No Limits on Imagination!

It sounds a bit like a different way to say this could be "don't speak about your love out loud, because if it isn't talked about than it will be able to continue to exist." I could get behind that.

Originally Posted by JuniperWoolf

It sounds a bit like a different way to say this could be "don't speak about your love out loud, because if it isn't talked about than it will be able to continue to exist." I could get behind that.

Very interesting...hmmmm...makes sense, yet it desn't seem so melancholy..is it just me?

I think your interpretation is completely correct.

I guess... first it occurs to me to think that telling who you love how you feel doesn't mean that it cannot be. Then I realize that Blake isn't specifically saying that it can't... So it seems a little enigmatic.

Perhaps it's partly as a warning! And perhaps it is simply a much better way - much better to show than to say... So not that saying it excludes its possibility, but showing instead is the best way...

And this is just my own passing thoughts - I think your interpretation was right.

Originally Posted by NikolaiI

I think your interpretation is completely correct.

I guess... first it occurs to me to think that telling who you love how you feel doesn't mean that it cannot be. Then I realize that Blake isn't specifically saying that it can't... So it seems a little enigmatic.

Perhaps it's partly as a warning! And perhaps it is simply a much better way - much better to show than to say... So not that saying it excludes its possibility, but showing instead is the best way...

And this is just my own passing thoughts - I think your interpretation was right.

Oh! A warning! It makes so much sense! Awesome interpretation. I think you've got it right!

Ah.. now I feel embarrassed because I don't think there was anything missing from your interpretation!

But I would be curious actually to know your take on another quote of William Blake's:

"If the doors of perception were cleansed, all would appear to man as it is, infinite."

Originally Posted by NikolaiI

Ah.. now I feel embarrassed because I don't think there was anything missing from your interpretation!

But I would be curious actually to know your take on another quote of William Blake's:

"If the doors of perception were cleansed, all would appear to man as it is, infinite."

If all meaning were clear, then man would have understanding of everyting and anything...or...that's what I got from it...

I will have a word on this quote, but I must elaborate on it first. I'm having a few ideas around it that shouldn't be shot carelessly. Hmmm... I'll be back

Originally Posted by Maximilianus

I will have a word on this quote, but I must elaborate on it first. I'm having a few ideas around it that shouldn't be shot carelessly. Hmmm... I'll be back

Glad to hear it. Can't wait for what you have to say!

I'm back! and with the rest of the poem, which gives a clearer idea of what Mr. Blake was trying to say

Never seek to tell thy love,
Love that never told can be;
For the gentle wind does move,
Silently, invisibly.

I told my love, I told my love,
I told her all my heart;
Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears,
Ah! she doth depart.

Soon as she was gone from me,
A traveller came by,
Silently, invisibly;
He took her with a sigh.

The poor sufferer informed this lady about his feelings for her, and so he spoke his love away, but she gave her attention to another fellow who didn't even mutter a word... or so it seems by the sounds of the poem.

Probably, the man who finally conquers her was able to prove through facts what the sufferer wasn't able to prove with his words. As the Romans used to say, "Facta, non verba", which means "Facts, not words". Maybe the lady thought he was saying more than he was able to prove.

On the other hand, she might have rushed into a premature decision, because the very fact that a man is talking much about his feelings doesn't necessarily imply that he isn't able to prove himself worthy of her attentions.

Or maybe the lady is just uninterested in being loved, which happens frequently among people who pursue other interests, different from love.

Love must be proved and also spoken, I think, because it's wonderful in the ears to hear what others have to say about their feelings for you

This being my humble take on the mysterious subject that we may call "spoken versus unspoken love"

Originally Posted by Maximilianus

I'm back! and with the rest of the poem, which gives a clearer idea of what Mr. Blake was trying to say


The poor sufferer informed this lady about his feelings for her, and so he spoke his love away, but she gave her attention to another fellow who didn't even mutter a word... or so it seems by the sounds of the poem.

Probably, the man who finally conquers her was able to prove through facts what the sufferer wasn't able to prove with his words. As the Romans used to say, "Facta, non verba", which means "Facts, not words". Maybe the lady thought he was saying more than he was able to prove.

On the other hand, she might have rushed into a premature decision, because the very fact that a man is talking much about his feelings doesn't necessarily imply that he isn't able to prove himself worthy of her attentions.

Or maybe the lady is just uninterested in being loved, which happens frequently among people who pursue other interests, different from love.

Love must be proved and also spoken, I think, because it's wonderful in the ears to hear what others have to say about their feelings for you

This being my humble take on the mysterious subject that we may call "spoken versus unspoken love"

Wow, I couldn't have said it better. I guess knowing the whole poem does help. I understand clearly what Blake is saying when I read the res. Thanks Max.

You're very welcome I was born to help my friends

Originally Posted by Maximilianus

You're very welcome I was born to help my friends

Aw, thanks.

Welcome!