PRB #5- "The Chimney Sweeper"

An examination of poetic techniques used, such as rhyme, rhythm, simile, metaphor, personification, allusion, any type f figurative language, etc.

"The Chimney Sweeper"
William Blake

In the poem The Chimney Sweeper, many techniques are used to help the reader understand the poem in a deeper manner than the superficial words that can be read and forgotten.
The main focus of this particular poem is centered around a recounting of the narrator's coworkers, who is also a child's dream. The dream is cryptic in nature but upon further analyzation it becomes apparent that the dream is a dream that brings hope to the seemingly miserable lives of the chimney sweepers. The rhyme, found in couplets serves to reinforce the emotions that the narrator feels, and also how Tom feels and what her perceives to be happening in the dream he has. "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 and in soot I SLEEP." These couplets act together to form the emotion of the poem, even in this first stanza by introducing the heartache and beginning of the problem, and then developing through a sense of irony and sadness the harsh life that followed the initial selling of the boy into the sweeper business. Back to the dream, it acts as a metaphor that serves as hope to all of the men and children who are in the sweeper business, the times are tough but the dream that Tom has is a sign of better times to come. The angel represents a messenger from God, which opens the doors to their soot filled coffins, freeing them from the turmoil of their current state, giving Tom hope for a better future in the meantime.

The Lamb TPCASTT

Title: A poem possibly about Jesus Christ, the Lam of God, or a poem about the submissive and peaceful nature of the lamb itself

Paraphrase: Does the little lamb know who made it? The one who gave it life and feeds it. The one who leads it by the streams and over the meadows, gave it clothing of wool and a tender voice. The little lamb was made by one who calls Himself by the name of the Lamb, He is meek and mild, and came to earth as a child, both the sheep and myself are called by His name. God bless you little lamb.

Connotation: This poem is written as if it is a collection of questions, but the punctuation remains nonexistent of is only there in times of exclamation or definition or elaboration. The lamb is described, so it creates an image, and the lamb itself serves as a symbol for Jesus.

Attitude: The attitude is inquisitive and curious. It begins by asking questions and then answering them in later lines.

Shift: A shift occurs between the first and second stanza, the poem goes from being rhetorical questions to being a definite answer.

Title: The innocent little lamb was made by a Lamb, and all are called by His name.

Theme: No matter what type of lamb you are, you are called by the name of Jesus, the Lamb who was slain for our sins, showing gentleness and meekness of a child.

The Tyger TPCASTT

Title: A poem that is about a tiger, probably about its fierceness or determination

Paraphrase: The tiger is introduced with the tiger, asking who could have made it in all of its fierceness. Where did the fire in your eyes once burn, and who would dare have seized the fire. Who was the brave and creative thing that created the tiger? Could someone who made a lamb, peaceful and a good follower be made by the same being that created the tiger?

Connotation: Rhetorical questions are mainly used to express the curiosity of the speaker about the origin of the blueprint for the mighty tiger. Imagery is used to depict the details of the tiger while symbolism of fire is used to paint yet another picture of how the tiger's eyes appear.

Attitude: The attitude is inquisitive and reverent of the awe and ferocity of the tiger in all of its majesty and power and the being that could have though it up and created it.

Shift: Shifts occur from stanza to stanza of this poem, shifting from the eyes, to the heart, hands, and feet, to the brain, and then to the comparison of the lamb to the tiger and who created it also.

Title: A poem that accurately questions the origins of the traits of a tiger, from the small details to larger ones, including the source of inspiration that the creator went off of.

Theme: The inspiration and specifics of detail that go into creating something that creates such a sense of awe are only truly understood by the creator but freely questioned by any who look upon it.

My Last Duchess Discussion Questions and TPCASTT

*Note: I didn't notice that this one did not post when I posted all of my other assignments

 

 

1. To whom is the duke addressing his remarks about the duchess in this poem? What is ironic about the situation.

 

He is addressing some other man whose daughter will soon be the duke's to marry. The duke is acting as if his last wife passed by natural means and even goes as far as to present a portrait of the woman he killed to the father of the next suitor.

 

2. Why was the duke unhappy with his first wife? What does this reveal about him? What does the poem's title suggest about his attitude toward women in general?

 

She smiled at other men too much, and that being said, shows that he was insecure about his position and authority in the relationship. The title of the poem suggests that he objectifies women because it doesn't go far enough as to give his duchess, one whom he should have known intimately, a name.

 

3. What seems to be the visitor's response (lines 53-54) to the duke's account of his first wife?

 

One of almost silent reverence or boredom from the overwhelming complexity of a one sided discussion that the duke is giving.

