下载文档原格式
The Chimney SweeperIntroductionThe chimney sweeper is a poetic work that sheds light on the harsh lives of young boys working as chimney sweepers in 18th-century England. This article will delve into the deep layers of this poem, analyzing its thematic elements, rhyme scheme, and the social critique that it presents.BackgroundThe chimney sweeper trade during the 18th century involved children as young as four or five years old being employed to clean chimneys. They faced dangerous working conditions, health risks, and a life of poverty. The poem, “The Chimney Sweeper” by William Blake, focuses on theplight of these young boys.ThemeThe Loss of InnocenceThe poem centers on the loss of innocence experienced by the chimney sweepers. It depicts their vulnerability and the corruption of their youth. The innocence is symbolized by the white hair of the young boys, which is initially seen as a sign of purity before it is tainted bytheir circumstances.Social Critique“The Chimney Sweeper” serves as a critique of the socio-economic conditions and practices prevalent during that time. It highlights the exploitation of child labor and the moral decay of society. Blake’s poem questions the ethics and compassion of a society that allows such atrocities to occur.Structure and Rhyme SchemeRhyme SchemeThe poem follows a rhyming pattern of AABB throughout, except for the two final lines, which rhyme with each other (CC). This consistent and repetitive rhyme scheme reinforces the sad and monotonous nature of the chimney sweepers’ lives.Stanza Structure“The Chimney Sweeper” is divided into six quatrains. Each quatrain consists of four lines, contributing to the organized structure of the poem. The stanzas provide a sense of rhythm and create a distinct separation between different ideas.Analysis of the PoemFirst StanzaThe poem begins with the introduction of a young chimney sweeper, Tom Dacre. He is depicted as naïve and innocent, having been taught to accept his grim fate. The imagery of Tom’s hair being shaved symbolizes the loss of his innocence and the removal of his identity.Second StanzaBlake introduces the image of locked coffins, implying the death-like conditions faced by the chimney sweepers. The use of the word “coffin” serves as a metaphor for their living conditions and the inevitable mortality that accompanies their work.Third StanzaIn the third stanza, Tom has a dream where the chimney sweepers are released from their misery. The image of the Angel freeing the boys and clothing them in white represents salvation and redemption from theirsuffering. This dream gives Tom hope, contrasting with the bleak reality he faces.Fourth StanzaBlake uses contrast in the fourth stanza to emphasize the hypocrisy and cruelty of society. The reference to a “blackening church” impliesthat even religion, which is meant to provide moral guidance, is tainted and disregards the lives of the chimney sweepers.Fifth StanzaThe fifth stanza introduces the character of the narrator, who shares his own tragic story. The narrator had been sold into chimney sweeping by his own father, further emphasizing the societal indifference towards these children and family bonds being disregarded for