Poetry · Chapter
XXXI: Hymn (For Boy’s Voices) explained
A lyrical hymn celebrating the latent divine potential within every human, suggesting that through understanding and right thinking, ordinary people can access the magical powers of gods and faeries, transcending mortality and reaching a hi
What happens
A lyrical hymn celebrating the latent divine potential within every human, suggesting that through understanding and right thinking, ordinary people can access the magical powers of gods and faeries, transcending mortality and reaching a hidden, immortal land.
Themes in this chapter
The Divine and the Demonic
The hymn equates human potential with divine wizardry, portraying God-like powers as accessible to all through understanding.
Mortality and Transience
The promise of growing 'immortal out of hand' directly addresses the desire to overcome mortality and transience.
Key passages
“All the things magicians do / Could be done by me and you / Freely, if we only knew.”
The magical feats performed by wizards are within everyone's reach, provided we possess the right knowledge.
Opens the hymn with a democratic vision of hidden potential.
“Every man a God would be / Laughing through eternity / If as God’s his eyes could see.”
If humans could perceive reality as God does, they would become divine and enjoy eternal joy.
Expands the theme of divine potential to all humanity.
“We should reach the Hidden Land / And grow immortal out of hand, / If we could but understand!”
Understanding the true nature of reality would grant us immediate access to a secret, immortal realm.
Climactic assertion that comprehension is the key to transcendence.