William Blake - Chimney Sweeper

In both of the chimney sweeper poems the proletariat have a poor quality of life as they are exploited by the bourgeoisie. The boys are children but have to do hard laborious work because of their low social position . Marxists would view religion as a means of control. Religious ideas could be seen to benefit the bourgeoisie by creating obedient workers who wont challenge authority as they are told its gods plan and they will be rewarded in the afterlife.

In the poems there lives are painted as bleak , lonely and exhausting .'Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.' Their mother died and there father sold them into work and now that's all their days consist of. As the proletariat they would do hard exhausting work for long hours and see little reward for it because the bourgeoisie would see all the profits which would allow them to lead expensive indulgent lives whilst the proletariat struggled to survive on what little they received for their work.  
The angel in songs of innocence creates vision of a better quality of life for the boys 'opened the coffins and set them all free'. In this vision the boys are laughing and don't have to work or worry, this contrasts to their usually life of hard labour and sadness.

Religion operates to control the proletariat. After the angels visit the boy works harder and doesn't question his social position. The angel creates an illusion of a better life in reward for hard work. If the child did his duty and behaved well he would be rewarded 'He'd have God for his father'.
The child accepts this idea, this is known as false consciousness and his social position is then preserved as he feels its justified. Because the proletariat feel their social position is justified it creates a class of obedient workers that are easily manipulated and used by the upper classes for the upper classes. The proletariat in the poem begin to see the work as their duty. ' so if all do their duty they need not fear harm'.

The other chimney sweeper poem also tells us the children's parents passed religion to their children who also remained working class until death this demonstrates the shared ideology that religion provides for the proletariat and how it reinforces class inequality. The children are tricked into thinking they can have a better life 'Who make up a heaven of our misery."


Blakes use of simple language and childlike rhythm mirrors the bible it's simple to understand even to children and provides comfort and serenity. But religion also can lead to never questioning inequalities in society as its gods plan and the hope of reward or happiness in the afterlife. It then becomes an 'opium of the people'. Reproducing and justifying class inequality .