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Transcript

The Poem is narrated by an unidentified chimney sweeper who starts off telling the reader about how he got into the chimney sweeping business (orphan, child laborer, possibly homeless).

He then introduces Tom Dacre who seems to have a negative attitude on chimney sweeping.

Narrator explains the dream Tom has of him and his chimney sweeper friends being covered in soot and trapped in coffins. An angel releases them from their coffins and a river appears for them to clean off the soot. They are running around, laughing, and having fun.

The angel promises Tom that if he is good, that

he can come back and God will be his father.

Purpose!

Innocence

the children’s innocence has been stolen from them. They're forced to live a sad,"black" life. They frolic and play only in dreams

Purpose

Death

Chimney sweepers often experienced early deaths from cancer or abuse. The young chimney sweepers in coffins in Tom’s dream are meant to remind us of that.

The Poem

•Criticizing the Industrial Revolution

•Chimney sweeping was the most horrific to Blake because it involved harming innocent kids who, he believed, should be playing in the sun

•More people started living in cities during the Industrial Revolution which resulted in more chimneys needing to be cleaned

•Smaller children were normally used for this because they could get inside easier and clean more thoroughly

•Several of Blake’s other pieces critique the Industrial Revolution as well

Religion

Blake uses Tom’s dream to show how these boys' religious beliefs keep them contained in their dreadful lifestyle, rather than allowing them to rise above it.

Discussion Questions

Direct Audience

Suffering

The Chimney Sweeper

by William Blake

The Shaving of Tom's head, the children locked

up in the coffins, the narrator being sold by his father, the only time they have fun is in their dreams. There's no end in sight for these kids.

  • 1788, King George III of Britain passed an act entitled

"An Act for the Better Regulation of Chimney Sweeps and their Apprentices"

  • The act was primarily intended to protect the rights and safety of the chimney sweep apprentices.
  • These “apprentices” were indentured young boys around the age of six who had been sold to the sweep by their parents

1. In the poem, there isn’t just one chimney sweeper, but thousands of others who appear in Tom’s dream. Do you think the title “Chimney Sweeper,” is referring solely to the narrator, or all the children chimney sweepers lumped into one figure?

2. Like Tom, Blake claimed to have received many “spiritual visitors,” through his lifetime as well. Could he be referring to Tom as himself?

3. Do you think the coffins symbolize the actual deaths of the children? Or the symbolic death of their current life?

Indirect Audience

  • The Master Sweeps and others who didn't understand the traumatizing of the "apprentice".
  • Since the small boys were often afraid to climb up into the small space, it was not uncommon for the master sweep to ignite a fire as a means of “encouraging” the child to scramble through his work quickly.
  • The people who condoned the Act of putting these children through traumatizing treatment

Work Cited

  • Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 11 Oct.2014.

  • "The Chimney Sweeps Act of 1788." Oregon Chimney Guys. 7 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

  • "The Chimney Sweeper - William Blake." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Apr. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

Summary:

Literary Techniques

Presented by:

Jasmine Morales

Emily LaTouf

Schedreeca Alexander

Irony

The light, airy, rhythmic structure of the poem is ironic considering the cold, devastating story being told.

Imagery

Background on Author

  • Blake describes to us in depth his religious vision of God and angels and how he views them as pure and bright.
  • Contrast between Tom's lovely, heavenly dream and the dirty, black chimneys that they are surrounded by everyday

.

William Blake

.

10/14/2014

Sam Houston State University

ENGL 1302

Bio:

Symbolism

Tones:

Blake uses symbolism to express the evils of exploiting these small boys. Most of this symbolism appears to be about death. This gives the poem a dark mood. Blake writes,

"So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep"

  • Born in London on November 28, 1757
  • As a child, Blake claimed to have had encounters with God and angels
  • Poet, engraver, print maker, and painter
  • Spent final years in great poverty because he went his entire lifetime unrecognized for his work- became famous after death
  • Was considered insane by contemporaries of his time for his idiosyncratic views
  • Won many awards even centuries after his death for his work (even in 2002)
  • Died at age 70

Naive

Hopeful

Innocent

Depressing

When Tom awakens from his Dream, his

whole attitude is changed for the better.

Compelling Quote:

The narrator seems to be the more mature of the

two- the realist: When tom is getting his head shaved bald, the narrator says to him:

"Hush, Tom! nevermind it, for when your head's bare, You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

Author

Purpose

Techniques

Summary

Themes

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