Assignment: Romanticism
Name:
Here is a poem by Mary Alcock, who was born in about 1742 and who died in 1798.
You have been contacted by the editor of the Always English textbook company of Denver, CO. They are
considering including this poem in their Romanticism unit.
Read the poem, and write to the editor suggesting why you think this poem should, or should not, be included in the
new “The Enlightenment and Romanticism” chapter.
You should do additional research to support your answer and use at least 4 pieces of supporting evidence from the
poem to make your case.
This is a professional letter, so you should format it accordingly. (Make up any information that you have not been
given (example, the zip code). The OWL website will help you in formatting your work.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/653/01/
The Chimney-Sweeper’s Complaint
A chimney-sweeper’s boy am I;
Pity my wretched fate!
Ah, turn your eyes; ’twould draw a tear,
Knew you my helpless state.
Far from home, no parents I
Am ever doomed to see;
My master, should I sue to him,
He’d flog the skin from me.
Ah, dearest madam, dearest sir,
Have pity on my youth;
Though black, and covered o’er with rags,
I tell you naught but truth.
My feeble limbs, benumbed with cold,
Totter beneath the sack,
Which ere the morning dawn appears
Is loaded on my back.
My legs you see are burnt and bruised,
My feet are galled by stones,
My flesh for lack of food is gone,
I’m little else but bones.
Yet still my master makes me work,
Nor spares me day or night;
His ‘prentice boy he says I am,
An he will have his right.
‘Up to the highest top,’ he cries,
‘There call out chimney-sweep!’
With patient heart and weeping eyes,
Trembling I upward creep.
But stop! no more – I see him come;
Kind sir, remember me!
Oh, could I hide me under ground,
How thankful I should be!