on friendship summary William blak3
Answers
Hey dude,
Once again, Blake explores the relationship of opposites in “Love and Harmony Combine.” This time, the dialect is marriage, and the speaker is examining the interrelationships between love, freedom, and marriage.
The tree is a symbol taken from the tree of knowledge out of the Garden of Eden (notice the “golden fruit” reference in line 9). It is also intended to represent the synthesis of energy between love and marriage, harmony and freedom, a place where oppositions are unified. The tree is a safety zone for the turtledove’s nest and provides shade for the speaker, yet has the ability to bear dangerous fruit—existence of opposites.
The “turtle” sitting in the tree is a “turtledove,” long the symbol of peace and atonement as well as baptism and communion. The speaker is observing the turtledove’s ability to live in “harmony,” balancing the responsibilities of love (feeding young, nesting) with the freedom to “play.”
@CollinsKey