David Copperfield by Charles Dickens summary

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Summary

David Copperfield is the common name of the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Its full title is The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account). Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial form during the two preceding years. Many elements of the novel follow events in Dickens' own life, and it is probably the most autobiographical of his novels. In the preface to the 1867 edition, Dickens wrote, "...like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield."

Summary:

Now a grown man, David Copperfield tells the story of his youth. As a young boy, he lives happily with his mother and his nurse, Peggotty. His father died before he was born. During David’s early childhood, his mother marries the violent Mr. Murdstone, who brings his strict sister, Miss Murdstone, into the house. The Murdstones treat David cruelly, and David bites Mr. Murdstone’s hand during one beating. The Murdstones send David away to school.

Peggotty takes David to visit her family in Yarmouth, where David meets Peggotty’s brother, Mr. Peggotty, and his two adopted children, Ham and Little Em’ly. Mr. Peggotty’s family lives in a boat turned upside down—a space they share with Mrs. Gummidge, the widowed wife of Mr. Peggotty’s brother. After this visit, David attends school at Salem House, which is run by a man named Mr. Creakle. David befriends and idolizes an egotistical young man named James Steerforth. David also befriends Tommy Traddles, an unfortunate, fat young boy who is beaten more than the others.

David’s mother dies, and David returns home, where the Murdstones neglect him. He works at Mr. Murdstone’s wine-bottling business and moves in with Mr. Micawber, who mismanages his finances. When Mr. Micawber leaves London to escape his creditors, David decides to search for his father’s sister, Miss Betsey Trotwood—his only living relative. He walks a long distance to Miss Betsey’s home, and she takes him in on the advice of her mentally unstable friend, Mr. Dick.

Miss Betsey sends David to a school run by a man named Doctor Strong. David moves in with Mr. Wickfield and his daughter, Agnes, while he attends school. Agnes and David become best friends. Among Wickfield’s boarders is Uriah Heep, a snakelike young man who often involves himself in matters that are none of his business. David graduates and goes to Yarmouth to visit Peggotty, who is now married to Mr. Barkis, the carrier. David reflects on what profession he should pursue.

On his way to Yarmouth, David encounters James Steerforth, and they take a detour to visit Steerforth’s mother. They arrive in Yarmouth, where Steerforth and the Peggottys become fond of one another. When they return from Yarmouth, Miss Betsey persuades David to pursue a career as a proctor, a kind of lawyer. David apprentices himself at the London firm of Spenlow and Jorkins and takes up lodgings with a woman named Mrs. Crupp. Mr. Spenlow invites David to his house for a weekend. There, David meets Spenlow’s daughter, Dora, and quickly falls in love with her.

In London, David is reunited with Tommy Traddles and Mr. Micawber. Word reaches David, through Steerforth, that Mr. Barkis is terminally ill. David journeys to Yarmouth to visit Peggotty in her hour of need. Little Em’ly and Ham, now engaged, are to be married upon Mr. Barkis’s death. David, however, finds Little Em’ly upset over her impending marriage. When Mr. Barkis dies, Little Em’ly runs off with Steerforth, who she believes will make her a lady. Mr. Peggotty is devastated but vows to find Little Em’ly and bring her home.

Miss Betsey visits London to inform David that her financial security has been ruined because Mr. Wickfield has joined into a partnership with Uriah Heep. David, who has become increasingly infatuated with Dora, vows to work as hard as he can to make their life together possible. Mr. Spenlow, however, forbids Dora from marrying David. Mr. Spenlow dies in a carriage accident that night, and Dora goes to live with her two aunts. Meanwhile, Uriah Heep informs Doctor Strong that he suspects Doctor Strong’s wife, Annie, of having an affair with her young cousin, Jack Maldon.

Dora and David marry, and Dora proves a terrible housewife, incompetent in her chores. David loves her anyway and is generally happy. Mr. Dick facilitates a reconciliation between Doctor Strong and Annie, who was not, in fact, cheating on her husband. Miss Dartle, Mrs. Steerforth’s ward, summons David and informs him that Steerforth has left Little Em’ly. Miss Dartle adds that Steerforth’s servant, Littimer, has proposed to her and that Little Em’ly has run away. David and Mr. Peggotty enlist the help of Little Em’ly’s childhood friend Martha, who locates Little Em’ly and brings Mr. Peggotty to her. Little Em’ly and Mr. Peggotty decide to move to Australia, as do the Micawbers, who first save the day for Agnes and Miss Betsey by exposing Uriah Heep’s fraud against Mr. Wickfield.

