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The Annotated Edition

The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

A young chimney sweep shares the story of how he and his friend Tom found themselves in this perilous, dirty job — and how a vision of angels and freedom helps Tom endure another frigid morning.

Poet
William Blake
The PoemFull text

The Chimney Sweeper

William Blake

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, and in soot I sleep. 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." And so he was quiet, and that very night, As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight!-- That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, and Jack, Were all of them locked up in coffins of black. And by came an angel, who had a bright key, And he opened the coffins, and let them all free; Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing, they run, And wash in a river, and shine in the sun. Then naked and white, all their bags left behind, They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind; And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, He'd have God for his father, and never want joy. And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark, And got with our bags and our brushes to work. Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm: So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A young chimney sweep shares the story of how he and his friend Tom found themselves in this perilous, dirty job — and how a vision of angels and freedom helps Tom endure another frigid morning. Blake tells the boys' tale to highlight the exploitation of children in 18th-century England, revealing how the promise of heavenly rewards was used to keep them submissive and silent. Beneath the cheerful facade of the poem lies a profoundly angry message about injustice.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. When my mother died I was very young, / And my father sold me while yet my tongue

    Editor's note

    The narrator introduces his predicament in four stark lines. Orphaned at a young age, he was sold into chimney sweeping by his father before he even had the chance to cry out the sweeper's street call — "Weep! weep!" — which cleverly plays on "sweep." He sleeps in soot. There’s no self-pity in his words, just a harsh and heartbreaking reality.

  2. There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head, / That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved;

    Editor's note

    We meet Tom, a new boy with curly hair — likened to a lamb's, symbolizing innocence and sacrifice — that has just been shaved off to prevent it from catching fire in the chimneys. The narrator offers him a grim silver lining: at least the soot can't damage hair he no longer possesses. It's a kind thing to say, but also deeply heartbreaking.

  3. And so he was quiet, and that very night, / As Tom was a-sleeping, he had such a sight!

    Editor's note

    Tom falls asleep and dreams. The exclamation mark hints at wonder, but what he sees first is chilling: thousands of child sweepers trapped inside black coffins. The coffins are the chimneys — narrow, dark, and deadly — made all too real. Blake is showing us that these children are already buried alive by their circumstances.

  4. And by came an angel, who had a bright key, / And he opened the coffins, and let them all free;

    Editor's note

    An angel opens the coffins, and the boys burst free into a green plain, splashing in a river and basking in the sunlight. The imagery turns their waking life upside down: darkness transforms into light, confinement opens up to wide spaces, and soot gives way to cleanliness. This is the childhood dream that these boys are missing in their real lives.

  5. Then naked and white, all their bags left behind, / They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind;

    Editor's note

    The boys climb up, carefree and unburdened, leaving their work bags behind. The Angel assures Tom that if he behaves, God will be like a father to him, and he will always find joy. This is where Blake's irony becomes clearer: the promise of a heavenly father takes the place of the earthly fathers who either sold or abandoned these kids, and the reward for being obedient is set far away — in heaven, not in their lives on earth.

  6. And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark, / And got with our bags and our brushes to work.

    Editor's note

    The dream fades, and reality jolts back: cold, dark, bags, brushes, work. Tom is labeled "happy and warm" — the dream has succeeded in keeping him in line. The closing line, "if all do their duty, they need not fear harm," sounds like a saying passed down from the system that takes advantage of these children. Blake wants us to recognize it as a deception.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone is surprisingly gentle — the poem resembles a nursery rhyme, featuring simple rhymes and a sing-song rhythm. But beneath that facade lies a cold fury. Blake adopts the voice of a child who has come to terms with the unacceptable, and that acceptance is the most damning aspect. The final couplet, which sounds moralistic, hits hard: it reflects the language of those in power instructing the powerless to be grateful and return to their duties.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The chimney / coffin of black
The chimneys the boys climb are directly likened to black coffins in Tom's dream. They symbolize the system that ensnares and gradually destroys these children — physically hazardous, dark, and stifling.
Tom's curly hair / the lamb
Tom's hair curls "like a lamb's back," linking him to the image of the sacrificial lamb — innocent, gentle, and fated to be consumed by others. This symbol is one of Blake's favorites for representing exploited innocence.
The angel and the bright key
The angel brings the possibility of liberation, but it exists only in a dream. The shining key that unlocks the coffins symbolizes the hope of divine rescue — a hope that Blake implies is more about soothing the poor than genuinely setting them free.
The river and the sun
Washing in a river and shining in the sun stand in stark contrast to everything in the boys' waking lives. They represent purity, joy, and the carefree childhood these boys have been denied.
The work bags
The bags the boys use to carry their soot symbolize their hard work and servitude. In the dream, they abandon them. But in reality, the first thing they do upon waking is grab them again.
"Weep! weep! weep! weep!"
The street cry of the chimney sweep also resembles a child's cry. Blake highlights this pun, ensuring we notice it: both the job and the sorrow share the same term.

§06Historical context

Historical context

Blake published this poem in *Songs of Innocence* in 1789, the same year the French Revolution began. Child chimney sweeps were a common sight in London, often accepted as a part of daily life. Boys as young as four or five were sold or apprenticed to master sweeps, who sent them up tight flues to scrape out soot. This dangerous work led to chronic lung disease, joint deformities, and a type of cancer known as "chimney sweep's cancer." Many of these children did not survive. Although Parliament passed a weak law in 1788 aimed at limiting the practice, it was mostly ignored. Blake was a radical who believed that the Church of England and the state collaborated to keep the poor submissive. *Songs of Innocence* was later paired with *Songs of Experience* (1794), which offers a darker version of this same poem, presenting a more openly bitter perspective.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

On the surface, it's about a young chimney sweep sharing his life story and his friend Tom's soothing dream. But beneath that, it critiques child labor, poverty, and how religion was manipulated to keep exploited people compliant, promising them heavenly rewards to prevent them from asking for better conditions in this life.

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