Read below our complete notes on the poem “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake. Our notes cover The Chimney Sweeper summary, themes, and analysis.
Introduction
“The Chimney Sweeper” is a poem written by William Blake. It was published in two parts. “Songs of innocence” was published in 1789 and “Songs of experience” in 1794. As the name suggests, the poem is about the little chimney sweepers who live a black life, cleaning the soot of the chimneys.
The speaker of the poem is unnamed, however, he is one of the young chimney sweepers. In this poem, he tells us about his new fellow sweeper and the dream that he had while sleeping at his workplace.
Historical Background
When the poem was published, it was the time of the great industrial revolution in Britain. The industrial revolution brought many improvements like better transportation systems, the advent of steam power, invention of machine tools and different chemicals. Moreover, the use of iron increased in construction and machinery. The technology advancement resulted in a great increase in child labor.
In this poem, William Blake criticized the dark background of child labor. It was very common in England in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The parents sell their children for food. At the age of four or five most of the children were sold, because of their small size they were perfect to clean the soot of the chimneys. The children were oppressed and badly treated in this business. Often they had to sleep unfed and they dressed up in poor clothes.
These kids suffered much not just physically but also mentally. Most of them even died either falling through the chimneys while cleaning or from lung cancer and other diseases because of breathing in the soot. Many politicians stood against child labor abuses in 1830s but still, it remained prominent in the United States and Europe until the 20th century. Through this poem, the poet throws light on the false perception of child labor in the corrupt society.
The Chimney Sweeper Summary
The speaker of the poem tells us about his early childhood. His mother died when he was a kid and his father sold him to the chimney sweeping business. At that time, the speaker could hardly weep and was not even able to speak properly and then he started sweeping the chimneys and sleeping in the soot coming out of them.
The speaker then tells us about one of his new fellow sweepers. His name was Tom. He was also a small kid when he came to this business. He started crying when his beautiful curly hair just like lamb’s back was shaved for working in the chimneys. The speaker relieved him and asked him to be quiet. He told him that he will be glad when his curly white hair will not get dirty because of the soot coming out of the chimneys.
The little Tom became quiet and he went to sleep. While he was sleeping, he had a strange vision in his dream. He saw that thousands of sweepers, some of them were Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack, were all locked up in the black coffins. He saw that an angel came to them with a bright key and he opened their locked coffins and set them all free.
After getting free, all the sweepers went to a plain green land where they became very happy and started to enjoy. They laughed together and ran here and there, enjoying their freedom. Then they washed in the river and also basked in the sun. The little Tom saw them all naked and white. They started flying on the clouds in the wind and they left their bags and all their burdens behind and flew freely and happily.
The angel came to Tom and told him that he will become a good boy then God will become his father and he will never be deprived of happiness and joy. After that Tom woke up. The speaker and Tom woke up early in the morning when it was almost dark and they took their bags and brushes and went to work.
The speaker tells us that though it was a cold morning yet Tom looked warm and satisfied. In the end, the speaker suggests if everyone does his duty properly then no one needs to fear any punishment or harm.
Themes in The Chimney Sweeper
Innocence
Childhood is the best and the most memorable time in the life of every person but in the poem, the childhood of the little chimney sweepers is snatched from them. They have lost their innocence in the hardships of their life. They wake up early in the morning and work hard to clean the chimneys and hence spend all their life in the soot of the chimneys. They don’t go to school or play. They only play in their dreams.
Death
Chimney sweeping is a hard and dirty business. The young chimney sweepers work hard day and night due to which they suffer different diseases and then die prematurely. Not only physically, but they also suffer mentally and emotionally. As in the poem, the little Tom saw the dead fellow sweepers in the coffins. It also suggests the early death of these sweepers or we can say they are already dead in many ways as they have lost their childhood, their innocence and their freedom. The life of these poor little chimney sweepers is no life at all.
Suffering
The young chimney sweepers suffer a lot not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. They stay far from their homes. They wake up early in the morning and work the whole day but no one takes care of them. They even suffer different diseases and die prematurely but it doesn’t matter for anyone.
In the poem, the speaker tells how his father sold him to the cruel business of chimney sweeping when he couldn’t even speak properly. The head of little Tom was shaved and he cried bitterly. He saw thousands of sweepers locked up in the coffins in his dream. They could only play in their dreams as their childhood was lost somewhere in the soot of the chimneys.
