UNIT 13
TALKING ABOUT THE PAST(I): NARRATING PAST EVENTS
THE CHIMNEY SWEEPER
-William Blake
Decide whether the following statements are true or false.
a. The speaker’s mother died when he was a strong grown-up boy. False
b. His father sold him before he could speak against that. True
c. The boy slept in a cozy room after work. False
d. Tom Dacre is the speaker’s boss. False
e. Little Tom Dacre like being shaved off. False
f. The speaker told Tom to be quiet and not to be worried about his hair. True
g. There were the speaker and Tom only working as the sweepers. False
h. After the sweepers were set free, they became quiet and sad. False
i. The angel suggests Tom to be a bad and rebellious boy. False
j. Tom decided to be a good boy and went off to work. True
1. Vocabulary in use
Find out the single words in bold faced from the poem for the
following definitions.
a. A pipe or structure through which smoke or steam is carried away from
a fire furnace= chimney
b. Black powder in the smoke of wood, coal= soot
c. Make (a house, etc.) secure by locking the doors and windows=
locked up
d. Naked, uncovered= bare
e. Box in which dead body is buried or cremated= coffin
f. A divine or supernatural messenger from deity= angel
2. Reading comprehension
i. Read the poem again, and answer these questions.
a. Who composed the poem?
William Blake composed the poem.
b. Why did the speaker cry?
The speaker cried because his mother died early and his father sold
him into a chimney sweeping business.
c. What does the expression “That curled like a lamb’s back” mean?
The expression “That curled like a lamb’s back” means the curly fur of
the baby sheep.
d. How did the angel open the black coffins?
The angel opened the black coffins with the bright key.
e. At what condition would Tom get joy?
Tom would get joy if he would be a good boy.
f. What do you think there might be in their bags?
There clothes and chimney sweeping tools might have been in their
bags.
g. What did the angel tell to Tom?
The angel told Tom to be a good boy and he’d get god for his father.
h. How was the morning?
The morning was dark and cold.
i. At the end of the poem what message was given to Tom?
The message given to Tom at the end of the poem was if we do our
duties or works well then we don’t need to be worried because no one can
harm us.
ii. Use the words in the box to complete the summary of the
poem.
The speaker of the poem is a small boy who was sold into the
chimney- sweeping business when his mother died. He recounts the
story of a fellow chimney sweeper, Tom Dacre, who cried when his hair
was shaved to prevent vermin and soot from infesting it. The speaker
comforts Tom, who falls asleep and has a dream or vision of several
chimney sweepers all locked in black coffins. An angel arrives with a special
key that opens the locks on the coffins and sets the children free. The newly
freed children run through a green field and wash themselves in a river,
coming out clean and white in the bright sun. The angel tells Tom that if he is
a good boy, he will have this paradise for his own. When Tom awakens, he
and the speaker gather their tools and head out to work, thinking that one
day they would have a better life.
