What is the summary of the first chimney sweeper?
In the first ‘Chimney Sweeper’, from Songs of Innocence, a young chimney sweeper recounts a dream another chimney sweeper, named Tom Dacre, had. In Tom Dacre’s dream an angel rescued all of the boys from coffins and took them to a sunny meadow (i.e. heaven).
What does it mean to dream about Chimney Sweepers?
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.
What does the word black symbolize in the chimney sweepers?
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.
Why does the speaker say he sweeps the 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.
How did the chimney sweepers become happy?
Why do chimney sweepers die?
What is the meaning of the song "Songs of Innocence"?
What does the speaker of the poem tell us about his childhood?
How do chimney sweeps suffer?
Why did the little Tom have no fear?
Who wrote the poem "The Chimney Sweeper"?
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What was the angel's message to Tom?
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, He'd have God for his father, and never want joy. Tom has a conversation with the angel, who tells him that, if he is good, God will be his father and he'll never lack joy.
What are the symbols in The Chimney Sweeper?
The poem itself has a symbolic meaning: The chimney sweepers symbolize life and its toils, while the soot symbolizes sin.
What did the angel come with in The Chimney Sweeper?
And by came an Angel who had a bright key, And he opened the coffins & set them all free; Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run, And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.
What message does the angel give in stanza five of The Chimney Sweeper?
Ans:- In Stanza five, the Angel gives the chimney sweepers hope that if he is a good boy, he will have God for his father and never want joy.
What is the irony in The Chimney Sweeper?
The thing that Tom Dacre believes is the last irony of this poem. The Angel tells Tom that if be a good boy, God will be his father and he will always be happy. Driven by his dream, Tom believes that everything will be fine if do his job properly. This is clearly an irony.
What does Tom's hair symbolize?
Tom Dacre's lamb-like hair is a symbol for youthful innocence. When he's forced to join the chimney sweep gang, Tom Dacre has his hair shaved off. This hair is compared through simile to the curls on a "lamb's back." This helps emphasize Tom Dacre's youthfulness and innocence—like a lamb, he is young and defenseless.
What does my tongue Could scarcely cry signify?
The phrase "my tongue / Could scarcely cry" is a neat, poetic way of saying "before I could even cry." Blake's gettin' all fancy on us. Plus, he's using a little device called metonymy here, too. When he says tongue, he's really referring to the speaker's voice (a tongue can't actually make a sound all on its own).
How did the angel open the black coffins?
Ans: The angel opened the black coffins by using a bright key to unlock them.
What is the main message of The Chimney Sweeper?
Major Themes in “The Chimney Sweeper”: Misery, death, and hope are the major themes of this poem. The poem presents the miseries of children as chimney sweepers and their contentment in life. It is through the mouth of two young speakers the poet conveys his idea that one should not lose hope.
What does never want joy mean?
Solution : The phrase 'never want joy' means the sweet grace of almighty God. God is with them. Now they will never be unhappy in life any more.
How did the angel open the black coffins?
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair. 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 & set them all free.
Who has a bright key what does he do with it?
Answer: An angel has a bright key. He opens the coffins with it and sets all the children free from the coffins. Question 2.
What are the coffins of black in The Chimney Sweeper?
Solution : “Coffins of black” means job of chimney-sweeping. It signifies that chimmey sweepers work near chimney that carries off smoke or steam of fire from furnace, engine etc. Their work is not without dagger. Any time they may be runied.
What is the main message of The Chimney Sweeper?
Major Themes in “The Chimney Sweeper”: Misery, death, and hope are the major themes of this poem. The poem presents the miseries of children as chimney sweepers and their contentment in life. It is through the mouth of two young speakers the poet conveys his idea that one should not lose hope.
What is a detailed summary of the poem "The Chimney Sweeper ... - eNotes
In "The Chimney Sweeper," the speaker relates that after his mother's death, he was sold by his father to be a chimney sweeper when he was so small he could scarely say the word sweep. In the 18th ...
