In the sixth line, the speaker states that Dacre’s hair “curled like a lamb’s back,” and was shaved off. Even though his labor, he is filled with innocence. He is an example of an innocent child enduring the traumatic reality of child labor. Then there is the introduction ofTom Dacre. By the fourth line, Blake illustrates the piteous image of the children sweeping through the shooting misery. He represents thousands of children who are miserable, because of their unfortunate circumstances. Chimney sweepers would typically cry out: “sweep, sweep, sweep,”through the streets of London, however, this line reveals that in his misery, the speaker can only weep. The speaker states, “while yet my tongue / Could scarcely cry ‘’weep! ’weep! ’weep! ’weep!’”(lines 2-3). Before he could even mourn her death, he is sold to be a chimney sweeper. In the first line, Blake states that the speaker’s mother had died. Together, the two perspectives drive his message about the manipulation of children, and how they were forced to serve a system that oppressed them.īlake opens his poem in the “Songs of Innocence” by setting up a woeful scene. By reading both versions carefully, the reader can fully comprehend Blake’s overall message. One through the eyes of innocence the other from experience. One is featured in “Songs of Innocence,” the other in “Songs of Experience.”The two variations of the poem portray different viewpoints. The two perspectives reveal how innocence and experience played a role in each viewpoint. In the dark streets of London, the exploitation of children is the focus of his piece. William Blakes somber piece, “The Chimney Sweeper” revealed the underlying injustices of the 18th century.

The chimney sweeper experience