profit.Sixth StanzaIn the final stanza, the narrator tries to find solace in the beliefthat after their death, the chimney sweepers will find happiness in heaven. This reflects the prevalent religious beliefs of the time, which offered some consolation in the face of immense suffering.Conclusion“The Chimney Sweeper” serves as a powerful indictment of the inhumane treatment faced by child laborers during 18th-century England. Through its vivid imagery and social critique, William Blake’s poem highlights the loss of innocence, the dire living conditions, and the hypocrisy of society. By exploring these themes, the poem urges readers to challenge such societal injustices and fight for the rights and well-being of all individuals.。
1. 介绍格律诗格律诗是一种以音节、音韵、长度、重音等为特点的诗歌形式。
它具有严格的韵律和节奏，常常要求诗句的长短和音节的数目符合一定的规定，体现了诗歌的美学追求和技巧要求。
2. 简述“chimney sweeper”主题“chimney sweeper”主题是英国文学中常见的一个主题，指的是烟囱扫黑工人的生活。
这一主题常常反映了贫困、苦难、童工等社会问题，同时也具有对人性、生存状态的深刻探讨。
3. 了解《烟囱扫黑工人》《烟囱扫黑工人》是威廉·布莱克（William Blake）的一首诗歌作品，描写了一位被剥削、被压迫的烟囱扫黑工人的悲惨命运，通过对他的生活境况和内心世界的描写，展现了对社会现实的深刻关注和对人性的深刻体察。
4. 分析《烟囱扫黑工人》的格律特点《烟囱扫黑工人》采用了典型的格律诗形式，其中包括了对韵脚、音节、节奏的严格要求。
这种严格的诗歌形式与诗歌中所反映的悲惨命运形成了鲜明的对比，体现了诗人对生活真实的描绘和对美学要求的追求。
5. 探讨《烟囱扫黑工人》的意义《烟囱扫黑工人》作为一首反映社会现实的诗歌作品，具有深刻的社会意义。
它不仅反映了当时英国社会的阶级分化和童工问题，也成为了对当时社会现状的批判和对人性、尊严的呼吁。
也作为一种优秀的格律诗形式，为诗歌创作和美学追求提供了一个典范。
6. 总结《烟囱扫黑工人》是一首具有深刻社会意义和优秀诗歌形式的诗歌作品。
通过对这首诗歌的分析和探讨，可以更好地理解格律诗的特点和社会意义，也可以更深入地认识当时英国社会的现实问题和人文关怀。
希望通过对这样优秀的文学作品的研究和传播，能够激发人们对文学艺术的兴趣和对社会问题的关注，推动人文精神的发展和人类文明的进步。
7. 深入对“烟囱扫黑工人”主题的探讨“烟囱扫黑工人”主题在英国文学中占据重要地位，它不仅仅是一种对贫困、苦难、童工等社会问题的反映，更是对人性、尊严、平等的深刻探讨。
格律诗作为一种形式严谨的诗歌形式，被用来表达这些深刻的思想和情感。
The Shepherdess and the Chimney-SweeperHave you ever seen a very old chest, black with age, and covered with outlandish carved ornaments and curling leaves? Well, in a certain parlor there was just such a chest, handed down from some great-grandmother. Carved all up and down it, ran tulips and roses-odd-looking flourishes-and from fanciful thickets little stags stuck out their antlered heads.Right in the middle of the chest a whole man was carved. He made you laugh to look at him grinning away, though one couldn't call his grinning laughing. He had hind legs like a goat's, little horn on his forehead, and a long beard. All his children called him "GeneralHeadquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoat-Legs." It was a difficult name to pronounce and not many people get to be called by it, but he must have been very important or why should anyone have taken trouble to carve him at all?However, there he stood, forever eyeing a delightful little china shepherdess on the table top under the mirror. The little shepherdess wore golden shoes, and looped up her gown fetchingly with a red rose. Her hat was gold, and even her crook was gold. She was simply charming!Close by her stood a little chimney-sweep, as black as coal, but made of porcelain too. He was as clean and tidy as anyone can be, because you see he was only an ornamental chimney-sweep. If the china-makers had wanted to, they could just as easily have turned him out as a prince, for he had a jaunty way of holding his ladder, and his cheeks were as pink as a girl's. That was a mistake, don't you think? He should have been dabbed with a pinch or two of