The Chimney Sweeper Summary and Study Guide | SuperSummary
Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
What is the theme of the poem "The Chimney Sweeper" by William ... - eNotes
Like many of Blake's poems, this poem criticizes the treatment of children under the extremely lax child labor laws of the poet's time. It also has a religious theme, suggesting that the children ...
Summary of The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake - Literary English
In this article, you will read about introduction to the poem, summary of The Chimney Sweeper, analysis and critical appreciation of the poem, major themes in The Chimney Sweeper, and Symbolism used by William Blake in the poem, The Chimney Sweeper.
The Chimney Sweeper Analysis - Literary Devices
Popularity of “The Chimney Sweeper”: This poem was written by William Blake, a popular English poet. ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ is a popular poem on account of its theme of poverty and the life of the working children. It was first published in 1789. The poem comprises the agony of children who were forced to live a miserable life.
What does Blake refer to in The Chimney Sweeper?
In The Chimney Sweeper, Blake uses several images and refers to related biblical ideas with which his contemporaries would be familiar with. Blake develops his own symbols in these poems as well as using established ones. He also refers to a Platonic belief that had become common among some Christians.
What does the lamb symbolize in the Bible?
Lamb – A lamb is often associated with innocence and playfulness, whilst a child sweep has been exposed to cruel treatment. However, lambs are also associated with vulnerable sacrifices for human evil. See Big ideas from the Bible > Sheep, shepherd, lambs.
What does baptism symbolize?
The Christian symbolism of baptism as dying to the old way of life and rising to a new eternal life.
Why did Blake attack the hope of heaven?
This taught people to accept present suffering and injustice because of the promise of bliss and the absence of all suffering in the next world. For Blake, this was the distorted perspective of fallen humanity.
What is the message of the chimney sweeps?
The message and meaning, in summary, is clear: the only escape from the painful and terrible degradation and suffering of the chimney-sweeps is through death, and the hope of peace in the afterlife. A rather grim conclusion, but then given the hardship endured by the poor, and especially the children of the poor in the late eighteenth century, it is easy to see how religious salvation, and the release from pain and suffering made possible by death, could be seen as the only solution to such hardship.
What is the name of the chimney sweeper in Songs of Innocence?
In the first ‘Chimney Sweeper’, from Songs of Innocence, a young chimney sweeper recounts a dream another chimney sweeper, named Tom Dacre, had. In Tom Dacre’ s dream an angel rescued all of the boys from coffins and took them to a sunny meadow (i.e. heaven). There they were washed clean: this is a spiritual as well as physical cleaning, we assume, ...
What is the blackness of the soot covered child in the poem?
In this second ‘Chimney Sweeper’ poem, from Songs of Experience, an adult speaker encounters a young chimney sweeper abandoned in the snow. He is a ‘black thing’ (not even human, note: merely a ‘thing’) among the white snow. If whiteness symbolises purity, the blackness of the soot-covered child stands in stark contrast to the surrounding snow. The child tells the adult that he is on his own because his parents have gone to church to pray, and have left him to his fate because he seemed happy among the snow.
What are the two poems of the Chimney Sweeper?
There are two ‘Chimney Sweeper’ poems by William Blake. The first appeared in Songs of Innocence in 1789, while a second poem, also called ‘The Chimney Sweeper ’ was included in Songs of Experience in 1794. Like many of Blake’s most celebrated poems, ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ – in both versions – uses fairly straightforward language, although some words of analysis may help to shed light on the meaning of these two poems. Let’s start with the first ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ poem, from the 1789 volume, followed by some words of analysis.
What did the angel tell Tom?
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;
Who wrote the second poem The Chimney Sweeper?
What about the second poem titled ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ written by Blake, published five years later? Here is the other ‘Chimney Sweeper’:
What is the meaning of "there they were washed clean"?
The message and meaning, in summary, is clear: the only escape from the painful and terrible degradation ...
What does the angel setting the children free represent?
The angel setting the children free could also represent the possibility of happiness in an afterlife— the best these unfortunate children can hope for in a line of work where dying young is a very high possibility.
What is the life of a sweeper?
Here, the numerous sweepers are described as living a life confined by sweeping. The sweepers have nothing else in life but to sweep.
What does the coffin represent?
Therefore, the coffin truly represents a loss of innocence and not innocence itself.
What does the metaphor of the coffins of black represent?
In William Blake 's poem, " The Chimney Sweeper ," the metaphor of the "coffins of black" can be seen to represent innocence. This can be justified by the fact that the speaker in the poem has been sold as a slave.
What does the lamb symbolize in The Chimney Sweeper?
What does the lamb symbolize in "The Chimney Sweeper"? In "The Chimney Sweeper," the reference to the boy sold into child labor being shaved like a lamb symbolizes the meekness and innocence of the boy. It is also a reference to Christ, the Lamb of God, who also suffered through no fault of his own.
Why does the chimney sweeper crawl up into chimneys?
The poem " The Chimney Sweeper " by William Blake begins with the narrator's heartbreaking lament of being sold by his father after his mother died when he was still so young he could not even pronounce words properly. Because he is so small, he is able to crawl up into chimneys to clean them.
What does the angel tell Tom about the lamb?
The angel tells Tom that "if he'll be a good boy," God will be his father and he'll be happy in spite of his circumstances. This cheers Tom up. The reference to the lamb occurs when Tom is first sold as a chimney sweep and his head is shaved.
How did children die in chimney sweeps?
In fact, child labor such as chimney sweeping was a horrific reality in eighteenth-century England, and the poor children often died from diseases of the lungs or from falling or becoming trapped in the chimneys.
What does the lamb mean in the poem?
The reference to the lamb occurs when Tom is first sold as a chimney sweep and his head is shaved. Blake writes that his hair curls "like a lamb's back.". To understand the significance of this phrase, it is useful to refer to another Blake poem called "The Lamb.". In this poem, the lamb is presented as a meek, mild, joyful, innocent creature, ...
Why are the chimney sweepers naked and white?
Answer: ‘They’ in these lines are the chimney sweepers whom Tom saw in his dream. They are ‘naked and white’ because they have been set free from their miserable lives by an angel. The ‘bags’ they left behind could be the bags containing the chimney-cleaning equipment which they wouldn’t need anymore.
What were the terrible conditions in which the young chimney sweepers lived?
Answer: The young chimney sweepers were innocent boys who did not have a proper childhood. They were sold by their parents when they were young. They had to work in the dark sooty chimneys and they would be covered in soot.
What does "in soot I sleep" mean?
Answer: By ‘in soot I sleep’ the poet means that where he is sleeping it is covered with black powder which is there when the chimney is cleaned.
What would happen if the chimney sweeper's hair was covered in soot?
They had to work in the dark sooty chimneys and they would be covered in soot. And since their hair would become covered with soot, their heads would be shaved. So, these were The Chimney Sweeper Questions & Answers.
Why does the quote "cleans our chimneys" make us feel pity?
Answer: This line also makes us feel pity for him because he says that he cleans our chimneys and so is covered in soot and perhaps sleeps without a bath as they lived in inhuman conditions.
What did Tom see in his dream?
Answer: In his dream, Tom saw that thousands of children like him are leading very unhappy lives. They worked as chimney sweepers, led miserable lives and perhaps slept in the bags that contained the soot, hence the reference of ‘coffins of black’.
Why did the speaker and the other children have a terrible life?
Answer: The speaker and the other children had a very terrible life because they were working from morning to night without having sufficient food.
How did the chimney sweepers become 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.
Why do chimney sweepers die?
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.
What is the meaning of the song "Songs of Innocence"?
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.
What does the speaker of the poem tell us about his childhood?
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.
How do chimney sweeps suffer?
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.
Why did the little Tom have no fear?
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.
Who wrote the poem "The Chimney Sweeper"?
Contents. “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.
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 swee…
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 s…
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 chimne… - 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 sw…
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 cr… - 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 h…