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Description
The child and rider illustrate a double simile from Shakespeare in which Macbeth considers the likely reaction to his planned murder of Duncan:
And Pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubin hors'd
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind.
Macbeth 1.7: 21–25
When finishing this impression of Pity, Blake reversed the direction of the falling rain from the first copy of the print and altered the expression on the face of the foremost rider. The position of the babe's left arm is similar to that in the smaller trial print, also on display in this exhibition.
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Description