Source - Literary English
“Freedom is a child’s best friend.”
Introduction
Poem’s Name - The Chimney Sweeper
Author’s Name - William Blake
Genre - Sensory
Language - English
Plot of the Poem
‘The Chimney Sweeper’ is a bleak poem written at the beginning of French Revolution and William Blake aims to bring out the innocence of the children forced to child labour. It is written in a first person narrative form.
The poem explores the flawed perception of child labour in a corrupt society. The speaker in detail talks about how he got involved in the chimney sweeping business and also recounts the story of his fellow mate, Tom who also is forced to become the same.
“A narration close to every child’s heart and every child’s dream.”
It also talks about the dreams that all the chimney sweepers, be they young or old, wish to achieve, i.e freedom. The poem was published in Blake’s 1789 collection ‘Songs of Innocence’ and the companion poem of the same title was published in ‘Songs of Experience’ making it a promise of heavenly salvation that simply exploit child labour and is made crystal clear by Blake.
About the Poet
Source - The British Library
William Blake was a 19th century writer and artist who is regarded as a seminal figure of the Romantic Age. His writings have influenced countless writers and artists through the ages, and he has been deemed both a major poet and an original thinker.
He is known for his extraordinary collection of poems with pleasant lyrical aspects depicting innocence that delights and instructs readers. Blake’s poems often speak about his personal experiences and vision.
First Read Impression - Poem Review
Source - Literary Theory and Criticism |
The poem provides a clear but saddening read representative of sorrow of the children forced into child labour. It is well crafted and sarcastically attacks the advanced societies that have failed its responsibility toward these children but act as being generous through charity functions.
The poem makes use of a lot of sensory (imagery) aspects, hence, reading it the first time may not give you a clear understanding of its diction. The use of perfect rhymes (end rhymes) provides a good flow to the poem in addition to the speaker’s continuous flow of thought that makes innovative commitment.
“...He’d have God for his father and never want joy.”
The diction used in the poem is simple and childlike as the speaker narrating the story is a young child but older to his fellow mate Tom. Blake uses the word ‘God’ often in his poetry because it is referred to as a praise for children being taught that God will forever be their father.
It’s simple and calm narration makes the poem an interesting and soothing read for anyone who comes across it. In conclusion, it is a great poem though it entails many aspects of slavery and child labour, Blake’s use of tone, speaker and diction sets the theme right.
Blake’s extravagant and masterly use of literary devices such as Imagery, Metaphors, Simile, Alliteration, Repetition, Consonance, Assonance and Symbolism provide an imaginary and quality read for children and young adults.
Themes Involved
1. Hardship and Loss of childhood
“..while yet my tongue could scarcely cry “ ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘Weep!
So your chimneys I sweep and in soot I sleep.”
Through the poem we are told of how from a very young age these children are pulled/forced into the business of sweeping chimneys and have to earn a living by doing this dangerous job, ultimate exploitation that effectively robs children from their freedom and joy.
The poem talks about the hardship these young boys in the 18th century in London face which is very exhausting for their tiny hands and self. Some of these children had lost either of their parents while some sold their children to earn a decent living.
The stories spoken about in this poem are a devastating but cruel reality that still exists in our modern life.
2. Misery, Death and Hope
“So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.”
The children have no contentment in life but still do not lose hope. At first they are unhappy but later accept their fate and believe in working hard to get a good pay in the long run to somehow make their lives easy to live.
The coffins mentioned in the poem are the very bodies of these children and all the chimney sweepers, their life, the work and everything that contributes to the agony and death of innocence or childhood.
Heartfelt Lines from the Poem
“When my mother died I was very young, And my father sold me while yet my tongue could scarcely cry..”
“And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he opened the coffins and set them all free..”
“Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm; So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.”
The Bottom Line
You may at times feel very disheartened reading about the miseries of child labour of that time and how it didn’t do justice to these children. Blake’s extraordinary yet simple sensory use of diction provides accelerating evidence of this sentiment and the greatly increased use of chimneys and chimney sweepers from that time.
My ratings for this poem - 3.5 on 5
Written By - Umme-Aiman
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