Q: Compare and contrast ‘Holy Thursday’ from Innocence and Experience.

Blake was profoundly concerned with the concept of poverty social injustice
and was outraged by the deep social divides and injustices he saw. The ‘Holy
Thursday’ poems in both sections (Songs of Innocence and Experience) deal with the
issues of charity. The ‘Songs of Innocence’ version can be read in two ways – either
as a straightforward depiction of childhood innocence, or as a deeply ironic critique of
the social conditions that made the existence of charity schools a necessity. While
supposedly a good thing, charity actually appears to be an unholy and miserly. The
‘wise guardians of the poor’ is ironic since those in charge benefit from the poverty.
Rather than extending freedom to the poor, it becomes yet another means by which
they are ensnared with the system. The fact that the children needed charity and
support reveals a lot about society during the eighteenth century. It tells us of the
society that put the children there and how they treated them. It also makes us think
how those who did not stay at the London Charity School survived.
Rousseau was an influential figure to Blake. One of his main concerns in the
1790s was that contemporary society, a place of growing industrial efficiency and
production, was increasingly separating mankind from nature, and that this caused
increasing unhappiness and loss of virtue. He believed in social contract, the rights of
the individual and responsibility, and of the under-privileged individual in particular.
He assumed that people have an innate sense of justice and virtue, which leads to
principled action, and believed in the need for a new philosophy of education. The
removal of adult restrictions and impositions would leave the child free to learn by
experience. This, Rousseau believed, would lead to the formation of popular social
contract under which everyone could flourish.
A first impression of ‘Holy Thursday’ from ‘Songs of Innocence’ includes the
enforcement of discipline. The bright ‘red & blue & green’ colours present a striking
contrast to the ‘Grey headed beadles’ who are placed in a position of high authority,
enabling them to take charge of the charity children. The words ‘high dome’ and
‘mighty winds’ symbolises a sense of dignity and establishment; we have this
disparity where we are forced to think that society during Blake’s time had an ample
amount of money, enough to spend on grand architecture yet did not provide the
sufficient financial help for the charity school. Blake emphasises the innocence of the
children attending the ‘Holy Thursday’ service as he includes vocabulary such as
‘these flowers’, ‘radiance’, ‘lamb’ and ‘innocent’. These all stress the large number of
children that are present for example, ‘companies’, ‘thousands’ and ‘multitudes’. The
forceful repetition urges us to question the social and economic conditions that give
rise to such a mass reliance on charity. Besides the image of childish innocence and
purity there is the implication of order and authority, and this begins to take an
ironical tone. Although the children seem happy they were often flogged, poorly fed,
and annually forced to march through the streets to St. Paul’s to give thanks for the
‘kindness’ they had received during the year, and to celebrate the anniversary of the
founding of the schools. Blake’s irony, however, is even more profound and
pervasive. It takes into account of not only the schools themselves but the entire
concept of professional charity symbolised in the poem by the beadles who rule over
the procession. Clearly, Blake was aware of the public’s sentimental approval of
charity schools, which can ironically undermine their callous attitudes towards
children. It makes it seem as if they approve of the idea that the orphaned children are
being ensnared into society’s system and they do not truly care for their welfare.
 The term ‘wise guardians’ can be seen either as a straightforward praise or as
cutting sarcasm, depending upon the reader’s interpretation of the poem. The latter
would seem ironical since from a modern perspective, we know those children are
victims of society and that their ‘guardians’ are not very caring as they should be. In
the final stanza refers to biblical allusions for example, Genesis 18-19; when
Abraham welcomes three strangers into his house, thereby showing them true charity.
Soon, Blake directly addresses the readers and makes a declarative statement, ‘Then
cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door’. The line evokes a powerful
emotion from readers, especially to people of Blake’s time since children were
considered as inferior beings. The word ‘angels’ represents vulnerability which
reflects the charity children. Furthermore, the parallel between angels and children
can suggest how society was tainted due to its harsh treatment towards such innocent
children, evoking emotions such as guilt and sorrow from the reader.
Blake’s poem, ‘Holy Thursday’ from ‘Songs of Experience’ focuses more on
the anger and outrage that Blake felt. The style is more direct and imagery is more
graphic than abstract. His views are presented here without ambiguity. Instead of the
‘mighty wind’ and ‘harmonius thunderings’ of song heard in ‘Holy Thursday’ in
‘Innocence’, the reader strains to hear the ‘trembling cry’ raised by the children. The
praise of the children is missing from stanza two. The ‘rich and beautiful land’ is
transformed in this stanza, into a ‘land of poverty’. The poem consists of gradually
vivid dark images of misery, guilt and pity and we realise that it is possible Blake is
talking about the moral poverty that existed in London during the eighteenth century.
He seems to imply that there is a lack of true charity, conscience and love. The
contrast with ‘Holy Thursday’ in ‘Innocence’ is clear from the onset, as the ‘children
walking two and two’ have been transformed into ‘Babes reduced to misery’. Once
again, the children hold that appearance of vulnerable innocents, now seemingly
thrown into the jaws of ‘experience’. The tone used in the constant questions in stanza
two is almost accusatory, hence evoking guilt and empathy.
The repetition of ‘where’er’ emphasises how the children have no escape,
possibly no hope. The fourth stanza employs a pair of significant puns, both of which
return to ideas established in ‘Innocence’. Blake’s play on the ‘sun’ to ‘son’ and ‘rain’
to ‘reign’ invokes Christ. Wherever the ‘sun’ and ‘rain’ are found, the harvest will be
plentiful. Similarly, wherever Christ the ‘son’ of God ‘reigns’, there will be no
spiritual poverty. The importance of these ideas is reinforced through the harvest
images in stanza three. The lack of spiritual poverty correlates with the united front
the children put up in ‘Innocence’. The presence of Christ in these innocent children
and the apparent absence of his presence in the ‘usurous hand’ of the charitable
guardians is at the root of this poem. Like the ‘Holy Thursday’ in ‘Innocence’, the one
in ‘Experience’ also ends with a powerful statement. One belief in Christianity was
that Christ could be seen in everyone, even children. Therefore, the last sentence
emphasises what was happening in society and how we should be appalled at this.

SOURCES: Irony in Blake's ‘Holy Thursday’, by Robert F. Gleckner

A/AS Level Student Text Guide by Phillip Allan
Songs of Innocence – Holy Thursday

Songs of Experience – Holy Thursday