Literary Analysis Paper

COURSE #: English 102-CO1

COURSE TITLE: Comp & Lit

Writing Style Manual Used: MLA

Thesis Statement: “The Chimney Sweeper” written by William Blake can easily be confused as to whether it is a poem about how hard work and faith can bring you to the Lord or how being naïve can be extremely foolish.

Outline

I. Introduction

a. Discuss what the poem is about
b. Thesis statement

II. Describe the literal scene and situation

III. Discuss the theme of the poem

a. Discuss the theme/mood of the poem.
b. Discuss the words used to communicate the theme

IV. Discuss how rhyme is utilized in the poem and changes the theme/mood

V. Conclusion

a. Summary
b. Restate thesis

English 102

25 March 2012

Analysis of “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake “The Chimney Sweeper”, by William Blake begins with a child telling the story of his own life of being sold into slavery by his father. He explains how he was sold very young after his mother’s death before he could barely even cry. As the title states, the boy was sold to be a chimney sweeper. The child then goes into telling the story of another little boy that is there with him named Tom. He explains to the readers how he had witnessed Tom getting a haircut and how Tom cried for the loss of his white hair. The child, narrator, then explains how he gave words of comfort to Tom to make him feel better. Apparently on the eve of this event Tom has a dream about heaven. The child explains Tom’s dream to tell the reader that he dreamt of the boys being in coffins and how an angel comes to free them. The Angel takes them to a place where they are cleaned of their soot then rise up on clouds. The Angel basically tells Tom that if they are good boys and work hard then they will be rewarded and end up going to Heaven and be happy. Upon waking from his dream, Tom is obviously in the same situation as he was before, but he feels better about it thinking that it will all be ok in the end because he will be with God. Reading just this analysis one could probably assume that this is simply a poem about hard work paying off. After analyzing the poem further, the author’s usage of rhyme and last stanza could leave one to feel that the poem is about something else. The poem is easily confused as to whether it is actually a poem about how hard work and faith can bring you to the Lord or how being naïve can be extremely foolish. The author doesn’t really go in to depth explaining exactly what kind of setting the children are in, but from the very title one can already begin to visualize a subtle blackness. It is more the use of words like “weep, “soot”, “coffins”, “black”, “dark”, and “cold”. These words conjure up certain feelings that when combined with “chimney sweep”, one’s imagination can easily summon up images the author probably felt would be worse than anything he could have wrote. One would most certainly think the combination of this setting involved with children will bring about sympathy for them. As these words help the reader to visualize a “setting”, they also serve another purpose which would be the mood of the poem. From the very first stanza the child explains how he weeps and sleeps in soot. After reading this small portion, most readers would automatically feel that the poem will probably be a sad one and it sets them up for what is coming. Once the child begins telling of Tom’s dream, he does change the mood somewhat. One wants to feel happy for him that he is escaping the reality of this evil he is living in. Tom and his friends are with Angels and happy and clean! For what one would think the first time in a long time, if ever, they are feeling safe and warm like they can be children. When the Angel tells them that to be with God and have this happiness all they have to do is be good boys and do their work, it seems so simple and like they are going to be ok, but then we come to the last four lines. There are 24 lines in this poem, the first 20 all being AABB rhyme scheme. Once the reader gets to the last 4 lines, the words do not rhyme. The author seems to want the reader to pay more attention to these words. These words emphasize that Tom wakes up, in the dark. He starts his work in the cold morning, but Tom feels warm and happy. The very last line states that if they all do their jobs they don’t need to fear harm. From reading this one can conclude that Tom feels happy because the Angels told him hard work equals Heaven, so he will continue to work in this terrible situation ignorantly blind to the fact that it is wrong. While hard work and being a good person is the right thing to do and will pay off in the end, one cannot be naïve about one’s own situation. This is not the kind of hard work a child is expected to do. Blake once again changes the mood of the poem. Whatever warmth one may have felt from the dream is now gone. The reader realizes that this is still the life that these children will continue to live and it is morally wrong. Letting the children be naïve about their situation doesn’t really seem like the right thing to do. Blake has wrote a poem that at first read may appear to be a simple, do your best it will pay off in the end feel, but upon another read one may be a little more skeptical about his direction or purpose. His use of words and rhyme play a very important role in the meaning one may interpret. Either way one leans it is a very well written poem and an enjoyable read.

Works Cited

Heath, Dianne. Social Science Medley. 30 March 2011. Web. 25 March. 2012 .
SparkNotes LLC. Sparknotes.com. 2011. 25 March 2012 .