"Holy Thursday" is one of two poems William Blake wrote by that title; this is the version from his major 1789 collection Songs of Innocence, and it takes an appropriately innocent look at poverty and charity—on the surface, at least. Watching an Easter Week procession of orphaned children making their way to St. Paul's Cathedral in London, the poem's speaker is moved by the kids' goodness and sweetness and cautions readers to take "pity" on impoverished and suffering people—or risk driving away "an angel from your door." But there's a streak of irony here: this pious speaker doesn't seem to question how or why these children ended up orphaned in the first place. Charity and sympathy are indeed moral duties, this poem suggests—but so is trying to root out the causes of suffering.
|
Get
LitCharts
|
|
The Full Text of “Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)”
1'Twas on a Holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean,
2The children walking two & two, in red & blue & green
3Grey headed beadles walkd before with wands as white as snow,
4Till into the high dome of Paul's they like Thames' waters flow.
5O what a multitude they seemd, these flowers of London town!
6Seated in companies they sit with radiance all their own.
7The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs,
8Thousands of little boys & girls raising their innocent hands.
9Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song,
10Or like harmonious thunderings the seats of heaven among.
11Beneath them sit the agèd men, wise guardians of the poor;
12Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door.
The Full Text of “Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)”
1'Twas on a Holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean,
2The children walking two & two, in red & blue & green
3Grey headed beadles walkd before with wands as white as snow,
4Till into the high dome of Paul's they like Thames' waters flow.
5O what a multitude they seemd, these flowers of London town!
6Seated in companies they sit with radiance all their own.
7The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs,
8Thousands of little boys & girls raising their innocent hands.
9Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song,
10Or like harmonious thunderings the seats of heaven among.
11Beneath them sit the agèd men, wise guardians of the poor;
12Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door.
-
“Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)” Summary
-
-
“Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)” Themes
-
Charity, Poverty, and Sympathy
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
Society's Complacency, Cruelty, and Hypocrisy
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)”
-
Lines 1-4
'Twas on a Holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean,
The children walking two & two, in red & blue & green
Grey headed beadles walkd before with wands as white as snow,
Till into the high dome of Paul's they like Thames' waters flow. -
Lines 5-8
O what a multitude they seemd, these flowers of London town!
Seated in companies they sit with radiance all their own.
The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs,
Thousands of little boys & girls raising their innocent hands. -
Lines 9-11
Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song,
Or like harmonious thunderings the seats of heaven among.
Beneath them sit the agèd men, wise guardians of the poor; -
Line 12
Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door.
-
-
“Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Allusion
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Repetition
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Imagery
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Simile
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Metaphor
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Irony
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Alliteration
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Assonance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
-
“Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- 'Twas
- Holy Thursday
- Beadles
- Wands
- Paul's
- Thames
- Multitudes
- Agèd
-
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)” Speaker
-
-
“Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)”
-
-
More “Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)” Resources
-
External Resources
-
The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of the poem.
-
Songs of Innocence and of Experience — Visit the Blake Archive to see this poem as Blake originally published it: as a beautiful illuminated manuscript.
-
A Blake Biography — Learn more about Blake's life and work at the website of the British Library.
-
The Blake Society — Visit the website of the Blake Society to learn more about William Blake's continuing influence.
-
Blake's Legacy — Read an interview with the novelist Philip Pullman in which he discusses Blake's influence on his work.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by William Blake
-
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
