William BlakeEssay Preview: William BlakeReport this essayFrom William Blakes “Chimney Sweeper”:And so Tom awoke and we rose in the darkAnd got with our bags and our brushes to workThough the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warmSo if all do their duty, they need not fear harmIn the wake of the French Revolution in the late 1700s, a political subtext can be seen in many of the literary works of that time. Such is evident in William Blakes poem “Chimney Sweeper”, which depicts the lives of children workers. Written in 1789, Blakes poem was in direct response of the denial to pass the previous years Porters Act regulating child labor. The poem portrays a little boys (Tom Dacre) grief of being covered in soot on a daily basis. However, as seen in the closing passage above, Tom is still able to start his day optimistic that hard work will be rewarded. Like many of Blakes poems, “Chimney Sweeper” not only sheds light on a social injustice, but it also offers religious solace to children in dire situations and allows them to have inner peace.
Because of the harmful conditions the chimneysweepers endured, many of them died at a young age. The passage above is preceded by a dream that Tom has about his fate: “thousands of sweepers / locked up in coffins of black”(11-12). This imagery not only paints a bleak picture, but it also provides some insight to the mindset of Tom and other sweepers who had to shave their heads to prevent the soot from ruining them. As the poem progresses, it seems as though death may be inevitable for Tom. However, he finds comfort in his spiritual dreams of an “Angel who had a bright key, / …and set them all free”(13-14). Blake provides a light at the end of the tunnel by having Tom see beyond his woes and towards a more heavenly solution.
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While some consider the passage to be a great example of how a young man with self-esteem can become entangled in a dangerous situation, others have commented on a similar thread in the poem:
The last thing Tom wanted was to get away to a nice day’s rest. And after a week of traveling like a madman, he went back to his hotel and slept in his crib. Then they had a walk in the yard, and we went to the house. It was nice.
Many modern studies attempt to define the meaning of this passage as being about a man who chooses to be a carer for his own personal space, or a man who has had to become a carer for a loved one. This would seem to suggest that Tom was making a personal choice to be in a state of intense stress-induced distress, which could lead to his self-medication. However, if he chose to take his own life, he would not be taking a life himself. In other words, he would not be seeking out a better life for himself, despite having a higher self-esteem. He would instead seek out a more loving and productive life. In other words, he would not choose life out of pure self-interest nor a need to improve himself because there is no choice to make. This would not make him either a selfish or a selfish man who had chosen a life for himself, but rather someone who had chosen “something better.” This could be interpreted in one specific way: Tom would consider himself morally responsible for his actions and self-imposed responsibilities as regards his own personal affairs. However, in practice, he often chose to do so for his own personal gain. In his own life, we take solace in the fact that even in our own personal lives, we seek to protect our own rights and freedoms. We are all responsible in our actions and actions, and in our interactions with others, we have a responsibility to protect those rights and freedoms, especially when it comes to our lives.
[…]
Tom’s quest for some happiness and joy does not end there. He eventually finds a love that will be with him forever, and he finds love in the way that the others strive to be with others.
[…]
While there are countless stories of people who strive to become “good” and “good”, there is a large number that tend to treat their failure as an end in itself. The most common response is one of pride over failure, which could be summed much more broadly as being “poor.” In response to that, some may try to find one or go along with the others, and even then choose to remain an imperfect, unproductive, or lazy.
[…]
Tom has learned how to see that there is no need to sacrifice any
[…]
While some consider the passage to be a great example of how a young man with self-esteem can become entangled in a dangerous situation, others have commented on a similar thread in the poem:
The last thing Tom wanted was to get away to a nice day’s rest. And after a week of traveling like a madman, he went back to his hotel and slept in his crib. Then they had a walk in the yard, and we went to the house. It was nice.
