To the Evening Star by William Blake

Thou fair hair'd angel of the evening,

Now, while the sun rests on the mountains light,

Thy bright torch of love; Thy radiant crown

Put on, and smile upon our evening bed!

Smile on our loves; and when thou drawest the

Blue curtains, scatter thy silver dew

On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes

In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on

The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes

And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full, soon,

Dost thou withdraw; Then, the wolf rages wide,

And the lion glares thro' the dun forest.

The fleece of our flocks are covered with

Thy sacred dew; Protect them with thine influence.

The poem, To The Evening Star, by William Blake, is fourteen lines indicating it should be a sonnet, however it does not follow the traditional rhyme pattern and there is no stanza division and is therefore a free verse poem.

In my opinion, this is a romantic poem. It speaks of the evening star, or the “fair hair’d angle of the evening,” which refers to Venus, who is the goddess of love. As the poem progresses, the language seems happy and flowing, however, it is interrupted by the bad things roaming; “ then the wolf rages wide, and the lion glares thro’ the dun forest.” Regardless of the bad things that happen, I think the poem is expressing that as long as the evening star is around, which represents the mans true love, there is some peace and comfort.

My favorite line is, “speak silence with thy glimmering eyes, And wash the dusk with silver.” ‘Speak silence,’ is an example of both alliteration and an oxymoron. As well, I think that the ‘ wash the dusk with silver,’ appeals very much to your sight, and allows you to create a clear image in your head.