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The Blake poems

The Blake poems . “The Chimney Sweeper”. Speaker. Who is the speaker of the poem? The speaker is a chimney sweeper whose mother died when he was 4 or 5. His father sold him to a chimney sweep before he could even talk. . Meter . Rhyming quatrains of anapestic and iambic tetrameter.

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The Blake poems

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  1. The Blake poems “The Chimney Sweeper”

  2. Speaker • Who is the speaker of the poem? • The speaker is a chimney sweeper whose mother died when he was 4 or 5. His father sold him to a chimney sweep before he could even talk.

  3. Meter • Rhyming quatrains of anapestic and iambic tetrameter. • 1st line of the poem: • When my moth/erdied/ I was ve/ryyoung • 1st and 3rd are u u / (unstressed, unstressed, stressed) which is… • anapest

  4. Meter • When my moth/erdied/ I was ve/ryyoung • The 2nd and 3rd feet are u / (unstressed, stressed) or… • Iambic • Blake likes to do this in his poems!

  5. Rhyme Scheme • 1st Stanza is… • AA BB • When we have rhyming lines like these, they are called • Couplets • In the sixth stanza, the rhymes are not exact. They are called slant rhymes.

  6. First stanza – meaning • The first stanza tells the tale of the chimney sweeper. • The second stanza introduces his friend Tom Dacre. • Why does Blake compare Tom’s hair to a lamb? • A lamb is young and innocent like these chimney sweepers. Line 8 – read again. What could it symbolize? Soot = something black and dirty that could corrupt white hair = innocence

  7. 3rd Stanza • Tom’s vision • Why did Blake use these particular names? • They could be anyone; they are generic names. • Line 12 “Were all of them” what is the purpose of confusing the diction here? • To show that it is a child speaking. • Imagery of line 12 – What is black, and dark that the boys are boxed in now? • Chimneys • Just like a coffin – This could foreshadow their death as well. • Coffins also are a metaphor for their current state of affairs.

  8. 4th stanza • This is more uplifting – an angel arrives with a bright key. This could be allusion to Matthew 16:19 where Jesus gives Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. • The last two lines show the children acting as children should.

  9. 5th stanza • First line – What does it symbolize? • Their bag of tools are gone and so is their burden.

  10. 6th stanza • Slant rhyme • Why is he happy to go to work? • He believes if he does his duty he will be free of harm.

  11. The Chimney Sweeper Poem 2 • Who is the speaker? • There are two! One is a man who spots the child in the snow, and the other is the child.

  12. Setting • 18th century England; winter

  13. Meter • What is the meter (mostly)? • Iambic tetrameter • Line 6 is a perfect example: • And smil’d/ among/ the win/ter’ssnow • But this is Blake so nothing is that simple.

  14. Meter (cont) • Line 1 • A litt/le black/ • What is the meter? • First two are iambs (daDUM) • thing among • Meter? • DA dum - trochee

  15. Line 8 • And taught - this is a(n)… • Iamb • Me to sing – this is • Anapest • And finally • The notes/of woe • iamb

  16. First Stanza • In the first like there is an immediate contrast – what is it? • A black thing AND snow • What is the black THING? • Child • What is the rhyme scheme? • AABB – this is called… • Rhyming couplet

  17. Stanza 1 cont • The rhyming couplet makes the poem “sing-songy” like a nursery rhyme but what is the poem about? • Child labor • In lines 3 and 4 it’s dialogue

  18. Stanza 2 • What is the rhyme scheme? • CACA • What is the imagery in line 7? • What are the clothes of death?

  19. Stanza 3 • What are the parents like? How do we know? • Read lines 11 and 12 again. What do these 2 lines mean? • Who is to blame for his suffering? God, church, and the government

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