Analysis Of The Chimney Sweeper

William Blake's The Chimney Sweeper, written in 1789, tells the story of what happened to many young boys during this time period. Often, boys as young as four and five were sold for the soul purpose of cleaning chimneys because of their small size. These children were exploited and lived a meager existence that was socially acceptable at the time. Blake voices the evils of this acceptance through point of view, symbolism, and his startling irony.

William Blake's poem "The Chimney Sweeper" gives us a look into the unfortunate lives of 18th century London boys whose primary job was to clear chimneys of the soot that accumulated on its interior; boys that were named "climbing boys" or "chimney sweepers." Blake, a professional engraver, wrote this poem (aabb rhyme), in the voice of a young boy, an uneducated chimney sweeper. This speaker is obviously a persona, a fictitious character created by Blake, as it is apparent that he wasn't a child or a chimney sweeper at the time he wrote this poem.

The foil poems The Chimney Sweeper Songs of Innocence and The Chimney Sweeper Songs of Experience by William Blake show a clear juxtaposition in ideas. Songs of Innocence, shows an idyllic view of religion, with a faithful boy entrusting his future to a higher power. In contrast, the second poem, Songs of Experience, shows a cynical view of religion with no hope for a better future. As a result of these ideas, the author conveys a sense of hopelessness for the future of these children, regardless of their ideals. Through tone and imagery, William Blake shows the hypocrisy of religion in relation to child labor during the eighteenth century.

William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper” greatly mimics the mere thought of innocence. He wants to show the brutality of child labor and the loss of innocence it causes. This poem reflects the workforce for children and the controversial issues it causes, such as: harmful work environment, extinction of a childhood, and the complete loss of innocence. The poem uses many contrasts to show the purity of childhood and the brutalities of the work force. Along with that, the boy dreams of being pure and clean once again which is totally opposite of the life that he is living.

William Blake was an 18th century poet, who lived in London during the industrial revolution. His views on human nature was profoundly influenced by his environment, on the macroscale the industrial revolution provided great leaps of progress for mankind. However on the microscale, people suffered harsh working conditions for low wages, and the cities were polluted where the streets were covered with a black layer of pollutants. Blake’s poetry was separated into two books, the “Songs of Innocence” focused on the purity and benevolence of mankind, while the “Songs of Experience” focused on the harsh reality and cruelty of the world. “The CLOD & the PEBBLE” is categorized into the “Songs of Experience” and unlike many of of the other poems, doesn’t have a corresponding poem in the “Songs

If you’ve ever seen the movie Mary Poppins you are probably well aware of the “Chim Chim Cher-ee” scene with the dirty and unkept men that are covered in black soot. They dance around and sing merely, but there is a harsher reality to the act of chimney sweeping. Since chimneys are very narrow, children were often sold, by their parents, to chimney owners. They lived, they breathed, they slept, and they played in the treacherous soot. Despite the harsh conditions in which they lived, the children’s imagination kept them going through the deadly job.

He accomplished this through poetry such as “The Chimney Sweeper”, which tells the story of a young chimney sweep who was forced into the corrupt world of child labor, and suffered immensely as a

This poem implies that it could possibly be Satan. The “distant deeps” and “burnt the fire of thine eyes” suggest its creation in hell. The mystery behind Blake’s poem is left to the interpretation of the reader. Another poem from Songs of Experience is Infant Sorrow. This poem represents childbirth, and the pain associated with it. In addition, it signifies the uncertainty the child feels entering into unknown surroundings. The baby is swaddled and placed into the arms of what he feels is a stranger (his father) and laid upon his mother’s breast to sooth him. Blake’s analysis of childbirth allows the reader to experience the possible perspective of an infant as it enters the world. Blake’s unique way of writing challenges his readers to analyze each poem wondering if their interpretations are correct. Finally, years later, Blake wrote another rendition of The Chimney Sweeper. This time the child is considered experienced. The child, no longer innocent, understands his hopeless situation. He realizes his parents have purposely surrendered him to a life of despair. The child speaks the truth without any dreams or thoughts of rescue. Blake depicts the child’s senseless pain and suffering, in hopes of helping to eradicate child labor. Most of these poems mentioned from the Songs of Experience, are free from imaginary dreams and happy endings. Blake wanted his readers to connect with both the Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. These poems, although different,

