An Analysis of The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake

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.

And because I am happy and dance and sing,

They think they have done me no injury,

And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King,

Who make up a heaven of our misery." 

 The first stanza identifies the subject of the poem.  The Chimney Sweeper.  In Blake's time children used to be used to clean up chimneys as they were small and nimble enough to get at the different spots in the chimney.  One may infer from the line, that the chimney sweep is soot covered from work.  The first line also creates a contrast between the blackness of the soot stained boy and the color of the snow.  Although it's a seemingly subtle point, its fitting opening for a poem that's part of a compendium on contrasts.  Songs of Innocence and Experience.

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.

The second line doubles as onomatopoeia in that "weep! 'weep!" is the sound that a little bird chirping would make.  If this is the case, then the chimney sweep is a figure to be pitied.  Weep weep is also a near homophone with sweep sweep, which is what the chimney sweep does.

The third line at the end of the stanza can be seen as someone concerned with the boys well being, asking after his parents.  The fourth line is assumed to be the voice of the boy and states matter of factly that they've gone up to the church to pray. His voice will finish out the rest of the poem.

 The second stanza begins:

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.

Modern American readers may be unfamiliar with what a heath is, which is a sort of country scrub-land in Britain.  So one can infer that the boys family is poor and as a result of this they moved to the city where the boy became a chimney sweep.  Again the stanzas are tied up in dichotomies bound up between the first and second halves.  The first two refer to the boys prior circumstances, the second speaking of his current circumstances bound up in death and woe.  The Chimney Sweep seems to believe it was because he was happy, that he was clothed in the clothes of death, and taught the notes of woe.

The last stanza starts with an emotional contrast to the last line of the prior stanza.

And because I am happy and dance and sing,

They think they have done me no injury,

And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King,

Who make up a heaven of our misery."

 

 In the first two lines the chimney sweep says that even though  he dances and sings, he's still been injured by this experience.  There's a dichotomy between his outer demeanor and his inner condition.  In short he's lost his innocence. 

The last half of the stanza mentions his parents piousness which he mentions playing a role in not just his misery, but our misery. The third line is role call of persons of propriety and standing within society: God, Priest, and King.  These are the sort of people his parents praise.  It seems as though the chimney sweep is searching for people who have convinced his parents to place him in conditions that are as miserable as they are.  People who make up a heaven of our misery. 

The irony in part is due to the boys worldliness and cynicism.   Instead of being idealistic and pious concerning his views of society and people, he displays sorrow concerning the status quo. 

Perhapson account of the way they manifest their subservience to God, Priest, and King, which ostensibly should be looking after the well being of the people beneath them.