Holy Thursday (Experience): Key Quotes

Holy Thursday (Experience): Key Quotes

Key Quotes in “Holy Thursday (Experience)”

“Babes reduced to misery”

• This phrase exemplifies Blake’s poignant portrayal of childhood suffering.
• The word “babes” emphasizes the innocence and vulnerability of the children.
• The phrase “reduced to misery” highlights the grim conditions suffered by the children due to systemic oppression.

“Fed with cold and usurous hand”

• “Cold and usurous hand” refers to the lackadaisical and exploitative attitudes of institutions towards the poor.
• This metaphor evokes the sense of neglect and exploitation fostered by the societal structures of the time.

“Is that trembling cry a song? Can it be a song of joy?”

• These rhetorical questions express Blake’s disbelief and indignation at the false portrayal of the children’s suffering as something joyful or reverent.

“In a rich and fruitful land…it is a land of poverty”

• These lines contrast the wealth of England with the abject state of the poor, especially orphaned children.
• The stark dichotomy uncovers the socio-economic inequalities and oppression prevalent in Blake’s England.

“Sun does never shine…their ways are filled with thorns”

• Blake uses imagery to represent the dark and harsh reality of the children’s lives, contradicting the idealized vision presented in Songs of Innocence.