 

Title: This poem, strictly basing the prediction on the title alone, would lead me to think that the person is an older man who has seen more than one wife and lost one for the last time. (Brief class discussion has opened my eyes to the true meaning a bit.)

Paraphrase: There is a painting of his Duchess on the wall, looking as if she was still there and alive. He considers the portrait more valuable to him now and the father's hands worked on theportrait busily, and the finished work stands where it is. The duke proceeds to almost demean the duchess's image and practically says that she was too easily impressed (as if she cheated on him). He then proceeds to inflate his family's name and implies that nothing, no gift is a worthy trade. It is eventually stated that Neptune tames the sea-horse, but he could not tame the duchess.

Connotation: The speaker uses imagery to paint a verbal picture to go along with the portrait he is presenting to the Duchess-to-be's father. The misleading language and inflated lie and deflated truths present in the poem suggest that he is being dishonest and misleading this new woman's father in order to make himself out to be a better man that he is. His false humility almost becoming comical at times when he clearly contradicts himself.

Attitude: The attitude of this poem is condescending toward the last Duchess, but very egotistical when it comes to the reader speaking of himself. He is full of himself and has a hard time staying consistent with his lies and exaggerations of alleged crimes the last duchess committed.

Shift: There are multiple shifts in this poem, the first being when the Duke goes from a passionate discussion about his wife's instances of being flirty and promiscuous, to being very authoritative a few lines later to then acknowledging again the fact that he could not tame the beast known as his wife.

Title: Not even given a name, it is representative of the overall lack of care that the speaker held for his last victim that he claims to have been something most likely far from anything he discusses, but since she is in the grave, her voice is silenced.

Theme: People will use any and all opportunities to impress people they find substantially important to their lives, and not everything that they say will be the complete truth or truth at all.

The Clod and the Pebble Discussion Questions and TPCASTT

Title: From the definition of clod I've heard used by my grandfather, I would assume that the poem is about a stupid person and a pebble, possibly comparing the two in a demeaning way and making both seem rudimentary.

Paraphrase: Love is not selfish, and it has no care for itself, it comforts and attends to others and creates an inviting situation in the midst of an otherwise chaotic instance. This is what is spoken by a lump of clay that has endured much traffic under the feet of animals. A pebble in a brook says in a way that intensifies and abates. Love only seeks to please itself, it wants to trap someone within its grasp, it takes joy and gets pleasure from the failings of others and makes a chaotic instance is the presence of contentment and tranquility.

Connotation: Both the clod of clay and pebble, while being personified themselves, personify love, describing its characteristics and motives in manner that makes each one's though juxtapose the other. One uses a positive image of love and how it acts while the other is more insulting on its motives and the way that it operates.

Attitude: The main attitudes expressed in this poem are positive, describing love as selfless, and negative, making it seem selfish. The clod is positive toward the nature and intent of love, saying that it is selfless and creates a tranquil place wherever it is present, while the pebble says that it is selfish and destructive.

Shift: The shift occurs when the poems narration is given over to the pebble. It goes from being a very positive and intelligent depiction of love by the clod, but when the mic, so to speak, is given over to the pebble, a more direct and thought provoking statement escapes its thoughts.

Title: Two seemingly similar things, earth elements, express opposing statements about the same thing, but taking note that one is soft and has taken quite a beating in life and its positive outlook, and the fact that a pebble, resting on the bottom of a brook with water slowly eating it away, almost peacefully, is the one who has a negative outlook on a seemingly innocent notion.

Theme: Though people may be the same, their outlook on the nature of emotions may differ depending on how they have experienced it in their lives.

The Man He Killed TPCASTT

Title: This poem is probably about someone recounting the time he killed someone...

Paraphrase: He and the man had just met at an inn, and should have sat down and gotten to know each other a little more. But being a foot soldier of the opposing side, they met face to face, and he shot at him while the other shot at him, but the first man's bullet hit home, killing the man at a place that could have brought them together. He shot him because he was the enemy. He had nothing more to do, no job, so he enlisted to get something to bring in money. War is unusual and curious that under any other circumstances

Connotation: The way in which the speaker talks suggests a sense of disappointment in regard to how things would have been under different circumstances in terms of his encounter with the man he killed. He describes alternate circumstances that would have resulted in a more positive outcome than death shown in detail with imagery. He also uses the symbolism of how the inn would usually symbolize a home, somewhere cozy and inviting, but war has made it a place of death, a grave, the complete opposite of hospitable.

