William Blake Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Most people believe that children always have it simple. Children never have to fight for their lives. Those people are wrong. During the Industrial Revolution, men purchase young children from orphanages or the streets to give them a horrible life of chimney sweeping. The moribund children are so overworked and underappreciated that they are malnourished, beaten, and contracted multiple diseases. Boys are forced or sold into the business of chimney sweeping. The children are doing all of the work and their masters sit back and threaten them to keep cleaning. During this time period, society is unethical because they allow children from ages four to six to complete the dangerous job of chimney sweeping, to help the lives of adults around them.

The attitude that Blake brings to this poem is astounding. It shows how people feel during the 18th century. The tone usage throughout this poem displays how Blake along with many more feel about society and children. He uses many different emotions from the beginning to the end in his poem. He writes, “Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'Weep / So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep” (3-4). The tone of these lines make people feel sad for the boy. It hits the limbic system in their brain, which is where emotions are controlled. These lines are very emotional and people can instantly feel, this is going to be sad. Blake instantly pulls you in with empathy for this child. Also, Blake says, “Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare, / You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair” (7-8). The kids have their heads shaved and they are heartbroken over it. Even though the children are in the same situation, the main character is trying to make their miserable lives better. At first, he is a little bit snappy but he immediately tries to make Tom feel better. Blake’s viewpoint of the theme in this poem through tone shows that he wants to create emotions for the

Not only does he show interest in social issues, but Blake also writes about angels, ghosts, and the Virgin Mary from a young age. He uses an angel in this poem during Tom Dacre’s dream because he is inspired by these thoughts. Blake is so interested in angels and social issues that he decides to combine them together to create a poem. He wants to write about both because he wants to display his attitude toward the subjects. Blake has profound thoughts about the welfare of children's lives. He sees children covered in soot, going off to clean chimneys and sees the conditions they live in. Also, there are a lot of coal fires in London and because of that, people need someone small to climb up their chimney and clean it so it would not catch on fire. Therefore, young boys are used to clean the chimneys and most of their lives are at risk. Many die because they are stuck or damage their respiratory systems. Blake is sympathetic to the young boys because they run and play in the sand and this inspires Blake to write this