The poem I have chosen is the first “The Chimney Sweeper”. It stood out to me the most because out of all the poem, the imagery really stuck with me. It was both depressive yet reassuring. It is definitely sad because the situations these little kids have to go through, cleaning chimneys, sleeping with ashes and worst of all being naked. The way Blake described the kids really sends chills down my spine. However at the same time, because of the dream that Tom had, it lightens up the mood and portrays hope. I liked the way Blake uses an angel who resembles purity and everything good to come and rescues these kids from the entrapment they have been born into. That is why my favorite stanza has to be the last one, where Tom wakes up but instead of crying due to his unfortunate circumstances, he wakes up being “happy and warm”. Although I do not necessarily see the deeper meaning or if this poem was a metaphor for something, I do believe that Blake did a great job bringing out the emotion out of the reader.
Good. Let’s look more closely at the dream and at how it relates to the final line of the poem. That may give us some insights into what Blake is saying in this poem.