Language and style

The language and the style of the poem “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake are usually important elements which can give you a better insight into the author’s intentions and the themes of the poem.

Playing with the language

Though the poem sounds very playful because of its rhythm and rhyme, the poet is quite straightforward. The only instances when we get the feeling that he is playing with language is when he uses several allusions such as the one to the lamb of God (ll. 5-6), which makes us think of Tom as a victim of sacrifice and the other religious references to Heaven, Angels and God, which make us think of the symbolism behind them. Additionally, knowing the poet’s background and his views on God and human existence, we sense that apart from sounding like a joyful song, the poem also contains critical irony related to the injustice of child labour.

William Blake was known to believe in God and the Holy Bible, but to be very critical of religion as an institution represented by the Church and its teachings. For this reason, many of his poems question religious teachings proposed by the Church.

Tense of the verbs

The poem renders past events, describing the speaker’s past and Tom’s dream and attitude using mostly past tenses: “died” (l. 1), “sold” (l. 2), “cried” (l. 5), “was shaved” (l. 6), “were” (l. 12), “came” (l. 13), etc.

However, the poet al...