How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: [...] (5-6)
The lamb is an important symbol in Christianity. Jesus is often described as the Lamb of God, the one who sacrificed himself to atone for the sins of humanity. So does that make Tom Dacre a Christ-like figure? If so, how does that change the way we see the kid?
Quote #2
And by came an angel who had a bright key,
And he opened the coffins and set them all free; (13-14)
The angel is a savior. The poem suggests here that only God's representative—somebody with some serious connections up in Heaven—can release mankind from death. The strange thing is that this whole thing happens in a dream, the realm of fantasy and unreality.
Quote #3
Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run,
And wash in a river, and shine in the sun. (15-16)
The image of the children washing in a river suggests baptism, the process by which children are cleansed of their sins after they are born (in Christian faiths). The lines suggest that somehow the children have sinned, or are covered in sin, and must be cleansed.
Quote #4
Then naked and white, all their bags left behind,
They rise upon clouds and sport in the wind; (17-18)
The image of the children rising on clouds makes it kind of seem like they're on their way to Heaven. They are leaving their "bags" and clothes "behind," but the bags and clothes here might just be a symbol of their mortal life. They are leaving that behind and going to a better place. But are they really? What's this angel really offering them?
Quote #5
And the angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,
He'd have God for his father, and never want joy. (19-20)
Okay, let's break this down. The angel's comment sounds nice enough. But upon closer look, it almost sounds like he's laying down the law. Does God only accept people who are good? And does being good mean Tom has to do his chimney-sweeping duty, as the last lines of the poem suggest? This doesn't quite sound fair. In order to be good and get to heaven, Tom has to slave away in other people's chimneys down on earth? These lines, especially when you combine them with the last lines of the poem, definitely make us suspicious of the angel's meaning.