soot.He and the shepherdess stood quite close together. They had both been put on the table where they stood and, having been placed there, they had become engaged because they suited each other exactly. Both were young, both were made of the same porcelain, and neither could stand a shock.Near them stood another figure, three times as big as they were. It was an old Chinaman who could nod his head. He too was made of porcelain, and he said he was the little shepherdess's grandfather. But he couldn't prove it. Nevertheless he claimed that this gave him authority over her, and whenGeneral-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoa t-Legs asked for her hand in marriage, the old Chinaman had nodded consent. "There's a husband for you!" the old Chinaman told the shepherdess. "A husband who, I am inclined to believe, is made of mahogany. He can make you Mrs.General-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoa t-Legs. He has the whole chest full of silver, and who knows what else he's got hidden away in his secret drawers?""But I don't want to go and live in the dark chest," said the little shepherdess. "I have heard people say he's got eleven china wives in there already.""Then you will make twelve," said the Chinaman. "Tonight, as soon as the old chest commences to creak I'll marry you off to him, as sure as I'm a Chinaman." Then henodded off to sleep. The little shepherdess cried and looked at her true love, the porcelain chimney-sweep."Please let's run away into the big, wide world," she begged him, "for we can't stay here.""I'll do just what you want me to," the little chimney-sweep told her. "Let's run away right now. I feel sure I can support you by chimney-sweeping.""I wish we were safely down off this table," she said. "I'll never be happy until we are out in the big, wide world."He told her not to worry, and showed her how to drop her little feet over the table edge, and how to step from one gilded leaf to another down the carved leg of the table. He set up his ladder to help her, and down they came safely to the floor. But when they glanced at the old chest they saw a great commotion. All the carved stags were craning their necks, tossing their antlers, and turning their heads. General-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoat-Legs jumped high in the air, and shouted to the old Chinaman, "They're running away! They're running away!"This frightened them so that they jumped quickly into a drawer of the window-seat. Here they found three or four decks of cards, not quite complete, and a little puppet theatre, which was set up as well as it was possible to do. A play was in progress, and all the diamond queens, heart queens, club queens, and spade queens sat in front row and fanned themselves with the tulips they held in their hands. Behind them the knaves lined up, showing that they had heads both at the top and at the bottom, as face cards do have. The play was all about two people, who were not allowed to marry, and it made the shepherdess cry because it was so like her own story."I can't bear to see any more," she said. "I must get out of this drawer at once." But when they got back to the floor and looked up at the table, they