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Holy Thursday is a poem by
/ref>GradeSaver: "Songs of Innocence and of Experience Summary and Analysis"
/ref> The bleak reality of the orphans' lives is depicted in the contrasting poem, "Holy Thursday" (''Songs of Experience'').
A comparison of extant copies of the original hand painted copies of "Holy Thursday"
available from the William Blake Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Thursday (Songs Of Innocence) Songs of Innocence and of Experience 1789 poems
Holy Thursday is a poem by William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...
, from his 1789 book of poems ''Songs of Innocence
''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' is a collection of illustrated poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases: a few first copies were printed and illuminated by Blake himself in 1789; five years later, he bound these poems with a ...
''. (There is also a Holy Thursday
Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...
poem in '' Songs of Experience'', which contrasts with this song.)
The poem depicts a ceremony held on Ascension Day
The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared b ...
, which in England was then called Holy Thursday, a name now generally applied to what is also called Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of th ...
: Six thousand orphans of London's charity schools, scrubbed clean and dressed in the coats of distinctive colours, are marched two by two to Saint Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...
, under the control of their beadle
A beadle, sometimes spelled bedel, is an official of a church or synagogue who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational, or ceremonial duties on the ...
s, and sing in the cathedral.
The children in their colourful dresses are compared to flowers and their procession toward the church as a river. Their singing on the day that commemorated the Ascension of Jesus
The Ascension of Jesus ( anglicized from the Vulgate la, ascensio Iesu, lit=ascent of Jesus) is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising to Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his apostles. According to ...
is depicted as raising them above their old, lifeless guardians, who remain at a lower level.TATE: "Songs of Innocence: Holy Thursday"/ref>
/ref> The bleak reality of the orphans' lives is depicted in the contrasting poem, "Holy Thursday" (''Songs of Experience'').
The poem
References
External links
A comparison of extant copies of the original hand painted copies of "Holy Thursday"
available from the William Blake Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Thursday (Songs Of Innocence) Songs of Innocence and of Experience 1789 poems