to abandon by human for the sake of pursuing hedonism or worldly matter. This is
what William Blake wants to challenge. By using this theme, William Blake wants to
educate people because one function of poetry is to educate.

Respect to every living creature

In my opinion, it is a supporting theme that Blake wants to deliver. This theme arises
in relation to the poem i.e. the fly. Fly is insignificant creature in human’s life.
However, fly can be an object of contemplation. Fly can be used as a object as a satire
to human itself. That is why all living creature are significant no matter how little they
are.

Moral Values
Human should use life more effectively
It relates closely to the first theme as what I have proposed. Human must think
seriously of what he will do because no one knows when death will come. Human
must think of what s/he will do in the life before death comes. By doing so, life will
be used for better matters. Life is only once. So, use it effectively. Do not regret when
it comes the end of your life while you haven not done useful things in your lifetime.

Human sometimes must look at insignificant things to grasp the

nature of life
The poem mainly tells about the life of a fly. Fly is an insignificant thing. Its very
existence is always taken for granted. However, the poet takes us to reconsider this
insignificant little animal. Blake brings us in a very deep thought of life by reflecting
in the life of a fly. Blake takes us in a profound thought of life by making comparison
of human’s life to a fly’s life. Through this poet, Blake teaches us to consider this
little small animal. A fly’s insignificant life can be used to reevaluate human’s life.
Hence, human must pay more attention to the others.

Think first before acting

The poet also tells us the importance of thought. Everything has its own
consequences. The poem tells us to think what our lives should be used for. If we just
do anything only for the sake of fulfilling our desires, then our lives are no different
from a fly. Fly thinks nothing in acting since it is an animal. It has no thought. It only
has instinct. This factor differs human from animal. Human can think whereas
animals cannot. Human is gifted with thought so that it can be used for greater
purpose. Thought must be maximally employed before deciding to do something.
Pursuing worldly desire is also included as thoughtless acts.

Tone and Mood

The tone in the William Blake’s The Fly is thoughtful. Through the poem,
William Blake asks us as the reader to think deeply and profoundly to what life really
means. The other tone is also gloomy tone since in this poem, the doer is described as
having insignificant life. The ‘I’ considers his life unworthy as fly’s. The poem is also
somewhat gloomy since it tells us to think about life and death. The poem tells us
about life that can be wiped anytime. A fly’s life can be taken anytime by human’s
deed. Human’s life can also be wiped away anytime if God wants so. These tone and
mood are dominant throughout the poem.

Structure and Style

The poem is written in five stanzas consisting of four lines each stanza. Each
stanza rhymes a b c b excepts in the last stanza which rhymes a a b a. It means that
the second line of each stanza rhymes with the fourth line of each stanza. For
example, I am going to refer to the first stanza. Rhyme is seen in the last sound of
each line as below:
Little Fly, /ai/ a
 Thy summer’s play /ei/ b
My thoughtless hand /n/ c
Has brush’d away /ei/ b
Play and away are two different words but rhyming each other. However, the rhyme
is different. Play consists of one syllable. Hence, it is called as masculine rhyme
whereas away consisting two syllables is called feminine rhyme.
The style in which the poem is written gives us insight about the balance. As
what I have explained in the previous points, the poem is about the balance of life and
death. Hence, the style it is written also shows the balance.

Literary Devices
Imagery
Imagery is a literary device pertaining to human’s senses. Reaske (1966 : 35)
divides five kinds of imagery. They are visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, and
tactical imagery. In this poem, visual imagery is mostly found. Visual imagery means
imagery pertaining to human’s seeing sense.
Visual imagery found here is not explicitly stated in the form of the
employment of visual sensing verbs such as watch, see, look, etc. Rather, it is shown
in general extent. The first stanza may best describe the visual imagery used in the
poem.
Little Fly,
Thy summer’s play
My thoughtless hand
Has brush’d away.
The visual imagery is intangible since there is no use of visual verbs.
However, the visual imagery is still found. The first stanza is very much employing
visual imagery. It is concluded that the ‘I’ actually watches the fly which plays gaily
in the summer day.
Auditory imagery is also found in the line 10. ‘And drink and sing’. The use
of ‘sing’ signs the auditory imagery even though it does not contribute a lot in
building up the sense of the poem.