Child labor
It is the major theme of this poem. Through this poem, the poet draws our attention towards the cruelty and injustice of our society. Though child labor is a crime, yet it is very common in our society. The poet throws light on one of the major businesses that involves child labor and injustice. He explains his point clearly by the dream of a little boy who recently fell victim to this dirty business.
Hope
Tom saw thousands of dead sweepers locked up in the coffins in his dream but then he saw an angel coming towards them with a bright key. He opened their coffins with the key and set them all free. Then they all went to a green land where they played and laughed freely and then started flying. The angel and his bright key are the symbols of hope. All the young sweepers ruin their lives in the soot of chimneys but they also have a hope that one day, things will get better. They also await an angel or any miracle in their life that sets them free from this dirty business and then they live their life freely.
Religion
In Tom’s dream the angel appeared as a savior and he opened their locked coffins. He also talked to Tom and showed him the right path. He asked him to be good to everyone so that God will love him and will become his father. It shows the religious beliefs of the chimney sweepers which raise them up from the hardships and give them courage to work in the tough circumstances.
Lack of parental care
Kids are the responsibility of their parents but sometimes they become a burden for them. Such parents get rid of their burdens either by disowning them or selling them to someone. Most of the kids in the chimney sweeping business are the result of this. In the poem, the speaker explains how his father betrayed him and sold him to a cruel business when he could even barely cry to tell his needs and couldn’t talk properly. So irresponsibility and lack of parental care are also seen in this poem.
The Chimney Sweeper Analysis
Lines 1-4
In the opening lines of the poem, the speaker tells the readers about his childhood. His mother died when he was a small kid. After her death, his father sold him to someone. The speaker tells that when he was sold, he was very young that he couldn’t speak properly and he barely could cry.
After this, he says that he used to clean the chimneys and then sleep in the soot of chimneys. It gives the idea that the father of the speaker sold him to someone who runs the business of chimneys. Most of the chimney sweepers are young boys and as they don’t get any facilities there, they sleep covering their bodies with the blankets or cloth that they use to collect the soot. So there is a possibility that the speaker also sleeps like this, that’s why he says that he sweeps the chimneys and sleeps in soot.
Lines 5-8
Now the speaker tells about his new fellow sweeper. His name is Tom Dacre and he is also a young boy. The speaker tells us that the boy had very beautiful hair. His hair was curly like the lamb’s wool. He cried bitterly when the owner or the worker of chimneys shaved his head and he lost his beautiful hair.
The speaker goes to him and comforts him. He asks him to be quiet. He tells him that maybe he will feel glad soon for shaving his head. He asks him not to worry because now when he works to sweep the chimneys, his pretty hair will not get messed up or dirty because of the soot.
As the speaker says that the soot will not spoil his white hair now, it gives us the idea that maybe, Tom Dacre had beautiful blonde hair that could get dirty immediately because of the black soot.
Lines 9-12
As the speaker tried to comfort the little bald Tom, he became quiet and then he fell asleep. While he was sleeping, he had a strange dream. He saw that thousands of chimney sweepers were locked up in the black coffins. The boy also named some of these sweepers. Among those sweepers, he saw Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack.
As the dream tells that the young sweepers were locked up in the black coffins, we can associate the idea with the black chimneys. As these poor chimney sleepers were bound to stay inside the chimneys that were full of black soot, we can relate the idea with the dream that these sweepers were locked up in the black coffins.
Lines 13-16
The little Tom then saw an angel coming in his dream. He came with a bright key. The bright key here symbolizes hope. As the sweepers were locked up, the angel approaching them with a bright key gave them a hope to get free and enjoy their life. The angel used his bright key and opened their locked coffins and set all of them free.
As most of the chimney sweepers were young boys and kids so they went to a green land and started playing. They became very happy. They laughed and ran freely without any restriction. After that, the sweepers washed by using the river water and then they basked in the sun.
As in the chimneys, the little sweepers were always dirty due to working in the black soot so it also gives the idea that after getting free, they cleaned up themselves and then they sat in the sun. They looked so beautiful that it actually seemed they were shining in the sun.
Lines 17-20
Tom then saw that the chimney sweepers after cleaning themselves started flying on the clouds in the wind. The sweepers were naked and they left their bags behind before flying. It gives the idea that as the chimney sweepers were set free and they were not locked up in any coffin or the chimney so, they flew high in their happiness touching the clouds. They got rid of all the burdens and left their bags behind them. The bags here refer to the burden that they carried or the real bags that they used to carry their chimney sweeping materials. They were free and they didn’t even bear the burden of their clothes so they flew free in the wind high up in the skies.