saw the old Chinaman was wide awake now. Not only his head, but his whole body rocked forward. The lower part of his body was one solid piece, you see."The old Chainman's coming!" cried the little Shepherdess, who was so upset that she fell down on her porcelain knees."I have an idea," said the chimney-sweeper. "We'll hide in the pot-pourri vase in the corner. There we can rest upon rose petals and lavender, and when he finds us we can throw salt in his eyes.""It's no use," she said. "Besides, I know the pot-pourri vase was once the old Chainman's sweetheart, and where there used to be love a little affection is sure to remain. No, there's nothing for us to do but to run away into the big wide world." "Are you really so brave that you'd go into the wide world with me?" asked the chimney-sweep. "Have you thought about how big it is, and that we can never come back here?""I have," she said.The chimney-sweep looked her straight in the face and said, "My way lies up through the chimney. Are you really so brave that you'll come with me into the stove, and crawl through the stovepipe? It will take us to the chimney. Once we get there, I'llknow what to do. We shall climb so high that they'll never catch us, and at the very top there's an opening into the big wide world."He led her to the stove door."It looks very black in there," she said. But she let him lead her through the stove and through the stovepipe, where it was pitch-black night."Now we've come to the chimney," he said. "And see! See how the bright star shines over our heads."A real star, high up in the heavens, shone down as if it wished to show them the way. They clambered and scuffled, for it was hard climbing and terribly steep-way, way up high! But he lifted her up, held her safe, and found the best places for her little porcelain feet. At last they reached the top of the chimney, where they sat down. For they were so tired, and no wonder!Overhead was the starry sky, and spread before them were all the housetops in the town. They looked out on the big wide world. The poor shepherdess had never thought it would be like that. She flung her little head against the chimney-sweep, and sobbed so many tears that the gilt washed off her sash."This is too much," she said. "I can't bear it. The wide world is too big. Oh! If I only were back on my table under the mirror. I'll never be happy until I stand there again, just as before. I followed you faithfully out into the world, and if you love me the least bit you'll take me right home."The chimney-sweep tried to persuade her that it wasn't sensible to go back. He talked to her about the old Chinaman, and ofGeneral-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoa t-Legs, but she sobbed so hard and kissed her chimney-sweep so much that he had to do as she said, though he thought it was the wrong thing to do.So back down the chimney they climbed with great difficulty, and they crawled through the wretched stovepipe into the dark stove. Here they listened behind the door, to find out what was happening in the room. Everything seemed quiet, so they opened the door and-oh, what a pity! There on the floor lay the Chinaman, in three pieces. When he had come running