William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

William Blake(1757-1827)

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

Major Literary Works Songs

of Innocence (1789): present a happy and innocent world, though with its evils and sufferings Songs of Experience (1794): present a world of misery, poverty, disease, war and repression with a melancholy tone

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

Songs of Innocence(1809)

A lovely volume of poems, presenting a happy and innocent world, though not without its evils and sufferings. However, in “The little black boy” and “The chimney sweeper”, we find racial discrimination and sufferings of the poor.

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

Songs of Experience (1794)

A much mature work Show the sufferings of the miserable It marks the poet’s progress in his outlook on life. To him, experience had brought a fuller sense of the power of evil, and of the great misery and pain of the people’s life.

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

The Chimney Sweeper

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

Summery: The Chimney Sweeper is the title of two poems by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789 and Songs of Experience in 1794.In the earlier poem, a young chimney sweeper recounts a dream had by one of his fellows, in which an angel rescues the boys from coffins and takes them to a sunny meadow; in the later poem, an apparently adult speaker encounters a child chimney sweeper abandoned in the snow while his parents are at church.

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

A little black thing among the snow 一个满身污垢的小小身影站在大雪里，

Crying weep, weep, in notes of woe! “扫烟囱！扫烟囱！”他的叫声悲戚！ (the child's attempt at saying "Sweep! Sweep!," which was the chimney sweeper's street cry. Weep : cry) Where are thy father & mother? say? “告诉我，你的父母在哪里？” They are both gone up to the church to pray. 他们都去了教堂祷告上帝.

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

Because I was happy upon the heath, “因为我喜欢在荒野上嬉戏， And smil'd among the winters snow 在冬天的大雪中也满脸笑意， They clothed me in the clothes of death, 他们就给我穿上丧衣，

And taught me to sing the notes of woe. 还教我用悲声唱丧曲。”

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

And because I am happy & dance & sing, “因为我显得快乐，又唱歌，又跳舞， They think they have done me no injury: 他们就觉得对我的所为无害无虞， And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King, 于是就去赞美牧师、国王和上帝— Who make up a heaven of our misery. 这些人用我们的痛苦成就了一个极乐之地。”

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

the political and religious leaders, represented by God, Priest and King, are hypocritically pious. They maintain a sumptuous life, but ignore the poverty-stricken groups. Through the child’s simple statement, the poet intends to attack them for their indifference and ruthlessness.

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

The Structure:Based a stanza of four lines. Rhythm pattern: AABB on First stanza. ABAB on second &third

William_Blake_the chimney sweeper 译文及解析

Features

written in first person:creates credibility and a deeper sense of sympathy.“'weep! 'weep! 'weep!” Blake w

rites his poems in plain and direct language. His poems often carry the lyric beauty with immense compression of meaning. He distrusts the abstractness and tends to embody his views with visual images. use of simple language serious, somber themes lyrical beauty symbolism mysticism