Lesson video

Hello and welcome to today's English lesson where we are going to be focusing on the key romantic themes and how they are used in Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper." But before we begin, please make sure that you have something to write with and something to write on.

You're more than welcome to pause the video here and grab that if you need to.

You also need to make sure that you've put all distractions out of the way so that you can focus purely on this lesson.

Once you're ready, let's begin.

So we're going to begin today's lesson by considering our agenda.

We're going to start with a romantic poetry theme review to see what you have retained from your last lesson.

Then we're going to move forward with key vocabulary, specifically that of injustice.

Then we're going to look at child labour in the 19th century.

What were the consequences of this and the purposes of this, before moving on to consider similes and metaphors.

Then we're going to finish today's lesson by being introduced to "The Chimney Sweeper" by William Blake and analysing his use of simile and metaphor in the poem.

If you're ready, let's continue.

So, you should be familiar with the symbols on the screen.

They of course relate to the key themes in romantic poetry.

I'm going to give you a moment to consider the symbols and see if you can remember the key themes that they link to.

You're welcome to pause the video here while you remind yourself.

Okay, now you've had some time to consider the key themes.

Let's test your knowledge.

So we're going to go from left to right.

So, first of all, the leaf shape.

What key theme does that represent? After three, one, two, three, Let's check.

It is of course, nature and the natural world.

Let's move forward to the head with the light bulb symbol.

What key theme does that represent? After three, one, two, three.

Let's check your ideas.

It is of course, imagination and the importance of self.

Now let's check the theme on the right hand side, the fist rising into the air.

After three, what theme does this relate to? One, two, three.

Let's check.

It was of course revolution.

And remember the consequences of revolution is change, in some way, shape or form.

Okay, let's go to the bottom right.

And we've got the image of children, so this one shouldn't be too difficult.

What theme does this relate to? One, two, three.

Great, children, youth and innocence.

And finally, we have theme number five.

What does this relate to? After three, one, two, three.

Let's check.

It was of course, oppression.

Remember, oppression is the cruel or unfair treatment of people by those in power.

Did you get all of those correct? If so, well done.

Don't worry if you struggled on a couple of them, we'll be revisiting throughout this scheme of work.

Let's move on.

So in order to move forward with today's lesson, I need to teach you a key term.

And today our key vocabulary is injustice.

Let's read a definition, injustice means an unfair treatment of people where their rights are ignored.

Let's try that again.

And this time, I want you to read along with me.

Injustice means, an unfair treatment of people where their rights are ignored.

Great.

Let's see how this word works in practise.

Number one, her punishment was a complete injustice, suggesting that her punishment was unfair and he ignored her rights as a person.

Number two, they suffered at the hands of injustice.

This suggests that the collective they, were victims on unfair treatment, where their rights were ignored.

And finally, sentence number three.

The feeling of injustice has stayed with us a long time.

So the consequences of injustice in this occasion, has stayed with the victims for a long time afterwards.

Now, I would like you to test your knowledge of that key term, injustice.

So, pause the video here and fill in the missing gaps to define the word, injustice.

Okay, I want to hear your answer, as always.

So, after three, one, two, three.

Let's check if you were correct.

Injustice means the unfair treatment of people where their rights are ignored.

Great.

Let's move on.

So, I'm going to read you a scenario and you're going to tell me how this is an example of an injustice.

So here is scenario number one, on her first day at school, Sally was made to sit next to the teacher at the front of the class.

When she asked why, her teacher told her, it was because her sister was a well known troublemaker.

I want you to pause the video here and consider, how is this an example of injustice.

When you're ready, just resume.

So, now you've had some time to consider how this is an injustice.

I want to hear your ideas.

So after three, one, two, three.

So, Sally is a victim of injustice.

She is a victim of unfair treatment and her rights as an individual has been ignored, as she has been treated on the basis of her naughty sister.

Let's try another example.

