can someone explain this poem for me? what is it supposed to mean??

Question

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

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

-william blake

Answer 1

There are a lot of different ways that poem can be interpreted. I look at that poem and think that Blake is talking about marveling at the beauty, complexity, and vastness of the world around us in looking at simple things like a grain of sand or a flower. Think about it: Do you have any idea how staggeringly complex a flower is? The only way to understand the world we live in is to understand that is far too complex for our puny brains to comprehend, but if we can see how truly miraculous the most mundane things in our world are it opens our minds to all kinds of possibilities and helps us grow to be smarter and wiser than we were before.

Just one man's interpretation...

Answer 2

That's only the first stanza of "Auguries of Innocence"
The word auguries means an omen. Blake is talking about the ability to see the divine in all things, to take note of so many subtle beauties and to recognize the fragile balance that allows such things to thrive.
The first four lines are the only "pretty" lines; the rest of the poem draws a line pitting the innocent or underprivileged against those blessed and elite.
If you read the entire poem, you'll be able to recognize this with lines like:
He who shall hurt the little wren
Shall never be belov'd by men.

Actually folks, poetry does have meaning--especially when they are poems from someone of Blake's calibre. But it can sometimes take a lot of insight and thought to grasp the meaning. The authors of poetry do more than write pretty little words- they convey deep and important messages in ways most people can't be bothered to decipher because it takes some effort on the part of the reader to understand-- unlike, say "rap music" for example.

Answer 3

Ok, well a grain of sand was once a rock right? And through thousands and millions of years it got wittled down to a grain of sand. so that's the entire concept of time in one of the smallest see-able particles on earth. This is basically about the hugest things in our existence - the concepts of heaven and earth, eternity and mortality - being tangible things. Infinity and eternity then, can be held and touched. Something that never ends (flowers or sand) are visible to us. so this poem is about being humble and aware of our own mortality.

Answer 4

I'm not quite sure but I think it means to see things in their simplest forms or to find things in their simplest forms.

To see the world in a grain of sand- the world was made from one.
Heaven in a wild flower- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Infinity in palm of hand- To have it all
Eternity in hour- Everything you need is present now

I don't know but that's how I see it.
Hope this helped.

Answer 5

Better living through chemistry. See Timothy Leary.

Answer 6

Who cares?!?!

The point of written language is communication. If words do not effectively communicate the ideas behind them, then the author has failed miserably.

Poetry is an art; and as with most other forms of art, there are those like me who don't get it, don't care to get it, and wish that the schools would quit force-feeding it to us.

Answer 7

it's poetry. it doesn't HAVE to mean anything. as far as this goes, it may mean something totally diferent to you than it does to me. read it, think about it, and figure out what it means to you.