Simile
Simile is a figurative language that compares two things directly using such words as
like, as, to, than, seems, etc. In the poem there are two lines employing similes. Both
are located in the second stanza.
Am not I 5
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?
The bolded lines are included in similes. In the line 6, there is a comparison of ‘I’
(Blake may be) to the fly. If we combine line 5 and 6, the comparison is shown more
vividly ‘Am not I a fly like thee?’ ‘I’ is compared to the fly because ‘I’ thinks that his
life is used ineffectively. He is sorry for his life. When he kills the fly, he realizes that
his life can be gone anytime. He compares fly’s life to his life. Line 8 is also the same
as line 6. In the line 8, the fly is compared to ‘I’. The comparison is still the same as in
the line 6. William Blake compares the fly’s life to life of the ‘I’. Those are the simile
found in the poem.

Metaphor
Metaphor is a straight comparison using to be. In the poem, metaphor is found in line
17 and 18.
Then am I 17
A happy fly,
The metaphor is well seen if the lines are combined into ‘Then am I a happy fly’.
The comparison is also fairly obvious. ‘I’ is once again compared to fly. This type of
comparison dominates the whole story of the poem because ‘I’ and the fly are the
subject of the poem. The other metaphor is found in line 13 – 16 as below.
If thought is life
And strength & breath,
And the want 15
Of thought is death;
In this stanza, a wholly comparison is employed. William Blake wants to compare
thought to life. It means that in life one must think. Thought is a gift from God to
human. Using thought means living. By thinking, human can live, can have strength
to live and ,literarily-interpreted, human can breathe. Those three elements: life,
strength, and breath are indicators of living. In the contrary, “want of thought” is
compared to death. Want of thought is interpreted as a condition in which someone
actually can think. However, the ability to think is not applied maximally. Then death
shall it be. Human who cannot think is not netter than dead people. Hence, the
metaphor suggests human to maximize the use of thought.

Personification
Personification is a figurative language that makes un-human being in the poem and
identifies it as if the things live and exist. The examples are found in:
My thoughtless hand
Till some blind hand
Hand is identified as thoughtless whereas in has no thought. Hand is identified as
blind whereas it has no eye. Only human has thought and eyes. Hence, these lines that
treat the dead things as human are included in the personification.

Paradox
Paradox is figurative language that contrasts two things that have opposite meaning. It
is clearly shown in the poem as in the last two lines of the last stanza as below:
Then am I
A happy fly,
If I live
Or if I die.
The paradox is shown in the bolded word. It contrasts live and die. The two words are
very much opposite to each other. It gives some atmosphere of tremendous and
sudden change. It describes a very pathetic condition in which the William Blake
questions his acts, that he thought to be happy, truly describe happiness in his live or
in the death. He finally recognize that one should not only care about life but death is
also important to think of.
Antithesis
Antithesis is a figurative that expresses juxtaposed ideas by balancing it with equal
grammatical construction. It is shown in the third stanza.
For I dance,
And Drink,& sing, 10
 Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.
The first and the second line of the third stanza tell about daily life which is filled with
hedonistic style : dance, drink, and sing. These hedonistic ideas are juxtaposed with
the sudden coming of the death. It shows the juxtaposed condition stating that death
can come anytime. Hence, one should prepare for his death as early as s/he can. In this
line, hedonistic life style is contrasted with the religious life style.

Synecdoche
Synecdoche refers to some part to refer the whole part. It is found in the third stanza
line 11 and 12.
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.
In these lines, the point of view of the ‘I’ refers to the fly. The fly dies because of a
blind hand. Can a blind hand kill a fly? No. Rather the blind refers to a bigger part
that is human. The synecdoche mentions hand to refer human as a whole part.
These lines are also multi-interpretable. The preceding paragraph tells that the
‘I’ is in the fly’s point of view. Conversely, what if the ‘I’ is still in the point of view
of the man? Who has the blind hand then? Is it God? This interpretation will be
discussed later in the critical commentary part.

