In 'The Chimney Sweeper' of Innocence, Blake can be interpreted to criticise 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
Explanation
The children often became stunted in their growth and disfigured because of the unnatural position they were frequently in before their bones had fully developed. Their knees and ankle joints were affected most often. The children's lungs would become diseased, and their eyelids were often sore and inflamed
Problem in The story
This poem describes the extensive bondage labor, child labor, exploitation of children at tender age, and the pitiable condition of the orphaned children or the poor children who were sold by their poor parents
The wretched figure of the child sweep is a key emblem in Blakes poems of social protest. Not only are the sweeps innocent victims of the cruellest exploitation but they are associated with the smoke of industrialisation, thus uniting two central Romantic preoccupations: childhood; and the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the natural world. A report to a parliamentary committee o…
