The Lamb and The Tyger
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). In "The Lamb," Blake uses the symbol of the lamb to paint a picture of innocence. The lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ. The lamb is also a symbol of life. It provides humans with food, clothing, and other things humans need to survive. The line "For he calls himself a Lamb" is a line
…show more content…
According to Blake this creature has a special "inner" source of energy which distinguishes its existence from the cold and dark world of inanimate things (Blake 3). There is also an essence of the devil in the tiger. William Blake points this out by using words like furnace and just by him picking a tiger. There are many other violent predators out in the jungle but he chose the tiger because of its bright orange and black. When it runs it looks like a fireball. In line twenty of "The Tyger," William Blake says, "Did He who make the lamb make thee?" (Blake 539). What he is wondering is if he made such an innocent creature like the lamb how could he make a beast like the tiger? Persona is an important concept in these poems. "The Lamb" could be read as a nursery rhyme to little children. The persona of this poem is one of a little child talking to a lamb. The persona of "The Lamb" is shown in line seventeen, "I a child, and thou a lamb." The persona helps Blake to show that God made such a harmless creature like the lamb and such a pure child. The reader knows that God made both these creatures because the line "Little Lamb, who made thee?"(Blake 538) is repeated throughout the poem. The child is a symbol of purity so that is why Blake chose to use a child as the persona rather than a grown up. The child is describing to the lamb who made him: We know this because in the second
Blake makes a reference to an angel in the first poem, line 13, “And by came an Angel who had a bright key.” Since the first letter of the word angel is capitalized, the reader can conclude that “Angel” refers to religion and God. The angel is supposed to be a messenger sent by God to the chimney sweeper. In the second poem, Blake makes an innuendo to the Bible in line 11, “And are gone to praise God & his Priest & King.” Here the reader can be assured about it dealing with the Bible since God is mentioned. The Priest represents God’s preacher while the King most likely stands for Jesus since he is the king of all Jews and of all creation. Blake used these biblical allusions in order to depict the Christian faith in his poems. He also executes it to allure the religious audience of his poems during this significant time
The most leading literary device used in Blake’s poems is symbolism. In this particular poem, “The Lamb” is a reference to God himself. This is because of the trinity that is involved with being a Christ follower. The trinity is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The child in the poem, is a symbol as innocence and purity just like Jesus Christ. Christians are to “receive the kingdom of God like a child” (Luke 18:17, ESV). This means that we are to have child-like faith, and trust in God, just like children do in their parents.
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.
In Christian imagery, a pure white lamb represents Jesus Christ, purity, and innocence. The image of the lamb was perfect for Blake to use in a poem based upon innocence. In the poem “The Lamb,” the narrator (presumably a young Blake) is questioning if the lamn knows who created him. We find out that the narrator wasn’t asking the lamb for an answer, but rather if the lamb was aware enough to ask itself such a question. Blake tells the naive, clueless animal that it is the embodiment of Christ. “I a child & thou a Lamb. We are called by his name.” (Blake) This line is the revealing piece of information that tells us Blake is talking about purity. Through each stanza, archetypes of innocence drip from the lines, painting a picture of joy without worry.
William Blake was a forerunner in the world of poetry in the 18th century that produced works that are being studied to this day. Along with many other greats; poets, artists, and musicians, Blake did not receive the recognition deserved to him until after his death. Many of these poems written by Blake are ordinarily focused on religion while heavily influenced by his imagination. The impact of his imagination in addition to his focus on religion is evident in his work “The Lamb” as well as The Tyger”. “The Lamb” is a poem about a child who is asking the lamb about his creator, then asks if the lamb is aware of his identity. The child already knows the identity which leads to the end of the poem. This poem comes from an album called Songs
William Blake’s “The Lamb” aims to show an innocent way of looking at the world. The narrator of “The Lamb” is asking if the lamb knows who made it, and does so in a way that suggests that whomever created the lamb is kind, and loves their creation. “Gave thee life…bid thee feed…clothing of delight…” These things, when seen from the side of innocence, seem to be gifts to the lamb; things its creator blessed it with. However, the narrator fails to see a lot of the meaning that their own words have. The lamb was given life and fed well so that it could grow and be killed for food later. The narrator states that the lamb’s creator, Jesus, also is called a lamb, “for he is meek and mild”, but fails to see why such a comparison was made between
