In a voice filled with sorrow and indignation, William Blake speaks to readers of a future age, asking them to see how their ancestors turned natural love into a sin. The poem describes an ideal, Eden-like state where young couples could delight in each other openly, free and unashamed. Then it focuses on a specific girl, Ona, who meets her lover in a garden at dawn. Their time together is gentle and sweet, and for a moment she forgets her fear. But when she returns to her father, his face, shaped by what Blake calls the “holy book,” terrifies her completely. He shakes with a blend of love and moral horror, grieving over his own white hair while condemning her. The mood is hauntingly sad: the girl’s brief joy is crushed not by cruelty, but by a deeply ingrained, religious dread that distorts parental care. Blake’s speaker mourns this loss of innocence, making the reader feel how living in a world that calls love criminal leaves lasting tremors in both the young and the old.
A LITTLE GIRL LOST — Summary
Children of the future age, Reading this indignant page, Know that in a former time Love, sweet love, was thought a crime.
In the age of gold, Free from winter's cold, Youth and maiden bright, To the holy light, Naked in the sunny beams delight.
Once a youthful pair, Filled with softest care, Met in garden bright Where the holy light Had just removed the curtains of the night.
Then, in rising day, On the grass they play; Parents were afar, Strangers came not near, And the maiden soon forgot her fear.
Tired with kisses sweet, They agree to meet When the silent sleep Waves o'er heaven's deep, And the weary tired wanderers weep.
To her father white Came the maiden bright; But his loving look, Like the holy book All her tender limbs with terror shook.
"Ona, pale and weak, To thy father speak! Oh the trembling fear! Oh the dismal care That shakes the blossoms of my hoary hair!"