# Hymn of the Nuns explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Taras Shevchenko.

## What happens

The nuns lament their forced life in the convent, expressing that God has cheated them out of love, marriage, and motherhood. They mock their own piety, singing 'Hallelujah' while feeling defrauded and trapped.

## Themes in this chapter

### Faith and Hypocrisy

The nuns sing 'Hallelujah' while accusing God of cheating them, revealing a hollow, coerced piety.

### Motherhood and Sacrifice

The nuns mourn the loss of marriage and child-rearing, highlighting the sacrifice of motherhood imposed by the convent.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The collective voice of the nuns, expressing their sorrow and resentment.

## Key lines

> Thou hast cheated us, poor wretches! And we, defrauded and unlucky, Ourselves have fooled Thee, And howled and sung: Hallelujah.

You have deceived us, miserable as we are, and we, cheated and unfortunate, have in turn tricked You, crying and singing 'Hallelujah.'

_The nuns express mutual deception between themselves and God, using the hymn as a bitter irony._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_22_se/chapters/hymn-of-the-nuns
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_22_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_22_se/chapters