William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper"

Introduction

“The Chimney-Sweeper” is a quatrain of six stanzas written to provide insight and rebuke the social injustice that defined the 18th century. By employing anecdotes, theological insinuations, and a very retributive yet sympathetic tone, Willian Blake enlightens the reader on the unfairness of child labor. This essay will analyze the poem and depict how the poet transforms the surreal concept of child labor into a visual reality through the voice and perspective of a young orphan forced into a life of filth and misery.

The Narrator's Perspective

“The Chimney-Sweeper,” a dramatic monologue presented by a sweep begins with a direct account of precisely the circumstances surrounding the young boy’s recruitment into cleaning chimneys. The boy narrates that his father sold him into chimney sweeping after his mother died. ‘So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot, I sleep,” automatically implicates the reader in his exploitation (Blake 12). However, the narrator seems to be oblivious to his own degradation. The young sweep does not understand the condition he lives in. He trusts that ‘he need not fear harm,’ as he cannot fathom the idea that his father can put him in a situation that endangers him. When the speaker tells Dacre that, “when your head’s bare, you now that the soot cannot spoil your white hair,” he depicts his positive perspective on life albeit the harsh reality he lives sin (Blake 12). The narrator’s naïve outlook gives a brighter tone to a somber situation.

Criticism and Hope

Central to the poem is Blake's criticism evident in Dacre's dream and in the sweeps' subsequent actions. There is a contrast between Dacre's fantasy of liberty and a future of joy outside the ‘coffin' and the harsh realities of the boys' lives. The poet condemns the use of promised future bliss as a means to subdue the oppressed. Evidently, the sweeps continue with the appalling, perhaps fatal occupation because of the optimism in a future where their situation will be better, “And he opened the coffins and set them all free; Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run” (Blake 12). Visibly, Dacre longs for a better life, however, his thoughts are that of an innocent boy, devoid of the social constructions that limit his alternatives. The only escape from the dreadful and fatal situation of the sweeps is death and the promise of joy in the afterlife. In this excerpt, “And so Tom awoke…And got with our bags and our brushes to work,” the poet criticizes not only the unacceptable condition of the sweeps forced into chimney sweeping but also the society (Blake 13). Specifically, Blake condemns the religious facet that would provide hope to the children as opposed to aid. The fact that the children alongside Dacre wake up from the dream and go to their hazardous labor suggests that the boys cannot help themselves. As such, it is the responsibility of the sensible readers to condemn and end the awful exploitation of children.

Conclusion

In conclusion, William Blake’s literature, “The Chimney-Sweeper” tries to provoke outrage over the cruel and unsafe practice of exploiting children. Through the poem, Blake seeks to enlighten the readers and the entire society on the predicament of the children by alluring to the audience’s conscience to free the laborers from their terrible existence.

Works Cited

Blake, William. Songs of Innocence and Experience: with Other Poems. Basil Montagu Pickering, 1866.