Charles Lamb (1775-1834) The Chimney Sweeper
Write a critical appreciation of the
essay “The Praise of Chimney Sweepers”
Or, how does Lamb portray the
condition of chimney Sweepers in industrial England.
Answer:-
“The Praise of Chimney sweepers” by
Charles Lamb is one of the finest essays of his collection entitled “The Essay
of Elia”. It is a memorable essay chiefly because of the feeling of humanity which
pervades it. In this essay Lamb deals with issues of child labor, social in equality
and the condition of professional conduct in industrial England. The
essay shows Lamb’s essential kindness and generosity towards the poor
children. The lines of the essay ring with affection and tender
feeling. In this essay Lamb declares that he does not mind even slipping on the
street to produce some amusement for the Chimney Sweepers as the boy’s laughter
has no malice in it. He asks his readers to be generous to the little sweeps who work so
hard in their tender age.
Through the essay is entitled “The
praise of Chimney sweepers”, we get as much information about Lamb as of the
sweeps. In this essay Lamb communicates to us the childhood wonder he used to
feel on seeing the young chimney sweeper’s head disappearing into the black
chimney from below and reappearing after sometime at the top like a warrior who
has conquered a tower. Lamb even said he cannot tolerate a lady displaying her white teeth but
welcomes the sight of white teeth on the black sooty face of the
young sweeps. Lamb’s observation of the chimney sweeps has been quite
comprehensive. He tells us of their special liking of a brew called ‘sassafras tea’ which however seemed
somewhat terrible to Lamb’s fastidious(dislike) sense of smell.
The essay like all others of Lamb
contains anecdotes to illustrate a point. Lamb’s fanciful nature makes him conceit
a theory that all chimney sweeps must be in reality the kidnapped children of
aristocratic families. To substantiate the theory he gives the
anecdotes of how a small sweep was found sleeping in the Duke’s bad in Arundel Castle.
He declares that it must have been the sweep’s aristocratic instincts which
promoted him to rest his tired limbs on the stately bed. Another incident which
Lamb relates turns the humors onto him. He tells us about how he once slipped while
walking and it became a source of great amusement to a small chimney sweep.
The essay concludes with another anecdote, about Lamb’s friend Jem White’s dinner party
for the sweeps. Jem White used to arrange an annual feast for the young
sweeps, which was thoroughly enjoyable for the little kids. Now Jem white was
dead and the feast was no longer held, no one else had come forward to cheer
the poor sweeps. Lamb’s essays do not always stick close to their proposed
subjects. He often lets his mind wander from one topic to another which
supports his definition of an essay as ‘a
loose sally of mind”. “The Praise of Chimney Sweepers” contains one such
digression—the description ‘sassafras tea’ which is realized
not only by the sweeps but also by other people of working class. The essay
illustrates Lamb’s peculiar manner of blending humors with pathos. It is
touching as wells as humorous observation that the chimney sweeps cry of ‘Sweep
Sweep’ resembles the ‘Cheep Cheep’ of sparrows. All through the humors
there is a touch of Pathos because we are conscious of the poverty which makes
those youngster’s work so hard such a tender age. They are definitely in need
of charity and kindness from us.
The essay is eloquent in its
descriptions. When a chimney sweep smiles for Lamb it seems as if a silver lining has
opened itself among the clouds. “The Praise of Chimney Sweepers” is one
of Lamb’s most characteristic essays. It is imaginative, overspread with
tender, humor and feeling and written in a beautiful evocative style. It could
easily fit the description of essay as “a lyric in prose”. It is a fine essay
as it illustrates all the aspects of Lamb’s style.
God Bless you all & all the best, by your dearest & nearest P.B.