Scenario two, even though he works the same hours as his his colleague, Sam earns half his colleague's wages.

His boss told him it is because he is five years younger than his colleague.

How is this an example of injustice? Pause the video here to reread the scenario and consider your answer.

Now you've had some time to consider your answer.

I want to hear it.

So after three, how is this an example of injustice? One, two, three.

Great.

So here, Sam is a victim of injustice due to his age.

His rights are being ignored in this circumstance as a consequence of his age.

Let's move forward.

So, what I would like you to do now, is to apply the key term injustice to a sentence, to a scenario.

So you're going to pause the video here and you're going to write your own short example of an injustice.

In order to access the poem, William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper" you need to learn a little bit about child labour in the 19th century.

Child labour was commonplace during the 19th century.

Many children worked as chimney sweepers and they became victims of injustice.

They became victims of unfair treatment when their rights were ignored.

Some chimney sweepers were as young as four years old and they were forced to work really long hours.

From pre dawn to late at night.

Master sweepers would buy orphans and homeless children to work as chimney sweepers.

And these young orphan boys had no say in the matter.

The young chimney sweepers suffered risk of suffocation and chimney sweeps cancer due to the amount of suite on their bodies.

Now child labour was in par a response to the industrial revolution.

Now remember what the industrial revolution sow.

It sow a great rise in population in many cities, as people went there to seek out job opportunities.

Unfortunately, as a consequence of that, children became victims to those in power and were often forced into work in order to avoid poverty and places like the workhouses.

So, let's check our knowledge of child labour, more specifically chimney sweeps in the 19th century.

I want you to decide whether the following statements are either true or false.

Let's try with statement number one.

Child labour was common in the 19th century, is that true or false? Tell me now.

Let's check.

That is of course, true.

It was common in the 19th century.

Statement number two, children as young as five worked as chimney sweepers.

Is that true or is it false? Let's check.

It's false.

Children actually worked from as young as four years old.

Let's try statement number three.

It was an extremely dangerous job.

Is that true or is it false? Tell me now.

Let's check.

It was of course, true.

Let's try another statement together.

They only had to work in the morning, is that true or is it false? Let's check your answer.

It is of course, false.

They worked from pre dawn to late at night, very, very long hours, especially considering their young ages.

Well done.

Child chimney sweepers were victims of injustice.

So were they victims of unfair treatment? Were their rights as individuals as people ignored.

What's your answer? Let's see.

It is of course, true.

They were victims of unfair treatment.

Most young child chimney sweepers did not have a voice or say in the actions that occurred.

So, bearing in mind everything that you've just learned about chimney sweepers during the 19th century, I would like you to write me a detailed sentence about chimney sweepers.

You might want to include the following terminology, 19th century, injustice.

Remember, that means unfair treatment where your rights are ignored, victims, dangerous, and suffocation.

If you've got extra ideas you'd like to add to your sentence, you're more than welcome to.

You may like to begin your sentence, child chimney sweepers were victims of injustice in the 19th century.

And continue that sentence from there.

You might find it useful to use the word because in order to carry on your sentence.

I'd now like you to pause the screen here and have a go at this task, where you will be writing me a sentence about child chimney sweepers in the 19th century.

When you're finished, please resume the video.

We're going to use the knowledge that we have learned today and our knowledge of key romantic themes and the poet William Blake, in order to read and access this poem, "The Chimney Sweeper" by William Blake.

Before we read the poem, I'd like you to have an idea about what it might be about.

Now, of course, there's a huge clue in the title, "The Chimney Sweeper." But using these images, I want you to collect some more ideas about what the poem may detail.

We've got a lamb here, a young sheep.

How could that relate? We've got a young child, but notice there is a tear running down their cheek.

We have hands, perhaps looking like they're a place of safety and hope.

We've got that image that we've been using for the theme of childhood, innocence and youth.

So maybe we can start connecting some of these ideas, childhood, innocence and youth, a crying child, an innocent lamb.

