William Blake is an English poet born in 1827, who went unrecognised during most of his lifetime. Blake was educated at home chiefly by his mother and her first husband. However, now Blake is considered a seminal figure in the history surrounding the Romantic Age. Blake is now held in the highest regard by later critics due to his expressiveness and creativity. Even though he spent most of his life living in London he was still able to create a diverse and symbolically rich poetry which possess strong religious themes as well expressing human existence. It is also noted that from early years Blake had experienced visions of ghostly monks and angels, whereby he saw the Virgin Mary and various other historical figures.
Landscapes can come in many forms. They refer to rather literal interpretation, a physical landscape or somewhere far way or close to home. However they can also represent the inner and more personal landscape of ones mind. A person’s inner landscape therefore has the ability to encompasses their perspective and effect how the literal landscape impacts one live. All landscapes are interrelated and once can positively or negatively affect the other.
The connection that an inhabitant makes with their physical landscape will characterise them as individuals. Everyone yearns for a place where they belong, a place which they can call home. However this reality is not always reciprocated through all of society, rather this message will never be mirrored through all of society. Blake’s poem ‘Holy Thursday’ makes specific reference to this them of not fitting in with society and never truly belonging. Through an array of language forms and features Blake discusses the neglect which the homeless youth feel when confronted with the materialistic and conformed society which passes them.
Society’s obsession with materialistic items allows them to be overwhelmed by the many temptations which they are offered. Through ‘Holy Thursday’ Blake expresses negatively how society is rejecting the social issues which are prevalent through much of their own individual landscape, and specifics the lack of consideration. This neglection is evident in the line ‘Is this a holy thing to see’ which implies how the inhabitants are sacrilegious and are therefore wasteful. The main idea however which is being portrayed to the reader through numerous rhetorical questions to make the responder consider the struggles of the inhabitants who wake to a time where it is always dark, always winter, a place for loss of hope. Metaphorically the sun does not shine in this gloomily place. This powerful message requires the reader to consider the consequences that these inhabitants face and therefore understand how their inner landscape would be affected. The use of the word ‘hand’ in the last line represents figurative the city of London whereby those who live in the city needs to and should take some blame for these helpless members of their society, especially considering that they are children. The second stanza further explores the neglection by society, in particular the line ‘Is that trembling cry a song?’, expresses the cruelty and injustice that the youth on the streets face and no matter how prosperous the city is around them they will never feel a connection or belong within the man-made environment, manipulated to suit the materialistic society which we live in today.
Landscapes impact ones inner landscape, the inhabitants of the environment will always be connected their own literal landscape which will dictate how they live their live. ‘Holy Thursday’ conveys this message though the third stanza where anaphora has been employed through the repetition of ‘and’ to reflect the many lost opportunities which these children have to face everyday. Their future is bleak with no hope in site. The line ‘And their ways are filled with thorns’ uses religious symbolism to represent the suffering which Jesus faced and compares it to the daily struggle of the children. The injustices of society are mirrored through this poem and this idea of appearance vs. reality becomes clearly evident. Although it can be noted that the children are clearly unhappy and miserable with their surrounds they are expected to put on a brave face and sing songs of happiness. The manipulation of the children by the church can be compared to the manipulation of the environment by society as a whole. The church in particular is using these children to suit their own needs and benefits.
In setting the final tone of the poem, Blake utilises the last stanza in order to contrast, thus juxtapose the other stanzas in underlining the endless possibilities and hope which the physical landscape can provide to its inhabitants. This idea of hope is considered in the last stanza where it is made known that there is still a chance for these inhabitants to break away from troubled and vicious cycle associated.
Blake’s poem is relatable to numerous other poems; however there is one poem which has numerous connections and explores similar themes. Robert Gray’s poem ‘Flames and Dangling Wire’ highlights the manipulation of landscape to suit the needs of society. Thus, these poems personify how society’s resources have been neglected and therefore wasted. Both these poems explore this imagery and refer to the aggression and hunger for possession by society in general while making an attempt to understand how this lack of human interaction is destroying the inhabitants who require the most attention and their environment.
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