William Blake wrote two poems called "The Chimney Sweeper" for Songs of Innocence and of Experience. In the iteration of the poem in Songs of Innocence, we are treated to a childlike view of the chimney sweeper's lot in life, one that justifies a corrupt social hierarchy by asserting that those who "do their duty" (24) will go to Heaven. Conversely, in the version in Songs of Experience, Blake presents us with a chimney sweep abandoned by hypocritical parents who "'praise God and his Priest and King, / Who make up a heaven of our misery'" (11-12). The main idea of both poems is to illustrate the corrupt nature of a society that exploits human labor, but the way in which both poems come to this idea is different. The Experience version is overt in its dealing with corruption, as it's hard to miss Blake's blatantly critical tone. The Innocence poem, however, is more subtle; in it, the chimney sweepers are satisfied with their lot, as they have been convinced that performing their miserable duty will earn them eternal salvation. In communicating this notion, Blake subtly suggests that society has twisted religion in order to oppress the working classes, thus making the main idea of this poem more indirect than the Experience poem.
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