What Is The Tone Of The Chimney Sweeper

In the Victorian era, there were jobs for everyone! Chimney’s had to be swept, but who could fit into something so miniscule? A job to be done by only a small child, there tiny frames made them popular for this job. Due to the harsh working conditions, the lifespan of Victorian Chimney sweeps rarely made it to middle age. William Blake wrote two poems in the 1700’s recounting the lives of the poor kids who worked as chimney sweepers. Even though being written along similar premises, the two poems differ drastically as well. Although both poems contain similar diction, a constant theme, and imagery the point of view and tone are remarkably different. The point of view of the first poem was of a young chimney sweeper, while the second was of an adult meeting a chimney sweeper.

A child crying “weep” is a common element of both poems, the simple phrase shows the childlike diction of both poems. In the second poem the child is “a little black thing among the snow” basically implying he is covered in black due to the chimney smoke. The first poem implies Tom’s white hair could be ruined by the soot, also from the chimney smoke. This indicates in both poems the children are working the same job. In both the child is imagining that they’re living a happy life despite everything that is happening. In the first poem Tom was convinced by the angel that everything would be ok if they all did their duty, so he has a happy spirit. The second poem states “But I was happy upon the heath, and smil’d among the winters snow”, but the child is wearing clothes of death. So in both the children are exuberant about life and not perceiving the horror that is their