It is clear in the poem that the author is one of the young boys who is living in what seems to be a type of orphanage home ran by the head chimney sweeper. He tells of all the boys living in the home with him, and he mentions one of the boys in specific named Tom. Tom seems to be a particular sad boy that he mentions who has trouble sleeping at nights in the room with the other boys. The story’s narrator mentions how he has been living in these conditions with these boys which are like his family for almost all his life. It is clear that Blake is also writing this poem out of a sense of protest about the conditions that these boys along with many others are forced to live and work in every day across England.

At the beginning of the poem, the narrator feels anger and sorrow since he is forced to clean chimneys instead of being able to run and play like a normal kid would usually do, but as the poem continues to develop, there's a shift present. This shift happens when the kid has a dream about a thousand of chimney sweepers like him being happy and having fun in the clouds. During the dream there's symbolism of death portrayed by the coffins. The angel goes to the coffins with a magical key and sets them free. This is also a symbol of heaven because the kids are floating in the clouds in a fantasy world. The shift in this story is very powerful because it gives the kid a purpose for living his miserable life and changes his attitude and perspective towards it.

This poem addresses the conflict between social morality towards child labor and the realization that the elite have influenced societies ways. As the original speaker in the poem sees something black in the snow and approaches the object, it turns out to be a young chimneysweeper crying all alone. Once the speaker has approached the cries, the poem then transitions to a different speaker who is the young chimneysweeper expressing their perception towards their situation, which is being involved in child labor and how the sweepers parents along with a prominent source such as “God, Priest & Kings” (12). bypass the morality of forced labor on the young.

The boy and Tom Dacre are innocent through their optimism in their hopes despite their harsh reality. The essence of Blake’s understanding of ‘innocence’ is the ability to be joyful and celebratory with hope. In contrast, the narrator in “The Chimney Sweeper” (1794) knows that there is no hero or escape from the life of a Chimney Sweep. Essentially showing ‘experience’ as the acceptance of the present reality as the only reality.

The purpose of this research paper is to introduce William Blake and give a brief background information about his life. In addition, this research paper will also provide: An analysis of two different poems wrote by William Blake, the message of both poems, how his life might have influenced his poems, and which other factors influenced him to write these poems.

“Poems come out of wonder, not out of knowing,” according to Lucille Clifton, a famous American writer and educator. The best example of this wondering is shown in the poem “The Chimney Sweeper”. “The Chimney Sweeper”, written by William Blake in 1789, is a poem that reflects a shameful eighteenth century social problems. It shows the exploitations to the little children—the chimney sweepers. Those sweepers are even too young to have their own complete thoughts, but they are still on their own effort to seek comfort in this suffering situation. Therefore, the poems is trying to lead readers to experience a miserable and desperate situation and then to seek a way out along with

The poem opens with a child in the industrial period describing how his mother had died when he was very young, showing the readers that he started sweeping chimneys and being forced into labor at a young age. In the quote, “And my father sold me while yet my tongue” letting readers know that he was sold before he could even speak. In the third line he states that actually it was before he could even really cry because he, “could scarcely cry weep weep weep weep” the reader can also pick up on the fact that “weep” and “sweep” rhyme giving subtle hints. There was a big class distinction back in the industrial period since the poor children are sweeping the higher-class people’s chimneys. The distinction is shown when the poem says, “So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep”. The words your and I really show the class distinction. It emphasizes the words so that we know that the children have to do the upper-class people’s dirty work.