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Chimney Sweeper Essay

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Poetry Essay, Thesis, and Outline of William Blake
“The Chimney Sweeper”

COURSE # and TITLE___ENGL 102 Literature and Composition_____

SEMESTER OF ENROLLMENT___Summer 2011____________

NAME__Tammy Boylan______________ID #__L23926585_

WRITING STYLE USED_____APA_____________________

In William Blakes, “The Chimney Sweeper”, this poem is told by a chimney sweep who tells of

a younger sweep that is sold into slavery by his father, after his mother dies. The main theme of

the poem is that of the loss of innocence of these children, who are depicted in the poem under

harsh and abusive treatment in the 1800’s. With their innocence stolen by their parents and their

owners these children were forced into confined areas filled with comb webs, and dirty sooty

conditions, where their lives were sacrificed to their life of cleaning these chimneys, of which

they died of young ages. The narrator tells of the young Tom Dacre’s dream of the only way out

of this life of misery.

1. Introduction-

William Blake writes of his concern for these children’s well being

2. Body Section – The Poem

Overview:

1. The boy’s mother dies at young age (Stanza 1)

2. Sold - Loss of Innocence (Stanza 2)

3. Dream (Stanza 3)

4. Angel (Stanza 4)

5. Hope of a Father (Stanza 5)

6. Their duty (Stanza 6)

3. Williams Blake, diction and imagery of the life of a Chimney Sweep

1. Tone- dark and depressing/ happiness:

Somber, death, weep, soot, cry, darkness, (stanza 1-3)

Sense of happiness, Sun, free, laughing, joy, warm, cleaning (stanza 3-6)

Boys frolicking in green plains (imagery)

2. Smilie –

Lamb – innocence / White hair taken (line 5 & 6)

Hair (angelic) / Soot (sin) (line 8)

3. Symbols-

Coffins, color black, Angel, naked, river, green plain, bags,

bright key

4. Irony-

Happy & warm, fear no harm in their duties

4. Conclusion-

Conditional Dream of Hope given by Angel

In William Blake’s, “The Chimney Sweeper”, this poem is told by a chimney sweep who tells of

a younger sweep that is sold into slavery by his father, after his mother dies. The main theme of

the poem is that of the loss of innocence of these children, who are depicted in the poem under

harsh and abusive treatment in the 1800’s. With their innocence stolen by their parents and their

owners, these children were forced into confined areas filled with comb webs, and dirty sooty

conditions, where their lives were sacrificed to their life of cleaning these chimneys, of which

they died of young ages. The narrator tells of the young Tom Dacre’s dream of the only way out

of this life of misery, death.

In the first stanza we see Blake setting the stage with the family’s history, the mother dyeing

reveals that the nurturer and care taker of this boy was gone, having no protection the father sells

his young son into a life of misery, and slavery cleaning chimneys. This show that the family

was poor, and unable to care for this young man, even in his young years. Blake uses “weep”

instead of “sweep” to show the innocence of the child, this is a double meaning, showing that the

child could not say his s, but also that the child was sad, full of sorrow in his life as a chimney

sweep. In the first stanza, “So your chimney I sweep & in soot I sleep.” (4)

Here Blake gives a name “Tom Dacre” the young sweep that was sold into slavery by his father.

Tom has white hair (innocence) that the owner cuts (taking away his innocence) to keep from

getting full of soot, not so much to care for the boy but for his own conceivence. The narrator

reassures Tom in his loss, which it’s all around better for him so to not have to worry about

keeping it clean, it’s better. This is reassurance from another sweep that has the same treatment,

maybe he’s sharing from his own experience to this new comer. In this stanza Blake is

symbolizing, spirituality, by comparing Tom’s white hair (innocence) to the hair on a lamb’s

back. This lamb representates “Jesus”, the Lamb of God, and a symbol of innocence. This also

symbolizes Tom’s youth, in that he is not old enough for his hair to darken yet with age.

