english IV william blake's "the chimney sweeper" (songs of innocence), "the chimney sweeper" (the songs of experience", and "the poision tree" study guide

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of innocence): What do you think the "coffins of black" in l. 12 suggest, besides literal death?

"Coffins of black" could suggest the inside of the chimneys (dark, tight spaces) that the boys worked in.

What did Blake define experience as?

A profound disillusionment with human nature and society. One sees cruelty and hypocrisy, but is unable to imagine a way out.

What did Blake define innocence as?

A state of genuine love and naive trust toward all humankind, accompanied by unquestioned belief in Christian doctrine.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of experience): How does Blake use colors to suggest innocence and experience?

Blake uses colors to suggest innocence and experience by using white to suggest innocence and dark colors to suggest experience.

Besides being a poet, what else was Blake known for?

Engraving and painting

"the poison tree": What evidence can you find in support of your view?

Evidence to support my view is that the speaker's anger grew into a tree, and he would water it with fear and sunning it with smiles until it grew an apple.

"the poison tree": What are some examples of parallelism and the effect?

Examples of parallelism are "i was angry" "And I watered it in fears" "And it grew both day and night" . The effect is that it emphasizes what the poet is saying and makes it seem childish.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of experience): What do you think are his "clothes of death"?

His "clothes of death" are his chimney sweeping work clothes.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of innocence): What is his present life like?

His present life is that he sweeps chimneys and sleeps in soot.

"the poison tree": Do you agree with the poet's implication in l.4 about the danger of repressed anger? Why or why not?

I do agree because allowing your anger to get to you can cause other problems.

How did Blake claim to get his engraving technique?

It was revealed to him by his dead brother in a dream

"the poison tree": What is parallelism?

Parallelism is the use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose which correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc.

What two levels did Blake's poetry operate?

Symbolic and literal

"the poison tree": What symbols are used in the poem?

Symbols used in the poem are the poison tree as a symbol of anger, the poison tree producing fruit represents the speaker's growth of anger for the foe for stealing the apple that grew, and his punishment was dying, and you have no control over anyone else's actions but yours.

"the poison tree": What two ways of handling anger are mentioned in the poem?

The 2 ways of handling anger that are mentioned are telling about the reasons of wrath with your friends and loved ones, and having a smile on your face to overcome the fears of sorting issues with your friends and loved ones.

"the poison tree": What is the allusion in the poem? (3rd stanza)

The allusion in the poem is Adam and Eve.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of innocence): How does the angel reassure Tom Dacre in his dreams?

The angel reassures Tom Dacre in his dreams by telling him that if he was good, God would be his father and he would always have happiness.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of experience): In the second poem the chimney sweeper is asked where his parents are. What is the boy's answer?

The boy's answer is that they went to the church to pray.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of experience): Whom does the chimney sweep blame for his misery?

The chimney sweep blames his parents.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of innocence): What is the dramatic irony at the end of the first poem?

The dramatic irony at the end of the first poem is that the speaker says if you do what you are supposed to, you do not need to fear that something will happen to you. But bad things happen to any and everyone, it doesn't matter what happens at work or what good you do.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of experience): In each poem, what is the emotional effect of the child's mispronunciation of the chimney sweeper's cry?

The emotional effect of the child's mispronunciation of the chimney sweeper's cry is the youth of the child and how innocent they are working.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of experience): How would you paraphrase the last two lines of the second poem?

The last two lines of the second poem show that his parents are worshiping the system that put him to work.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of innocence): What moral lesson does the speaker in the first poem draw from Tom's dream?

The moral lesson the speaker draws from Tom in the first poem is that he will be rewarded for his work.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of innocence): How does the speaker of the first poem feel about his situation?

The speaker in the first poem feels about his situation is that he is optimistic and innocently accepts his situation by protecting himself with the idea that he will be rewarded if he is a good child.

"the poison tree": What sort of person do you find the speaker of this poem to be?

The speaker is an angry and bitter person who is jealous and angry of his foe.

"the poison tree": How is the speaker both good and evil?

The speaker is good and evil by handling the problem the first time, and then the second time he let his problem become destructive.

"the poison tree": What happens to the speaker's foe in the last stanza?

The speaker's foe eats an apple from the poison tree and dies.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of innocence): What details of the speaker's history do you learn in the first poem?

The speaker's history we learn in the first poem is that his mother died when he was young, and his father sold him when he was young.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of experience): Who are the speakers in the second poem? Where do they speak?

The speakers in the second poem are an adult and a child. They speak to each other.

"the poison tree": What do you see as the theme of the poem?

The theme of the poem is a combination of being angry and controlling.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of experience): How would you describe the tone of the second poem?

The tone of the second poem would be bitter.

"the poison tree": Who are the victims in the poem?

The victims in the poem are the foe and the speaker are both victims in the poem. The foe died from the poison, and the speaker died from all of the built up anger controlling his life.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of experience): How does this sweeper's attitude toward his life and his parents contrast with the attitude of the speaker in the first poem?

This sweeper's attitude toward his life and parents contrast with the attitude of the speaker in the first poem because the first poem was forgiving and the second poem is resentment.

"the chimney sweeper" (songs of innocence): How does Tom Dacre's dream contrast with the actual conditions of his daily life?

Tom Dacre's dream contrasts with the actual conditions of his daily life because the boys were running freely and full of happiness, but when he wakes up, he has to go back to work in the dark chimneys.

"the poison tree": What "grows" out of the speaker's anger?

What "grows" out of the speaker's anger is an apple out of the tree.