Blake

Once of the best qualities that Blake possesses is his excellent sense of duality. Songs of Innocence and Experience is probably one of my favorite collections of poetry for just this reason. In most cases, both of these sets contain a poem about a certain subject, but the subject is presented in completely different lights. In Songs of Innocence, Blake usually establishes some naïve ideal, like the supposed joy of service found in “The Chimney Sweeper.” The very same subject can often be found in Blake’s Songs of Experience, however, this version often expresses the harsh reality of the subject, like the life-threatening danger of being a chimney sweep.
The message found at the end of the Songs of Innocence version of “The Chimney Sweep” is a simple one. If little boys are good and complete their tasks on Earth, then they will reap a heavenly reward. The only problem with the task of a chimney sweep is the danger involved. During this time, being a chimney sweep was a life-threatening job, but these young boys often did not have a choice as they were often sold into that profession before “my tongue / could scarcely cry weep weep weep weep” (81; ll. 2-3). Because they were sold into this job, it seems people tried to convince them that what they did was noble and “if he’d be a good boy, / He’d have God for his father and never want joy” (81; ll. 19-20). So these little boy slaves naively work to their end, which more than likely will come sooner than later, because they truly believe “if all do their duty, they need not feel harm” (81; ll. 24).
The version of “The Chimney Sweep” in Songs of Experience tells a slightly different tale. Here the chimney sweep, seen as “a little black thing among the snow” (89; ll. 1) is fully aware of his station in life. He knows that his parents who have “both gone up to the church to pray” (89; ll. 4) have “clothed me in the clothes of death / And taught me to sing the notes of woe” (98; ll. 7-8). All day he calls out ‘Sweep! Sweep!’ which are his “notes of woe” in order to clean someone’s chimney and be covered in soot, “clothes of death.” They know, too, that they must pretend to be grateful for their lots in life so that people will “think they have done me no injury” (89; ll. 10) even though they truly “make up a heaven of our misery” (89; ll. 12). These boys realize that this idea of heavenly will is false and they only sweep chimneys for Earthly purposes, but there is nothing else for them to do, so they simply continue with their work.