young boy in overalls and a hat walking with a chimney sweeping broom over his shoulder

The Chimney Sweeper

by William Blake

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What does the metaphor "coffins of black" represent in William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper?"

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The metaphor "coffins of black" in William Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper" represents the physical and existential imprisonment of child chimney sweepers. It refers to the soot-filled chimneys they clean, symbolizing their harsh working conditions and loss of innocence. The image also evokes the children's dreams of being freed by angels, highlighting the tragic reality that such salvation is unlikely in their grim lives.

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"Coffins of black" represents innocence and what is done to innocent children.

In the poem, the narrator, himself a young chimney sweep, recounts that poor Tom Dacre had a dream in which he saw thousands of chimney sweeps locked in "coffins of black." If Tom stopped there, the reader could easily think that the little boy, at least subconsciously, was wising up about his situation and that of the other chimney sweeps. They spend their days in the "dark coffins" of soot filled chimneys, which they clean by climbing through and brushing. They have to be kept half starved to fit down the narrow chimneys, and they have a high rate of cancer from their contact with so much coal dust. Their work truly is like being locked in a black coffin.

However, what makes this image heartbreaking is that it is followed in the next stanza by the rest...

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of Tom's dream. Because he is still so innocent, he dreams an angel comes and sets the chimney sweeps free. We adults, who are experienced with the evils of the world, know that no angel is going to come and save these children from their sad lives.

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In William Blake's poem, "The Chimney Sweeper," the metaphor of the "coffins of black" can be seen to represent innocence. This can be justified by the fact that the speaker in the poem has been sold as a slave.

And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!"
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.

Later in the poem, readers see the metaphor in question:

Were all of them lock'd up in coffins of black.

Here, the numerous sweepers are described as living a life confined by sweeping. The sweepers have nothing else in life but to sweep.

In the following stanza, and the one which shows how the coffins represent loss of innocence, an Angel frees the sweepers from their life of confinement and loss of innocence.

And by came an Angel who had a bright key,
And he open'd the coffins & set them all free;
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river. and shine in the Sun.

It is in this stanza where the reader can see how the escape from the "coffins of black" represent a loss of innocence. It is when the sweepers are freed that they are able to leap, laugh, and run--free as all children should be.

Therefore, the coffin truly represents a loss of innocence and not innocence itself.

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