Prep Assignment:

An interpretation of one lyric poem, including analysis of those technical features and/or symbols that support your interpretation. As with the longer literary criticism assignment, please do not riff on all the thoughts and feelings that the poem evokes in you, but instead focus your interpretation around solving a central problem in the text, which could be the deeper meaning of a symbol/metaphor/simile central to the poem, the clarification of a paradox/irony/ambiguity you find there, an illumination of the lyric’s implied dramatic or narrative context based on hints in the text, or some other problem specific to your chosen poem. Please mention common knowledge about the poet and their cultural context as relevant, but do not provide a biography or history separately from your main interpretation. Be sure to quote the poem regularly. This assignment should be about 750-1000 words (between two and three pages) in length, plus a works cited page listing at least two secondary sources. It is due Wed 3/20.

 

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Prep Assignment – Holy Thursday

In particular, lyric poetry gives readers an in-depth understanding of poets. Lyrics are mainly based on expressing personal feelings or emotions. At the same time, it also reflects the social life through the subjective thoughts and feelings of the poets. The poem “Holy Thursday” by the poet William Blake is a lyric poem. There are two poems of the same name, which are included in his collection of poems, “Song of Innocence” and “Song of Experience.” Although the two poems have the same title, the composition and meaning are different. One of the “Holy Thursday” that collected by Blake’s “Song of Innocence” is described the scene of St. Paul’s Church in London during the Holy Thursday. The poem consists of three stanzas, each of them is shows a series of children dealing with churches which reflects the social life of children and criticized the exploitation of children in society during the Industrial Revolution.

In 1789, William Blake created a collection of poems “Songs of Experience.” The poet’s intention is to write beautiful songs for innocent children to show the reader that the innocent world of the freedom, love, joy, and happiness which they have not been tarnish by “experience”. The poetry is simple and clear, natural and smooth, but behind the simple language, it has profound insights and meanings(Tate). The first stanza of the poem depicts the ritual about Holy Thursday. Blake describes the children walk into St. Paul’s Church. According to the poem, “The children walking two & two in red & blue & green”(Line 2). Blake is watching these children as an observer because he describes how the children walked to the church. At the same time, the child’s “walking two & two” scene has a sense of unity and discipline, which indicates that children have a responsibility. “Grey-headed beadles walkd before with wands as white as snow”(Line 3). Blake uses a lyrical voice to shows that the children are innocent and purity. It also uses the method of simile to describe the purity of children is like “snow.” And the cold nature of “beadles” which holding with “wands”, this indicated the violent that “beadles” on the children. “Till into the high dome of Pauls they like Thames waters flow”(Line 4). Another place of using simile “like the Thames water flow” to describe the children, it shows that the children are doing in an innocent manner. “though the children seem happy they were photos forced to march through the streets to St. Paul’s to give thanks for the ‘kindnesses’ they had received during the year” (Gleckner 412). The children were innocently involved in the faith of the church, but they do not dare to protest, and they still have to be happy.

In the second stanza of the poem, the poet used different subject and methods to describe the children. According to the poem, “O what a multitude they seemd these flowers of London town”(Line 5). The poet uses the metaphor to compare the children to the “flowers of London town”, which also emphasizes the beauty and fragility of the children. Also, based on line 7, “The hum of multitudes was there but multitudes of lambs”. The poet described the children as “lambs”, a symbol of innocence and sacrifice. In the third stanza, the children started to sing. “Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song”(Line 9). The songs of the children are compared by the poet to “mighty wind”, which suggests the power of the Holy. “‘the children demon- strate their essential innocence, despite the attempts to make them conform to a hypocritical regimen, by spontaneously, ‘like a mighty wind’ raising their voices to heaven in song’”(Gleckner 413). When children are singing, they are no longer vulnerable. The image of children has changed and they are no longer vulnerable. They gained a power that allowed them “raise to heaven.” “Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door”(Line 12). The last line tells the reader to express sympathy and “pity” to those who are not as lucky as us. The poet also has a deep irony in the poem. The charity school accepted the children and said it was saved these “flowers”. The children, however, were forced to fall into falsehood.

This poem is full of irony and criticism. Blake criticizes those who seem to be helping poor children. Because the charities and churches are selfish, they are only maintaining their influence and interests. And they are not really helping and defaming these children, they are oppressing children’s freedom for their benefit.

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Work Cited

Blake, William. “Holy Thursday: ‘Twas on a Holy Thursday, Their Innocent Faces Clean by William Blake.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43661/holy-thursday-twas-on-a-holy-thursday-their-innocent-faces-clean.

Gleckner, Robert F. “Irony in Blake’s ‘Holy Thursday.’” Jstor, The Johns Hopkins University Press, June 1956, www.jstor.org/stable/3043157?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Tate. “William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience – Look Closer.” Tate,www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/william-blake-39/blakes-songs-innocence-experience.

 

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Professor comment：

Your interpretive essay on Blake’s “Holy Thursday” (Innocence version) begins with a patient intro that very nearly arrives at a strong thesis.  It would have been complete if you had added one more sentence to explain the substance of Blake’s criticism of the exploitation of children.  You do this in your conclusion, though even there we are made to leap over the step between noticing how Blake describes the children’s innocence and perceiving the church authorities as “selfish” exploiters of that innocence.  Nevertheless, I appreciate the boldness of your condemnation of the church in your conclusion, of which I think Blake would approve.

As far as your use of sources, you neglect to attribute your secondary sources, Gleckner and Tate, but you do cite them nicely and you quote from the primary text effectively and often.  The Works Cited page is very well done.  The only MLA formatting touch missing here would be your last name and the page number in the upper right of the header.  Although your engagement with the text was only loosely tethered to the critical conclusion you arrived at, you are still right about Blake’s perception of the church as an imposer of hypocritical rectitude on children who are, to opened eyes, the “flowers of London.”    ​

 

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