Holy Thursday Flashcards
summary
Charity-school children of London flow like a river towards St Paul’s Cathedral. They begin to sing while their guardians stand by. Speaker urges the reader to remember that the children are angels of God.
sturcture and form
- Ballad form.
- Fragmented rhyme scheme, which contrasts with the other Holy Thursday. The first stanza is a/b/a/b, this breaks down in the second stanza, which emphasises the exclamatory “It is a land of poverty” at the end of the stanza.
The rhyme scheme begins to build up again to abcb in the final two stanzas. This creates an uncomfortable sense of closure at the end of the poem, as it comes to a natural finish, though we know the theme itself is not resolved.
- Quatrains. The poem follows a simple rhyme scheme ABAB, changing end sounds from stanza to stanza.
“Cold and usurous hand”
conveys the idea that the Church acts in self interest - highlights its greed and corruption - the metaphor of the hand could refer to the church but could also refer to society itself - irresponsible/uncaring
“Rich and fruitful
Through the contrast (juxtaposition) between the imagery of the ‘rich and fruitful’ land and the ‘misery’ of the children, Blake directly challenges the notion of Britain as prosperous and powerful country - idea that they are neglectful of duties
Repeated rhetorical question
evokes a sense of anger and disgust that the speaker feels - the speaker is interrogating the state of Britain - holding them accountable - makes the reader feel complicit
“And their” repetition -
anaphora at the beginning of each line emphasises the weakness and suffering conveys a sense of the scale of suffering - all encompassing - conveys the anger of the speaker - rising resentment and disgust.
“Sun does never shine” - “fields are bleak and bare”
pastoral imagery of sun and fields which are usually associated with prosperity are concentrated with the description of a barren landscape
