Comparing William Blake's Biblical References In Songs Of Innocence And Experience

Unlike the lamb this poems meaning is something different I believe. In my opinion this poem can be interpreted as a response to the industrialization that Britain was going through during the time of Blake. I think we first see this in the title “The Tyger” or tiger misspelled. When you think of a tiger you think of ruthlessness, ferocity, fast acting, just as the industrialization of Britain. This theme is very common through out Blake’s pieces as we see it in almost every poem. It is present in “The Chimney Sweeper” and “London”. Blake paints an image of what the tiger represents through out this poem and its harsh nonetheless, which further makes me believe that he is talking about the revolution. I believe that the description of the tyger that Blake gives us an insight to think that it is unpleasant and hurtful, not necessarily the tyger itself but the revolution that is tied in with it. We see the word “dread” repeatedly used in describing the tyger and we can draw a conclusion to say that it puts an emphasis on the pain and suffering that was

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).

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.

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.

The Songs of Innocence poems first appeared in Blake’s 1784 novel, An Island in the Moon. In 1788, Blake began to compile in earnest, the collection of Songs of Innocence. And by 1789, this original volume of plates was complete. These poems are the products of the human mind in a state of innocence, imagination, and joy; natural euphoric feelings uninhibited or tainted by the outside world. Following the completion of the Songs of Innocence plates, Blake wrote The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and it is through this dilemma of good and evil and the suffering that he witnesses on the streets of London, that he begins composing Songs of Experience. This second volume serves as a response to Songs of

William Blake’s 1793 poem “The Tyger” has many interpretations, but its main purpose is to question God as a creator. Its poetic techniques generate a vivid picture that encourages the reader to see the Tyger as a horrifying and terrible being. The speaker addresses the question of whether or not the same God who made the lamb, a gentle creature, could have also formed the Tyger and all its darkness. This issue is addressed through many poetic devices including rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism, all of which show up throughout the poem and are combined to create a strong image of the Tyger and a less than thorough interpretation of its maker.

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 William Blake’s Songs of Experience, The Tiger stands out with its aggressive diction and allusion to both Christianity and Hellenism. Blake’s diction and use of allusion illustrate the inner conflict of religion in his life. Diction exemplifies the mounting aggression the speaker feels towards religion as his questions remain unanswered. The poem begins with the speaker asking “What immortal hand or eye,/ Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”, already posing God as an authoritative figure that can make powerful and frightening animals (Blake 7 and 8). Whereas the last line of the poem asks “What immortal hand or eye,/ Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?”, which concluded the poem with an air of defiance (line 26).

Through this, Blake is showing the hypocrisy of religion, a theme commonly shown throughout “Experience.” Throughout “Innocence” a simple, child-like portrayal of religion is explored. This could show Blake as primarily a religious poet as there are common, simple themes running throughout many of his poems in “Innocence.” This simple view of both Christ and religion contrasts the complex metaphors used to represent religion in “Innocence.”

Giving the readers the story of what corruption brings to humanity. The Tiger symbolizes a human soul, who remains fierce and strong when they are surrounded by the corruption of the world. The soul wants to be better and not become a robot of the harsh world; it wants to thrive, not become restricted. The world wants to bring everyone under their control, but the soul wants to be an individual that wants to be itself and do greater things. The soul wants to make their creator proud of them by appearing fearless to the world that wants to bring them

First, Blake repeats some form of “Mercy Pity Peace and Love” six times in his five quatrain poem. Then he specifically claims that God is present in every “heathen, turk or jew.” As members of the Abrahamic faiths, Turks, presumably Muslim, and Jews believe in the same God Blake does. Moreover, his inclusion of heathens demonstrates his love for all people, Christian or pagan. Through his use of the words “our” and “all” Blake makes it clear that, in his eyes, God loves every man woman and child. Finally, Blake employs an imperfect rhyme scheme, rhyming only two lines in each quatrain. The poem would not be as powerful if Blake had forced a rhyme. This poem, like nature, is beautiful despite its imperfections, which can thus be extended to humans. Blake’s direct interpretation of nature’s truth is that people are not perfect, but God still loves and is a part of every

Although the tiger represents a magnificent creature physically because of its overall majesty, the tiger is also a very deadly creature. That point is made by Blake by referencing the lamb (Stanza 5, line 5). Blake’s poem could also be interpreted to evoke questions about the merits of social change which had just occurred in the America’s following the War of Independence with Britain and was now occurring in Europe in connection with the (very bloody) French Revolution. We also know that Blake was aware of the broader social changes taking place in England at the time with the start of the Industrial Revolution and the profound, somewhat negative changes that revolution had on the quality of life in England.

Blake's poems of innocence and experience are a reflection of Heaven and Hell. The innocence in Blake's earlier poems represents the people who will get into Heaven. They do not feel the emotions of anger and

William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience are collections of poems that utilize the imagery, instruction, and lives of children to make a larger social commentary. The use of child-centered themes in the two books allowed Blake to make a crucial commentary on his political and moral surroundings with deceptively simplistic and readable poetry. Utilizing these themes Blake criticized the church, attacking the hypocritical clergy and pointing out the ironies and cruelties found within the doctrines of organized religion. He wrote about the horrific working conditions of children as a means to magnify the inequality between the poor working class and

Some of William Blake’s poetry is categorized into collections called Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Blake explores almost opposite opinions about creation in his poems “The Lamb” and “The Tiger.” While the overarching concept is the same in both, he uses different subjects to portray different sides of creation; however, in the Innocence and Experience versions of “The Chimney Sweeper,” Blake uses some of the same words, rhyme schemes, and characters to talk about a single subject in opposite tones.