We've also got some clouds in the sky.

And finally, we've got a rather dark image of a coffin, which completely contrasts the images of childhood.

So I want you to think for a second and consider these images.

You're more than welcome to pause your screen, as you consider how these images might relate to the poem, the chimney sweeper.

when you're done, resume the video.

Before we read the poem, in its entirety, I just wanted to give you a quick summary, so that you can access it in the best way possible.

So the poem, the chimney sweeper is told from the perspective of a young chimney sweep.

A perspective, simply means the viewpoint of somebody.

So this is from the viewpoint of a young chimney sweep.

He meets a new addition to the team, a terrified young boy named Tom Dacre.

After the speaker tries to reassure Tom, he goes to sleep and dreams of an angel setting, chimney sweeps free.

If you reassure someone, you are putting an arm around their shoulder and trying to make them feel better about something.

So our speaker tries to reassure Tom and Tom falls asleep and he gets on encompassed in his dream.

Tom wakes up from his dream and he feels happy.

That if he works hard, and he behaves, he will be taken care of.

So, that is a short summary of the poem ahead of reading the poem in its entirety, over the next few slides.

We're now going to take some time to read the poem, in its entirety.

And I'm hoping that your knowledge of chimney sweepers, your knowledge of the key romantic themes and the images that you've already got in relation to the poem, are going to help you to explore and understand Blake's poem, "The Chimney Sweeper" to the absolute best of your ability.

As I read the poem, I simply want you to sit, read along and listen.

Let's get started.

"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 you're chimneys I sweep and in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who's cried when his head that curled like a lamb's back was shaved.

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.

And that very night, as Tom was a sleeping, he had such a sight that thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack, were all of them locked up in coffins of black.

And by came an angel who had a bright key and he opened the coffins and he 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 and 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 and never want joy.

And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark and got with our bags and our brushes to work.

Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm.

So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm." Okay, so that was the poem, "The Chimney Sweeper" by William Blake.

What I would now like you to do is consider which of the key themes are explored in the poem.

Let's just remind ourselves of these key things.

We've got nature.

We've got imagination and the importance of self.

We've got revolution.

We've got childhood and we've got a oppression.

Pause the video here and consider for yourself, which of these five themes are present and explored in Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper." When you think you've got a good idea, resume the video and we'll talk through them together.

Okay, let's see.

We've got imagination and the importance of self.

Tom Dacre, has a dream.

And in that dream, it allows him to explore his imagination, as him and several other chimney sweepers, are set free by the angel with the bright key.

Revolution.

Now remember, that child labour was a consequence of the industrial revolution to an extent.

And so this is one of the changes that was caused in response to the industrial revolution.

We've got childhood youth and innocence.

Of course, the chimney sweepers are young boys.

They are victims of the injustices in society and the unfair treatment inflicted on them by those master chimney sweepers, those in power.

And finally, oppression, the cruel or unfair treatment of those in power.

The young chimney sweepers are oppressed by those above them.

Those in power, those authorities.

Well done if you've got some of those answers correct.

That's really great to see.

Let's move forward by considering the poem, in even more detail.

In order to access the similes and metaphors prevalent in "The Chimney Sweeper" we need to do a little bit of work on both simile and metaphor.

So, a simile is simply a word or a phrase used to describe something by comparing it to something else, often using like or as.

So we describe something by comparing it to something else.

Here's two examples of a simile.

The girl was like a lion.

And the boy is like the sun.

By comparing the girl to the lion, by saying she is like a lion, this writer is suggesting that perhaps she's brave and strong and powerful.

By comparing the boy to the sun, the writer is suggesting that perhaps he is full of energy and happiness and positivity.

Can you come up with a simile about yourself? I want to hear it after three, one, two, three.

Great, I feel like we know each other even better now.

Now we've got a knowledge of similes.

Let's have a look at its best friend, the metaphor.

A metaphor, is a word or phrase used to describe something as if it were something else.

