From William Blake's "Chimney Sweeper":

And so Tom awoke and we rose in the dark
And got with our bags and our brushes to work
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm
So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm

In the wake of the French Revolution in the late 1700s, a political subtext can be seen in many of the literary works of that time. Such is evident in William Blake's poem "Chimney Sweeper", which depicts the lives of children workers. Written in 1789, Blake's poem was in direct response of the denial to pass the previous year's Porter's Act regulating child labor. The poem portrays a little boy's (Tom Dacre) grief of being covered in soot on a daily basis. However, as seen in the closing passage above, Tom is still able to start his day optimistic that hard work will be rewarded. Like many of Blake's poems, "Chimney Sweeper" not only sheds light on a social injustice, but it also offers religious solace to children in dire situations......

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Title: William Blake
Approximate Word Count: 789
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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