A powerful storm hits Yarmouth and kills Ham while he attempts to rescue a shipwrecked sailor. The sailor turns out to be Steerforth. Meanwhile, Dora falls ill and dies. David leaves the country to travel abroad. His love for Agnes grows. When David returns, he and Agnes, who has long harbored a secret love for him, get married and have several children. David pursues his writing career with increasing commercial success.

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Forget Not Yet by sir thomas wyatt line by line analysis

Forget Not Yet

 Summary of the poem 

By

Sir Thomas Wyatt

Text of the poem

1  Forget not yet the tried intent

2 Of such a truth as I have meant;

3 My great travail so gladly spent,

4      Forget not yet.

5  Forget not yet when first began

6 The weary life ye know, since whan

7 The suit, the service, none tell can;

8        Forget not yet.

9  Forget not yet the great assays,

10 The cruel wrong, the scornful ways;

11 The painful patience in denays,

12        Forget not yet.

13  Forget not yet, forget not this,

14 How long ago hath been and is

15 The mind that never meant amiss;

16        Forget not yet.

17  Forget not then thine own approved,

18 The which so long hath thee so loved,

19 Whose steadfast faith yet never moved;

20        Forget not this.

The poem is written as five quatrains, with a rhyming tercet followed by a fourth line repeated as a refrain throughout the song.

Lines 1-4

1  Forget not yet the tried intent

2 Of such a truth as I have meant;

3 My great travail so gladly spent,

4      Forget not yet.

In the first four lines, the poet asks for the audience not to overlook his intention to reach meaning and truth, and to consider the great efforts he has willingly made. The fourth line refrain ‘Forget not yet’ emphasizes this request.

Lines 5-8  

5  Forget not yet when first began

6 The weary life ye know, since whan

7 The suit, the service, none tell can;

8        Forget not yet.

The request here is for the audience not to forget when they first began this tired life of service and courtship, which no one really understands. The refrain in line 8 is a repetition of line 4.

Lines 9-12

9  Forget not yet the great assays,

10 The cruel wrong, the scornful ways;

11 The painful patience in denays,

12        Forget not yet.

Here the audience is asked not to overlook the big criticisms, the mean injustices, the cruel treatment and the pain of waiting through delays in decision-making. Line 12 is a repetition of line 4 again, and this serves to build up the negative issues, which the narrator is attempting to highlight.

Lines 13-16

13  Forget not yet, forget not this,

14 How long ago hath been and is

15 The mind that never meant amiss;

16        Forget not yet.

The appeal here is to not ignore how long ago it was (and is) that the mind never meant any harm. The repeated refrain of line 4 is used for the last time here.

Lines 17-20

17  Forget not then thine own approved,

18 The which so long hath thee so loved,

19 Whose steadfast faith yet never moved;

20        Forget not this.

The final quatrain requests that the reader consider those who were approved, who have loved the audience for so long and who have remained faithful. The final line of the quatrain is a variation of the refrain used through the rest of the poem. The line becomes ‘Forget not This!’

Analysis

The song is composed of the three line rhyme, or tercet, followed by a fourth line which is repeated, forming a refrain. The intention is to emphasize the connected point of each tercet with a repeated request to ‘forget not’ forming the final quatrain, or four line verse. The use of the negative, ‘forget not’, rather than ‘remember’ accentuates the tone of melancholy and regret.

The first verse stresses the honesty and truth with which the song is composed. By beginning with this assertion, the audience is compelled to see the following sentiments and observations as sincere. There has been considerable effort – ‘great travail’ – put in to this message; not just in the formal structure of the verse, but in the diplomacy with which a difficult and dangerous sentiment is phrased and expressed.

By the second verse the poet highlights the life within the court, how exhausting it is for audience and narrator, and how clandestine the affairs of court are. It is certain that in the young court of King Henry VIII, who was a monarch at 17 and surrounded himself with the young, the witty and the beautiful.

