Key Facts
- Writer: William Blake (1757-1827)
- Title of the Author: English poet and painter
- Full Title: The Chimney Sweeper: When my mother died, I was very young
- Original Title: The Chimney Sweeper: When my mother died, I was very young
- Published Date: 1789, Songs of Innocence.
- Tone: Sorrowful
- Genre: Romantic Poetry
- Rhyme Scheme: AABB. This Poem is made up of six quatrains, or four-line stanzas.
- Total Lines: 24
- Time Setting: During the Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s.
- Place Setting: The poem is set in London
Symbols
Chimney Sweeper: As a child, the chimney sweeper represents innocence and vulnerability. He was taken into a harsh and corrupt world. Because of the loss of innocence that can result from societal exploitation.
Black Coffins: The image of “black coffins” symbolizes the chimney sweeper’s work’s ugly and often fatal nature. It reflects the physical and emotional picture of these children.
“Crying ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!”: The repeated cry of ” ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!” is not just a description of the chimney sweeper’s work but also a symbol of child labor. It reflects their inability to express their suffering and unhappiness openly.
Angel: The angel in the poem symbolizes hope, salvation, and a way out of the misery of the chimney sweepers.
Tom Dacre’s Hair: Tom Dacre’s hair is a powerful symbol of youthful innocence. After making him involved in the chimney gang, his hair was shaved. This hair-shaving represents a loss of innocence and child abuse in industrialized London.
Themes
Innocence of Childhood: The primary aspect of innocence in this poem is the innocence of childhood itself. The poem revolves around the lives of young chimney sweepers who were forcefully thrown to work. These children are represented by the poem’s speaker and Tom Dacre.
Contrast with Adult World: Blake emphasizes the stark contrast between the world of innocence inhabited by the child sweepers and the corrupt adult world that exploits them.
Religious Innocence: The poem also explores the innocence of religious faith. Despite their hardships, the young sweepers maintain a strong belief in the goodness of God and the hope of salvation.
Loss of Innocence: As the poem progresses, it becomes evident that their experiences gradually batter the innocence of the child sweepers. Tom Dacre’s dream, where he sees dead sweepers locked in black coffins, reflects the loss.
Hopeful Innocence: Despite losing innocence, the poem has a sense of hope and resilience. The angelic figure and the bright key in Tom Dacre’s dream symbolize hope and the possibility of redemption.
Lack of Parental Care: The poem highlights the abandonment and lack of parental care experienced by some chimney sweepers. They are sold into the laborious and dangerous trade by their parents.
Suffering: Suffering is a dominant theme, encompassing physical, mental, and emotional hardships endured by the young sweepers.
Child Labor: Child labor is a central and critical theme in the poem, drawing attention to the societal injustice and exploitation of young children for economic gain.
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Selected Quotations
When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry “weep! weep! weep! weep!”
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.
Exp: These lines are narrated by the speaker introducing himself. He claims that his father sold him and now he is working as a sweeper.
There’s little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head
That curled like a lamb’s back, was shaved, so I said,
“Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head’s bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.”
Exp: In these lines, the speaker introduces a young boy named Tom. Tom was worried about his life and because his hair was shaved. Then the speaker consoles him until he sleeps.
And by came an Angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins & set them all free;
Exp: Tom was dreaming that an angel came, removed the pin of the coffin, and set the sweepers who were in the coffin.
And the Angel told Tom, if he’d be a good boy,
He’d have God for his father & never want joy.
Exp: The angel says to Tom that he behaved well to God. That’s why it is god’s responsibility to make sure he is happy.
Literary Devices
“The Chimney Sweeper” In William Blake’s “The Chimney Sweeper” from “Songs of Innocence,” there are several literary devices employed to convey the themes and emotions of the poem. Here are some key literary devices used:
Imagery: Imagery is used extensively in the poem to create vivid mental pictures for the reader. For example, the images of black coffins, soot-covered bodies, and the dream of the angel and bright key.
Symbolism: Chimney Sweepers, Black Coffins, Angel and Key.
