The Chimney Sweeper [Poem] Summary & Exercise

Summary of The Chimney Sweeper

'The Chimney Sweeper' is a Bleak poem told from the perspective of a chimney sweeper, a young boy living in 1700s London who has to earn a living doing the dangerous work of cleaning soot from people's chimneys. The poem makes no efforts to romanticize this life, portraying it as intensely impoverished and tough.

Chimney Sweeper Poem Summary & Exercise [Question Answer]

Introduction

The Chimney Sweeper is the title of a poem by William Blake, published in two parts in Songs of Innocence in 1789 and Songs of Experience in 1794. The poem 'The Chimney Sweeper' is set against the dark background of child labour that was prominent in England in the late 18th and 19th centuries. At the age of four and five, boys were sold to clean chimneys, due to their small size. These children were oppressed and had a diminutive existence that was socially accepted at the time. Children in this field of work were often unfed and poorly clothed.

In most cases, these children died from either falling through the chimneys or from lung damage and other horrible diseases from breathing in the soot. In the earlier poem, a young chimney sweeper recounts a dream by one of his fellows, in which an angel rescues the boys from coffins and takes them to a sunny meadow; in the latter poem, an apparently adult speaker encounters a child chimney sweeper abandoned in the snow while his parents are at church or possibly even suffered death where the church is referring to being with God.

Main Summary

The poem Chimney Sweeper focuses on the hard work of chimney sweeping by the small children. It is the most important preoccupation of the Romantics. William Blake, a spiritual and mystical poet narrates in simple language the pain of the chimney sweepers. The poem focuses on child labour in London, especially the chimney sweepers. Many small children suffered deformities due to the hard labour. The practice was abolished in 1875.

Who is the Writer of The Chimney Sweeper?

William Blake the writer of the poem chimney sweeper, was born on 28 November in London in 1757. He was an artist and poet; he is an influential figure during the Romantic Era. His works and paintings have inspired many. Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age.

Detail Analysis of The Poem

Stanza 1

The poet speaks as a chimney sweeper and expresses the sad situation. After the death of the mother the small child who finds it difficult to say the word was sold by his father to work as a chimney sweeper. The little boy tells the hard life of the children who work as chimney sweepers. The boy as a kind could not say the work sweep and weep but weeps all the time. Not only the little boy who narrates the story but all the kids who are forced to do the work cry all the time due to their suffering. They sleep at night in the soot. The situation is well described.

Stanza 2

The second stanza tells the sad tale of Tom Dacre who is a famous character in Blake’s many poems. Tom is called Dacre for he belongs to Lady Dacre’s Almshouse which is in-between St.James Street and Buckingham Road. Maybe he was adopted; he is sold now to a Master Sweeper. Tom wept because his head was shaved as people shave the back of the lamp to get wool. Tom was told that lice will not breed as his head was shaved. There will be no danger of his hair catching fire while cleaning the chimney. The situation gives the readers an uncomfortable feeling for the small child.

Stanza 3

In this stanza, the narrator continues to describe the sad story of Tom. He is quiet and calms after the comforting words of the narrator. He sees a wonderful vision while he sleeps. He sees in his dream all the thousand chimney sweepers Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack. They are dead and lying in coffins made of black coloured wood. They are all locked up in coffins.

Stanza 4

In this fourth stanza, his vision came true. An Angel with a bright key opens the coffins and set all the children free. All are now freed from the coffins. They run down a green ground jumping, laughing. They run all over and wash them in a river with happiness and dry to be shining stars. This is the happiest moment for the chimney sweepers who were chained to the hardest labour and exploitation.

Stanza 5

In this stanza, the little boy expresses his dream. All the boys are naked and white after they wash. They are naked as they leave their bags behind. They have removed their bags of burden of poverty and hard labour of cleaning the soot. Now they rise upon the clouds and play in the wind. The angel told Tom if he would be a good boy he would be blessed by God. He would have God as his Father and he will live happily forever with God.

Stanza 6

In the last stanza Tom wakes up and his dream has broken up. Tom and other little boys rise from their beds and get ready to work taking their bags in the morning cold. But Tom after dreaming feels warm and happy and now fear harm. The last stanza sounds like a moral message by the poet as if you are good and honest to your duty there is nothing to fear. The reality of life is shown in the last stanza.

