Homework Assistance : The Poetry Archive @eMule.com
Good point. The Shorter Oxford gives 'dacker' or 'daiker' as an intransitive verb, dating from the late 16th Century in Scotland and the north of England, meaning 'waver, totter, stagger, saunter, work irregularly, potter'.
Coincidence?
Post Edited (10-13-04 09:33)
Your teacher given you an impossible task? In search of divine inspiration to help you along?
William Blake "The Chimney Sweeper
Posted by: Tiffany (---.usmc-mccs.org)
Date: September 16, 2021 12:54PM
Need help identifying the irony of this poem. I think I am beginning to see it, but could use some fresh imput. Thanks.
The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake
When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry "'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!"
So your shimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."
And so he was quiet, and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight!
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came and Angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing , they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.
The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake
When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry "'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!"
So your shimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."
And so he was quiet, and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight!
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.
And by came and Angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing , they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun.
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind;
And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.
And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark,
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty they need not fear harm.
Re: William Blake "The Chimney Sweeper
Posted by: Pam Adams (134.71.192.---)
Date: September 16, 2021 01:00PM
I would focus on these enslaved children being told 'everything's all right- God loves you.'
pam
pam
Re: William Blake "The Chimney Sweeper
Posted by: Hugh Clary (---.denver-03rh16rt-04rh15rt.co.dial-access.att.ne)
Date: September 16, 2021 04:07PM
>And by came and Angel who had a bright key,
>And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
And ironic as well that one must die in order to be free?
I read somewhere that Blake intended a pun on weep/sweet, if that matters. I wonder about the name Tom Dacre. Dacre anagrams to 'cared', or 'raced', but I am not sure that has a bearing.
>And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
And ironic as well that one must die in order to be free?
I read somewhere that Blake intended a pun on weep/sweet, if that matters. I wonder about the name Tom Dacre. Dacre anagrams to 'cared', or 'raced', but I am not sure that has a bearing.
Re: William Blake "The Chimney Sweeper
Posted by: Tiffany (---.usmc-mccs.org)
Date: September 16, 2021 04:36PM
Thanks much. Your ideas have been very helpful. If anything else comes to you I have another day to work on this. I am very grateful.
Tiffany
Tiffany
Re: William Blake "The Chimney Sweeper
Posted by: IanB (---.tnt11.mel1.da.uu.net)
Date: September 16, 2021 05:15PM
The whole poem is ironic, in that it uses a friendly rhyme scheme and comforting, all’s-well story-telling style (the kind a parent or nanny in a rich household might use in reading a young child to sleep) to tell a ghastly story of child exploitation and misery. The real intent is to arouse horror and pity for the poor chimney sweeps. Blake’s punning “’weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!” says it all.
There’s irony in the last two lines of the 2nd stanza: the proposition that losing your beautiful hair is a good way to protect it from being spoiled.
There’s also irony in the poem's last line. At first sight it appears to be expressing the same worthy message as the 23rd Psalm, that faith can overcome fear in the Valley of Death, but really it’s an expression of the chimney sweeps having been conned into believing that breathing and sleeping in soot won’t harm them so long as they don’t rebel against being required to do it.
The seed of that was planted in the last two lines of the preceding stanza. I don’t however think Blake meant to attack the idea of angels, or to blame this particular angel, who told of divine love and comfort for the innocent. Rather his anger was directed against society for perverting that message into a rationalisation for keeping slaves in their place.
There’s irony in the last two lines of the 2nd stanza: the proposition that losing your beautiful hair is a good way to protect it from being spoiled.
There’s also irony in the poem's last line. At first sight it appears to be expressing the same worthy message as the 23rd Psalm, that faith can overcome fear in the Valley of Death, but really it’s an expression of the chimney sweeps having been conned into believing that breathing and sleeping in soot won’t harm them so long as they don’t rebel against being required to do it.
The seed of that was planted in the last two lines of the preceding stanza. I don’t however think Blake meant to attack the idea of angels, or to blame this particular angel, who told of divine love and comfort for the innocent. Rather his anger was directed against society for perverting that message into a rationalisation for keeping slaves in their place.
Re: William Blake "The Chimney Sweeper
Posted by: IanB (---.tnt11.mel1.da.uu.net)
Date: September 16, 2021 05:24PM
Good point. The Shorter Oxford gives 'dacker' or 'daiker' as an intransitive verb, dating from the late 16th Century in Scotland and the north of England, meaning 'waver, totter, stagger, saunter, work irregularly, potter'.
Coincidence?
Post Edited (10-13-04 09:33)
Re: William Blake "The Chimney Sweeper
Posted by: Tiffany (---.usmc-mccs.org)
Date: September 16, 2021 05:46PM
Very helpful Ian, thank you for a very large stepping stone.
Re: William Blake "The Chimney Sweeper
Posted by: robert brinn (---.proxy.aol.com)
Date: September 16, 2021 07:18PM
FOCUS ON CHILDREN BEING TOLD EVERYHTRING WILL BE ALRIGHT. IT WONT WILL IT?
Re: waltzing matilda analysis 250 words
Posted by: mark222 (---.lnk.telstra.net)
Date: September 20, 2021 01:57AM
Waltzing Matilda
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah-tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
Waltzing Matilda,
Waltzing Matilda,
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"
Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong:
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee.
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker-bag,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda,
Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker-bag,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
Up rode a squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred;
Down came the troopers, one, two, three:
"Who's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag?
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!
Waltzing Matilda,
Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.
Who's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag?
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!"
Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong;
"You'll never catch me alive!" said he;
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!
Waltzing Matilda,
Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!"
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!"
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a coolibah-tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
Waltzing Matilda,
Waltzing Matilda,
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled,
"Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?"
Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong:
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee.
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker-bag,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.
Waltzing Matilda,
Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker-bag,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me."
Up rode a squatter, mounted on his thoroughbred;
Down came the troopers, one, two, three:
"Who's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag?
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!
Waltzing Matilda,
Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me.
Who's that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag?
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!"
Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong;
"You'll never catch me alive!" said he;
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!
Waltzing Matilda,
Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!"
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me!"
Re: waltzing matilda analysis 250 words
Posted by: IanB (---.tnt11.mel1.da.uu.net)
Date: September 20, 2021 05:08AM
Mark
This should be posted as a 'New Topic'. Click that button at the top of this thread. Say in your new post what kind of help you are looking for.
While you're at it, you might as well correct 'Who's that jolly jumbuck...' to 'Whose is that jolly jumbuck...' [twice]
Ian
This should be posted as a 'New Topic'. Click that button at the top of this thread. Say in your new post what kind of help you are looking for.
While you're at it, you might as well correct 'Who's that jolly jumbuck...' to 'Whose is that jolly jumbuck...' [twice]
Ian
Re: William Blake "The Chimney Sweeper
Posted by: Paula Kupersanin (---.nrockv01.md.comcast.net)
Date: October 10, 2021 07:02PM
i agree, everything about the poem is ironic... 1st line... "when i was very young"... he still is young... 6th line.. "that curled like a lamb's back".. when lambs are going to be killed they get shaved... and is it not ironic that the boy, who is being compared to a lamb, is crying because of getting his head shaved? maybe he is afraid of being killed?...getting your head shaved would be the least of your worries... unless it has a much larger meaning...
Re: William Blake "The Chimney Sweeper
Posted by: Linda (---.cache.pol.co.uk)
Date: October 11, 2021 04:52PM
Lambs are not shaved but sheared, they still keep some wool so they don't get too cold. And the sheep being delivered to the slaughterhouse on my way to primary school had not been sheared.
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