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Doll’s House By Henrik Ibsen critical theory part 1

 A Doll’s House

 By

Henrik Ibsen

Context

HENRIK IBSEN, considered by many to be the father of modern prose drama, was born in Skien, Norway, on March 20, 1828. He was the second of six children. Ibsen’s father was a prominent merchant, but he went bankrupt when Ibsen was eight years old, so Ibsen spent much of his early life living in poverty. From 1851 to 1864, he worked in theaters in Bergen and in what is now Oslo (then called Christiania). At age twenty-one, Ibsen wrote his first play, a five-act tragedy called Catiline. Like much of his early work, Catiline was written in verse.

In 1858, Ibsen married Suzannah Thoreson, and eventually had one son with her. Ibsen felt that, rather than merely live together, husband and wife should live as equals, free to become their own human beings. (This belief can be seen clearly in A Doll’s House.) Consequently, Ibsen’s critics attacked him for failing to respect the institution of marriage. Like his private life, Ibsen’s writing tended to stir up sensitive social issues, and some corners of Norwegian society frowned upon his work. Sensing criticism in Oslo about not only his work but also his private life, Ibsen moved to Italy in 1864 with the support of a traveling grant and a stipend from the Norwegian government. He spent the next twenty-seven years living abroad, mostly in Italy and Germany.

Ibsen’s early years as a playwright were not lucrative, but he did gain valuable experience during this time. In 1866, Ibsen published his first major theatrical success, a lyric drama called Brand. He followed it with another well-received verse play, Peer Gynt. These two works helped solidify Ibsen’s reputation as one of the premier Norwegian dramatists of his era. In 1879, while living in Italy, Ibsen published his masterpiece, A Doll’s House. Unlike Peer Gynt and Brand, A Doll’s House was written in prose. It is widely considered a landmark in the development of what soon became a highly prevalent genre of theater—realism, which strives to portray life accurately and shuns idealized visions of it. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen employs the themes and structures of classical tragedy while writing in prose about everyday, unexceptional people. A Doll’s House also manifests Ibsen’s concern for women’s rights, and for human rights in general.

Ibsen followed A Doll’s House with two additional plays written in an innovative, realistic mode: Ghosts, in 1881, and An Enemy of the People, in 1882. Both were successes. Ibsen began to gain international recognition, and his works were produced across Europe and translated into many different languages.

In his later work, Ibsen moved away from realistic drama to tackle questions of a psychological and subconscious nature. Accordingly, symbols began to gain prominence in his plays. Among the works he wrote in this symbolist period are The Wild Duck (1884) and Hedda Gabler (1890). Hedda Gabler was the last play Ibsen wrote while living abroad. In 1891, he returned to Oslo. His later dramas include The Master Builder (1892) and Little Eyolf (1896). Eventually, a crippling sickness afflicted Ibsen and prevented him from writing. He died on May 23, 1906

Plot Overview

A DOLL’S HOUSE opens on Christmas Eve. Nora Helmer enters her well-furnished living room—the setting of the entire play—carrying several packages. Torvald Helmer, Nora’s husband, comes out of his study when he hears her arrive. He greets her playfully and affectionately, but then chides her for spending so much money on Christmas gifts. Their conversation reveals that the Helmers have had to be careful with money for many years, but that Torvald has recently obtained a new position at the bank where he works that will afford them a more comfortable lifestyle.

Helene, the maid, announces that the Helmers’ dear friend Dr. Rank has come to visit. At the same time, another visitor has arrived, this one unknown. To Nora’s great surprise, Kristine Linde, a former school friend, comes into the room. The two have not seen each other for years, but Nora mentions having read that Mrs. Linde’s husband passed away a few years earlier. Mrs. Linde tells Nora that when her husband died, she was left with no money and no children. Nora tells Mrs. Linde about her first year of marriage to Torvald. She explains that they were very poor and both had to work long hours. Torvald became sick, she adds, and the couple had to travel to Italy so that Torvald could recover

Nora inquires further about Mrs. Linde’s life, and Mrs. Linde explains that for years she had to care for her sick mother and her two younger brothers. She states that her mother has passed away, though, and that the brothers are too old to need her. Instead of feeling relief, Mrs. Linde says she feels empty because she has no occupation; she hopes that Torvald may be able to help her obtain employment. Nora promises to speak to Torvald and then reveals a great secret to Mrs. Linde—without Torvald’s knowledge, Nora illegally borrowed money for the trip that she and Torvald took to Italy; she told Torvald that the money had come from her father. For years, Nora reveals, she has worked and saved in secret, slowly repaying the debt, and soon it will be fully repaid.