Attitude: The attitude of this poem is for the most part regretful. The man wishes that he would not be in the situation where the war has forced his hand to kill a man, but be one that would require that he get to know him rather than to take everything away from the man he has never met.

Shift: The first shift occurs after the first stanza, going from a reflective standpoint to the reality of the encounter with the man. The second shift occurs after the fourth stanza where the speaker it begins to reflect on the effects of war and how you treat someone based on the situation.

Title: The title doesn't give the man a name to show how the speaker in this poem didn't even know him, and yet he still killed him because of the situation of war he was in. He would not know to call him anything other than the man, one that he killed for a reason that remains curious to him.

Theme: War is not a large group of people fighting another large group of people but rather an army fighting for something that a single person or small group of people disagree about, costing many lives that for the most part excludes theirs.

Dulce et Decorum Est Discussion Questions and TPCASTT

1. Look up the Latin quotation from the Roman poet Horace. What does the title mean? How does the poem comment on this statement?

It means "It is sweet and right."

The poet later in the poem applies the saying to the man who had succumb to death as a result of fighting for his country in the war that is made apparent. It is stated at the end after it is expressed that the man who was hit died, but he dies serving his country.

 2. List the elements of the poem that seem not beautiful and are therefore "unpoetic." Are there any elements of beauty in the poem?

Things such as "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on haunting flares (2) we turned our backs And towards our distant rest (3) began to trudge," and "As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, (11) choking, drowning." They accurately depict the gore of war but are less than poetic in the purest sense.

The beauty that can be seen in this poem is only beautiful to an eye that looks for the small things that make these men different, their courage, bravery, and willingness to fight for their country.
War as a whole is not beautiful, but it takes a beautiful person to sacrifice their life for the sake of others and hope that they will benefit from their willingness.

 3. How do the comparisons in lines 1, 14, 20, 23-24 contribute to the effectiveness of the poem?

 They express the overall theme of the gore and gruesome nature of war and how ugly it is up close, when one would otherwise just think war is killing, these lines go into great depth in expressing the unrelenting nature of war.

 4. What does the poem gain by moving from plural pronouns and the past tense to singular pronouns and the present tense? How does this shift impact meaning?

 It goes from a viewpoint that would be a commonality between all the men that are there, but when the shift occurs it not only shows that the scene can change very fast, but it also becomes a personal experience since everyone processes stressful and sudden events differently.

The shift impacts the meaning by personalizing the experience to one man, which allows the reader to infer that all of the other men have their own viewpoint, further communicating the hardships of war but from a personal standpoint.

 5. Identify the similes and how their purpose in the poem.

"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares(2) we turned our backs And towards our distant rest(3) began to trudge."

"...And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime..."

"...His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin..."

"...Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud..."

It further describes the relentless nature of war and its effects on the soldiers. It is a cancer, cruel and deadly, it is as bitter as the smell of regurgitated cud from a cow's stomach.


TPCASTT-

Title: Without the translation, I would have no idea what the poem would entail, but if I had to take a stab at it I would probably guess that it contained something wise and official, hence the other language for a title of an English poem.

Paraphrase: Crippled, yet they are still in their youth, relentlessly trudging onward. A troubling situation arises, an urgent one, requiring a spontaneous course of action that will attempt to preserve their lives. They scramble to escape their accuser, but one man finds it inescapable. The gruesome reality of his life light's soon diminishing is visible by everyone around. The bitter and relentless nature of war snuffs out all the lives that it can. All is not lost though, because "It is sweet and right to die for your country."

Connotation: The words in this poem employ grotesque imagery and similes to paint a truthful and gruesome depiction of the true nature of war. It helps one to see the reality of war while showing the positive attitude held tightly by the soldiers even in their times of despair and pain to fight for what they believe in.

Attitude: There are two main attitudes in this poem, the more positive one only being expressed in the last three or four lines of the third stanza. The first one, present throughout most of the poem is one of solemn detestation, mainly focused on the war and its effects on strong men. The briefly depicted attitude is one of pride and prestige in reference to how the men are recognized or treated for their sacrifice that can often ask of them their lives.

Shifts: There is a shift at the end of the poem from talking about the worse effects of war to a more respectable aspect of how men who offer their service are memorialized for their willingness to fight for that which they love most, their country.

Title: The title of this poem gives personality to military men, who are often looked at as uniform and emotionless, it opens a rift and allows the true feelings and intentions of military men, showing their selflessness and defensiveness they have for their country and everyone in it.

Theme: Selflessness can be seen in the gloomiest and most destructive situations, and willingness to serve in dangerous situations is not always the result of mindless ignorance to the cost of  what such people are buying into.