after them, he tumbled off the table and smashed. His whole back had come off in one piece, and his head had rolled into the corner. General-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoa t-Legs was standing where he always stood, looking thoughtful."Oh, dear," said the little shepherdess, "poor old grandfather is all broken up, and it's entirely our fault. I shall never live through it." She wrung her delicate hands."He can be patched," said the chimney-sweep. "He can be riveted. Don't be so upset about him. A little glue for his back and a strong rivet in his neck, and he will be just as good as new, and just as disagreeable as he was before.""Will he, really?" she asked, as they climbed back to their old place on the table. "Here we are," said the chimney-sweep. "Back where we started from. We could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble.""Now if only old grandfather were mended," said the little shepherdess. "Is mending terribly expensive?"He was mended well enough. The family had his back glued together, and a strong rivet put through his neck. That made him as good as new, except that never again could he nod his head."It seems to me that you have grown haughty since your fall, though I don't see why you should be proud of it,"General-Headquarters-Hindquarters-Gives-Orders-Front-and-Rear-Sergeant-Billygoat-Legs complained. "Am I to have her, or am I not?"The chimney-sweep and the little shepherdess looked so pleadingly at the old Chinaman, for they were deathly afraid he would nod. But he didn't. He couldn't. And neither did he care to tell anyone that, forever and a day, he'd have to wear a rivet in his neck.So the little porcelain people remained together. They thanked goodness for the rivet in grandfather's neck, and they kept on loving each other until the day they broke.。
童音凄切,催人泪下——诗歌the chimney sweeper赏析童音凄切，催人泪下诗歌the chimney sweeper赏析the chimney sweeper是著名诗人威廉华兹华斯创作的一首文学作品，它揭示了当时英国贫苦子弟遭受的残酷治理，动人心弦。
这首诗以抒情的语言表达了孩子们受尽压迫的悲惨处境，再现出一个更为忧伤的故事：孩子们活着却不知自由和幸福，为满足上层人物的财富需求被迫蹒跚学步，掩埋在墙壁深处，以一种被剥夺了幸福的安慰，置身于童年时刻可望而不可及的天堂中。
这首诗以一个孩子的口吻诉说这样一段悲伤的故事：在一个晴朗的早晨，一小男孩坐在他家门前，表情忧郁，因为他被迫当烟囱清洁工，眼前笼罩着一片漆黑，他只有改变家里的景色才能拯救自己，但他又能不去做呢？这个孩子期望他的家里被普天同庆的春季所点燃，期望大自然的花朵缀满整个地方，也期望他的晚上没有孤独的梦境再出现，可惜他的梦想无法实现，因为他被迫成为烟囱清洁工，他只能通过排出烟囱中的灰尘来聊以解苦。
这首诗表达了一种特殊的情感：“有人被压迫却仍然勇敢地把失去的梦想祈祷赠与上帝，他祈祷上帝不要让他犯罪，而是另找一条途径让他走出困境。
”纵使他跌跌撞撞地走在他的生活里，他仍以睿智的眼光看待社会，他坚定地希望自己有一天会从苦难中解脱出来，穿上清澈的空气，拥抱阳光。
这首诗歌的语言简单而有力，既展示了孩子们苦难的命运，又表达了他们企求主权的期待，同时也使人们思考孩子们的苦难及他们与社会的联系，动用我们的思想对抗苦难。
这首诗作为一件文学作品，关注社会贫困儿童的改变，努力让他们得到幸福平等的生活，并促使人们关注社会的状况和改变。
勃菲尔曾说过：“梦想有力量改变命运”，这首诗在一定程度上体现了这句话的深刻内涵，表达出尽管受到压迫，但在梦想的力量下可以改变过去的悲惨遭遇。
通过一个小小的孩子，诗人威廉华兹华斯让我们看到了可以克服困难的毅力与勇气，这正是每一个人在追求梦想的人生之路上所应该具备的精神。
试谈威廉·布莱克两首短诗《扫烟囱的孩子》中的艺术特色【摘要】威廉·布莱克是英国浪漫主义的先驱，是英国诗歌史上成就巨大、影响深远的诗人，本文主要介绍了他的两首同名短诗《扫烟囱的孩子》在内容和表现手法上的艺术特色。
【关键词】纯真；深刻；简单；复杂1 引言威廉·布莱克（1757-1827）是英国18世纪末19世纪初的文学巨匠，作为英国浪漫主义诗歌的先驱，他的著作有诗集《天真之歌》（Songs of Innocence，1789）和《经验之歌》（Songs of Experience，1794）。
本文着重介绍了分别选自这两部诗集中的同名短诗《扫烟囱的孩子》（The Chimney Sweeper），从中我们可以窥探出布莱克从纯真转向深刻的创作轨迹和诗歌表现手法上的独特性。
2 从纯真到深刻：诗人世界观的飞跃。
在《扫烟囱的孩子一》（天真之歌，1789）一诗中，他栩栩如生地刻画了扫烟囱孩子的不幸遭遇。
全诗共十六行，六个诗节，分为两部分。
第一部分由前三个诗节组成，真实再现了生活在社会底层的穷苦人家孩子悲惨与凄苦的经历。
第二部分由后三节组成，充满了欢快乐观的情调和对上帝万能的信念，描述孩子们虽苦却对前景充满希望，等待慈父般上帝的救助与庇护。
此诗写了两个扫烟囱的孩子，第一个扫烟囱的孩子是自叙。
