The poem "The Chimney Sweeper" is written against the background of the dark ages when child labor was prevalent in England in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Boys as young as four or five were sold by their parents as laborers to sweep chimneys because of their small stature. The phenomenon of these children who were small enough to be stuffed into chimneys as child labor was generally accepted by British society at that time. Blake used the poem "The Chimney Sweeper" to criticize the church's view that hard work in this life can lead to happiness in the next life. He believed that this view would only lead to people's indulgence in exploitation and emphasized the impact of this naive and ignorant view on society. The dangers of child labor abuse point out the dangers of the church's teachings of suffering in this life in order to obtain heaven in the next life, and point out that the church is the creator of the "heaven of pain" for children. The poem uses the tone of a child's questioner to ask "Where are your parents?" to illustrate the child's helplessness and reveal the negative impact of these decadent teachings on society.
(I just realized that it would be ten years since the grave digger took more than a year)
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. At the age of four and five, boys were sold to clean chimneys, due to their small size. These children were oppressed and had a diminutive existence that was socially accepted at the time.
< p>In 'The Chimney Sweeper' of Innocence, Blake can be interpreted to criticize the view of the Church that through work and hardship, reward in the next life would be attained; this results in an acceptance of exploitation observed in the closing lines ' if all do their duty they need not fear harm.' Interestingly, Blake uses this poem to highlight the dangers of an innocent, naive view, demonstrating how this allows the societal abuse of child labor.