6 Word Memoir

Mother, daughter. Connection, love. Eternity.

Transformations Question #29

Of what symbolic importance is the ball in "The Frog Prince"?

I think the symbolic importance of the ball is vanity and the loss of a materialistic object. The princess in this poem describes herself as "quite adorable", which makes me assume that in that ball she reflects her beauty and her vanity; she is torn down when she realizes that the ball has sunken and will not be able to keep admiring the precious ball in which she reflects her beauty.  The princess also expresses her loss in metaphors--her moon, her butter calf, her yellow moth, and her Hindu hare. She explains how the ball would not be for sale in Au Bon Marche, and it is clearly stated how the ball meant very much to her. She is royalty and we could say she lived in abundance of gold, jewelry, and much wealth. She cared for her materialistic objects and the loss of her ball was one of her whims. Sexton possibly felt that her vanity was based on what she owned or had and realized that maybe for once she could give in to something ugly and worthless. After that, she discovered that beyond appearances and worrying for worthless objects, that life is more than what the eye sees.

The Old Man and his Grandson

There was once a very old man, whose eyes had become dim, his ears dull of hearing, his knees trembled, and when he sat at table he could hardly hold the spoon, and spilt the broth upon the table-cloth or let it run out of his mouth. His son and his son's wife were disgusted at this, so the old grandfather at last had to sit in the corner behind the stove, and they gave him his food in an earthenware bowl, and not even enough of it. And he used to look towards the table with his eyes full of tears. Once, too, his trembling hands could not hold the bowl, and it fell to the ground and broke. The young wife scolded him, but he said nothing and only sighed. Then they brought him a wooden bowl for a few half-pence, out of which he had to eat.

They were once sitting thus when the little grandson of four years old began to gather together some bits of wood upon the ground. 'What are you doing there?' asked the father. 'I am making a little trough,' answered the child, 'for father and mother to eat out of when I am big.'

The man and his wife looked at each other for a while, and presently began to cry. Then they took the old grandfather to the table, and henceforth always let him eat with them, and likewise said nothing if he did spill a little of anything.

I think Sexton chose this to be part of her collection of poems to show that even family can hurt you the deepest and when in need of care and hospitality, they can turn away from you. The old man was receiving horrible treatment from his own son, and the son with no compassion isolated him. Do not do to others what you do not want others to do unto you, that is the theme of the poem.

"Auguries of Innocence"
an excerpt

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

1. What does the stanza mean?
I think the stanza means that even the smallest and insignificant things in life are part of something that create a whole. A grain of sand can not stand for itself; billions and billions of grains of sand compose a shoreline, a sandy beach. But without the other grains it would not complete the whole. As for a wild flower which grows without intention of being planted of mixed species, could be valued and contemplated just as a beautiful red rose. Blake is saying that living the moment and appreciating the small and insignificant can bring as much joy as the big and valuable things in life.

2. How does Blake use a literary device to convey that meaning?

Blake uses ambiguity when saying "to see a world in a grain of sand" because he can mean that parts compose the whole, like a grain of sand composes a sandy beach. He can also mean that nature and people are each a grain of sand that complete the whole, meaning the world.