How is innocence symbolized in The Chimney Sweeper?
white hair – White is the colour associated with innocence and purity, which increases sympathy for a young life being defiled by its squalid conditions. Blake’s readers would also recognise it as an allusion to the vision of the ‘Son of Man’ Daniel 7:9 which was associated with Jesus.
What is the message of the poem 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 the moral lesson of chimney sweeper of Songs of Innocence?
The angel tells Tom that if he is a ‘good boy’ God will love him and he will never ‘want joy’ (lack happiness). Tom awakes, warm and cheerful, and the poem ends with the moral: ‘So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm’.
Why is The Chimney Sweeper a song of innocence?
In ‘The Chimney Sweeper’ of Innocence, Blake can be interpreted to criticise the view of the Church that through work and hardship, reward in the next life would be attained; this results in an acceptance of exploitation observed in the closing lines ‘if all do their duty they need not fear harm.
What do chimneys symbolize?
In the industrial era, the chimney undoubtedly represents an architectonic dream, but it is also the unmistakable representation of a desire to dominate. On letterheads and trademarks, chimneys slowly came to prevail over bell towers, castle towers, earlier symbols of power.
Why does the boy from the chimney sweeper from Songs of Innocence think his father sold him?
They sold him to become a chimney sweeper. What is ironic about his parents being at church? His parents are acting like nothing happened, still going to church and living their everyday lives even though they sold their child and know that he will die. Representing how they sold him to basically die.
What is the main idea of the poem?
Answer: The central idea of a poem is the poem’s theme or ‘what it’s about’ if you like. Although many shy away from poems being ‘about’ something, at the end of the day, the poet had something in mind when it was written, and that something is the central idea, whatever it is or might have been.
What is the black thing Blake refers to in the chimney sweeper?
Summary. ‘The Chimney Sweeper: A little black thing among the snow’ by William Blake is a dark poem that sought to expose the horrors of child labor. In the first lines of ‘The Chimney Sweeper,’ the speaker describes a small “black thing among the snow”. This is of course the child who has lost both his parents.
What is the tone of the chimney sweeper?
The tone of the poem is one of gentle innocence and trust, which contrasts sharply with its grim subject. The young chimney sweeper’s words show that he and his fellow sweep are in a harsh situation. They are the among most vulnerable in society: young children who are orphaned or unwanted.
What literary devices are used in the chimney sweeper?
“The Chimney Sweeper”, a narrative poem by William Blake, uses rhetorical devices to explore the hardships of true salvation through literal and figurative language. The use of imagery, symbolism, and metaphor create the tone of misery regarding both the speaker and little Tom Dacre.
What does the phrase the coffins of black signify in the poem The Chimney Sweeper?
“Coffins of black” represents innocence and what is done to innocent children.
What does yet my tongue mean?
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).
Who is the chimney sweeper in songs of innocence?
“The Chimney Sweeper” is a poem by William Blake, published in his 1789 collection Songs of Innocence. The poem is told from the perspective of a young chimney sweep, a boy who has been sold into labor by his father. The sweep meets a new recruit to the chimney sweeping gang named Tom Dacre, who arrives terrified.
Is the second poem in the chimney sweeper spoken by a child?
It is significant, of course, that the second poem is spoken by an adult, since this is one of Blake’s ‘songs of experience’, while the corresponding ‘song of innocence’ is spoken by one child about another.
What did little Tom Dacre say about the chimney sweeper?
‘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.’.
When did William Blake write the chimney sweeper?
A LitCharts expert can help. A LitCharts expert can help. “The Chimney Sweeper” is a poem by William Blake, published in his 1789 collection Songs of Innocence. The poem is told from the perspective of a young chimney sweep, a boy who has been sold into labor by his father.