Running head: THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER BY WILLIAM BLAKE 1

The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course

Date
THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER BY WILLIAM BLAKE 2

The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake

The poem, The Chimney Sweeper, was written by William Blake. Blake publisher the

poem in two sections, in 1789, Songs of Innocence, and in 1794, Songs of Experience (Blake,

2008). It was set during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries on a background

exhibiting child labor in England. During this time, child labor was much prominent and

widely practiced in England. Young boys aged four and five were sold for cleaning chimneys

since they were small in size. While undertaking this task, the young boys underwent

oppression and faced a diminutive existence, which was surprisingly socially approved

during this era. Such children were poorly clothed and unfed.

Consequently, most of these boys died from fatal diseases caused by inhaling the soot,

falling from the sooty chimneys, and damaging the lungs caused by the soot. Blake, therefore,

accounts for the troubles chimney sweepers went through (Blake, 2008). Consequently, this

essay discusses Blake's themes and literary devices in reinforcing and conveying the struggle

went through by chimney sweepers.

Themes in The Chimney Sweeper

A theme is an underlying meaning or the main concept explored in a literary piece by a

writer. The theme in a poem is conveyed using plots, characters, dialogue, and the poem's

setting (Abellanoza et al., 2018). In this case, Blake has fully utilized the themes of hope,

sorrow and misery, and death.

The Theme of Death

Blake starts off the poem by recapturing the death of his mother in a somber mood. The

first line of the first stanza states, "When my mother died I was very young," (Blake, 2008)

while the third stanza states, "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
THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER BY WILLIAM BLAKE 3

looked up in coffins of black;" (Blake, 2008) as a representation of the many snatched by the

gruesome death. These lines convey death's theme, but they reinforce the pain felt when death

snatches away the loved ones.

The Theme of Sorrow and Misery

The poem is composed around young boys that are chimney sweepers. Blake explains to

the reader about his induction into the business of sweeping chimneys. Blake states, "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"

(Blake, 2008). This is to say that Blake was sold to the chimney business while at a tender

age. It is quite unfortunate that Blake sleeps in that same soot that they sweep. Also, the

theme of misery is illustrated in the second stanza that states, "There's little Tom Dacre, who

cried when his head That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved, so I said, ..." (Blake, 2008).

Here, Blake recounts when Tom, a fellow chimney sweeper, was hurt when his head was

being shaved. All these illustrations show the theme of sorrow and misery faced by the

chimney sweepers.

The Theme of Hope

Despite the misery and sorrow experienced by chimney-sweepers, hope is given to Tom

by the angel setting the children free from the coffins. Stanza five-line 3 and 4 states, "And

the Angel told Tom if he'd be a good boy, He'd have God for his father & never want joy"

(Blake, 2008). Stanza six states, "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" (Blake, 2008). Here, the angel gives hope to

Tom, who believed that no harm would befall them by doing all the tasks assigned.

Literary Devices Used in The Chimney Sweeper

THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER BY WILLIAM BLAKE 4

In literature, literary devices refer to various techniques and elements used by the writer

for enhancing improved understanding of the literary piece, such as a poem or a story

(Gabrielsen et al., 2019). In The Chimney Sweeper, Blake has incorporated several literary

devices such as assonance, metaphors, consonance, similes, alliteration, imagery, and

symbolism.

Assonance

Assonance refers to the repetition of similar vowel sounds appearing in the same line

and stanza. For instance, Blake states, "Could scarcely cry "'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!"

(Blake, 2008). Here, the vowel sound /ee/ in the word 'weep' has been used repetitively. On

the other hand, the vowel sound /i/ has been repeated in stanza three, line three that states, "

And so he was quiet, & that very night, ..." (Blake, 2008) as used in the words 'quiet' and

'night.'

Metaphor

The metaphor refers to a figurative speech whereby implied comparison is made

between different persons or objects. For instance, Blake has incorporated the use of

metaphor in the last stanza, in the first line that states, "And so Tom awoke; and we rose in

the dark" (Blake, 2008). Here, the work dark has been used as a metaphor to figuratively

mean the miserable life lived by young boys chimney sweepers.

