logo

20 pages 40 minutes read

William Blake

The Chimney Sweeper

William BlakeFiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1789

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Literary Devices

Poetic Form and Structure

The poem consists of six quatrains (four-line stanzas). The length of the lines varies, and the meter, the rhythmic structure of the lines, is rather loose. Most lines are in tetrameter: They contain four metric feet (“tetra” comes from Greek for “four”). The most prominent types of metric feet in “The Chimney Sweeper” are anapests and iambs. An anapest consists of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable (as in the word “un-der-stand”). An iamb contains two syllables, with the accent on the second syllable (as in the word “be-yond”). The first line of the poem is a good example of Blake’s mixing of these two types of metric feet in the same line. The four syllables in bold letters carry the accent, so the line contains four metric feet in this order: anapest, iamb, anapest, iamb.

When my mo / ther died / I was ve / ry young (Line 1)

More formal poems tend to employ a more regular meter (for example, only iambs), but Blake’s poem gives voice to a child, whose speech would be more casual. Therefore, the poem’s meter fits and reflects the nature of the speaker.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 20 pages of this Study Guide

Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.

Including features:

+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools