The Chimney Sweeper

Introduction:

The Chimney Sweeper is a poem by William Blake, published in his collection Song Of Innocence in 1789.
The poem is told from the perspective of a young boy who has been sold into labor by his father.The
poem presents the miseries and treatment of working children and the social injustice of the age (late
18th century)

Background:

In England, until the nineteenth century, very young boys were employed to clean narrow chimneys. The
children, who faced grave danger every day were made to live in shockingly deplorable conditions that
seriously impaired/ affected their health and development. It was a common practice to find charity
children being sold by their parents and the church.

What makes the poem so intensely effective and moving lies in the way Blake uses a young chimney
sweep to give an intense and sorrowful description of his condition.

The poet reveals the psychological condition, the heartless repression and the exploitation of children in
his time.The poem also reflects the poet’s zeal for social reform .

Chimney sweeps in their adolescence often suffered and died from horribly painful and fatal cancer due
to their poor living and occupation. The young sweepers also frequently suffocated inside the chimneys
from inhaling the soot. Sometimes they become stuck and die inside the narrow chimney.

Themes

1.A satire on the society

The poem exposes the exploitation and vulnerability of the lower class, especially the innocent,
downtrodden children.

Poverty and exploitation

The story of the Chimney Sweeper is a reflection of the experiences of poor children in Britain during the
Industrial Revolution. Many children were forcefully employed for long hours in dangerous and
miserable conditions for only little pay.

The poem is written in the 1st person through the voice of an adolescent. The young chimney sweeper is
born in a world of abject poverty. Sold at a young age the little chimney sweepers are deprived of
parental care and the joys of childhood. He describes the condition the chimney sweeper lives in: such
as sleeping in soot, having their hair shaved, rising before dawn in the cold and going to work in dark
places with their brushes.
Through the story of the little boy Tom Dacre told in the poem we see the helpless child’s longing to be
free and clean and living a better life. After seeing encountering an angel in his dream and seeing his
new life he wakes up with a hopeful outlook even in his miserable reality. He believes that no harm will
befall him if he obediently does his duty. This only shows innocent and pure minds of the little chimney
sweepers who are unaware of the harsh truth.

The corrupting influence of organized religion and society is shown through the treatment of the young
children in the poem.The rich and powerful subjugates the lower class according to their own
satisfaction and ease. We see the cruelty and oppression of the weaker section of the society and
injustice done unto them.

Summary

1-4: in the poem, a little boy is telling the story of his despairing life as well as the sad tales of other
chimney sweeper children. He narrates that he was his mother died. Due to poverty, his dad sold him to
a master sweep when his age was so tender that he cannot pronounce the word ‘sweep’ correctly. This
portrays the innocence and misery of the children forced into labor. They have no one to properly care
for them and are robbed of their childhood freedom.

5-8: The narrator tells us their personal experience as a chimney sweeper through the tale of Tom
Dacre. Tom wept when his beautiful curly hair was shaved by the master sweep. The other children
especially the speaker tries to console him to make him feel better.

Here we find a heart rending attempt of a miserable young child to console his distressed companion. It
pictures the dark lives led by the poor children. (Curl’d like a lambs back is a simile/comparison)

9-12:After feeling better, the same night little Tom has a strange dream. He sees himself and many other
chimney sweepers lying in black coffins dead. (Coffins of black is an important symbol)

13-16: He continues telling his dream. An Angel, who was carrying shining key, comes near the coffins.
The Angel opened the coffins gave them a new life and set them free. They were freed into the open
with the sun shining in the meadows, and clean rivers . This is a delightful moment for the children who
got freed from the shackles of bondage ,exploitation and child labor.

17-20: All the little boys were white and clean after washing. They were naked because their bags and
clothes were left behind. They cast off the burden of life along with bags of soot at the time of death.
They can now enjoy their freedom.

After being given a brief taste of joy and freedom, the Angel then tells Tom that if he would be a good
boy he would have God for his father and he will be forever joyful. The children are told to be good and
dutiful so that they may attain/have their reward. (This shows the authority of religious doctrine and
practice that society and even these innocent children are made to believe.)
(The image of clouds floating freely is Blake’s metaphor for the freedom from material bondage of the
body. It is also a visual symbol in the poem)

21-24: The narrator tells that Tom wakes up and his dream vision broke up. Tom and the other little
sweepers rises up early in the morning while it is still dark to start their work. They take their bags and
brushes in the cold morning without complaint. Although it is cold outside, unlike other morinings Tom
feels warm and happy. His dream the previous night gives him a sense of hope and contentment.

(the child has successfully been conditioned to believe that the only way he will be free and accepted by
God one day is to be obedient and do his duty well)