Krogstad, a low-level employee at the bank where Torvald works, arrives and proceeds into Torvald’s study. Nora reacts uneasily to Krogstad’s presence, and Dr. Rank, coming out of the study, says Krogstad is “morally sick.” Once he has finished meeting with Krogstad, Torvald comes into the living room and says that he can probably hire Mrs. Linde at the bank. Dr. Rank, Torvald, and Mrs. Linde then depart, leaving Nora by herself. Nora’s children return with their nanny, Anne-Marie, and Nora plays with them until she notices Krogstad’s presence in the room. The two converse, and Krogstad is revealed to be the source of Nora’s secret loan.

Krogstad states that Torvald wants to fire him from his position at the bank and alludes to his own poor reputation. He asks Nora to use her influence to ensure that his position remains secure. When she refuses, Krogstad points out that he has in his possession a contract that contains Nora’s forgery of her father’s signature. Krogstad blackmails Nora, threatening to reveal her crime and to bring shame and disgrace on both Nora and her husband if she does not prevent Torvald from firing him. Krogstad leaves, and when Torvald returns, Nora tries to convince him not to fire Krogstad, but Torvald will hear nothing of it. He declares Krogstad an immoral man and states that he feels physically ill in the presence of such people.

Act Two opens on the following day, Christmas. Alone, Nora paces her living room, filled with anxiety. Mrs. Linde arrives and helps sew Nora’s costume for the ball that Nora will be attending at her neighbors’ home the following evening. Nora tells Mrs. Linde that Dr. Rank has a mortal illness that he inherited from his father. Nora’s suspicious behavior leads Mrs. Linde to guess that Dr. Rank is the source of Nora’s loan. Nora denies Mrs. Linde’s charge but refuses to reveal the source of her distress. Torvald arrives, and Nora again begs him to keep Krogstad employed at the bank, but again Torvald refuses. When Nora presses him, he admits that Krogstad’s moral behavior isn’t all that bothers him—he dislikes Krogstad’s overly familiar attitude. Torvald and Nora argue until Torvald sends the maid to deliver Krogstad’s letter of dismissal.

Torvald leaves. Dr. Rank arrives and tells Nora that he knows he is close to death. She attempts to cheer him up and begins to flirt with him. She seems to be preparing to ask him to intervene on her behalf in her struggle with Torvald. Suddenly, Dr. Rank reveals to Nora that he is in love with her. In light of this revelation, Nora refuses to ask Dr. Rank for anything.

Once Dr. Rank leaves, Krogstad arrives and demands an explanation for his dismissal. He wants respectability and has changed the terms of the blackmail: he now insists to Nora that not only that he be rehired at the bank but that he be rehired in a higher position. He then puts a letter detailing Nora’s debt and forgery in the -Helmers’ letterbox. In a panic, Nora tells Mrs. Linde everything, and Mrs. Linde instructs Nora to delay Torvald from opening the letter as long as possible while she goes to speak with Krogstad. In order to distract Torvald from the letterbox, Nora begins to practice the tarantella she will perform at that evening’s costume party. In her agitated emotional state, she dances wildly and violently, displeasing Torvald. Nora manages to make Torvald promise not to open his mail until after she performs at the party. Mrs. Linde soon returns and says that she has left Krogstad a note but that he will be gone until the following evening.

The next night, as the costume party takes place upstairs, Krogstad meets Mrs. Linde in the Helmers’ living room. Their conversation reveals that the two had once deeply in love, but Mrs. Linde left Krogstad for a wealthier man who would enable her to support her family. She tells Krogstad that now that she is free of her own familial obligations and wishes to be with Krogstad and care for his children. Krogstad is overjoyed and says he will demand his letter back before Torvald can read it and learn Nora’s secret. Mrs. Linde, however, insists he leave the letter, because she believes both Torvald and Nora will be better off once the truth has been revealed.

Soon after Krogstad’s departure, Nora and Torvald enter, back from the costume ball. After saying goodnight to Mrs. Linde, Torvald tells Nora how desirable she looked as she danced. Dr. Rank, who was also at the party and has come to say goodnight, promptly interrupts Torvald’s advances on Nora. After Dr. Rank leaves, Torvald finds in his letterbox two of Dr. Rank’s visiting cards, each with a black cross above the name. Nora knows Dr. Rank’s cards constitute his announcement that he will soon die, and she informs Torvald of this fact. She then insists that Torvald read Krogstad’s letter.

