"Chimney Sweeper" (from Songs of Experience)

Carina Castro
Discussion 1G

Songs of Experience “Chimney Sweeper”

The Songs of Experience as opposed to those of innocence involve exposure to the world. “The Chimney Sweeper” in the Songs of Experience is shorter than that of the Songs of Innocence. The part that is omitted in the Songs of Experience is the Angel’s promise that as long as the boy works hard, he will live happily in the future. Contrastingly, The Songs of Experience conveys the idea that the Angel lies to the boy and that no hope exists for a life with “God” and full of “Joy.” This poem exhibits the realistic point of view in which Blake offers that through exposure to the world, the boy gains experience and questions the promise of Joy by the Angel (“Songs of Innocence”). In the Songs of Experience, Blake emphasizes that the “Priest and King” exploit the boy through labor and that the boy will not achieve the Joy promised to him in the Songs of Innocence.