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By William Blake. Dear Mother, dear Mother, the Church is cold, But the Ale-house is healthy & pleasant & warm; Besides I can tell where I am use'd well, Such usage in heaven will never do well. But if at the Church they would give us some Ale. And a pleasant fire, our souls to regale; We'd sing and we'd pray, all the live-long day;
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‘The Little Vagabond‘ playfully draws parallels between an unappealing church service and a busy ale-house, and features some of Blake’s most subtly amusing work. The poem begins with the narrator appealing to his mother that he be permitted to visit the pub rather than have to attend church on account of the jovial atmosphereat the former. The poe...
‘The Little Vagabond‘ is taken from Blake’s defining collection, Songs of Innocence and Experience, and was first published in 1794. Songs of Innocence was initially published on its own, but ‘The Little Vagabond‘ was not featured in it. Given the apparent youth of the narrator, one might expect the poem to be more closely associated with innocence...
Stanza One
‘The Little Vagabond‘ begins with the narrator desperately appealing to his mother that he be allowed to miss church. This emphasizes the narrator’s youth and ensures the readers’ expectations are subverted when they learn that he wishes to visit the ale-house instead. Modern readers would be particularly sensitive to this, as alcohol is more strictly sold than it was during Blake’s lifetime. The narrator uses the rule of three to celebrate the pub and juxtaposes it against the cold nature of...
Stanza Two
The poem’s satirical tone continues in this stanza, which functions as a manifesto for how church services might become more appealing; it is noteworthy that these suggestions all serve to make the experience more closely resemble visits to the ale-house. However, beneath the humourous comparison, the narrator outlines the fact that the Church offers neither warmth or sustenance of any kind. Given the kind of poverty that Blake witnessed during his lifetime and the comparatively vast wealth o...
Stanza Three
Stanza three begins by humorously imagining the Parson as a fellow drinker who appears infinitely more approachable to the change in his behavior. Given the fact that it is the role of the clergy to help bring people closer to God, the narrator seemingly implies that were alcohol served in church, the congregation might grow closer to the divine. The poet uses the simile when claiming his suggestions would make people “as happy as birds in the spring” to reiterate the strength of his proposal...
Readers who enjoyed ‘The Little Vagabond‘ might like to explore other William Blake poems. For example: 1. ‘London‘ – One of Blake’s most iconic poems, which savagely critiquesthe divided nature of life in London. 2. ‘A Poison Tree‘ – A deeply introspective poem that tussles with questions of rage and forgiveness. Some other poems that may be of in...
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- April 20, 1997
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The Little Vagabond is a 1794 poem by English poet William Blake in his collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience. His collection, Songs of Innocence, was originally published alone, in 1789. The scholar Robert Gleckner says that the poem is a form of transformation of the boy in the poem "The School Boy", from Songs of Innocence. [2]
The Little Vagabond Lyrics. Dear mother, dear mother, the Church is cold; But the Alehouse is healthy, and pleasant, and warm. Besides, I can tell where I am used well; Such usage in...
May 11, 2019 · "The Little Vagabond" is one of the “Songs of Experience” that were written and etched by the English poet William Blake between the years 1789 and 1794.
The Little Vagabond. Dear mother, dear mother, the church is cold, But the ale-house is healthy and pleasant and warm; Besides I can tell where I am used well, Such usage in Heaven will never do well.
