In this essay I am going to analyze how «The Clod and the Pebble» and «Love III» tackle the theme of love.
In both poems we have two points of view about the theme of love. Although the poems are different, and the message is not the same, they represent the same theme. In «Love III» we have two voices, one that represents God and the other one that represents a sinner. On the one hand we have the simple man that thinks he does not deserve God’s pure, and perfect love, because he has committed mistakes and he is not as perfect as God is. «Love bade me welcome. Yet my soul drew back, Guilty of dust and sin.» In this quote the voice is telling us that he couldn’t accept his love, because he feels guilty of something. He uses the metaphor of «dust» referring to his dirtiness with sin. On the other hand,  is the voice of God, inviting him to accept his love by accepting himself, talking to him kindly and nicely. Telling him that he loves him the way that he created him, without conditions, forgiving his sins and mistakes. «Love took my hand, and smiling did reply, Who made the eyes but I?». In this poem love is presented as something divine, a love that forgives and accepts, holy love.
In «The Clod and the Pebble» there are two voices also. In both of them have thoughts and ideas that are totally different. Since the beginning of the poem there’s a clod talking about love as something generous and selfless, that always looks for other’s happiness but not itself’s. «Builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair.» The clod is very innocent, as we see in the quote. It thinks that love improves bad things and he uses this words as a metaphor. The other voice shows himself very experienced, insensitive and strong. He shows love as a painful obligation, and a selfish feeling. «Builds a Hell in Heaven’s despite.» This quote shows that the pebble thinks in an opposite way from the clod. It sees love as something bad in a good thing, it thinks that it makes you suffer. 
To sum up there are very different points of view in both of the poems. In one we have the holy love, which is perfect and forgives, but in the other we have two different ideas, love as a hell and love as heaven.