In his dream, the angel also talked to the little Tom. The angel told him that if he stays a good boy then God will become his father and then he will always remain happy. The angel told him to stay good to everyone and behave nicely. As a reward, he promised him that God himself will become his father and he will never keep him deprived of the joys and the desires he wants or wishes for.
Lines 21-24
The speaker now finishes the narration of Tom’s dream and he tells that Tom woke up. After that, the two of them picked up their chimney sweeping material that included their bags and brushes for cleaning and they went to work. As the speaker says that they woke up in the dark, it clearly suggests that they went to their work in the early mornings.
The speaker further explains that the morning, when they went to work, was very cold and the weather was harsh but the little Tom was not terrified and he seemed quite satisfied and happy that day. They started doing their work and they had no fear because now they believed that if they work well and honestly then nothing bad will come to them or harm them.
As the speaker says that they need not worry about any harm if they keep on working good, it also gives the idea that the poor little chimney sweepers not only suffer physically in the chimneys but they also suffer mentally. Maybe, they fear getting harsh punishments from their masters for not working properly so they try to convince themselves to work hard so that no one can punish them or harm them in any way.
Meter
“The Chimney sweeper” is a very easy poem and it can be closely associated with a nursery rhyme. No long, absurd or ambiguous words are included in it and the sentence structure is straightforward. There are five stanzas in the poem and each consists of four lines so it is known as Quatrain. The poem follows the rhyming scheme AABB. The end rhyme of the poem makes it more melodious because of the rhyming words like young/tongue, boy/joy and weep/sleep.
Literary Devices in the Poem
Assonance
The repetition of the same vowel sound in the same line is known as assonance. In the poem, assonance is used in the line “Could scarcely cry, Weep! Weep! Weep!” due to the repetition of /ee/ sound. Moreover, the sound /i/ is repeated in the line “And so he was quiet, & that very night”.
Consonance
The repetition of the same consonant sound in the same line is known as consonance. In the poem, consonance is used in the line “Could scarcely cry, Weep! Weep! Weep!” due to the repetition of /p/ sound. Moreover, /r/ sound is also repeated in the line “So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm”.
Simile
The comparison between two things using the words “like” or “as” is known as a simile. In the poem, the simile is used in the following line
“That curled like a lamb’s back, was shaved, so I said,”
In this line, the poet compares the hair of Tom with the lamb’s wool.
Imagery
The use of imagery helps the readers to perceive the ideas of the writer using their five senses.
In this poem, the imagery is used by the poet in the following lines:
“So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep”
“Then naked and white, all their bags left behind”
“And got with our bags & our brushes to work”
Irony
When the intended meaning of the writer is different from the actual meaning of the words, it is known as irony. The poet has used the verbal irony in this poem in the line “And my father sold me while yet my tongue could scarcely cry Weep! Weep! Weep!”. The speaker means to say that he was too young to pronounce the word “sweep” properly when he was sold to this dirty business.
Symbolism
The use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities is known as symbolism. The symbolic meaning of words is different from their literal meaning. In this poem, the poet has used many symbols that are as follows:
The poet has used the hair of the little boy, Tom Dacre, as a conventional symbol. His head with the curly hair is compared to the lamb’s back. The lamb symbolizes innocence and purity. As the head of Tom was shaved, it means that his innocence and childhood were snatched from him.
Tom’s dream is also a symbol. It symbolizes the afterlife of the chimney sweepers as he saw them in the black coffins. The word “black” is repeated several times in the poem. It is also a symbol. It shows the dark fate of the chimney sweepers.
The angel and the bright key symbolize hope. As in the dream, an angel comes with a bright key and sets them all free, the sweepers are hopeful to get free one day while they also wait for some miracle or angel that takes them out of this dark place in heaven.
The bags that the sweepers left behind while flying actually symbolize the burden and the load of the work that was on their shoulders. As they get rid of all their burdens, they fly high touching the skies.
As the speaker tells that the two of them woke up in the dark, the dark symbolizes their miserable life.
The green plain symbolizes the freedom and prosperity of the chimney sweepers as green color is often associated with growth, fertility and spring.