... that his mother died when he was a young child and at that same time, he stated that "his father sold me". Saying that the boy "cried weep, weep, weep" instead of saying "sweep" implies that he was too young to talk or work. How count this be? Children were sold in London at an early age ... little Tom Dacre had one night. Symbolism means the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. Tom dreamed heavily in the second third and fourth stanzas to depict what Blake was trying to symbolize from the chimney sweepers. It started with the dream that thousands of sweepers were "locked up ...

• Word Count: 803
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... longer enjoy the world as carefree children, but are forced to live a life of burdens and hard labour. One element that differs between the two speakers is their amount of experience. When reading poem 1, I was left with the impression that the speaker was innocent, nave and a good-natured little boy. He does not question his current life situation, because he does not know ... , diseases, or accidents during work. They would simply be replaced by another and possibly even younger boy. I believe that Blake uses the word lamb as a symbol of how these boys were sacrificed in their line of ...

• Word Count: 2076
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... that religion and a belief that salvation will serve the children is nothing more than a lie to perhaps soothe the conscious of those involved in child labor. The image of a "black" child suggests that the chimney sweep is covered in filth and soot. The boy then helplessly cries "weep, weep" alluding to sweep, sweep, having felt innocence lost over such labor. In discussing the actual ... up in coffins of black." In this quote, the "coffins of black" symbolize the chimneys. Ultimately this all symbolizes the boys" death because of their terrible life cleaning chimneys at such a young ag...

• Word Count: 1198
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School