Chimney Sweeper - "Innocence"
1. Does the speaker really think chimney-sweeping is a duty that children should do? Should Tom really be feeling happy and warm?
2. Why does the speaker devote so much time to Tom's dream? What does it tell us about these chimney sweepers?
3. What do you imagine the later poem with the same title would be like? Can a poem get any darker than this? How might it be different, similar?
4. What's the effect of the sing-songy rhythm and almost always perfect rhymes? Do they jive with the meaning of the poem?
Chimney Sweeper - "Experience"
1. How is this different from its companion in Songs of Innocence? Is this poem saying anything different, or just covering the same old ground?
2. Who does the chimney sweeper really blame for his woe? And why? Do you think he's right?
3. Why not just narrate this poem in the voice of the chimney-sweeper? Why choose to have it be in dialogue, with another speaker who doesn't say much at all?