在诗的第一节中，诗人以第一人称的语气，孩童般稚嫩地声音讲述了“我”的不幸遭遇：幼年丧母，迫于贫穷，在当时还不太喊得清“扫烟囱、扫烟囱”的年龄就被父亲所卖，小小年纪便成了“扫烟囱者”。
“我”白天为人清扫烟囱，夜晚则睡在煤屑堆里。
按照当时的习惯，扫烟囱的孩子沿街高呼“weep，weep”意即“sweep，sweep”，以便有人听到后会雇佣他去扫烟囱。
这是一个极凄惨的声音，在听觉上，又与weep（哭泣）同音，极易与读者的心灵产生共鸣。
在诗的第二、三节中，第二个扫烟囱的孩子是通过“我”的自叙讲述的Tom Dacre，他因为头发全被剃光，在寒风中瑟瑟发抖，所以心里很悲痛。
WilliamBlake-The...The Chimney Sweeper is the title of two poems by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789 and Songs of Experience in 1794. Today, I'm here to present on the Songs of Innocence.William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. He was unrecognized during his lifetime and now he is considered as a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the romantic age. His poems were full of romantic spirit, imagery symbolism and revolutionary spirit. Here are two of his quotes.The chimney sweeper was a very serious social issue in 18th century in England. They slept in cellars on bags of the soot that they had swept, and they were poorly fed and clothed. Y oung sweepers who were not killed by fires in chimneys usually died early anyway of respiratory problems. Sweeping chimneys also left children with ankles and spines deformed and twisted kneecaps. Many people viewed them as subhuman creatures and not a part of human society. William wrote the poem to protest the living conditions, working conditions, and the overall treatment of young chimney sweeps in the cities of England.The first stanza tells the narrator's life story: sold or abandoned by parents, working in dark chimney and sleeping in dark, dirty soot. And probably it's the reflection of all the little chimney sweepers' life story. In the third line, the cry "'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" is actually the child's attempt at saying "Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!", which was the chimney sweeper's street cry. The use of the partial tone creates an ironic effect. It makes readers pity and feel that the chimney children are weeping fortheir living and working conditions.The poem goes on to talk about T om Dacre, one of the narrator's fellows in the second and third stanzas. The second stanza introduces Tom Dacre, who acts as a foil to the speaker. Tom is upset about his lot in life, then the narrator comforts little Tom, shaving his curl white hair and getting bare, so that he needn't worry that his hair would get spoiled until Tom falls asleep. Here Tom's family name "Dacre" is a homophone for the word "dark". I think the author has some implication here. It indicates the darkness of chimney sweepers' working and living condition. He dreams of the other chimney sweepers being locked in black coffins, symbolic of sweepers' lives, being poor outcasts in society and having stained unwashed skin and often disfigured bodies.In next three stanzas, the poem describes Tom's dream. He dream of an angel opening the coffins and freeing the sweepers. It shows the freeing of Tom and other sweeps from the oppressive lifestyle. The reference to being white and the bags being left behind represents a complete escape from this oppression including the soot stained skin and the bags of tools and soot which they carried by day and on which they slept