Although both poems address the same theme, portrayed images within the poems differ. The poem “The Chimney Sweeper” from songs of Experience suggests a more bleak and dismal atmosphere towards the chimney sweeps life, compared to the lighter “The Chimney Sweeper” from songs of Innocence.
William Blake’s poem “The Chimney Sweeper” extracted from his famous collection of songs of Innocence describes the life of a child chimney sweep. It is told in first person and explores several aspects of children’s lives in the18th century, addressing in particular, children being treated as objects, and being sold off by malevolent parents. It follows the life of a young boy called Tom Dacre and includes harsh contrasts between life as a chimney sweep and his dream of living in heaven. The theme of the poem suggests a deep disparity between the innocence of a young child and the harsh, juxtaposed, extreme of chimney sweep life.
In “The Chimney Sweeper” from songs of Experience it features a young boy who has being sold to work as a chimney sweep by his ‘Christian’ parents. This is extremely ironic as stereotypically Christians oppose neglect; this idea reinforces Blake’s critical views of religion. On a deeper level I feel this poem exposes the harsh social inequality and class divides present in the 18th century, where by society exploited children.
A child Chimney sweep narrates “The Chimney Sweeper” from songs of Innocence. We are given a brief encounter from the first verse of how the narrator was sold into the cruel trade at a very early age; “While yet my tongue could scarcely cry” this suggests that he was so young he could hardly speak. The line “Weep Weep Weep Weep” also reflects his youthfulness with the alliteration being portrayed as a mis-pronunciation of sweep. This is highly ironic as chimney sweeping is what this poor child has to look forward to in life.
Throughout the opening verses adjectives are used to reinforce the young children’s innocence and diminutiveness; “Little Tom Dacre” this portrays a very un- threatening image of a young, helpless boy. Blake uses a simile to reinforce this innocent image with the quote “ That curled like a lambs back” in this he is describing his hair as a lamb; this image suggests purity and youth, something that is not usually stolen at such a young age.
Throughout the poem Blake uses clever language with hidden connotations to portray images with 2 meanings, this is reflected in the line “And so he was quiet”. This quote suggests that Tom was forced into the severe life of chimney sweeping and also implies death, an image that is continual during the poem. The second and third stanza of “The Chimney Sweeper” from songs of Innocence harshly juxtapose each other with the second portraying a ‘white’ innocent image in comparison to the following stanzas creating images of black and death. This dark image is strengthened in the metaphor; “Were all of them locked up in coffins of black” this quote displaying connotation implies a negative image of children being forced up the chimneys and in effect forced to their deaths.
The next 2 stanzas reinforce the opposing positive imagery with colourful and bright images being portrayed, “Green plain leaping, laughing they run” and “They rise upon clouds” these quotes reflect his dream of living in heaven, a harsh contrast to their dismal lives as chimney sweeps.
In the last stanza Blake is highly cynical about religion; “So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.” This quote displays irony, as how can death be harmless? It also suggests that the dream has given him hope, as he will return to the joyful life he previously witnessed.
We immediately notice that the second poem “The Chimney Sweeper” from songs of Experience is a considerable amount smaller than the first. We seem to again have a narrator but this time it is not a chimney sweep, but instead an adult. This poem deals with a number of deeper issues reflecting Blake’s views on society, in particualar he criticises the church and religion, and the unsavoury social consequences of selfishness, greed, and power lust from society’s authorised members.
As in the first poem he addresses the issue of children being sold at early ages to become chimney sweeps, he uses the same language as the first poem to create this image; “weep weep” this again is a Mis-pronunciation of sweep as his parents have condemned him to a life of chimney sweeping. The first line of the stanza reflects Blake’s views of the inequalities within society as it refers to the child as a “Little black thing among the snow”. The boy is refereed to as a ‘thing’, an unimportant - insignificant object, unworthy of even a name. ‘Black’ and ‘Snow’ are harsh juxtaposing contrasts to each other and strengthen the effect of this visual image.
Like the first poem Blake is highly cynical towards the church, The line “they are both gone up to the church to pray” reflects this. This quotation suggests that Blake feels the parents neglect ion is not expected from that of a Christian and breaks the stereotypical portrayal of a religious role.
As in the first poem an image of death is depicted, this is yet again reflected by a metaphor; “ They clothed me in the clothes of death” this quote suggests that his ‘Christian’ parents have condemned him to a life of misery and death, with this dismal existence being all they have to offer. Blake also uses juxtaposing language to strengthen this image, as present in the first poem, with a harsh contrast apparent in the following stanza of “And because I am happy and dance and sing” this quote is ironic as how can a child in his position hide his grief and misery by portraying a happy, joyful existence?
Unlike the poem “The Chimney Sweeper” from songs of Innocence Blake reflects his views on society throughout his writing. This is suggested in the line “They are gone to praise God and his priest and King” this is highly critical towards both religion and society. It is inclining that this indecent behaviour is socially acceptable, as the parents don’t seem to think they are doing any harm with the king representing society and the way in which the hierarchy exploits children. Throughout both poems Blake uses language with hidden meanings called connotations, with this powerful quote suggesting his anti-establishment views of 18th century life.
Both poems display 4 line stanzas with a rough rhyming scheme of A,A,B,B. this changes throughout each poem however as Para-rhymes and changes in rhyme scheme are apparent. In “The Chimney Sweeper” from songs of Experience the rhyming scheme changes from A,A,B,B to A,B,A,B; displayed in the last 2 stanzas.
In “The Chimney Sweeper” from songs of Innocence however, the rhyming scheme stays the same but internal Para-rhymes are present; “ And so he was Quiet and that very night” with the rhyme being portrayed on quiet and night. Throughout both poems however some rhymes are incomplete due to the pronunciation of the words.
Blake wrote many other poems. He was often highly critical of the church and religion throughout these poems, “The garden of love” and “The little Vagabond”, both taken from his collection of songs of Experience, reflect this and his anti-establishment views on the society in which he lived. Both poems again use the technique of a narrator to tell the story.
In the “Garden of love” Blake is highly cynical about the church and reflects about a green in which children used to play, being spoilt by a chapel that has been recently built there. Although Blake doesn’t address the idea of chimney sweeping, the image of death and darkness is again portrayed with quotes such as “filled with graves” and “tomb-stones” this suggests an unwelcoming place, which again is not stereotypical of a church. This poem again reflects his ideas of a spoilt childhood with a clever metaphor; “binding with briars my joys and desires” this suggests that his childhood joys were demolished due to the construction of the church.
