William Blake is an English poet and printmaker, specially renowned for his poems published in a series titled Songs of Innocence and Experience. Blake’s poems firmly explore the comparisons and differences in both old age and infancy, expressing the importance of human growth by alluding to the correlation between human life and the renaissance of nature. In addition, Blake creates a contrast with this joyful concept by conveying the negative aspects of wisdom and moreover, experience. Furthermore, the Romantic Age is represented through many concepts presented in Blake’s poems: when commenting on the individual versus society, the Industrial Revolution and its harmful effects on nature, and religious affiliation. Moreover, his strong views on religion are supported and further enhanced when referencing other texts, most significantly the Bible. The reference of the Bible in Blake’s “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” through the use of symbolism, …show more content…
Furthermore, an outstanding technique employed by Blake is present in both “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” establishing a curious tone: the posing of questions. Initially, “The Lamb”, published in Songs of Innocence, composes of two stanzas sung by a young child; the first stanza consists of questions and the second stanza aims to answer those very questions. Moreover the first stanza begins with a meek and naïve question, “Little Lamb who made thee,” (line 1). The simplicity of the question further suggests the innocence of the child, however, the register of the biblical language (thee) is a clear example of a reference to the Bible. In addition, this reference is questioning the nature and the origins of the ‘Little Lamb’ and is later answered, introducing a new character, “For he calls himself a Lamb…” (line 13). Here Blake mentions Jesus Christ, and is presented as the Shepherd of the lambs, who symbolize human
such a terrifying beast?” and “Who is God who dares to make such a terrifying
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” 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,
In the poem “The Tyger” by William Blake, the use of rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism all help the reader understand the theme and what was going through the authors thoughts while writing. William Blake was a mystic poet who channeled his thoughts and questions to write poems. He questioned the creator of both the Tyger and lamb, how could the same God create a destructive creature like the Tyger and on the other hand create a gentle animal, the lamb. This ties into the theme of the poem of how a God could and would create a monster like the Tyger.
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 .
“The Lamb” in Songs of Innocence, and “The Tyger” in Songs of Experience were written with biblical influence, and Blake demonstrates his biblical upbringing through out these poems. “The Lamb” is represented through a pastoral story line, allowing a connection with agriculture and nature, much like many stories in the Bible. “The Tyger’s” storyline, however introduces the question of theodicy, or why there is evil in the world. How can God make a lamb so innocent and pure, and in turn create something so evil and cruel? Throughout “The Tyger”, Blake asks hypothetical questions,
In order to exist in nature and in human, innocence requires experience. The author, William Blake divided his poems into two volumes which are Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. “The Lamb” is the poem from Songs of Innocence and “The Tyger” is from Songs of Experience. In “The Lamb,” Blake writes in an incomplex, childlike way asking an innocent lamb who made it. In “The Tyger,” Blake asks who could have possibly made something as formidable as the tiger. William Blake uses archetypes in his poems “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.”
Being one of the most influential poets during the Romantic Period, the religious status of Blake has long been as controversial as his own literary works. Nonetheless, the fact that he is indeed a Christian is doubtless - such can be easily illustrated from many fragments of his works such as ‘I a child, and thou a lamb, We are called by His name. Little Lamb, God Bless thee! Little Lamb, God Bless thee!’ from his poem The Lamb. This singsongy excerpt from the Song of Innocence not only appears to readers as Blake’s direct praises of God but also an evident reference to ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’(Eg. Psalm 23) from the Holy Bible. However, it can also be easily argued that Blake is not an ordinary, churchgoing Christian. A great portion
The Lamb is a poem of innocence, I came to this conclusion by the fact that a lamb possesses a virtue of pureness and kindness. You aren't ever warned about being around a lamb and having to watch your back because of the possibility of it attacking you. Another thing that had caught my eye with the Lamb is that all lambs have white fleece and white is a symbol of purity and nothing has corrupted this creature. On page 748 line 16 “He became a little child” Blake compares the lamb to a child and what could be more innocent
Blake’s lyrical poem “The Garden of Love” contains several allusions that reference the first book in the Bible “Genesis”. During this paper, I will be discussing one instance where Blake’s poem alludes to Genesis 3. To summarize, there are several instances in which Blake’s poem “The Garden of Love” alludes to Genesis, of these I chose to focus on the ‘chapel’ built in the midst and its connection to Eve’s interaction with the Serpent.
In Songs of Innocence, “Holy Thursday” opens with a picture of a bright, cheery, and exciting event. Blake chooses crisp and clear language to describe the
God made Jesus and Jesus made us human. In the poem “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” author William Blake uses Imagery to show the human soul and to show us the innocent and experience of the humans soul. In the Poem “The Tyger” is asking question like who made you? from line 1-4, where you were made?
show a large amount of similarity, as well as differences, both in the way he
“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
The lamb of course symbolizes Jesus. The traditional image of Jesus as a lamb underscores the Christian values of gentleness, meekness, and peace. The image of the child is also associated with Jesus: in the Gospel, Jesus displays a special solicitude for children, and the Bible's depiction of Jesus in his childhood shows him as guileless and vulnerable. These are also the characteristics from which the child-speaker approaches the ideas of nature and of God. This poem, like many of the Songs of Innocence, accepts what Blake saw as the more positive aspects of conventional Christian belief. But it does not provide a completely adequate doctrine, because it fails to account for the presence of suffering and evil in the world. The pendant (or companion) poem to this one, found in the Songs of Experience, is "The Tyger"; taken together, the two poems give a perspective on religion that includes the good and clear as well as the terrible and inscrutable. These poems complement each other to produce a fuller account