at night.And there's another interpretation of this dream. And I think it makes sense. Itinterpret the dream as the coffins representing their literal deaths, and the chimney sweepers can only get freed from the oppression until their afterlife.When the angel tells Tom that “if he’d be a good boy, He’d have God for his father and never want joy”, he gives Tom hope that if he is good and does his job, God will be his fatherand bless him in the next life.Beside the image of the Angel is quite ironic too. The bright angel with a bright key exposes religion as exploiting the credulous children, rather than protecting them or rescuing them.To conclude, in this poem, the chimney sweepers are offered hope by the outcome of Tom Dacre’s dream. The narrator offers comfort that if they are obedient and do their duty, all will be well. Also, Tom is used to illustrate another point. He is originally frightened but later feels “happy and warm”, showin g that he is in the state of innocence and is unaware that he is a victim.。
最美的英语诗歌：The Chimney Sweeper 扫烟囱的小男孩诗歌的美就是在于它的表达很巧妙，以下是小编给大家整理的邂逅世间最美的英语诗歌——The Chimney Sweeper 扫烟囱的小男孩，希望可以帮到大家The Chimney Sweeper扫烟囱的小男孩William Blake威廉布莱克When my mother died I was very young,我母亲死的时候，我还小，And my father sold me while yet my tongue我父亲把我卖给了别人，Could scarcely cry "weep! weep! weep! weep!我当时还不太喊得清”扫呀，扫呀”，So your chimney I sweep, in soot I sleep.就这样白天扫你们的烟囱，晚上在烟灰里睡觉。
There's little Tom Dacre who cried when his head有个小汤姆，头发卷得像羊毛，That curl'd like a lamb's back, was shav'd, so I said,剃光的时候，哭得好伤心，好难受，"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when our head's bare,我就说：“小汤姆，别哭，光了头，You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."烟灰就不会糟蹋你的头发了。
”And so he was quiet, that very night,他平静了下来，当天夜里，As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight!汤姆睡着了，梦见了这样的景象，That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, Jack,迪克、乔、南德、杰克等千千万万个扫烟菌小孩Were all of them lock'd up in coffins of black;统统被锁进了黑棺材。
the chimney sweeper 的写作背景The background to these poems is one of the many social problems that existed in Blake's time—the use of young children as chimney sweeps. Children were often sold at the age of seven to work as chimney sweeps. They were badly treated, with never enough clothes, food or housing. They were placed in constant danger of suffocating or burning, and the soot caused cancer and other serious illnesses that resulted in painful and early deaths.这首诗是透过小孩的口吻叙述另一位名叫汤姆•达客的小男孩的遭遇。
在此，达客的英文名字（Dacre）是与「黑色」（Dark）相谐音，自有明确的言外之意可说；同时，这首诗更以黑色的棺木暗喻扫烟囱的小孩所置身的煤灰世界，而有批评家就认为把小孩染黑的煤灰代表着人性的残酷（human cruelty）。
整首诗最哀婉动人的情节，莫过于达客牺牲原有的金黄柔软的卷发，以换取工作上的方便，因为光着头就不怕被煤灰弄脏，也容易清理。
其次，天使的勉励劝慰也已让人感受到一丝无可奈何的凄然，因此当结尾时，扫烟囱的小孩显现出由着期待与憧憬所带来的快乐与安详，就真的让人有「人生到此，天道宁论」（江淹〈恨赋〉）的感慨了！做为阅读者，我们确切知道扫烟囱小孩最终的期待与憧憬在此世是永不可能实现的了。
但是，布雷克写诗的原意并不在控诉，他只想写一种情境，一种让人为之不忍的情境。
然而，诗歌艺术表现手法中，借着对比矛盾情境的经营所可能造成的「反讽」效果，就在布雷克的扫烟囱小孩这种天真素朴的语调中沉沉浮现。
布雷克的〈扫烟囱的小孩〉是与其它的诗作合刊，再加上他亲手绘制的二十七幅图板，而以《天真之歌》（Songs of Innocence）为题发行。
随后，在公元一八二四年由英国另一位重要的散文作家兰姆（Charles Lamb, 1775-1834）推荐，放入当时反抗「社会不公义」的社会运动宣导手册之中，做为向国会议员游说废除童工的资料。
【这一份社会运动宣导手册是由James Montgomery所编辑，题为《扫烟囱者之友》（Chimney Sweeper’s Friend and Climbing Boy’s Album），有意了解这一段社会运动的相关资料，或许可以参考。
】据说扫烟囱小孩的平均年寿很短，更大多数的孩童是在畸形或肺疾的病痛中度过仅存的岁月。