Torvald reads the letter and is outraged. He calls Nora a hypocrite and a liar and complains that she has ruined his happiness. He declares that she will not be allowed to raise their children. Helene then brings in a letter. Torvald opens it and discovers that Krogstad has returned Nora’s contract (which contains the forged signature). Overjoyed, Torvald attempts to dismiss his past insults, but his harsh words have triggered something in Nora. She declares that despite their eight years of marriage, they do not understand one another. Torvald, Nora asserts, has treated her like a “doll” to be played with and admired. She decides to leave Torvald, declaring that she must “make sense of [her]self and everything around her.” She walks out, slamming the door behind her.

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Cat In The Rain Analysis and symbolism By Ernest Hemingway

Cat In The Rain Analysis and symbolism 

By Ernest Hemingway

There were only two Americans stopping at the hotel. They did not know any of the people they passed on the stairs on their way to and from their room. Their room was on the second floor facing the sea. It also faced the public garden and war monument. There were big palms and green benches in the public garden. In the good weather there was always an artist with his easel. Artists liked the way the palms grew and the bright colors of the hotels facing the sea. Italians came from a long way off to look up at the war monument. It was made of bronze and glistened in the rain. It was raining. The rain dripped from the palm trees. Water stood in pools on the gravel paths. The sea broke in a long line in the rain. The motor cars were gone from the square by the war monument. Across the square in the doorway of the cafe a waiter stood looking out at the empty square.

The American wife stood at the window looking out. Outside right under their window a cat was crouched under one of the dripping green tables. The cat was trying to make herself so compact that she would not be dripped on.

“I’m going down and get that kitty,” the American wife said.

“I’ll do it,” her husband offered from the bed.

“No, I’ll get it. The poor kitty is out trying to keep dry under the table.”

The husband went on reading, lying propped up with the two pillows at the foot of the bed.

“Don’t get wet,” he said.

The wife went downstairs and the hotel owner stood up and bowed to her as she passed the office. His desk was at the far end of the office. He was an old man and very tall.

“Il piove,” the wife said. She liked the hotelkeeper.

“Si, si, Signora, brutto tempo. It is very bad weather.”

He stood behind his desk in the far end of the dim room. The wife liked him. She liked the way he wanted to serve her. She liked the way he felt about being a hotel-keeper. She liked his old, heavy face and big hands.

Liking him she opened the door and looked out. It was raining harder. A man in a rubber cape was crossing the empty square to the cafe. The cat would be around to the right. Perhaps she could go along to the eaves. As she stood in the doorway an umbrella opened behind her. It was the maid who looked after their room.

“You must not get wet,” she smiled, speaking Italian. Of course, the hotel-keeper had sent her.

With the maid holding the umbrella over her, she walked along the gravel path until she was under their window. The table was there, washed bright green in the rain, but the cat was gone. She was suddenly disappointed. The maid looked up at her.

“Ha perduto qualque cosa, Signora?” 

“There was a cat,” said the American girl.

“A cat?”

“Si, il gatto.”

“A cat?” the maid laughed. “A cat in the rain?”

“Yes,” she said, “under the table.” Then, “Oh, I wanted it so much. I wanted a kitty.”

When she talked English the maid’s face tightened.

“Come, Signora,” she said. “We must get back inside. You will be wet.”

“I suppose so,” said the American girl.

They went back along the gravel path and passed in the door. The maid stayed outside to close the umbrella. As the American girl passed the office, the padrone bowed from his desk. Something felt very small and tight inside the girl. The padrone made her feel very small and at the same time really important. She had a momentary feeling of being of supreme importance. She went on up the stairs. She opened the door of the room. George was on the bed reading.

“Did you get the cat?” he asked, putting the book down.

“It was gone.”

“Wonder where it went to,” he said, resting his eyes from reading. She sat down on the bed.

“I wanted it so much,” she said. “I don’t know why I wanted it so much. I wanted that poor kitty. It isn’t any fun to be a poor kitty out in the rain.”

George was reading again.

She went over and sat in front of the mirror of the dressing table looking at herself with the hand glass. She studied her profile, first one side and then the other. Then she studied the back of her head and her neck.

“Don’t you think it would be a good idea if I let my hair grow out?” she asked, looking at her profile again.

George looked up and saw the back of her neck, clipped close like a boy’s.

“I like it the way it is.”

