Key Blake Poems Flashcards
1
Q
Holy Thursday (SOI)
A
- A group of children from a charity school (a school with little or no cost that was maintained by religious organisations) travel to Paul’s Cathedral for a Holy Thursday service
- They sing and, in the power of their voices, they emotionally move the onlooker who acts as our narrative voice
- We are warned to treat the poor with compassion
2
Q
Holy Thursday (SOE)
A
- The narrator from Holy Thursday SOI reflects on the events that were depicted in the initial poem, and now has a more realistic view of the misery evident in society
- This poem more clearly advocates for social change and reform
3
Q
The Garden of Love
A
- A man revisits a place that he used to play as a child and is dismayed to find the once joyful scene taken over by the harsh restrictions of the Church
- He makes comparisons of ‘then’ and ‘now’, comparing the freedom of his early life to the despair of his later life
4
Q
The Little Vagabond
A
- A young child talks about the restrictions of the Church and how, if religion could be more free and filled with joy, they could escape from sin and people straying from their relationship with God
5
Q
The Little Black Boy
A
- The story of how a black child came to know his own identity and his relationship with God
- His loving mother taught him about God who lives in the East, who gives light and life to all men
6
Q
The Schoolboy
A
- A young boy complains about the restrictions of education, and how it teaches children in a cruel, limiting way
- He then appeals to his parents, begging them not to send him to school as he wonders how children are meant to grow in these conditions
7
Q
London
A
- A speaker strolling through the street in London and noting the horror he sees of the impoverished and bleak aspects of society
8
Q
Nurse’s Song (SOI)
A
- A nurse finds happiness in the sounds and glee of children, and she permits them to continue playing when they request more time to play before having to return home
- The poem has a general notion of the sounds of children’s merriment
9
Q
Nurse’s Song (SOE)
A
10
Q
A Little Boy Lost (SOE)
A
- A child questions the soundness of Christian doctrine and is overheard by a priest, who likens him to a devil, binds him in chains and burns him for being a heretic
- Questioning his spiritual and physical (earthly) father and family
11
Q
The Chimney Sweeper (SOI)
A
- A child has been ‘sold’ into labour by his father after his mother has died
- He meets a new chimney sweep who he reassures (Tom Dacre)
- Tom dreams of an angel who sets them all free, allowing them to play in green fields and ascend to heaven
12
Q
The Chimney Sweeper (SOE)
A
- A child has been left in the snow as his parents go to the Church
13
Q
The Angel
A
- The narrator dreams a dream in which she transforms into a ‘maiden queen’ and is guarded by an Angel
- She is always crying, and the Angel is caring and wipes her tears away
- Despite being happy at heart, she continues to weep and in believing there is no joy in his presence, he departs
- The woman grows old and the Angel returns but it is too late
14
Q
My Pretty Rose Tree
A
- A ‘flower’ is offered to the speaker
15
Q
The Little Girl Lost (SOI)
A