Consonance

Consonance is a literary device that refers to the repetition of various consonant sounds

in the same line of a poem. For instance, the poem The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake

has different consonance cases, such as in the third line of the first stanza that states, "Could

scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" (Blake, 2008). In this line, the consonant sound

/I/ has been used repetitively. Moreover, in the last line of the last stanza that states, "So if all
THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER BY WILLIAM BLAKE 5

do their duty, they need not fear harm" (Blake, 2008), there is the repetition of the consonant

sound /r/.

Similes

Similes refer to a figurative speech used to compare objects or persons to clarify their

various meanings. For instance, in stanza two, line two, Blake states, "That curled like a

lamb's back, was shaved, so I said..." (Blake, 2008). In this line, Blake uses "curled like a

lamb's back" (Blake, 2008) to show that Tom's hair looked like that of the back of a lamb.

This similarity is mainly to the curly hair of both Tom and a lamb. Therefore, similes are

used to show persons of objects with similar characteristics or features.

Alliteration

Alliteration is mainly confused with consonance. On one hand, consonance is a literary

device that refers to the repetition of various consonant sounds in the same line of a poem. At

the same time, alliteration is a literary device that refers to the recurrence of various

consonant sounds occurring in the same line of a poem but appearing in quick successions.

For instance, there is a rapid succession of the consonant sounds /c/ and /w/ inline-three of

stanza one, "Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" (Blake, 2008) as well as the

consonant sounds /I/ in line two of the second stanza that states, "That curled like a lamb's

back, was shaved, so I said..." (Blake, 2008).

Imagery

This is a literary device used for making the readers or the audience perceive the things

that involve all their five senses. In other words, this is a literary device used by a writer to

create pictures in the mind of the audience or the readers with correspondence to their

collective five senses. The poem, The Chimney Sweeper, has a vast collection of imagery

instances, but only a few shall be used for this illustration. For example, in the last line of the

first stanza, "So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep" (Blake, 2008). Another example is
THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER BY WILLIAM BLAKE 6

the first line of the five stanzas that states, "Then naked & white, all their bags left behind,"

and the second line of the last stanza that states, "And got with our bags & our brushes to

work" (Blake, 2008). These incidences help draw the scenarios and activities being described

in the reader's mind (Greenblatt, 2009).

Symbolism

In literature, symbolism is a literary device that uses symbols or signs to signify qualities

and ideas by assigning them various symbolic meanings other than their general literal

purposes. William Blake has incorporated the use of symbolism in the poem, The Chimney

Sweeper. For instance, line two of the second stanza states, "That curled like a lamb's back,

was shaved, so I did..." (Blake, 2008). In this line, the word 'lamb' has been symbolically

used to signify innocence and childhood. Another instance of symbolism in the fourth line of

the fourth stanza states, "Then down a green plain, keeping, laughing they run" (Blake,

2008), whereby the word 'green plain' has been used symbolically to symbolize prosperity

and freedom.

Conclusion

Conclusively, Blake has employed the themes of sorrow and misery, death and hope,

and literary devices such as assonance, alliteration, consonance, imagery, symbolism,

metaphors, and similes to aid the reader comprehending the struggles faced by the chimney

sweepers.
THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER BY WILLIAM BLAKE 7

References

Abellanoza, A., Provenzano‐Hass, N., & Gatchel, R. J. (2018). Burnout in ER nurses: Review

of the literature and interview themes. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research,

23(1), e12117.

Blake, W. (2008). The complete poetry and prose of William Blake. Univ of California Press.

Gabrielsen, I. L., Blikstad-Balas, M., & Tengberg, M. (2019). The role of literature in the

classroom: How and for what purposes do teachers in lower secondary school use

literary texts?. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 19, 1-32.

References

Werstine, P., & Greenblatt, S. (2009). The Norton Shakespeare based on the Oxford

edition. The Modern Language Review, 94(3), Pages(121-122). doi:10.2307/3737007