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The Clod and the Pebble by William Blake (text and explanation)

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  The Clod and the Pebble By William Blake   'Love seeketh not itself to please, Nor for itself hath any care, But for another gives its ease, And builds a heaven in hell's despair.' So sung a little clod of clay, Trodden with the cattle's feet; But a pebble of the brook Warbled out these meters meet: 'Love seeketh only Self to please, To bind another to its delight, Joys in another's loss of ease, And builds a hell in heaven's despite.' The poem was first published in William Blake’s collection of poems “Songs of Experience” in 1794. The poem contrasts two opposing views on love, represented by a soft clod of clay and a hard pebble. The clod represents the more optimistic and perhaps a naive perspective, which views love as a kind of radical selflessness and the willingness to sacrifice. On the other hand, the pebble declares love as pure selfishness. However, the poet does not validate any of the two view points and leaves it to th
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Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus summary of the text

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  Summary Kratos  and  Bia , the servants of  Zeus , arrive at the top of the Scythian mountains, the very edge of Greek civilization, with  Hephaistos  and a captive  Prometheus . “Hephaistos,” Kratos says, “you must carry out the Father’s will / and bind the criminal to this steep looming rock / with  chains  of adamant, unbreakable.” It was the “flower” of Hephaistos, the “bright and dancing  fire ,” that Prometheus has stolen and given to humankind; thus, it is Hephaistos whom Zeus has ordered to bind Prometheus. Because  Prometheus  has stolen  fire , he must “pay / the price to all the gods, that he may learn / to love the tyranny of  Zeus  / and quit his friendship with the human race.”  Hephaistos  doesn’t want to  chain  Prometheus to the rock, but “Necessity compels [him] to it.” Hephaistos is forced by the same “power that holds [Prometheus] captive,” and he has little choice in the matter. Prometheus will be chained to the side of the mountain and left exposed to the el
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