Movement
The poem really illustrates movement. Movement is used to mark the dynamic
change of the poem. It makes the poem more alive. It also makes the poem’s reader to
think the nature of the poem itself. The most obvious movement is the subject
movement. In the first stanza the subject of the poem is clearly the ‘I’. ‘I’ here may
refer to William Blake or anyone else reading the poem. The ‘I’ then gradually moves
to be the third person as in the third stanza. The shifting is identified in the second
stanza where the poet tries to identify himself as the fly and the fly is identified as the
poet. In the third stanza, the ‘I’ and the fly fuses into single entity. The ‘I’ and the fly
experience the same life until blind hand takes that life away.
The second movement is also clear enough to observe. There is a movement
from life to death. The poet asks the readers to consider their lives. The poet wants the
reader to not only enjoy life but also to prepare the death by doing meaningful deed in
the life.
The third movement is the movement from external into internal. In the first
stanza, the visual imagery plays a big role in building the sense that the poem is in
external point of view. ‘I’ kills the fly. It will never happen in the internal state. It
begins to shift to internal in the second stanza. After killing the fly, ‘I’ suddenly thinks
how poor the little fly is. It is helpless in resisting its death. What has it done in his
life? Has it done something meaningful? These questions can only happen inside the
‘I’ ‘s mind. Hence, the poem is internalized until the end of the poem.

Critical Commentaries
The poem is actually very simple. It only tells about a man and a fly. The
diction is also not really expensive. It uses many common words. There is no word
showing elegancy or glamorous effect in the poem. However, the poet is very great in
arranging those ordinary words so that it sounds elegant, spectacular, and glamorous.
With all of those simplicities, the poet has made a very sophisticated poem. This
sophisticated feeling may be generated through the employment of good rhyming.
The rhyme is very great. It is well arranged and very simple and yet very elegant.
Theme proposed in the poem is also a simple one: life and death. Everyone in
the present day life must have taken these themes for granted. They care no more
about death. However, when I happened to read this poem, I came to think, what my
life actually had been used for. I wondered whether my life had been meaningful
enough, or whether I had done something important in this life to prepare my death.
This simple theme is packaged with simpler comparison of a man and a fly. This
comparison of a man and a fly never crosses in one’s mind. It considers man and fly
equal. It is really unpredictable since a significant creature, human, is compared to a
fly, a little insect. Therefore, it gives striking effect to people who read and understand
what the poem really wants to talk about. The poem is actually about satire to human
whose life is used only to pursue worldly matter without considering that death hunts
anytime.
The poet is also very skillful in employing literary devices, in particular, using
figurative language. The figurative language employed in the poem makes it more
alive. The comparison, juxtaposition, and the contrast are embodied in the well-
delivered figurative languages. These factor what makes the simple diction in the
poem be more glamorous. The figurative language as employed by the poet clearly
has enriched the poem. The other literary devices such as imagery and movement also
play a big role in building up the atmosphere of the poem. The poem becomes more
dynamic and more imaginative under the employment of movement and imagery.
However, there is a very controversial side of the poem. A different
interpretation can be suggested to the poem. The other interpretation is a comparison
of fly as a man, while man who kills the fly is God. This interpretation is very
controversial. Many critics dislike this line, moreover the religions ones. How can
Blake state that God’s hand is blind? How Blake can know that even, God has hand?
If it is interpreted so, then God takes one live as He wishes. This is what critics often
challenge Blake. However, we need to look at Blake himself. He is a very religious
person. Based on this fact, to respond this line, I want to argue that what Blake did is
just a satire to human. It contains no intention to mock God. Rather, Blake wants
those who read the poem realize the existence of God that has determined the time
you live in the earth.
In general, William Blake has able to transform a very simple matter starting
from theme, diction, rhyme into a very sophisticated matter. The poet is able to
employ the figurative language, movement, and imagery maximally so that the poem
is more alive. The poem is as if wants to say that simplicity may become elegancy.
This beautiful poem should last long as the remainder to human that death is waiting
in front of you. It can come next year, next month, next day or even next second.
Therefore, William Blake suggests us to use our time to do beneficial things to
prepare our afterlives.