Matthew wrote:
>On the other hand, the very plausible connection with Blake,
>which Alison guessed at without having seen the poem, turned
>out to be a red herring.
I wonder if this apparent red-herringness is only apparent. There
are two Blake poems entitled "Holy Thursday," which would make any
poetic referencing via title all the more pointed. Then, too,
Muldoon is rather famously inclined to canonic-referentiality
himself: think of the wine waiter in another restaurant poem (in
HAY) whose spiel (if I'm recalling it accurately) includes the
the opening words of "Caedmon's Hymn" (in Anglo-Saxon, at that!).
Attributing his use of "Holy Thursday" as a title to coincidence
strains credibility, it seems to me--whichever Blake poem we have
in mind.
The one from _Songs of Innocence_ refers to children "seated in
companies" and among "the seats of heaven" (shades of "borrowed"
chairs!), along with something about "the high dome of Paul's,"
which is just the sort of goofy self-allusion Muldoon might go
for. And Blake's second "Holy Thursday," from _Songs of Experience_
(the one quoted by Alison, I think), which is very much concerned
with hunger, not only fits the restaurant context of Muldoon's poem,
but also (if the diners are read as a romantic couple) gives new
meaning to Blake's "Babes"!
Cheers,
Candice
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