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The poem explores the emotional impact of child labor through the perspective of a young chimney sweeper, highlighting themes of innocence, exploitation, and social injustice. Blake contrasts the hopeful tone of the children's dreams with the harsh reality of their lives, criticizing the societal structures that allow such cruelty. The use of a nursery rhyme format adds irony to the tragic subject matter, emphasizing the loss of innocence and the false promises of safety through obedience.

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143 views2 pages

Document 12

The poem explores the emotional impact of child labor through the perspective of a young chimney sweeper, highlighting themes of innocence, exploitation, and social injustice. Blake contrasts the hopeful tone of the children's dreams with the harsh reality of their lives, criticizing the societal structures that allow such cruelty. The use of a nursery rhyme format adds irony to the tragic subject matter, emphasizing the loss of innocence and the false promises of safety through obedience.

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animatordbzpro
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chimney Sweeper Answers

1. the use of the perspective of a young speaker allows the poem to be more emotionally
impactful as it highlights innocence and naivety of the children forced in cruel labor. The
speaker's acceptance of their situation suggests the innocence of the chimney sweepers,
followed by his comforting of Tom Dacre; envoking sympathy, fustration, pity, and guilt in
the reader. This also creates contrast between the speakers' cheerful/hopeful tone and the
reader's understanding of the reality of the situation at which the speaker has no idea of;
creating a sense of Situational Irony whilst effectively criticizing social injustice.

2.The theme of the poem is the loss of child innocence and exploitation of young parties. In
the poem, Blake attacks social and workplace systems, including industrial societies that
allow of ignore cruel child labor. He explores how innocence and faith in one's religion are
normally used to cope with suffering, offering a bittersweet form of home. There is a subtle
tension between the spiritual reward and the earthly misery in the poem shown in Tom's
dream.

3. Blake starts with the young speker's origin story, gripping and drawing the reader in due
to his grim and dark history. The poem transitions into a dream of hope and salvation, then
ending with both boys waking up to their cruel reality and going back to work. This structure
contrasts between dream and reality- Hope and Cruelty, showing how the children's hope
is completely based of nothing but fate instead of change. It shows how their only escape
from the cruelty is through death. Overall, this helps support his idea of social and
industrial injustice, as it further entails the cruelty found in the workplaces at which young
children are exposed to cruel atmospheres.

4. Blake is likely refering to the upper-class society of 1789, at the time, the high class
superiors would benefit from the exploitation of child labor and the work from lower
classed individuals. He speaks broadly to religious and moral authorities, provoking their
role in fighting against suffering bu preaking obedience without immediate action. His tone
is gentle on the surface layer, but filled with criticism and hate.

5. The poem uses the AABB rhyme scheme, resembling and giving off a nursery rhyme
theme (Further supporting the fact that a child is speaking). The irony is suggested as this
song form is used to describe something tragic and harsh (The harssh lives of child
chimney sweepers). This contrast makes the subject even more disturbing, displaying the
themes of corrupted/lost innocence.
6.The final stanza entails the line "So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm." Surface
wise, this suggest that obedience will give the children a sense of protection, however,
Blake is being ironic (situational irony is mentioned again) as it mimics speech that adults
tell their children to keep co-operative, whilst in reality, the children are still exposed to
harm no matter what they do or how dutiful they are. This sarcasm attacks the false
promises given by society to normalize suffering and cruelty.

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