White sheep are a symbol of purity; the tone of these words then become pure. This tone gives the reader an idea of the purity and happier side of life conflicting with the dark tones of Blake’s other piece. By having these tones conflict, Blake is showing the readers that life can be pure at times and dark at other times. In the last half of the lamb, the poem gives God the credit for making lamb the readers know to be pure. This tells the reader that Gods allows all things good or pure in life because he made this “Little Lamb God bless thee”
Blake makes many references to the Bible in his poems, “The Lamb” and “The Tyger”. He uses biblical symbols to express the nature of God and the two different states of his creation Blake’s starts “the Lamb” with questioning the creation of the lamb. In the first two lines of the first stanza, the speaker, a child, asks the lamb if he knows who made him, what its origin is, and how it came
Throughout the duration of the poem, William Blake continues to expand upon the lamb as a symbol. In lines fourteen and fifteen, Blake writes, “He is meek & he is mild, / He became a little child:.” Blake uses these lines to refer to Jesus as gentle, kind, and pure, but also to refer to Jesus being a child himself. Jesus was born in a manger, and was special from even before His birth. Jesus was sent as a whole, pure, and perfect baby to save the people of the World. At the time of His birth, Jesus was seen as tender and mild. Therefore, Blake includes the lines about Jesus being a child and the characteristics that describe him because a lamb is often seen as pure and gentle. Jesus was originally called “The Lamb”, which made Him the lamb
If we were to picture an animal in creation that would bring to mind the idea’s of innocence, helplessness, endearment and affection, one might choose a lamb. God has chosen the lamb to represent mankind as well as reveal the sacrifice of His Son. William Blake, in his poem titled “The Lamb,” uses the symbol of the lamb to show how the Creator is revealed as the Lamb to a lamb and how mankind is like a lamb that He might see his need for the “Good Shepherd.” (John 10:11) The narrator begins by compassionately asking the lamb to reflect upon his own life and existence as though the lamb himself were a conscious animal who could contemplate his own existence.
“The Lamb” by William Blake brings about spiritual passions and the emotional about the Lamb of God, who is Jesus Christ. “The Lamb” by William Blake is a lyric poem in which the author marvels at the love, wonder and innocents of child poetry, also which states personal passions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.”1 In select “The Lamb “it was talking to me intellect emotion, imagination and internally. In our lesson, category “The lamb is a symbol of innocence also, a character of Christ’s sacrifice by sin.”2 Blake stated in the poem “for he calls himself a lamb”: He is meek, and he is mild describes the Lord Jesus Christ as the creator of the lamb. Since Jesus is often called the ‘Lamb of God, the representation of the instinctive chosen in the poem is very recognizable. Reading the poem as a Christian it can point to word of God’s in a biblical point of view. “Sometimes a lamb is just a lamb, unless it's the "Lamb of God," Or unless it's the human lambs being shepherded by Jesus Christ.3 “Christianity turns everyone in this poem into a lamb; also the poem's symbolic, religious meaning comes through in the second stanza, where the lamb's creator is revealed to be Jesus Christ.”4 In line one “Who made thee”, (John 1:3), when God created he make something from nothing. Analysis the poem it gives the urge to answer the question in the sonnet. Because we are created a being, we have no basis for pride. Reminded that you exist, because God made us, and
William Blake used animals as basic building blocks for poems such as “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.” By using these carefully selected animals to depict good and evil, the reader truly understands Blake’s words. All readers can relate to animals such as an innocent lamb and a
The Lamb by William Blake belongs in the song innocence category. When a person thinks of a lamb they think of a sweet animal who could do no harm, and this is exactly what songs of innocence means. In some ways the lamb is pure and childish. Lambs do not have anger and do not really care how things workout. In the poem, The Lamb by William Blake he explains, “Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing wooly delight (lines 5-6).” Blake recognizes all the good qualities that lamb’s posses and is very positive about the lamb although it may not be the smartest animal. In God’s eye his son is lamb.
Another Key point that I would like to make is the comparison with Innocence and the term ‘good’, and Experience with the term ‘evil’. Blake also referred to his poem, The Lamb with innocence and goodness, contrary, The Tyger with evilness and experience. This collection of poems by Blake does make one question things that they normally would not. This in depth topic
Pursuing this further, this poem also alludes to a Bible story. The allusion makes this poem come alive and even more interesting. During the Industrial Revolution, life was not perfect for most people and because of that there was a lot of people wished that God would come and save them from the nefarious world they live in. From a very young age, Blake wrote about angels, virgin mary, and ghost. People can infer that he wrote this poem because he was fascinated with the idea of angels. He wrote, “And by came an Angel who had a bright key, / And he opened the coffins & set them all free;” (13-14) During the dream that Tom Dacre has, there is an angel that comes down and opens up the gates for all the children. Well, this alludes to a verse