Love's Secret

[Hume]

What is the latent insinuation does Blake's poem Love's Secret have? Especially in the second stanza? Gramercy.

[sam]

i really wanted to play along but i couldn't find the poem in my index, how's it go?

sam

[SpongeBarb]

Never seek to tell thy love,
Love that never told can be;
For the gentle wind does move
Silently, invisibly.

I told my love, I told my love,
I told her all my heart;
Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears,
Ah! she did depart!

Soon as she was gone from me,
A traveler came by,
Silently, invisibly
He took her with a sigh.

[SpongeBarb]

Could someone kindly interpret this poem for me?

I think it mainly says this guy lost his lover by telling her he loved her.

I need help on two spots:

1. "For the gentle wind does move
Silently, invisibly. " - the gentle wind is a metaphor for what?

2. "A traveler came by,
Silently, invisibly
He took her with a sigh." - what does he mean by "took her with a sigh"?

Thanks.

[mono]

Never seek to tell thy love,
Love that never told can be;
For the gentle wind does move
Silently, invisibly.

I told my love, I told my love,
I told her all my heart;
Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears,
Ah! she did depart!

Soon as she was gone from me,
A traveler came by,
Silently, invisibly
He took her with a sigh.
Hello, SpongeBarb, welcome to the forum. I think this poem has never seemed easy, but I can offer my own interpretations.
The first stanza tells something that rarely occurs in poetry - giving advice: "never seek to tell thy love." Basically Blake states that love can indeed exist with silence, not telling others, though seldom and painfully done, no doubt, and the "gentle wind" (the silence of not telling love) can produce goodness in one.
The second and third stanzas tell a tale of how he confessed to someone of his love for her, which must have scared her off to state the fact bluntly ("she did depart"). Lastly, Blake tells of another person who loved the same woman, but the new character never confessed his love (hence the "silently, invisibly"); ironically, however, he gains her love with his silence ("he took her with a sigh").
Good luck, and I hope I have helped.

[SpongeBarb]

Dear Mono,

I feel much better now that all these blanks are filled. Been lurking around for quite some time, and this is one of the poems I like (just by reciting it) but can't fully understand, so a big THANK YOU for the guidance. I'll see you around!

Best wishes,
SpongeBarb