The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience)
Poetry
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William Blake
The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) Poem
The Chimney Sweeper: A little black thing among the snow
By William Blake
A little black thing among the snow,
Crying "weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe!
"Where are thy father and mother? say?"
"They are both gone up to the church to pray.
Because I was happy upon the heath,
And smil'd among the winter's snow,
They clothed me in the clothes of death,
And taught me to sing the notes of woe.
&nbs...
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The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) Symbols
In William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper" from "Songs of Experience," several symbols convey deeper meanings and themes.
Soot: Soot, associated with the chimneys, symbolizes the moral and spiritual pollution from exploiting children. It is not just physical grime but also a metaphor for the corruption of society's values.
Cry of "weep! weep!": The repeated cry of "weep! weep!" is a stark and poign...
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The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) Literary Device
In the poem "The Chimney Sweeper: A little black thing among the snow" by William Blake, the poet uses different literary devices with words to make the poem more interesting.
Alliteration occurs when the same sound at the beginning of words is repeated. In the poem, you can see it in phrases like "happy" and "hearth" in one part and "praise" and "Priest" in another. It makes the poem sound rhyth...
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The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) Quotes
A little black thing among the snow,
Crying "weep! weep!" in notes of woe!
"Where are thy father and mother? say?"
"They are both gone up to the church to pray."
Explanation: This is a very powerful and touching opening stanza of this poem. This shows how the parents of this little chimney sweeper care more about religion than their child. The child is a “little black thing” because he is covere...
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Chimney Sweeper Summary
A small child who is a chimney sweeper is seen standing alone in the snow. He is crying, “Weep! Weep!” He cannot even speak the word “sweep" properly. When someone asks him where his parents are, he says they have gone to church to pray.
The little chimney sweeper says that he used to be happy. He happily played on the open field, even in the cold winter snow. But because he was happy, his parents...
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The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) key Info
Writer: William Blake (1757-1827)
Title of the Author: English poet and painter
Full Title: The Chimney Sweeper: A little black thing among the snow
Original Title: The Chimney Sweeper: A little black thing among the snow
Published Date: 1794, Songs of Experience.
Tone: Anger, Indignation, and social criticism
Genre: Poetry
Rhyme Scheme: The rhyme scheme in the poem is AABB – CCDD – EEFF. "The...
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The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) Themes
Failure of Religion: This poem shows how religion (like the Church) hurts children instead of helping them. The little chimney sweeper is a poor child. This little child has to do dangerous work. His parents do not care much about him—they have gone to church to pray. This means they care more about religion than their own child.
The child says he used to be happy. But when he smiled and played...
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The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience) Summary
At the poem's beginning, the poet describes how he noticed something black colored far away in the snow-covered nature. He went near and saw that a little boy was crying. Then he asked the boy where are his parents. The boy replied that they had gone to pray in the church.
The boy again started saying he was very happy with his life and was busy playing in the green field in the middle of nature i...
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