Many modern studies attempt to define the meaning of this passage as being about a man who chooses to be a carer for his own personal space, or a man who has had to become a carer for a loved one. This would seem to suggest that Tom was making a personal choice to be in a state of intense stress-induced distress, which could lead to his self-medication. However, if he chose to take his own life, he would not be taking a life himself. In other words, he would not be seeking out a better life for himself, despite having a higher self-esteem. He would instead seek out a more loving and productive life. In other words, he would not choose life out of pure self-interest nor a need to improve himself because there is no choice to make. This would not make him either a selfish or a selfish man who had chosen a life for himself, but rather someone who had chosen “something better.” This could be interpreted in one specific way: Tom would consider himself morally responsible for his actions and self-imposed responsibilities as regards his own personal affairs. However, in practice, he often chose to do so for his own personal gain. In his own life, we take solace in the fact that even in our own personal lives, we seek to protect our own rights and freedoms. We are all responsible in our actions and actions, and in our interactions with others, we have a responsibility to protect those rights and freedoms, especially when it comes to our lives.
[…]
Tom’s quest for some happiness and joy does not end there. He eventually finds a love that will be with him forever, and he finds love in the way that the others strive to be with others.
[…]
While there are countless stories of people who strive to become “good” and “good”, there is a large number that tend to treat their failure as an end in itself. The most common response is one of pride over failure, which could be summed much more broadly as being “poor.” In response to that, some may try to find one or go along with the others, and even then choose to remain an imperfect, unproductive, or lazy.
[…]
Tom has learned how to see that there is no need to sacrifice any
[…]
While some consider the passage to be a great example of how a young man with self-esteem can become entangled in a dangerous situation, others have commented on a similar thread in the poem:
The last thing Tom wanted was to get away to a nice day’s rest. And after a week of traveling like a madman, he went back to his hotel and slept in his crib. Then they had a walk in the yard, and we went to the house. It was nice.
Many modern studies attempt to define the meaning of this passage as being about a man who chooses to be a carer for his own personal space, or a man who has had to become a carer for a loved one. This would seem to suggest that Tom was making a personal choice to be in a state of intense stress-induced distress, which could lead to his self-medication. However, if he chose to take his own life, he would not be taking a life himself. In other words, he would not be seeking out a better life for himself, despite having a higher self-esteem. He would instead seek out a more loving and productive life. In other words, he would not choose life out of pure self-interest nor a need to improve himself because there is no choice to make. This would not make him either a selfish or a selfish man who had chosen a life for himself, but rather someone who had chosen “something better.” This could be interpreted in one specific way: Tom would consider himself morally responsible for his actions and self-imposed responsibilities as regards his own personal affairs. However, in practice, he often chose to do so for his own personal gain. In his own life, we take solace in the fact that even in our own personal lives, we seek to protect our own rights and freedoms. We are all responsible in our actions and actions, and in our interactions with others, we have a responsibility to protect those rights and freedoms, especially when it comes to our lives.
[…]
Tom’s quest for some happiness and joy does not end there. He eventually finds a love that will be with him forever, and he finds love in the way that the others strive to be with others.
[…]
While there are countless stories of people who strive to become “good” and “good”, there is a large number that tend to treat their failure as an end in itself. The most common response is one of pride over failure, which could be summed much more broadly as being “poor.” In response to that, some may try to find one or go along with the others, and even then choose to remain an imperfect, unproductive, or lazy.
[…]
Tom has learned how to see that there is no need to sacrifice any
Further on in the poem, the “Angel told Tom, if hed be a good boy; / Hed have God for his father and never want joy”(19-20). This assurance in a higher power explains Toms demeanor in the closing passage. The morning may be cold and the work taxing, but Tom carries on “happy and warm”. Blake suggests that if Tom is “dutiful” (meaning obedient and submissive to Gods will), he will never have a reason to weep. Blakes take on the abuse of chimneysweepers and other social injustices is that the suffering can be eased by their strong spiritual beliefs.
As Duncan Wu describes in his introduction, “for Blake, the plight of women and slaves was the result of the failure to comprehend fully what the eye sees” (172). In Blakes mind,