Romantic Poets Flashcards
Who were the romantic poets?
William Blake
William Wordsworth
Percy Shelley
Lord Byron
Keats
When was the era of the romantic poets?
Around the mid 1700s to the mid 1800s
What was happening at the time of the romantic poets?
The Industrial revolution: more people lived in cities and pollution was bad with horrid factory working conditions - lots of poverty
Gordon Riots 1780: High taxes and unfair laws lead to a series of riots in London including the burning of Newgate Prison
French Revolution 1789-1799: Social and political upheaval, the people overthrew the monarchy and became a republic
Describe key points about William Blake
- Blake wrote poems of social protest;
- He felt the children chimney sweeps were victims of exploitation;
- He was really angry at the Church for not helping the children;
- He was a sympathizer of the French Revolution
Describe key points about William Wordsworth
- He loved nature and landscapes which made his poems about London unusual;
- He has a romantic view of London compared to William Blake;
- In ‘This World’ he criticises the world for the Industrial Revolution and being focused on money rather than nature;
- He believed in the power of nature over humans and believed the two could co-exist.
William Blake
The Chimney Sweep (Experience) 1794
‘A little black thing among the snow…’
A little black thing among the (white) snow
Hyperbole: calling the child a ‘thing’, making it sound less than human makes you feel sorry for the child;
Oxymoron: the contrast of the black thing in the white snow - we all know snow is white, makes you feel the starkness of the scene and there is no colour in his life;
Adjectives: describing the child as ‘little, black’ makes you feel sorry for the boy because he could be young. ‘Black’ could either be the colour of his skin or black from the soot in in the chimney because he’s been working.
Overview comment about
William Blake’s
The Chimney Sweeper (Experience)
Children: Highlights the poverty and exploitation of children during the Industrial Revolution. Usually young boys were sent up chimneys in horrible and dangerous conditions for a meal and a place to sleep.
Society: Comments on the corrupting influence of organised religion on society. The poem suggests that the Church robs children of their youth. When the speaker asks the child where his parents are, he says:
“They are both gone up to church to pray”
William Blake
The Chimney Sweep (Experience) 1794
Crying “weep! weep!” in notes of woe!
Crying “weep! weep!” in notes of woe!
- Alliteration: the use of alliteration of ‘w’eep and ‘w’oe makes it sound like a depressing song.
- Assonance: in ‘notes of woe’ adds to the sadness of the line.
- “weep! weep” Could be the young boy trying to say “sweep Sweep” but because he is so cold, he can’t say the word properly or because he is so young, he struggles to speak.
William Blake
The Chimney Sweep (Experience) 1794
- “Where are thy father and mother, say?”*
- “They are both gone up to Church to pray”*
“Where are thy father and mother, say?”
“They are both gone up to Church to pray”
- The speaker asks where the boys’ parents are because surely he should not be left alone in the cold, but he says that they are at Church.
William Blake
The Chimney Sweep (Experience) 1794
STANZA 2
Because I was happy upon the heath,
And smil’d among the winter’s snow,
They clothed me in the clothes of death,
And taught me to sing the notes of woe.
Because I was happy upon the heath,
And smil’d among the winter’s snow,
They clothed me in the clothes of death,
And taught me to sing the notes of woe.
- The boy tells the speaker that his parents did not like to see him happy so they put him in ‘clothes of death’ - rags and work clothes, and sent him back up the chimney to work.
