In his two poems, both titled "The Chimney Sweeper", William Blake laments on the abhorrent conditions that young chimney sweepers faced. Although incredibly similar in structure-- both poems employ comparable rhyme schemes--, Blake's differing descriptions of the relationship between life and death suggest a reason why working conditions were so dreadful. Through his use of rhyming quatrains and contrasting imagery, Blake chastises society's ignorance for a minority group's suffering.
Constant in both poems is the use of quatrains with a simple rhyme scheme. The 1789 poem adopts an AABB rhyme scheme, while the 1794 poem employs an ABAB rhyme scheme. Blake's use of simple quatrains in both poems demonstrates the innocence of the child chimney sweep. This structure gives the poems a youthful, naive ambiance. By using this ironic sing-songy rhyme scheme in these poems, Blake highlights the atrocious conditions a young child should not have to face. The contrast of the rhyming with the subject matter leave a heart-wrenching impact on the reader. Furthermore, this contrast shows the despicable viewpoint of society to allow these children to suffer.
The two poems differ in their craft of imagery. In the 1789 poem, Blake contrasts the hope that the afterlife will be worth going through the hardships of being a chimney sweep. The opposition between "coffins of black" (1789, 12) and "green plain, leaping, laughing"(1789, 15) demonstrate how people could possibly accept the terrible working conditions of chimney sweeps. This indicates that the job of chimney sweeps represents death (the coffin) while the afterlife is where true life is. The seemingly illogical conclusion that death will be far better for the chimney sweeps is what keeps them working and keeps outsiders from trying to induce change. The 1794 poem also uses contrast, although in a different way than the first poem. In this poem, Blake contrasts the inevitability of death with the blessing of life, no matter how soul-sucking that life may be. Blake describes the chimney sweep wearing "the clothes of death"(1794,7) and singing"the notes of woe" (1794,8). However, even with the harsh conditions, his parents are still thankful he is alive. In this poem, Blake paints members of society as ignorant of the chimney sweeps' issues because they view death as much worse, that it is the punishment for reaching the end of life. Society believes after life is "a heaven of our misery"(1794, 12). Because of this, the chimney sweeps should feel grateful they're still living, despite the massive hardships they face. Both poems demonstrate unique viewpoints society may have on the relationship between life and death. In the 1789 poem, society treats death as the reward for hardwork in life. In the other, death as seen as a punishment for discontinuing life. In both poems, William Blake uses contrasting imagery to display society's apathy towards helping the young, suffering chimney sweeps.
In both these poems, William Blake, through simple rhyme scheme and contrasting imagery, criticizes society's disregard for helping the working conditions of those such as chimney sweeps.
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