The poem is written from the first-person perspective, which is clear in the first line of the first stanza: "When my mother died I was very young." Before being a chimney sweeper, Tom’s hair was full and white, representing his innocence—and, by extension, that of the other chimney sweepers.

The author, William Blake, portrays his logic very distinctly. It was published in two parts. Find full texts with expert analysis in our extensive library. If you need help faster you can always use our custom writing service. Blake uses homophones, similes, and metonymy, a type of metaphor, as literary devices to develop and emphasize these two themes. William Blake’s use of literary devices to emphasize these points are both entertaining and thought provoking. The value of the lives of these children is nonexistent. Join for Free The chimneys’ soot and ash turn the hair black, representing the corruption and loss of innocence at the hands of child labor. The dangers of this soot is highlighted in the third and fourth lines of stanza three, “That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, Were all of them locked up in coffns of black.”(Blake, 2018, p. 821). Enjoy eNotes ad-free and cancel anytime. It looks as if the soot, being black, is the coffin that encompasses the thousands of sweepers and seems to be a primary cause of death. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Two themes of the utmost importance to highlight are the oppression of innocent children and the conflict of commercial values versus human values. They also allow the readers to interpret the text in multiple ways. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

(Blake, 2018, p. 820). "There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head, The oppression of such innocent children is conveyed in such a way as to make the reader cringe with emotions of anger, sadness, and displeasure.

The narrator in this poem, an innocent boy, appears to tug at the moral compass of the reader to aid in the prevention of such catastrophic child labor and abuse.

". In the second stanza, "little Tom Dacre" is referred to as a "lamb." An analysis of the most important parts of the poem The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence) by William Blake, written in an easy-to-understand format. Motif: Blake uses the classic literary motif of black and white to convey the chimney sweepers’ innocence and experience.

It makes you really think about something and paints a picture in your mind. We can create an original paper just for you!

Someone has to do the job of a chimney sweeper, however not at the expense of a proper childhood. Throughout the poem commercial values and human values clash. That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved; so I said,' Before being a chimney sweeper, Tom’s hair was full and white, representing his innocence—and, by extension, that of the other chimney sweepers. |

See in text (The Chimney Sweeper).

‘weep!”. What is the theme of William Blake's poem "The Chimney Sweeper?". Discuss the theme of exploitation in "The Chimney Sweeper"? Indeed, Jesus Christ is sometimes known as "the lamb of God." There is also some slight alliteration being used in line four with the words so, sweep, soot, and sleep. The same pattern can be found in the contrast between the whiteness of Tom’s hair and the darkness of the chimney soot. Analysis of Literary Devices in “The Chimney Sweeper” Literary devices are tools used to make the texts understandable for the readers. William Blake communicates “The Chimney Sweeper” in the form of a first person narrative. Metonymy: Metonymy is a figure of speech that describes an object or person by comparing it to something else to which it is closely related. William Blake has also employed some literary devices in this poem to make it superb. William Blake communicates “The Chimney Sweeper” in the form of a first person narrative. The lamb here is an example of symbolism, as the lamb is often used in literature as a symbol for purity and innocence. Literary Devices Examples in The Chimney Sweeper: These emotions lead to the reader’s contemplation of the commercial advantages of free labor and child abuse, and how they manipulate and affect society’s outlook on the view of human values concerning the less fortunate. Blake, W. (2018). Tom Dacre’s hair represents his innocence. Line four is as follows: “So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.” (Blake, 2018, p. 820).

‘weep! Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. What is a summary of "The Chimney Sweeper " by William Blake? Line four in this stanza makes note of the horrid conditions in which the narrator is bound to, as soot seems to take the place of a comfortable bed or pillow.

820-821). Critically analyse The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake. The chimneys’ soot and ash turn the hair black, representing the corruption and loss of innocence at the hands of child labor. All rights reserved. A sublime moment is something that puts you in complete awe when you read or see it. Technical analysis of The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence) literary devices and the technique of William Blake It is the companion to a poem of the same name that appears in the earlier Innocence collection, and works as a kind of update on the plight of the chimney sweeper—a young boy forced to do the horrible work of cleaning chimneys. 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). School Memberships, © 2020 OwlEyes.org, Inc. All Rights Reserved. My sublime poem I read was " The Chimney Sweeper" by William [...], TENTATIVE THESIS STATEMENT: Two themes of the utmost importance to highlight are the oppression of innocent children and the conflict of commercial values versus human values.
In this poem, he tells us about his new fellow sweeper and the dream that he had while sleeping at his workplace. Owl Eyes is an improved reading and annotating experience for classrooms, book clubs, and literature lovers. The mother dies and the father chooses to sell the young sweep into a tumultuous situation.

Blake explores the role of the lamb more deeply in “The Lamb,” another poem in Songs of Innocence. This personal connection is emphasized in the final line of the first stanza, when the speaker uses direct address: "So your chimneys I sweep." This is highlighted with the comparison between Tom Dacre’s white hair and a lamb, and the innocence they all represent. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. This leads the reader to believe that the father must have been poor, as he chose to sell his child rather than participate in the nurturing of the young sweep. Blake describes Tom’s hair, comparing it to a lamb, and describing how Tom’s innocence is lost when his hair is shaved.

Sublime in literature is something that sets everything away from the rest.

Blake uses homophones, similes, and metonymy, a type of metaphor, as literary devices to develop and emphasize these two themes. “The Chimney Sweeper” is a poem written by William Blake. What are the literary terms, except alliteration, that exist in the first three stanzas of "The... What is the theme of the poem "The Chimney Sweeper" by William Blake? "The Chimney Sweeper" is a poem by English visionary William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794). This stanza illustrates the oppression of this poor young sweep and the travesty of the sleeping conditions. Don’t waste time! While utilizing the AABB rhyme scheme, this poem consists of six stanzas of four lines also known as quatrains. There are many travesties to note in this particular poem.
“The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake is one part of a collection of poems known as Songs of Innocence. |