“I get so tired of it,” she said. “I get so tired of looking like a boy.”

George shifted his position in the bed. He hadn’t looked away from her since she started to speak.

“You look pretty darn nice,” he said. 

She laid the mirror down on the dresser and went over to the window and looked out. It was getting dark.

“I want to pull my hair back tight and smooth and make a big knot at the back that I can feel,” she said. “I want to have a kitty to sit on my lap and purr when I stroke her.”

“Yeah?” George said from the bed.

“And I want to eat at a table with my own silver and I want candles. And I want it to be spring and I want to brush my hair out in front of a mirror and I want a kitty and I want some new clothes.”

“Oh, shut up and get something to read,” George said. He was reading again.

His wife was looking out of the window. It was quite dark now and still raining in the palm trees.

“Anyway, I want a cat,” she said, “I want a cat. I want a cat now. If I can’t have long hair or any fun, I can have a cat.”

George was not listening. He was reading his book. His wife looked out of the window where the light had come on in the square.

Someone knocked at the door.

“Avanti,” George said. He looked up from his book. In the doorway stood the maid. She held a big tortoise-shell cat pressed tight against her and swung down against her body.

“Excuse me,” she said, “the padrone asked me to bring this for the Signora

Analysis and symbolism

In "Cat In The Rain", the American girl's husband treats her with a lack of affection, apathy and indifference. When she starts telling him all the things she desires, he just tells her to shut up. She wasn't asking much, simple things, little things, and most of the times little things are what count most. He thinks she's acting like a spoiled child, he doesn't understand her, and he makes no efforts to make her feel loved, wanted, to make her feel like a real woman. 

She claims to feel like a boy, because she needs physical and emotional attention, which her husband doesn't provide her. 

The hotel keeper was the man who made her feel important, she admires his will to serve her, he gave her the attention she needed and that she's not getting from her husband. In other words, he made her feel like a lady. 

Just like the cat, the American girl feels lonely and she needs to be "pet". She hides from the rain, she tries to keep safe and dry. So, in my opinion, the girl is the cat, her husband is the rain that makes her feel unsafe and unfulfilled, and the hotel keeper is the table under which she hides. She needs someone to hold her, to love her and take care of her, and those are qualities that her husband doesn't have.

__________________________________________________ ________________________

The Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway is a story of an American couple in Italy. Hemingway portrays this couple as having differences of priorities and also a difference in the amount of attention they give to one another. This story takes place over a short few hours, and even though we only know these characters for a brief period of time, we can predict the type of relationship they have. Most likely if we observed George and his wife a week or so from this day, their conversation would not be about a cat, but the underlying causes would be very similar.

George and his wife (also known as the American girl) are in their hotel room in Italy. George seems very ******* and comfortable sitting on the bed reading. His wife on the other hand gives us the idea that she is very bored, not only in the hotel room, but with their relationship, and herself, her physical appearance especially. Wanting to be anywhere besides stuck in a hotel room do to the rain, the American girl looks out the ******** Outside there is the sea, a public garden, and a war monument. Out in the garden we are also told that there are palm trees and benches for visitors to sit on. The Italians also liked to come and visit this garden because of 

. . . 

The hotel owner then goes on to have a brief conversation with her about the bad weather they are having. By this we again see the hotel owner giving George’s wife the attention she wishes to have from him. George and his wife have forgotten those things, which had brought them together in the first place. 

They walk back to the hotel doors and the maid takes down the umbrella as George’s wife heads back up to her room. As soon as his wife says it was gone and follows by complaining about the poor kitty, he picks the book back up again. Anyone that crossed her path every so slightly and recognized her was noticed and greatly appreciated. His wife complains about her shout boyish haircut, and for once George has been giving her his undivided attention. ” 

We can see from this conversation that George is used to his wife’s unusualiaty and quite bothersome adventures. George also offers his wife help that he knows she will not take, after all he has not intention of getting off the bed to leave his reading. She goes on talking of having her hair long enough to put up in a bun, while a kitty sits on her lap to stroke. The pardone made her feel very small and at the same time really important. “Excuse me, the padrone asked me to bring this for the Signora,” said the maid. These two need to have time with each. 

