Which lines from "The Chimney Sweeper" (Songs of Innocence) most accurately provide a clue that the child speaker is not as naïve about his work as he might appear?

"The Chimney Sweeper": Two Versions

A. Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm:

So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

B. There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,

That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved; so I said,

'Hush, Tom! never mind it, for, when your head's bare,

You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.'

C. And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,

He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.

And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark,

And got with our bags and our brushes to work.

D. Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,

They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind: ...

Question

English

Maren Porter

26 March, 23:45

Which lines from "The Chimney Sweeper" (Songs of Innocence) most accurately provide a clue that the child speaker is not as naïve about his work as he might appear?

"The Chimney Sweeper": Two Versions

A. Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy and warm:

So, if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

B. There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,

That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved; so I said,

'Hush, Tom! never mind it, for, when your head's bare,

You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.'

C. And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,

He'd have God for his father, and never want joy.

And so Tom awoke, and we rose in the dark,

And got with our bags and our brushes to work.

D. Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,

They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind: ...

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Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Jamie Clayton · Answer 1

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,

That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved; so I said,

'Hush, Tom! never mind it, for, when your head's bare,

You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.'

In these lines, Tom Dacre is introduced and the child speaker is shown consoling and reassuring him after his hair is shaved. There is a direct comparison between Tom's hair and a lamb's wool, that is, a chimney sweeper and the lamb, since both of them are innocent. The narrator tells Tom that he'll be glad when his white hair is gone, since soot won't be able to stain it. We can draw a parallel between the spoiling of something white and pure and the loss of innocense that the chimney sweepers go through, something the narrator is already aware of.