William Blake

“The Chimney Sweeper” is the poem in this section that really touched my heart. It is a shame that children would have to do work such as this. Children should have fun and not be stressed. The conditions described in the poem were clearly not appropriate living conditions for children. This poem is about an orphan whose mother died and father sold him. Now he sweeps out chimneys and lives there as well. There are other orphans where he is doing the same work. One is Tom Dacre. Blake allows you to get more of a glimpse into Tom’s life and his feelings. For example, the lines “cried when his head that curl’d like a lambs back, was shav’d, so I said: Hush Tom never mind it, for when your head’s bare you know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair”(p. 81) tell us that Tom’s head was shaved and he cries as anyone would be upset having their head shaved without their permission. However, the orphan tries to comfort Tom by telling him that there is one good thing about the situation; the soot can no longer make his white hair dirty. Blake then goes on to tell us that as Tom was sleeping he saw thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned and Jack to name a few. “Were all of them lock’d up in coffins of black, and by came an Angel who had a bright key, and he open’d the coffins & set them all free. Then down a green plain leaping laughing they run and wash in a river and shine in the Sun” (p. 81). My thoughts were that the orphans being locked up in coffins symbolized their feelings of being imprisoned. As orphans sleeping in soot and working in chimneys everyday they do not have the freedom that children living with parents in their home do. For example, children with parents go outside and play or to the park. Parents also go out and do things with their children. The orphans do not get to experience these things. Then Blake goes on to tell us that an angel sets them free and they are no longer chimney sweepers but children full of joy and not a care in the world. They are not covered in soot and dirt, rather they are clean from washing in the river and bathing in the sun. “Then naked & white, all their bags left behind, they rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind and the Angel told Tom if he’d be a good boy, He’d have God for his father & never want joy” (p. 81). They are free as a bird as they run through fields and feel like they are on cloud nine. The angel tells them that if they are good God will always watch over them and they will never sad. This poem really tell a story in that in the end Blake reveals that Tom awoke in the dark only to find that it was all a dream. “Tho’ the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm so if all do their duty they need not fear harm” (p. 81). The orphans continued to work with their brushes and bags through the cold morning. However, the poem tells us that Tom was happy knowing that if they do what they are told they will not be harmed. I interpreted this part as a message to us that if we all do what we are told and listen to advice of the wise everything will work out for the better.


I also enjoyed the poem “Infant Joy” on page 83. The poem is about a newborn baby that has just been introduced into the world and is only two days old. The infant does not have a name but the poem calls the infant joy which is only fitting considering the joy that parents feel when they bring a child into the world. I took the poem to be about the precious gift of life. The poem refers to the baby’s smile which brings even more joy to the lives of the ones that love the child. Some of us do not know this joy because we do not have children. However, through this poem Blake tell us that it is a truly wonderful experience.