Like a simile, it's a comparison.

But on this occasion, it's a more direct, definite comparison.

So here we can see, how I've changed the phrases that were similes to metaphors.

Now they read, the girl was a lion, the boy is the sun.

You can see that I've removed the phrases like and as and I've made an even more powerful comparison.

Now let's check our knowledge simile versus metaphor.

I'm going to read a series of phrases.

You're going to tell me if it's a simile or if it's a metaphor.

Number one, she was the brightest star in the room, simile or metaphor? After three, one, two, three.

Let's check.

It's a metaphor, she is being referred to as a star.

It doesn't say, she was like a star, in which case that would have been a simile.

Let's try number two.

The snow is a white blanket, after three simile or metaphor, one.

two, three.

It's a metaphor.

It's a very direct comparison.

The snow is a white blanket.

Not like one.

Let's try another one.

I have flowed like a never ending river.

After three simile or metaphor, one, two, three.

That is, of course a simile.

Hopefully you spotted the use of the word, like.

Let's try another.

My teacher is a dragon.

Hopefully then if you feel like that, after three simile or metaphor.

One, two, three, it is of course, a metaphor.

One final time.

Life is like a rollercoaster.

Simile or metaphor? After three, one, two, three.

It is, of course, a simile.

Hopefully you spotted the use of the word like there.

So now that we're familiar with the terminology, simile and metaphor, now let's read the poem again.

And this time, I'm going to pull out some key language and we're going to look at it it's a bit more detail.

What I would like you to do as I read this stanza, is find the phrase for me, that suggests and echoes the sound of sadness in the young boys.

You have a copy of the poem that you are more than welcome to use.

And if you have a physical copy of it, you can always write some notes down.

Otherwise, you can always write in it some notes down on the poem using your pen and the piece of paper that you have in front of you.

Let's begin.

"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." Where is the phrase that echoes the sound of sadness? Tell me after three, one, two, three.

Yes, I agree.

Cry, weep, weep, weep, weep.

That repeated, the repeated e sound there, perhaps echoes the sound of sadness felt by the young boys.

Equally, sweep sweep sweep sweep was shouted by the young boys to attract business as they went about the alleyways and roads in the big cities looking for work.

Let's move to stanza two.

"There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head that curled like a lamb's back was shaved.

So I said, hush Tom, never mind it.

For when your head's bare, you know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair." I want you to find for me, a simile that emphasises the young boys in essence, a simile that emphasises the young boy in essence.

Where do you think that simile is? Tell me after three, one, two, three.

Let's see.

Curled like a lamb's back.

We've got use of the word like there, his head is being compared to that of the lamb's back.

Now I wonder why.

Well, lambs are of course young sheep and they are associated with innocence and purity.

Remember that this is exactly how the romantic poets viewed children.

Blake emphasises and highlights their youth in this simile.

This is exactly how the romantics thought children should be viewed, as young and innocent and unchanged by their surroundings.

Let's move on to the third stanza.

"And so he was quiet and that very night, as Tom was a sleeping he had such a sight that thousands of sweepers Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack, were all of them locked up in coffins of black." I want you to try and find me a metaphor that suggests the boys are trapped.

I want you to try and find me a metaphor that suggests the boys are trapped.

What phrase do you think shows that the young chimney sweeps in Tom's dream are trapped? After three, one, two, three.

Let's see.

This one wasn't quite as obvious as a simile from before.

Did you get locked up in coffins of black? Well done if you did.

If not, don't worry.

I'm going to explain it a little bit further.

The metaphor of the coffin echoes the entrapment of the young boys, while locked up suggests that someone else is in control of them, and whether or not they are free to escape, or whether they are being held there by those in power.

The coffin is very deliberately described as being black.

And that is a contrast, isn't it? To the innocent white lamb and the white hair in the stanza before.

It's suggested that the boys have lost their use and innocence as represented by the white lamb.

And now they are being compared and so they're trapped by these coffins of black.