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The Chimney-Sweeper (songs of Experience) Analysis By William Wordsworth

The Chimney Sweeper
By William Wordsworth
A little black thing among the snow,
Crying "'weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe!
"Where are thy father and mother, say? "
"They are both gone up to the church to pray.
"Because I was happy upon the heath,
And smiled among the winter's snow,
They clothed me in the clothes of death,
And taught me to sing the notes of woe.
"And because I am happy and dance and sing,
They think they have done me no injury,
And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King,
Who make up a heaven of our misery."
وتسرد معاناة طفل صغير يعمل في تنظيف الكنائس
وتصف القصيدة الطفل لشدة صغرة ووجه الملطخ بالدخان وكأنه نقطه صغيره سوداء وسط الثلج . وهو لشدة صغره لا
يستطيع أن يلفظ كلمة Sweep
جيدا التي معناها
منظف . فهو يصرخ قائلاً ًweep وهنا تظهر براعة وليام بليك بالتلاعب بهاتين الكلمتين ف weep معناها بالانجليزية ابكي واندب
وكأن الطفل بدل أن ينادي بالشوارع باسم وظيفته حتى يناديه من يحتاج إليه
فهو يدعو الجميع للبكاء والنواح على حاله- الطفل ليس بهذا الذكاء بل وليام بليك باستخدامه هاتين الكلمتين_
وعندما يسأله أحدهم عن والديه يبدأ الطفل بسرد قصته كيف جعلاه والديه يعمل
فقط لأنه كان سعيدا ويلهو مع الصبية وهنا اشارة ان سبب تعاسة معظم الاطفال
اباءهم. ويقول الطفل لأني كنت سعيدا وأغني لقد اعتقدوا انهم لم يؤذوني بشيء.
وهنا يأتي البيتان الاخيران الذين اقما اوروبا الكاثوليكية واقعدها
فهو يقول ذهبا -يقصد والديه-للكنيسه ليمدحا الله ورجل الدين والملك
الذين أقاموا جنتهم على حساب تعاستنا.
وبليك لا يقصد
الله الذات الالهيه بل الملوك واصحاب السلطه والكنيسه التي كانت تضيق الخناق
على الاوروبين انذاك

THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER (Experience)
This poem savagely exposes the hypocrisy of conventional religion; the father and mother are gone up to church to pray while their child is abandoned to the elements. The narrator asks the chimney sweep where his parents are; the child tries to explain why they have abandoned him to misery. The poem is also savage about how we misunderstand children’s emotions: because the young sweep might appear happy, in the sense that he is making the best of a dreadful situation, his self-serving and self-deluding parents choose to believe that they have done him ‘no injury’.
The force of the scene is heightened by being placed in winter, amid ‘snow’, reflecting and emphasizing the cold-heartedness of the everyday world of Experience.
In his second The Chimney Sweeper Blake condemns the hypocrisy of the pious, especially of the clergy who opposed the legislation to correct the abuses against these young waifs. The line “And because I am happy & dance & sing” may refer ironically to a May day custom; sweeps and milkmaids were given the day off and permitted to sing, dance, and do stunts in the streets for pennies.
A very much darker and more savage vision here than in the counterpart poem in the Songs of Innocence. The references to a church which is complicit in the repression of the child, together with the treatment of the negligent parents, make this one of the most bitter poems in the sequence, with its emphasis on a whole system (God, Priest and King) which represses the child, even forcing him to conceal his unhappiness (a reference to being “clothed”), psychologically as well as physically).
THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER
The Chimney Sweeper is sons of experience, a very dark and very pessimistic. The Sweeper does not free himself from his misery
In the first two lines, Blake gave us an image of anguished child in a state of agony or even in a state of corruption
The color black seems to be very important because it is used represent sin against innocence, the color of white snow
This stanza ends by someone asking him about his parents which later end up being responsible for this child’s state
In the second stanza, the child is pictured in a very more happier and playful mood

This soon changes when he decided to tell the stranger more about his parents. They are showed to be punishing their child for being so happy
It is very obvious the sweeper’s feels hate towards his parents for putting him in such sadness, and he was choose to hide it
It is clear in the last stanza that Blake’s criticizing the church, especially, and the state for letting a lot of these things happen.
During this time many children were dying from malnutrition
Neither the state nor the church did anything to stop this and is obviously why Blake feels so much anger towards them
The sweeper’s parents are really no help towards their own child
This makes the reader wonder if they are worshipped god the source of good things, why do they choose to ignore their own child
It is clearly shows Blake’s anger towards society at this time
He used his poems to make people aware of the suffering of people at this time.

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