The Yin Yang sign is a common symbol used by the chinese to advertise or show that there is good in the bad, bad in the good. Usually the dark side is referenced to a male and the clear side is referenced to a female. Archetypes are used to describe who people are in life. William Blake uses similar archetype like the Yin Yang symbol in the poems he wrote. Many people are viewed by their actions in life. Most would believe to be born pure and innocent. William Blake wrote a poem called, “The Lamb” which told the message that jesus created an sweet, gentle animal. The lamb symbolizes purity and innocence. The archetype means the people who consider themselves like a lamb are followers not leaders. One archetype that Blake used which symbolized
Yin and yang are not opposing forces (dualities), but complementary forces, unseen (hidden, feminine) and seen (manifest, masculine), that interact to form a greater whole, as part of a dynamic system. Everything has both yin and yang aspects as light could not be understood if darkness didn't exist, and shadow cannot exist without light.
Christians often use the teachings of Jesus Christ as source of guidance. In the 20th century dystopian novels Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the authors use archetypes in reference to the protagonists and their societies, to warn against the dangers of self indulgence.
In our society, people are often cruel to one another in the want for personal gain, but this is restrained to mere social interactions and online in our industrial world. However, when we are separated from civilized society and the pressures that it places upon us, we are quick to turn to savage, cruel behavior to survive. Golding understood this idea, that we are only civilized when others are watching, and showed the possibility for even the purest to become affected by societal pressures in his novel, the Lord of the Flies. In order to show the role of cruelty in shaping the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding uses character archetypes, the idea of cosmic irony, and extended symbolism to highlight the inherent flaws of human nature and the potential for even the purest individuals to turn to cruel ways due to societal pressures.
Although the interpretation might be negative and positive, it is not how we actually depict these two aspects. They represent a balance and are interdependent (cannot exist without each other). These two are like a cause and effect.
Yin and Yang is an ancient Chinese philosophy that shows the perfect balance between two things. The yin and yang sign is considered an energy which keeps the concept flowing. It is two
In the poems "The Lamb" and "The Tyger," William Blake uses symbolism, tone, and rhyme to advance the theme that God can create good and bad creatures. The poem "The Lamb" was in Blake's "Songs of Innocence," which was published in 1789. "The Tyger," in his "Songs of Experience," was published in 1794. In these contrasting poems he shows symbols of what he calls "the two contrary states of the human soul" (Shilstone 1).
Imagery used in “The Lamb” is very beautiful, natural and peaceful which is a stark contrast to the dark fearful imagery seen in “The Tyger”. “Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost, thou know who made thee?” (Lines 9-10). “Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee: He is called by thy name” (Lines 12-13). In the poem “The Lamb”, Blake paints a sweet, innocent image of a loving and kind God. This poem is full of child-like wonder as the speaker questions and answers who the lamb’s creator is. The nostalgic feel continues as he states, “By the stream and o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, wooly, bright; Gave thee such a tender voice” (Lines 4-7). These words and ideas leave the reader with a warm, comforted feeling. The image of untouched nature, green pastures and a soft, little, white, baby lamb is quite different to the imagery Blake uses in “The Tyger”. The overall feel of “The Lamb” is beautiful and tender as Blake describes the lamb in such ways that are gentle, delicate and alluring. In his poem, “The Tyger”, Blake creates a dark, scary picture of a powerful, ferocious creature that is not meek or mild like the lamb. Instead, he states, “What immortal hand or eye, Burnt the fire of thine eyes? Dare its deadly terrors clasp?” (Lines 2-14). “What the hammer? What the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? What dread grasp dare its deadly terrors clasp?” (Lines 13-16). These
In Chinese culture, health and illness concentrates on the balance between body, mind, and spirit, expressed as Yin Yang. It symbolizes the idea that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. There is a belief in part of the Chinese culture, that a physical illness is caused by an imbalance of Yin Yang.
Yin and Yang is a Chinese philosophy. Yin and Yang connects to Taoism, because it symbolizes balance between opposing sides. It is made of two principles. Yin, the predominately black side,
Throughout “Innocence” there are many references to “The Lamb” representing Jesus Christ who was the Sacrificial Lamb, as shown in the poem “The Lamb.” Another common image of religion used by Blake is that of religion as the Shepherd, the Shepherd is “watchful” and ever watching over his sheep, protecting them, Blake is showing religion as
According to information gathered from the online source, Taoism or the Tao Religion (Our Ultimate Reality), the Yin and Yang represents two breaths or the chi life force. This Yin life force is the feminine principle of darkness, coolness, and dampness, while the white, the Yang, is the masculine principle of brightness, warmth, and dryness. They are not opposites, not all good, or bad, but both needed to maintain universe stability. Defined through opposition, Taoists believe in the virtues of balance and understanding.
Thesis Statement: The Lamb written by William Blake is a beautiful spiritually enriched poem that expresses God’s sovereignity, His love for creation and His gentleness in care and provisions for those that are His .
In “The Lamb” by William Blake, you will see that, if analyzed closely, the lamb is a personal symbol which signifies God himself. The innocence of a child is like that of a lamb, and serves as a model for humans to follow. In the first stanza, the speaker is the child who is also the teacher. The child asks the lamb who gave him life and all his needs, along with a voice so "tender”. Then, the child declares that he will tell the lamb who their creator is. The creator shares the same name as the lamb, which is a reference to Jesus Christ. The end of the poem is giving way to a blessing which, gives an expression of the child’s adoration at the connection the lamb makes in child,
William Blake’s The Tyger and The Lamb are both very short poems in which the author poses rhetorical questions to what, at a first glance, would appear to be a lamba lamb and a tiger. In both poems he uses vivid imagery to create specific connotations and both poems contain obvious religious allegory. The contrast between the two poems is much easier to immediately realize . “The lamb” was published in a Blake anthology entitled “The songs of experience” which depicted life in a much more realistic and painful light. Both poems share a common AABB rhyme scheme and they are both in regular meter. In “The Tyger” Blake paints a picture of a powerful creature with eyes of fire and dread hands and feet. He asks rhetorical questions with a respectful awe that is almost fearful and makes the setting more foreign to the reader by including imagery like “the forest of the night” By contrast. Blake’s portrait of the lamb is one of innocence and child like wonderment “The Tyger is almost an examination of the horrors in the world while “The lamb examines only that which is “bright,”tender, “mild”. The use of words like “night,” “burning’ and “terrors in the tyger”create quite a contrary image for the reader than that of “The lamb.”
Just like the “lamb” that was born into this world through a virgin and was sacrificed for all mankind, this same “lamb” made us and called us by his name. In his poem "The Lamb," William Blake clearly uses repetition, personification, and symbolism to describe his religious beliefs and how a pure sacrifice is portrayed by a little lamb. Laura Quinney’s book, “William Blake on Self and Soul,” shows the religious side of Blake when it says, “Blake makes this argument in his address “To the Deists,” where he insists “Man must & will have Some Religion; if he has not the Religion of Jesus, he will have the Religion of Satan” (Quinney, 2009). Blake uses his religious view to show us he believes that our creator is the Lamb of God. He distinctively uses the innocence and purity of a little lamb and how its creator clearly takes care of it. The lamb is fed, given water by the stream and a bidden a blessed life.