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Analysis of Literary Devices

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /ee/ in “Could scarcely cry ” ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!” and the sound of /i/ in “And so he was quiet, & that very night”.
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between persons or different objects. There is one metaphor used in the first line of the last stanza. “And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark” where ‘dark’ is the metaphor of miserable life of the chimney sweeping children.
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /l/ and /p/ in “Could scarcely cry ” ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!” and the sound of /r/ in “So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.”
Simile: It is a figure of speech used to compare persons or objects to make the meanings clear. For example, “That curled like a lamb’s back, was shaved, so I said”, here the poet compares Tom’s hair with lamb wool.
Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line but with quick succession such as the sound of /l/ in “That curled like a lamb’s back, was shaved, so I said” and the sound of /c/ and /w/ in “Could scarcely cry ” ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!”.
Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep”; “Then naked & white, all their bags left behind” and “And got with our bags & our brushes to work.”
Symbolism: Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. Lamb is the symbol of and innocence and “green plain” symbolizes freedom and prosperity.

Analysis of Poetic Devices

Poetic Devices refer to those techniques a poet uses to bring uniqueness in his text. The analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem is given below.

Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are five stanzas in this poem; each comprises four lines.
Quatrain: Quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is quatrain.
Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the AABB rhyme scheme.
End Rhyme: End Rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. For example, “young/tongue”, “weep/sleep” and “boy/joy.”

Detailed Summary of The Chimney Sweeper

I was just a little boy when my mother died. My father then sold me into the chimney sweep profession before I even knew how to speak. Since then, all I've done is sweep chimneys and sleep covered in dirt. A new boy arrived one day; his name was Tom Dacre. He cried when his curly lamb-like hair was shaved off. I told him not to worry: with a shaved head, his beautiful locks wouldn't have to get dirty from all the chimney dust.

Later that night, Tom fell asleep. He had a vision in a dream. He saw row upon row of dead chimney sweepers in black coffins. An angel came along with a key and unlocked the coffins, setting the sweeps free. Then they frolic in green fields, bathing in clear water and basking in the sun. Naked, clean, and without their work implements, the sweeps rise up to heaven on clouds and play in the wind. The angel tells

Tom that if he behaves well God will take care of him and make sure he is happy. The next day, Tom woke up. We got out of bed before dawn and went with our bags and chimney brushes to our work. It was a cold morning but Tom seemed fine. If we all just work hard, nothing bad will happen.

Exercise [Q&A]

1. Who composed the poem?

Ans: William Blake composed this poem.

2. Why did the speaker cry?

Ans: The speaker cried because his hair was shaved to prevent vermin and soot from infesting it.

3. What does the expression ‘That curled like a lamb’s back’ mean?

Ans: The expression ‘That curled like a lamb’s back’ means the exploitation of children.

4. How did the angel open the black coffins?

Ans: The angel opened the black coffins with a special key.

5. At what condition would Tom get joy?

Ans: Tom would get joy at terrible conditions where he was treated miserably by his masters.

6. What do you think there might be in their bags?

Ans: I think there might be the tools for chimney sweeping and most probable the shoot which they had to collect from the tunnel of the chimney in their bags.

7. What did the angel tell to Tom?

Ans: The angel told to Tom that if he would be a good boy, he would have "God for his father," and never suffer from unhappiness.

8. How was the morning?

Ans: The morning was cold.

9. At the end of the poem what message was given to Tom?

Ans: At the end of the poem, Tom was given the message to be a good boy.

10. What is the poem about?

Ans: The poem is about the exploitation of children in other words the miserable condition of the orphans we are forced to work in industries.

11. What happened when Tom was sleeping?

Ans: When Tom was sleeping, he had a dream in which an angel arrived with a bright key that opened the locks on the coffins and set the children free.

12. What is the central theme of the poem The chimney sweeper?

Ans: The central theme of the poem Chimney Sweeper is that the miserable life of all human beings will be somewhat comforted that their lives will be improved one day.

ELTES

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The Chimney Sweeper [Poem] Summary & Exercise | Question Answer