英国议会终于在一八四零年的八月七日通过立法废除童工制，而与「哭泣（weep）」谐音同韵的扫烟囱小孩就此正式消失在英国的大街小巷中。
剥削与压榨所形成的社会不公义，可以各种不同的形式出现，有时当我们专力注视着宏伟的建筑与数字的成长，我们或许容易忽略、或许也看不见个人身旁随处即有的不义；更有些不义是那么样的细微与细致，而让我们几乎查觉不到它们的确存在。
同理，文学艺术工作者可以向我们渲染人性与文明的理性进展，也可以孤芳自赏的诉说着个人的救赎，但应该也有人可以向我们娓娓点醒不同生活中隐约可见的摧折与哭泣。
于此，唐代诗人白居易（772-846）倡议「文章合为时而着，歌诗合为事而作」的创作理则或许仍有它的理想性与适用性。
我们可能无法确切知悉当英国国会面对社会运动的抗争时，是否曾把参与抗争的团体或人群视为刁顽，但是我们或可想象国会议员当中有人在宴会后在深夜里的清明时刻，突地读到了布雷克的〈扫烟囱的小孩〉，而内心感受到微微一震，历史走向就此不一样了。
此时此地，当我们的国会议员只有忙着与行政人员玩着相互抗争与看图识人的游戏时，我们仍否可以天真的期待与憧憬其中有人读到了诗看到了生活，而且内心感受到了微微的一震？London原诗欣赏Londonby William BlakeI wander thro’ each charter’d street,Near where the charter'd Thames does flow, And mark in every face I meet,Marks of weakness, marks of woe.In every cry of every man,In every Infant's cry of fear,In every voice, in every ban,The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.How the Chimney-sweeper's cryEvery blackening Church appalls;And the hapless Soldier's sighRuns in blood down Palace walls.But most, thro’ midnight streets I hearHow the youthful Harlot's curseBlasts the new-born Infant's tear,And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse. 译诗欣赏伦敦威廉•布莱克我徘徊在每一条富人专用的街上，不远处流动着属于他们的泰晤士河。
我看到每一张迎面而来的脸庞，写着虚弱，刻着忧伤。
在每一个人的每一声哭泣中，在每一阵婴儿的惊恐的啼号中，在每一种嗓音，每一条禁令中，我听到灵魂的镣铐在铮铮作响。
扫烟囱的孩子的哭喊，震撼着每一座熏黑的教堂，不幸士兵的仰天长叹，如鲜血沿着宫墙流淌。
然而最令我夜不能寐的，是大街上年轻妓女的咒诅，那骂声凝固了婴儿惊吓的啼哭，一如瘟神，把新房变成灵堂。
创作背景本诗初见于1794年出版的《经验之歌》。
布莱克在诗中以犀利的笔触深刻地揭示了英国劳动人民的苦难生活，淋漓尽致地抒发了他对英国政府以及教会的强烈憎恨。
对于故乡伦敦布莱克一直怀有深厚的依恋之情，他曾以动人的诗句讴歌“金色的伦敦”、“银色的泰晤士河”，以及无数“闪光的尖顶和停泊的船只”（见《素描诗集》）。
然而，由于欧洲反动统治者出兵干涉法国革命，英国政府也加紧了对国内民主运动的镇压。
伦敦因此失去了往昔的辉煌，显出从未有过的凄惨景象。
当年的金城银河如今都已沦落为富人的私有财产，劳苦大众颠沛流离，四处流浪。
诗人简介威廉•布莱克（William Blake 1757—1827）英国诗人，艺术家。
1757年，他出生于伦敦一个贫寒的袜商家庭。
由于个性过于独特，不喜欢正统学校的压抑气氛拒绝入学，因而没有受过正规教育。
他从小就喜欢绘画和诗歌。
11岁起就进入绘画学校学习了三年并表现出非凡的艺术才能。
其父有意让他师从一位著名的画家继续深造，但他为了家庭及弟妹的前途而主动放弃了这次机会，去雕版印刷作坊当了一名学徒。
14岁当雕版学徒，后于1779年入英国皇家艺术学院学习美术。
1782年结婚。
不久以后，布莱克印刷了自己的第一本诗集——《素描诗集》（Poetical Sketches）。
1784年，在父亲过世后，布莱克开始与著名出版商约瑟夫•约翰逊合作。
在约翰逊的合作者中包括当时英国许多优秀人物，如：约瑟夫•普莱斯利、玛莉•渥斯顿克雷福特和托马斯•佩恩等等。
布莱克同玛莉•渥斯顿克雷福特很快成为了好友，并应邀为其作品创作插图。
1788年后，他陆续出版了四本诗集。
1825年开始，布莱克陷入疾病的折磨，之后，他决意要在死去之前完成为但丁《神曲》的插图工作，但是直到死去，他也未能完成这一浩大的工程。
直到1827年8月去世前的几天，他仍然在工作，“叫人用最后的几个先令去买碳笔”，画完最后一幅画把它放下，说道“我已经尽力而为了”。
他一生中一面与妻子相依为命靠绘画和雕版的劳酬清贫为生，一面继续从事12岁就开始的诗歌创作并配上自己的插图出版。
威廉•布莱克的一生极其简单，没有大书特书之处，只有一些一直延续的简单事实和紧迫的艺术创作活动。
布莱克是一位复杂的多重人物：除了诗人，他同时还是画家、雕刻家。
他艺术的一面影响另一面。
他用自己发明的方法，把写的诗和画的插图刻在铜板上，然后用这种铜板印成书页，再给它们涂色。
细读布莱克的作品，我们可以发现，它们是由图像和文本结合的整体。
文本不仅仅是用来说明图画，图画也不仅仅是用来表现原文。
两者都需要解释性或推测性的阅读。
谈论威廉•布莱克必然要澄清有关对他的诸多猜测与指责，有人说他是疯子和魔鬼信仰的杜撰和散播者，像伦敦夜间人们能够听到的墓地里走出的勾小孩子灵魂的新年老人，当然，布莱克不可能如拉伯雷与阿莱丁诺一样对世俗做彻底的思考或澄清，也许他是信仰的迷雾，但那也是饱蘸着痛苦和爱的“紫雾”，布莱克开创了一种借想象力促成的幻觉而进行的思考，从这一点上看，他启发了艾米莉•狄金森和迪兰•托马斯，甚至阿尔蒂尔•兰波。
布莱克是想象力的先知，和经验的忠实记录者，我们宁愿把他看成从“魔鬼作坊”里冲出来的最优秀的净化知觉的学徒。
从童年时代起，布莱克就充满了丰富的想像力，并且时常经历幻想。
他说他曾看见过缀满天使的大树，曾见到过安葬在威斯敏斯特教堂中的古圣先贤，并给他们画过画像。
他把自己所看到的一切用绘画和诗歌表现出来。
他的画大多是经过深思熟虑后的变形人体或表现他幻觉中所见到的人物。
如他为自己的诗“欧洲：一个预言”（1794）所作的插图就是源自他的幻觉。
据说，当布莱克住在兰伯斯时，他曾站在一个楼梯的顶端，看见过类似的一副幻象出现在空中。
从这幅画面上可以看出：混沌初开，一个裸体老人白发白须飞扬，伏在一个黄边红里的圆形物体内，伸出左手，在用一幅巨大的圆规测量下面的一片沉沉黑暗。
这位神秘的老人显然是《圣经》里的上帝耶和华。
在《旧约•箴言》里有一段“智慧”所说的话，可以佐证。
这幅画不仅构图和色彩都带有一种梦幻般的神秘感，而且用意也不是写上帝的伟大。
它表达的是上帝的邪恶，因为他创造了一个黑暗的世界，那幅圆规看起来像是黑暗的暴风雨之夜霹雳的电光。
所以他只能是邪恶之神。
布莱克除了自写自画之外，还常常为别人的诗文作画。
名为《怜悯》的画，就是他为莎士比亚的名著《麦克白》的第一幕第七场所作的插图。
布莱克一生都没有得到官方或公众的赏识。
在当时人们的眼中，它是个反理性主义者、梦幻家和神秘主义者，一个远离尘世的人和偏执狂。
