The Chimney Sweeper By: William blake Page: 739

1. The Chimney SweeperBy: William blakePage: 739 By: Rachel Carico

2. Reading of The Chimney Sweeper • http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/poem/2010/09/a_perfect_discomfit.html • http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/poem/2010/09/a_perfect_discomfit.html

3. William Blake Biographical Information William Blake was born on November 28, 1757 in Soho, London where he lived his entire life in except for the three years spent in Felpham; he died in 1827. He was an English Poet, artist and printmaker. Blake was not recognized during his lifetime, but he is now considered a seminal figure in the history of poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age.

4. The Chimney Sweeper The Chimney Sweeper is a poem about a young boy who is abandoned and sold into Chimney Sweeping. His entire life he is trapped in this miserable, repetitive life. At night he dreams of his escape from his reality. The message of this poem is that the children who were stuck in this life of chimney sweeping have no escape other than their death.

5. Poetic Devices Rhyme- the poem expresses multiple rhymes such as “young, tongue and “weep, sleep” Allusion – the poem expressed allusion by making a brief reference to “Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack Repetition – the poem expresses repetition in the third line by saying “weep, weep, weep, weep” Alliteration – the poem expresses alliteration by stating “and by came an Angel” Imagery – the poem expresses imagery in the statement “and by came an Angel who had a bright key, and he opened the coffins and set them all free”

6. Connecting to Modern Music I chose the song “Who You Are” by Jessie J to relate to “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake for multiple reasons. One, because I love this song and the message it portrays; and secondly because in the poem all of the boys who have been sold into chimney sweeping feel like they are living a hopeless life. They feel like they do not even truly know who they are; they have nowhere to go, nowhere to escape. The part of the song that mainly relates to the poem says “don’t lose who you are in the blur of the stars! Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing, its okay not to be okay. Sometimes it’s hard to follow your heart.” Not only is this my favorite part of the song, but also relates perfectly to the poem. The boys do not need to lose sight of who they are because of this dream they are having. Everything in life that you go through molds you into the person you are supposed to be; whether good or bad. Also, I feel like everyone can relate to the quote in the song that “its okay not to be okay”. This quote relates to the part of the poem where the young boy Tom, is crying because the men shaved his head and the other little boy says “hush, Tom! Never mind it, for when your heads bare, you know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.” In this sentence the young boy is trying to make Tom feel better about them shaving all of his hair, but it was okay for Tom to be upset. Everyone has those moments in life where they try to be strong, but really all they need is someone to tell them “it’s okay not to be okay”.