"The Chimney Sweeper," from Robert Blake's Songs of Innocence, is a poem typical of.
the themes present in the Songs of Innocence and Experience. The main character is pathetically.
unfortunate, and yet diligently fulfills his societal obligations. This poem has a severely ironic.
tone, and is clearly a mockery of a society that would perpetuate the inhumane use of its weaker.
members.
The speaker of "The Chimney Sweeper" is a young boy who is himself a chimney.
sweeper. He shares with a fellow child-chimney sweeper named Tom Dacre, the focus of the.
poem. The poem is addressed, essentially, to whom it may concern, and as such the poem seems.
to be a vehicle for the boy to declare who he is. He seems to be decrying his position, perhaps to a.
passerby. His mother died when he was very young, and although it says his father sold him, this.
probably means simply that he works as a chimney sweeper, in order to help support his family.
Then the reader begins to learn about little Tom Dacre, who had to have his head shaved. The.
narrator, despite his own horrible situation, finds the ability to comfort Tom. Tom has a dream in.
which thousands of chimney sweepers are trapped in coffins, and what must be the angel of death.
comes along and lets them out of the coffins and into gorgeous, "heavenly," meadows and.
streams. Then, after cleaning the soot off of themselves in a river, the chimney sweepers ascend.
into heaven upon clouds. In his dream, the angel directly addresses Tom, and tells him that if he.
continues to dutifully sweep chimneys, God will smile upon him. The speaker relates that.
following the dream, all of the chimney sweepers got up and went to work. In the final lines, the.
speaker first describes Tom as being comforted by his dream, and then makes the direct.
philosophical statement that "if all do their duty, they need not feel harm.".
This poem is clearly written sarcastically by Blake, and this poem was, in fact, as Damon.