Alliteration: The poem employs alliteration, the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words, to create rhythm and emphasis. For example, in the line “So your chimneys I sweep,” the repetition of the “s” sound adds musicality to the poem.
Repetition: Repetition is used throughout the poem to emphasize key ideas and emotions. The repetition of ” ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep!” in the first stanza emphasizes the child’s inability to express his emotions fully.
Irony: The poem uses irony to emphasize the disparity between the innocence of the young sweepers and the cruel reality of their lives.
Enjambment: The continuance of a phrase beyond the end of a line or stanza creates a flowing and uninterrupted rhythm in the poem. It reproduces the relentless and continuous labor of the chimney sweepers.
Metaphor: The dream of the angel and the bright key are metaphors for hope and liberation.
Contrast: The poem employs stark contrasts between innocence and experience, childhood and adulthood, and hope and despair.
Childlike Language: Using simple, childlike language and diction strengthens the speaker’s innocence and perspective.
Background: In the late 18th century, child labor was prevalent in various industries, including chimney sweeping. Young children, often as young as five or six, were employed to clean chimneys because of their small size, which allowed them to navigate the narrow and dirty passages.
Characters: The Narrator, Tom, Tom Dacre, The Angel
The Chimney Sweeper Bangla Summary
“The Chimney Sweeper” উইলিয়াম ব্লেকের একটি কবিতা। এটি ১৭৮৯ সালে Songs of Innocence কালেকশনে প্রকাশিত হয়। একজন ছোট্ট চিমনি পরিস্কারকারী বালক এই কবিতার বিষয়বস্তু। কবিতায় ছোট্ট ছেলেটির চিমনি সুইপার হিসেবে কাজের অভিজ্ঞতা এবং তার করুণ অবস্থার কথা ফুটে উঠেছে।
কবি প্রথম স্ট্যাঞ্জায় একটি গুরুত্বপূর্ণ চিত্র তুলে ধরেছেন। এখানে একজন একাকী ছোট্ট ছেলের কথা বলা হয়েছে যার মা মারা গিয়েছে। এরপর তার বাবা তাকে শিশু শ্রমিক হিসেবে বিক্রি করে দেয়। স্পীকার চিমনি সুইপারদের দুস্থ ও নিরানন্দ জীবনের কথা সুন্দরভাবে ফুটিয়ে তুলেছেন। চিমনি সুইপাররা সারাদিন চিমনি পরিস্কারের কাজ করে এবং রাতে কালিমাখা স্থানে ঘুমায়। ছোট ছেলেটির এক বন্ধু, যার নাম টম ড্যাকার, তার চুল কাটানোর সময় সে চিৎকার করে কান্নাকাটি করে। চিমনি পরিস্কারের সময় তার চুলে অনেক বেশি ছাই মেখে যায়, তাই এই পরিস্থিতি এড়াতে তার চুল কেটে দেয়া হয়। কিন্তু ছেলেটি তার চুল রাখতে চায়, তাই সে আর্তনাদ করে কান্না করে।
এখন কবিতার এই দূর্দশাময় চিত্র হঠাৎ করে আনন্দময় চিত্রে রূপান্তরিত হয়। একদিন টম একটি স্বপ্ন দেখে। সে দেখে তার অন্যান্য বন্ধুরা সবাই একটা কফিনে বন্দী হয়ে আছে। তারপর একজন এঞ্জেল এসে সবাইকে মুক্ত করে দেয়। সব বাচ্চারা মিলে সবুজ মাঠে মনের আনন্দে খেলাধুলা করে। এঞ্জেল তাকে প্রতিজ্ঞা করে যে সে যদি ভালো বাচ্চা হয়ে চলে তাহলে স্বর্গের মত সুন্দর জায়গায় গড তার বাবা হবেন, যিনি তাকে অনেক ভালোবাসবেন। এরপরে তার ঘুম ভেঙে যায়। ঘুম থেকে উঠে সব বাচ্চারা আবার সেই চিমনি পরিস্কারের কাজে ফিরে যায়। এই স্বপ্ন দেখার মধ্য দিয়ে কবি একটি শিশুর নির্মল মনের পরিশুদ্ধতাকে চিত্রিত করেছেন।
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