The image below is what I had imagined the characters looked like when I read The Chimney Sweeper from the Songs of Innocence. I believe that Blake wanted to show that a child can still live in innocence and happiness even though it is slowly being taken away by the corrupt society that surrounds them. Although to me, it seems that the corruption does not faze the children because they are still capable of seeing the bright side. For example, when Blake wrote, “And by came an Angel who had a bright key, and he opened the coffins and set them all free” (Blake, 337).

The protagonist was sold at a young age and live with poor hygiene while sweeping chimneys for a living, and yet he and his fellow chimney sweepers maintained a joyous attitude.The image is a perfect depiction of a child’s optimistic mentality, and it proves that child’s ignorance because even though they live in poverty and under horrendous conditions, they still manage to put a smile on their faces. This is supported by the lines toward the end of the poem, “Tho’ the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm” (Blake, 337).

Both the poem and the image gave me a dark yet optimistic feel to these children’s situations because the poem used the terms “locked up” and “coffin” which corresponds to the filthy kid in the image. However, the characters in the poem still woke up for work the next day and they seemed content and happy. The child in the image has a genuine smile on his face as well. When I think of the poem and the image now, I think innocence is bliss.