I Saw a Chapel Analysis

1I saw a chapel all of gold
2That none did dare to enter in,
3And many weeping stood without,
4Weeping, mourning, worshipping.

5I saw a serpent rise between
6The white pillars of the door,
7And he forc'd and forc'd and forc'd,
8Down the golden hinges tore.

9And along the pavement sweet,
10Set with pearls and rubies bright,
11All his slimy length he drew
12Till upon the altar white

13Vomiting his poison out
14On the bread and on the wine.
15So I turn'd into a sty
16And laid me down among the swine.

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It is undeniable that Blake is disgusted with the corrupt nature of the established church, but the image of the serpent, and the use of white and gold in the portrayal of the church may have an alternative meaning. The references to gold and precious jewels may represent the growing wealth and power of the church to the detriment of the rest of society, and the serpent in many of Blake's poems has been read as a representation of Emmanuel Swedenborg, an ex-friend of Blake who shared his disgust in the church, but instead of destroying it as he intended to do (and perhaps as Blake thought Swedenborg should do), he instead perverted it to his own purposes to gain his own following and gather power for himself. Swedenborg is also briefly referred to by name in the Argument of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

| Posted on 2008-08-22 | by a guest

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At first glance, the poem seems to be talking about the Christian Church's continual struggle against its enemy, the Devil symbolised by the serpent. However, the images Blake chooses to use indicate that he feels that the established church has lost its positive qualities and become corrupt. The true believers are pictured as being in mourning over this state of affairs, and the fact that they are "without" suggests that true believers feel excluded from the established church, either by their own choice or because they no longer fit in - "none did dare to enter in". The Serpent, I feel, is a deliberately phallic symbol used to show how the church has been desecrated. Reading the poem, one almost feels that it is an actual rape being described. the church is represented as a virtuous virgin through the use of colour and precious elements. White is usually a symbol of purity. Gold, for a long time represented the most precious and valuable items. Rubies is another Christian allusion. Solomon describes a viruous woman as being priced "above rubies" and in time, rubies were used to sympolise chastity. The serpent is seen as "raping" the churh and robbing it of its virtue and at the climax of this he vomits or ejaculates "his poison out/On the bread and on the wine". Blake is clearly expressing his digust of the established church in this poem.

| Posted on 2005-07-27 | by Approved Guest