“The Little Vagabond” Summary

“The Little Vagabond” Themes

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  The Failings of Organized Religion

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  Reconciling Good and Evil

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Little Vagabond”

• Lines 1-4

  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.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  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;
  Nor ever once wish from the Church to stray,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  Then the Parson might preach & drink & sing.
  And we'd be as happy as birds in the spring:
  And modest dame Lurch, who is always at Church,
  Would not have bandy children nor fasting nor birch.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  And God like a father rejoicing to see,
  His children as pleasant and happy as he:
  Would have no more quarrel with the Devil or the Barrel
  But kiss him & give him both drink and apparel.

  

  

  

  

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“The Little Vagabond” Symbols

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  Warmth and Cold

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• 

  Dame Lurch

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“The Little Vagabond” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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• Polysyndeton

  

  

  

  

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• Juxtaposition

  

  

  

  

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• Simile

  

  

  

  

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“The Little Vagabond” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Vagabond
• Ale-house
• Use'd well
• Usage
• Regale
• Live-long
• Parson
• Modest dame Lurch
• Bandy
• Fasting
• Birch
• Quarrel
• Barrel
• Apparel

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Little Vagabond”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Little Vagabond” Speaker

“The Little Vagabond” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Little Vagabond”

More “The Little Vagabond” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem Illuminated — See an image of the poem as Blake originally imagined and published it: as a beautifully illuminated manuscript.

  • Blake's Infernal Method — Watch a video discussing Blake's innovative printing technique and what it meant to him.

  • A Brief Biography — Learn about Blake's life and work in this article from the Poetry Foundation.

  • An Overview of British Romanticism — Read the British Library's introduction to the literary movement Blake helped set in motion.

  • William Blake and Organized Religion — Read an article examining Blake's relationship to organized religion (and the Church of England in particular), and how he created his own literary mythology to counter it.

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