William Blake Trevor Hoglund & Molly Nettum
William Blake • 1757-1827 • Born in London • Home Schooled • He married Catherine Boucher • No Children
William Blake • Began artistic training at the age of 10. • Printed his poetry himself using engraving methods he created. • “Art is the tree of life. Science is the tree of death.”
At 14, started 7 year apprenticeship engraving. • Charged with sedition after treasonable remarks against king.
Romantic Period • “The Quest for Truth and Beauty” • 1798-1832 • Started with the French Revolution • Industrial Revolution • Ended with parliamentary reforms of 1832 • King George III 1760-1820 • William IV 1830-1837
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 chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.
Theres little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head
That curled like a lambs back was shav'd, 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. & that very night.
As Tom was a sleeping he had such a sight
That thousands of sweepers Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack
Were all of them lock'd up in coffins of black,
• .
And by came an Angel who had a bright key
And he open'd the coffins & 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 & 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 & never want joy.
And so Tom awoke and we rose in the dark
And got with our bags & our brushes to work.
Tho' the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm. So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.
Onomonapia • “Hush, Tom! Never mind it, for when your head’s bare, You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.” • The word hush used in this quotation is a literary device called onomonapia.
Repetition • “Could scarcely cry ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!” • This quotation uses a literary device called repetition.
Rhyming • In every 4-line stanza, the 1st and 2nd line rhyme, and the 3rd and 4th line rhyme.
Simile • “That curled like a lamb’s back,” • This quotation uses a literary device called a simile.
Alliteration • “Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,” • This quotation uses alliteration as a literary device.
Influence • Influenced many Romantic poets with recurring themes of: • good and evil • heaven and hell • knowledge and innocence • external reality versus inner.
Awards • Won Newbery Medal for excellence in American children’s Literature in 1982. • Caldecott Honor Award
Citations "William Blake." Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More. N.P. Web. 09 Feb. 2011. <http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/116>. "The Chimney Sweeper a Poem by William Blake." Famous Poetry Online. N.P. Web. 09 Feb. 2011. <http://www.poetry-online.org/blake_the_chimney_sweeper.htm>.
Beers, G. Kylene, and Lee Odell. "The Romantics." Holt Elements of Literature :. Vol. 6th Course. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2007. 718-33. Print. Essentials of British and World Literature. "ALA | Johnnewberymedal." ALA | Home - American Library Association. N.P. Web. 09 Feb. 2011. <http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/mediapresscenter/presskits/youthmediaawards/johnnewberymedal.cfm>.
