Chapter 10: Sample Poetry Analysis and Prose Fiction Analysis Essays

**Poems**

____ are special cases because they *deal in compressed language*.

**Lyric poems**

___ often use a convention, __simple on the surface__ but *infinite in its varieties and depth*.

The **speaker of the poem**

____ (the “I”) is __addressing the reader directly__, as prompted by a certain occasion or dramatic situation.

a **chimney sweep**

(William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper”) The speaker in both poems is?

The __poor conditions that caused young chimney sweeps to suffer__.

(William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper”) The poems were written in response to _____

**reader**

(William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper”) The *audience* is the **___** The **audience** is also presumed to be sympathetic with the plight of the chimney sweeps, or at least to be *susceptible to sympathy*.

* One could read it as a **religious poem**
* Or one could see the ending as **ironic**

(William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper”) What feelings do you get from the poem?

* The speaker in the *first poem* shows us **his life and the life of Tom Dacre** and offers a resolution of sorts.
* The speaker in the *second poem* shows us his life and offers a **bleaker vision**.
* Neither case offers a full resolution.

(William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper”) What is the overall effect of the poem?