The Chimney Sweepers by William Blake

 

The Chimney Sweepers

By William Blake

 

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!"
So your chimneys I sweep and in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved, so I said,
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

And so he was quiet, and that very night,
As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight!
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack,
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black;

And by came an Angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free;
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.

Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind.
And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father and never want joy.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark
And got with our bags and our brushes to work.
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm;
So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

 

 

‘The Chimney Sweeper’ comes from William Blake’s 1789 collection of poems, Songs of Innocence. This was later extended to become his most famous work, Songs of Innocence and Experience, in which the ‘Innocence’ poems are often mirrored by the ‘Experience’ poems to present different views of the human condition.

The poem is in the first person, about a very young chimney sweeper who exposes the evils of chimney sweeping as a part of the cruelties created by the sudden increase in wealth.

The poem was used as a broadsheet or propaganda against the evil of Chimney Sweeping. The Chimney Sweeper’s life was one of destitution and exploitation. The large houses created by the wealth of trade had horizontal flues heating huge rooms that could be cleaned only by a small child crawling through them. These flues literally became black coffins, which killed many little boys. A sweeper’s daily task was courting death because of the hazards of suffocation and burns. These children were either orphans or founding or were sold by poor parents to Master Sweepers for as little as two guineas. They suffered from cancers caused by the soot, and occasionally little children terrified of the inky blackness of the Chimneys got lost within them and only their skeletons were recovered.

 

 

First Stanza

 

The boy (chimney sweeper) lost his mother at a very young age. His father sold him into child labour before he could even properly speak. The repeated ‘weep’ mimics the cry of a small child trying to say ‘sweep’ which was a common call of chimney sweepers. It also evokes the idea of weeping, symbolizing the child’s suffering. The boy describes his grim life of sweeping chimneys and sleeping in soot, highlighting the harsh conditions and exploitation faced by child labourer.

 

Second Stanza

 

The speaker talks about another young chimney sweeper Tom Dacre. Tom has curly hair which is compared to a lamb’s fleece. He cried when his head was shaved off. The speaker tries to comfort tom by telling him that without hair, the soot from the chimneys cannot dirty his white hair. The consolation reflects a sad acceptance of their grim reality.

 

Third Stanza

 

After being consoled by the speaker, Tom fell asleep and, in his sleep, he has a vivid dream. In his dream, Tom sees thousands of other chimney sweepers, named generically to represent the many boys in this plight, all trapped in black coffins. The coffins symbolize death and dark, confined spaces of the chimneys, as well as the loss of freedom and life caused by their harsh work.

 

Fourth Stanza

 

An angel appears with a bright key, symbolizing divine intervention, hope, and salvation. The angel unlocks the coffins, freeing the children from their metaphorical (and perhaps literal) deaths. The freed children run joyfully across a green plain, representing a return to innocence and nature. They were in a river, cleansing themselves of the soot and grime, and shine in the sun, symbolizing purity, renewal, and enlightenment.

 

Fifth Stanza

 

The children are described as naked and white, emphasizing their purity and innocence after being cleansed. They leave behind their bags representing their burden and the tools of their trade, and rise up on clouds, playing freely in the wind. This imagery suggests a heavenly or spiritual ascension, a state of ultimate freedom and joy. The angel reassures Tom that if he remains good, he will be cared for by God and will experience eternal happiness. This reflects the Christian promise of salvation and eternal joy for those who are virtuous and faithful.

 

Sixth Stanza

 

Tom wakes up from his comforting dream, and along with the narrator, they get up before dawn to start their day’s work as chimney sweepers. This line emphasizes the harsh and unrelenting nature of their labour, starting early in the cold darkness. Despite the physical coldness of the morning, Tom feels emotionally “warm” and happy. This suggests that the dream has given him a sense of comfort and hope that transcends his grim reality. This concluding line can be interpreted in multiple ways. On the surface, it seems to convey a moral lesson: if everyone fulfills their responsibilities diligently, they will be protected from harm. This reflects a common belief in the virtue of hard work and obedience.