Marginalia

How does the speaker view the religious practice of the government/upper class? What is the relationship between the religious practices of the government/upper class and their treatment of the working class? Do you think the government/upper class uses religion to justify their actions toward the working class in any ways?

Do you think this poem relates to the working class as a whole or is it more specifically referencing child labor? What clues in the text lead you to believe this, and why?

What role did religion play for working class families during the industrial revolution? How (if at all) was this role different for children and adults?

I found this line to demonstrate the theme of the poem very well. The poem, I think, is a jab at the working class, and is saying that although impoverished peoples can survive and put on a brave face, they are still suffering. “And taught me to sing the notes of woe” I believe means the government forces the working class and lower classes to act happy and try to make the best out of their situations, even though their situations are tragic. This goes alone with the next few lines, “And because I am happy.&dance & sing./ They think they have done me no injury;”, which as mentioned before is the working class making the best out of their situations, and the upper classes and government then thinking they have done no wrong to the working classes.

In the Victorian era, children were known to become chimney sweepers. I believe the speaker is displaying a picture of a child covered in soot amongst the ice-cold snow. The speaker cries out that due to the parents’ ‘generosity’ giving their child warmth and clothes on their backs, that they are obligated to be happy and grateful. However, from the difficult and dangerous labor, they are miserable and dying from the sustained injuries caused by them working at this post.

I found this line to be the most interesting or eye capturing from the entire poem because of its theme of life and death. The irony is that their parents are at church worshiping and praising their god while their child is suffering and dying and even some entering the gates of this heaven. You can tell by this ending line that all the torment and agony is stressed to make a strong claim. Being a part of the audience and/or reader, I can empathize and feel the emotions throughout this passage.

The text and plate of William Blake’s poem “The Chimney Sweeper” printed here is from Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Copy N (1795) via The William Blake Archive.