Let's move on.

"And by came an angel, who had a bright key.

And he opened the coffins and set them all free.

Then down the green plain, leaping, laughing, they run and wash in the river and shine in the sun." Now here, I have already highlighted for you the metaphor of a bright key.

What could that suggest about the boys? Think about the metaphor of the coffin and the entrapment from earlier in the previous stanza.

I want to hear your ideas about what the bright key could represent.

So after three, tell me what you think the bright key could represent.

One, two, three.

Let's see.

The key is a metaphor for the freedom that the young chimney sweepers deserve.

Remember again, that the romantic poets believe that children should remain free and pure and innocent.

And so here Blake is suggesting that their innocence and their freedom is being unlocked as they are set free from their metaphorical coffins of black.

Okay, let's move forward with the next stanza.

"The naked and white all their bags left behind, they rise upon clouds and sport in the wind.

And if Tom and the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, he'd have God for his father and never want joy." I want you to find me a phrase that suggests there is hope for the young boys to be saved.

What phrase do you think suggests there is hope for the young boys to be saved? After three, one, two, three.

Okay.

I think the idea that one day, he may have God for His father and never want joy suggests hope in the lives of these young, innocent chimney sweepers, Is being suggested, isn't it? That they will no longer be under the power and the force of those master chimney sweepers and instead, they will have a loving father in God.

Let's move on.

"And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark and got with our bags and our brushes to work.

Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm.

So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm." You think there's a phrase in here that suggests that the young boys are only going to be free after their death? I want you to consider which phrase might suggest that idea, that the boys will only be free, after their death.

What phrase do you think suggests the boys will only be free after their death? After three, one, two, three.

Okay, let's take a moment to reconsider this final stanza.

Tom is waking up in the first line from his dream and they rise in the dark because they're working really early in the morning.

The sun hasn't even come up here.

And they grab their bags and their brushes and they get to work just like on any other normal day.

But this day is different for Tom, because of his dream, because of his imagination.

The morning is cold, but Tom is happy and warm.

Now he's not physically warm.

He's warm inside because of the images and the hope presented to him in his dream.

But the final line is a really sad one.

Blake writes, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

Their duty is to work as a chimney sweep.

And the only way they're not going to fear harm, is in the hands of God, perhaps after death.

So is Blake suggesting here with this final line, that the only way our young chimney sweepers can be free from them metaphorical coffins of black, is when they die.

Freedom, past life and after death, a really sad ending to that poem, I think you'll agree.

And also really sad that that is the only sense of hope and freedom for the young chimney sweepers, just like Tom Dacre and our narrator.

Let's move forward.

We're now going to move off and consider Blake's use of simile and metaphor and how we can possibly include that in our own writing.

This is in preparation for writing a paragraph about the poem in our next lesson.

So, we're going to start with Blake's use of simile.

Can you remember the simile from the poem? What is young Tom Dacre compared to? What is he compared to? After three, one, two, three.

Let's see.

Well done if you remember that Tom Dacre was compared to a lamb.

Blake suggests that his neck curled like a lamb's back.

What key thing does this relate to? Think of your five key romantic themes.

Which one do you think best relates to the image of young Tom Dacre's back neck curling like a lamb's back? After three, I want to hear your answer.

One, two, three.

Let's see.

I think it relates most of all to the theme of childhood, because the lamb is emphasising Tom Dacre's innocence and purity as a young boy.

So how can we write about this? Let's see.

We could say that Blake highlights, so he draws our attention to, the injustices suffered by the young chimney sweeps through his use of the simile curled like a lamb's back.

So in that sentence there we've used that key vocabulary in justice.

And we've said that we know it's a simile and we have quoted our quotation from the poem.

Then we're going to explore it in a little bit more detail.

Here, he reminds his reader, that children should be innocent and pure through the image of the lamb.

