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About

Genius Annotation

From 1794’s Songs of Experience (the darker sequel to Songs of Innocence) the second version of “The Chimney Sweeper” has an adult speaker encounter a young chimney sweeper in the snow. This was one of the series of poems which explore the harsh realities of late 18th and early 19th Century life during the time of King George III, known — ironically given the terrible social conditions of the time — as the Romantic Era. Each poem in the “Songs of Experience” category is matched by an idealistic portrayal in Songs of Innocence. The contrast is Blake’s method of social protest.

Structure
The poem comprises three quatrains, that is four-lined stanzas. The metre is broadly four anapaests per line, that is two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable. This creates a gentle almost child-like, nursery-rhyme rhythm, ironically as the poem tells a grim story.

Language and Imagery
Typically, Blake uses simple language, but in a complex way. The voice is that of the chimney sweeper boy, but using words and expressions he would not use in real life. The poem is made up of symbolism — for example, his mother and father are the State — and ‘clothes of death’ are the soot that kills them.

The Chimney Sweeper, by William Blake, via The Blake Archive

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

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