William Blake (1757-1827)

 

 

William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. He was an important figure of the Romantic Age.

 

 

 

The Chimney Sweeper

From the book Songs of Innocence (1789)

 

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 & in soot I sleep.

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."

And so he was quiet, & that very night,

As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight!

That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & 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 & 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 & 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 & never want joy.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark

And got with our bags & our brushes to work.

Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm;

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

Child Labour

 

Read about Child Labour in the Industrial Revolution

 

A Brief History of Chimney Sweeps

 

 

 

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

 


Watch the video and answer the questions:

1. What do we learn about his appearance?
2. Name two adjectives used to describe his stories.
3. What made Poe stand out from other horror writers of his time?
4. What were, according to him, the main rules of a short story?
5. What themes does he explore in his stories?
6. How was his narrator different from other narrators?
7. Who is C.A. Dupin?
8. What other genres are mentioned in the video?
9. Name two adjectives used to describe his poetry. 

   

      Read about  Poe's biography 

 

 

Read and listen to Poe's most famous poem, The Raven

It's Halloween Again!

Are you in the mood for something spooky? How about a scary story? The Black Cat is a short story written by Edgard Allan Poe. It was published in 1843.

 The Black Cat 

 

There are plenty more stories  to get you in the Halloween mood here

 

 And how about this delightful Witches Chant  

from William Shakespeare's Macbeth?

Round about the cauldron go:
In the poisoned entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Sweated venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing.
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witch's mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg'd i’ the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew;
Gall of goat; and slips of yew
Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.

Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

Lamb to Slaughter by Roald Dahl (4º A /C)

 Short story "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl. 4A: Friday 24th    4C: Monday 27th

As you all know,  Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, fighter pilot, and screenwriter. 
 He is the author of Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,The Magic Finger, and so many unforgettable stories which we have all read and enjoyed. 

This week  we are going to read  "Lamb to Slaughter"  

 

One Great Summer Memory

 Tell us about a moment, big or small, from the summer of 2021. (From the New York Times Learning Network)  You can read  some of the comments from other readers to inspire you. (100 words approx.)

The Flowers by Alice Walker

 

 

Read The Flowers here

Read about Alice Walker here

International Women's Day

While extreme poverty has declined dramatically across regions, poverty remains gendered. Globally, women aged 25-34  are 25 per cent more likely than men to live in extreme poverty.

The coronavirus pandemic will widen the poverty gap between women and men, pushing 47 million more women and girls into impoverished lives by next year, and undoing progress made in recent decades, the United Nations said.

Worldwide more women than men will be made poor by the economic fallout and massive job losses caused by COVID-19, with informal workers worst hit in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, according to new U.N. estimates.

During the pandemic, women have lost their jobs at a faster rate than men have, as they are more likely to be employed in the sectors hardest hit by long lockdowns such as retail, restaurants and hotels, it said.Women are also more likely to work in the informal economy, typically in jobs as domestic workers and cleaners that often come with little or no health care, unemployment benefits or other protections.

 

Power and decision-making

G-20 leaders 2019 summit

Power and decision-making remain overwhelmingly dominated by men. Women’s representation in parliaments has more than doubled from 11 per cent in 1995, but men still hold three quarters of seats. Men also hold 73 per cent of management positions and are 70 per cent of climate negotiators. In peace negotiations, the numbers are even more dismal. In spite of conclusive evidence that where women are engaged in formal peace processes, agreements are more inclusive and durable, women make up just 13 per cent of peace negotiators and 4 per cent of signatories.

 

Gender Gap in Employment

 

 

 

 One in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner. Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation, and the immediate and long-term physical, sexual, and mental consequences for women and girls can be devastating, including death.

 

•  Globally, 35 per cent of women have ever experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, or sexual violence by a non-partner.
• 137 women are killed by a member of their family every day.  
• Less than 40 per cent of the women who experience violence seek help of any sort.
• 15 million adolescent girls worldwide, aged 15–19 years, have experienced forced sex-
• One in 10 women in the European Union report having experienced cyber-harassment since the age of 15.  
  

 Sources: UNWomen  / World Economic Forum