The Chimney Sweeper [Inside & Outside Speaker Analysis]

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The Chimney Sweeper is a poem by William Blake, published in two parts in Songs of Innocence in 1789 and Songs of experience in 1794. The poem The Chimney Sweeper is set against the dark background of child labor that was prominent in England in the late 18th and 19th century. Meanwhile, when we are talking about the theme so the theme in this poem is about Misery, death, and hope.

The poem is about the agony of children who were forced to live a miserable life, in which the children had to survive and earn their livelihood by sweeping chimney at a very young age during the time of William Blake.

Here is further analysis related to the Inside and Outside Speaker, Participants, and the Listeners in the poem.

1. The Inside speaker of this poem is a small boy who was worked as chimney sweeper when his mother died. It can be seen through the stanza below:

When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue,
Could scarcely cry weep weep weep weep,
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.

2. The Outside Speaker is Tom Dacre and Adult, because Tom is upset about his lot in life, and he seems like complaining the condition that he experiencing in life, as well from the adult side it shows the injustice situation that happened at that time. 

It describes in this stanza:

Theres little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head
That curled like a lambs back was shav'd, so I said.
Hush Tom never mind it, for when your head's bare,
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair

And so he was quiet. & that very night.
As Tom was a sleeping he had such a sight
That thousands of sweepers Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack
Were all of them lock'd up in coffins of black,

ALSO READ: Types of Figurative Language and the Example

3. The listeners are business man, government and of course the readers, because at that time, there are many children who suffer as victims of industrialization. Those who dream to be free , play around and happy life is just a part of their dream not as the real condition. It appears in the stanza below:

And by came an Angel who had a bright key
And he open'd the coffins & set them all free.
Then down a green plain leaping laughing they run
And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.

4. The participants describe is the readers, especially children, because it tells us that life however they run, we have to live with passion and optimism. Also it spreads positivity to be grateful and never give up. It describes in the stanza below:

And so Tom awoke and we rose in the dark
And got with our bags & our brushes to work.
Tho' the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm
So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

Well, that was all the analysis related to the chimney sweeper poem. Thank you very much for reading, I hope this article is going to be useful for us and see you in the next article.. Have a nice day all J