William Blake Social Indictment and a Religious Vision of Salvation in William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper"

Written in 1789 and published in the collection, Songs of Innocence, William Blake's poem "The Chimney Sweeper," shows the cruel world of being a child in post-industrial London. The narrator of the poem is a chimney sweeper who was sold into the profession by his father, his mother having died when he was very young. Before he could even properly say the words, he was sent out onto the street to sell his services. While this vision of childhood may be shocking to the modern reader, to the parents who made this difficult choice, it was better than seeing their children starve (Edmundson). He was so young that he "Could scarcely cry ' 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!," his young boy's lisp transforming the call for a "sweep!" into a lament. Throughout the poem, Blake incorporates differing forms of emblematic language -- personification, allusion, metaphors and symbols -- to call attention to the social status of the chimney-sweeping boys and ultimately, to the possibility of their salvation (Classics Network). The life of a chimney sweep may be difficult and unjust; however, Blake's proposition is that all the skinny boys who work this difficult life can still receive salvation, if they work hard enough. Throughout the narrative of the poem, little Tom Dacre's salvation is shrouded in religious language, symbols and ideas.

In order to understand the underlying symbolism of this poem, or any poem, however, it is first necessary to understand the mechanisms the poet uses to convey his message. Technically,...

This construction adds buoyancy to the poem and the rhyming couplets are at odds with story of the poem -- a child sold into chimney sweeping -- but in line with the ultimate joyous message of ultimate happiness and salvation (Lorcher). The language is simple and the allusions and symbols are relatively easy to unwind and explicate. Though Blake has other works in which his religious imagery is many layers deep, in "The Chimney Sweeper," the message is much more plain and the images more stark and dichotomous: black and white; good and evil; death and resurrection. By using these comparisons and contrasts, Blake sets up his religious dogma -- the ultimate belief in salvation -- as the easy choice, the preferred way of living in the world. Even for these children who essentially live like slaves, the blackness is not permanent and the coffin is not the real final resting place. For even the lowest among the low, there is hope, and faith saves all, no matter how dire the circumstances of life. The poem begins with two lines in which a child's mother dies and his father sells him and ends with who lines wherein another boy is shielded from cold by his faith and fears no harm. Blake's religious position could not be more clear, and he is truly singing these children's songs, their songs of innocence.
The first religious allusion of the poem is in lines 5 and 6, where Blake uses a simile to compare Tom Dacre's hair to lamb's wool. Like Jesus, Tom is a symbol of innocence and sacrifice. Line 8 continues the image with a contrast between…