So, what we've done with that second sentence is we've linked the simile of the lamb to the scene of childhood by suggesting that Blake thought that children should be innocent and pure, just like a lamb.

Okay, let's move on to consider Blake's use of metaphor in the poem, "The Chimney Sweeper." Can you remember the metaphors that we looked at in the poem? I want you to tell me one of those metaphors after three, one, two, three.

Let's see.

We've got the metaphor locked up in coffins of black.

That was the first metaphor we looked at.

Now, you might have talked about the key, that set them free.

That was another metaphor, the second metaphor that we looked at in the poem.

But we're going to focus on this metaphor, in a short piece of writing.

Which of the key themes in romantic poetry, do you think links best with locked up in coffins of black? I want you to consider your answer.

And then tell me after three, one, two, three.

Okay, let's see.

How about two things, the theme of oppression, being controlled cruelly and unfairly by those in a powerful position, but also revolution.

Remember, entrapment and child labour was a consequence of the industrial revolution.

So let's see how we could use these ideas in a short piece of writing.

Blake criticises the injustices suffered by the young chimney sweeps through his use of the metaphor locked up in coffins of black.

Here, I've used the word criticises.

If you're criticising something, you're saying it's something that you don't agree with and you probably think other people shouldn't agree with.

So Blake is criticising the unfair treatment, injustices suffered by the young chimney sweeps.

And he does this in his metaphor.

Now let's look at it in a bit more detail and how we can link it to these two key things.

Here, he suggests that the young chimney sweeps are victims of oppression.

So they are victims of being treated unfairly, by those in power.

Well, we know that to be true, as a consequence of the many changes that came as a result of the industrial revolution.

So I'm making my answer even more detailed by saying that they're victims of oppression, but also linking in the key theme of revolution and saying they became victims of oppression as a consequence of the industrial revolution.

Let's move forward.

So, you now need to pause the video and complete your task.

I would like you to summarise William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper" in one beautiful sentence.

Remember, by beautiful sentence, it must be detailed and use high level vocabulary.

I've put some key words that you might not to use in your own sentence.

You might not use every single one of those words, but definitely try to put as many of them as possible in your beautiful sentence.

I'd like you to pause the video now and have a go at writing your own beautiful sentence, to summarise, William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper." When you're done, resume the video so we can continue with today's lesson.

Great.

Now that you've had some time to complete your task, we're going to look at two example responses to this task.

You might have written something along the lines of this, in "The Chimney Sweeper," Blake writes about the injustices suffered by the young chimney sweepers.

That's an acceptable answer, you have used the title, you have used the author Blake and you've used that really key term injustices.

So, you've showed me that you're aware that Blake feels that the young chimney sweepers were treated unfairly, were treated cruelly and that their rights work ignored.

Now, can we add in a little bit more detail about the poem to make our sentence even more beautiful? I think so.

Let's have a look at our good answer.

In "The Chimney Sweeper" Blake highlights the injustices suffered by the young chimney sweepers by contrasting metaphors of their dark reality, with the innocent images of what their childhood should be.

So here, I've started in a very similar fashion to my acceptable answer, but I've got in a little bit more detail about exactly how he does that in the poem, by contrasting the metaphors of darkness with the innocent images of what childhood should be.

Now if I was then going to go on to write a paragraph, I'd want to go into even more detail about what the metaphors are and what the similes are and what images they create for the reader.

But for now, this is enough to summarise the Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper" in one beautiful sentence.

You're welcome if you want to, to pause the video here and use my good answer and edit your own accordingly.

When you're done, resume the video so we can finish today's lesson.

As always, thank you so much for your hard work and engagement during this lesson.

We really had to get through a lot of information and I think he did that really well.

So give yourselves a big pat on the back.

I suggest in preparation for your next lesson, you review your notes from this lesson and pick out two or three key things that you have learned and you need to know, moving forward.

And please don't forget to complete the end of lesson quiz and test yourself on the key knowledge that you have learned with me today.

See you next time.

Bye.