In the third stanza Blake turns is focus on more sweeps that just the narrator and Tom, in Tom’s

dream. “And so he was quiet, & that very night, As Tom was a sleeping he had such a

sight,” (9&10) The only escape of a sweep is in their dreams. In Tom’s dream he sees himself

and thousands of other sweeps that he seems to know by name lock’d up in dark coffins,

Symbolizing death and the darkness of the chimney’s, as well as confined to the life of a

chimney sweep, a doubling meaning, coffin – death/darkness of confined spaces of the

chimneys. Again points to the innocence of the sweeps being stripped away.

In the fourth stanza shows Tom’s belief that there is still hope for happiness, when an Angel

(servant of God) comes with a “bright key” (white/ innocence), this may be Blake symbolizing

that there are caring people out there that can and will help these sweeps have better and happier

lives. The Angel set all the sweeps free from their coffins (confinements), freedom of this life

and the life hereafter. Here Blake uses words reflecting a better life, a happier life, bright,

laughing, and shines to show that the sweeps still have hope. In Blake setting the sweeps free

they are running through green plains leaping and laughing, naked washing themselves in the

river. Their nakedness symbolized their innocence just as when they were babies.“And wash in

the river and shine in the sun” (16) This shows that the boys are enjoying themselves. This is like

baptism cleaning their sins away as well as the dirt, soot and grim from the chimneys, bringing

back their innocence through God’s love. In the fifth stanza the narrator states, “Then naked &

white, all their bags left behind” (17), this shows that not only did they leave their work bags

behind, but also symbolizes the baggage left behind from their lives as sweeps. “They rise upon

clouds and sport in the wind” (18) allowing them to rise above the life as they know it on earth,

of pain, misery, and looming death, and gives them a glimpse of what they will see and

experience in heaven, their escape. The Angel goes on to tell them, “And the Angel told Tom if

he’d be a good boy, He’d have God for his father & never want joy” (19-20) giving hope, and

something to look forward to, to have Father and to never want joy again, and for a sweep that

was something worth hoping for.

In the last stanza Tom awakes from his happy dream, but not as you might think in a dreary and

dishearten state; but instead filled with continued hope for his future with his Heavenly Father.

He has a task/duty to perform, a goal to be a good boy, to do his duty. The ironiry was in the

waking in the morning, even as it was still dark, he grabbed his bagges and brushes to work. It

was cold all around him, but he was so full of hope and joy that he was warm to do his duty, he

needs not fear, for he knew he had hope in the unseen. This is the child like faith we are called

to have in our lives, to Honor God in our daily lives, just as this child did, in his dreary, dark,

hopeless life, he found hope; he dwelled upon that to keep him going.

This poem is not just about sweeps who find themselves in lives so dreary, but of the people all

around them, who see them daily, even employ their masters to do the work to clean their

chimneys. A call out to them to lend a helping hand of charity to these young men who had no

control over their fate. A duty given to us all as Christian folk to look to the interest of those who

can’t help themselves.

As disappointing as it is Tom’s dream is only that, a dream. The poem started out as a troubled

story of a child being abandoned by his parents and sold into a life of a chimney sweep/slavery,

this caused his life to end as an innocent child and become a worker for someone else’s gain,

both his father and his new owner. Leaving his only escape within his dreams, by which brang

him hope and happiness in what was to come.

Within this poem Blake used a Varity of poetic devices including, metaphor (naked, lamb’s

back, coffin, soot (bed)), repetition (white, stanza 2, 4, 5, lamb, Angel) Alliteration (sweep,

soot, sleep, Stanza 1, line 1-4) onomatopoeia (weep. Sweep), and multiple meanings, all to bring

the reader into a place where they could experience the life of a chimney sweeper. No happy

ending was given to the young sweepers, giving the reader a view of reality for them, and a tug

on their heart strings to act on behalf of these young victims.

References

Blake, William. Chimney Sweeper

Glen, Heather. Vision and Morality’: Song of Innocence

Diction and Imagery In Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper” 123HelpME.com. 02 Aug. 2011

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