Poetry Analysis on Blake's "the Lamb" & "the Tyger"

Today I would like to present to you two poems, "The Tyger" and "The Lamb" written both by William Blake in the Romantic era. "The Tyger" is from Blake's "Songs of Experience" and "The Lamb" is from "Songs of Innocence", and both poems have been considered sister poems of each other. The subject matter of these two poems is Animals and the power and beauty of nature, while the underlying themes are divine creation, innocence and evil, heaven and hell.

William Blake was born on the 28th of November 1757 and died on the 12th of August 1827; he had lived most of his life in London. Not only was he a poet but also a painter and printmaker, and although he was largely unrecognised during his lifetime Blake is now considered an influential figure in poetry and arts during the Romantic Era. Blake is now held in high regard by critics for his expressiveness and creativity, but once he was considered mad for such writings by his social group.

Blake's work was neglected for a generation after his death and almost forgotten, until Alexander Gilchrist began work on Blake's biography in the 1860's. This biography transformed Blake's reputation during the Pre-Raphaelites period but it wasn't till the 20th century that he was fully appreciated and his influence can be seen.

"The Lamb" was first published in "Songs of Innocence" in 1789 and uses an almost childlike voice to establish the imagery and religious under themes. Traditionally the lamb represents innocence, childhood and meekness. Also in Christian Gospels Jesus Christ is compared to a lamb, sacrificed on behalf of humanity. The theme of childhood and innocence runs throughout the entire collection of "Songs of Innocence", and by contrast "Songs of Experience" contains only one reference to a lamb in the poem "The Tyger".

"The Lamb" is one of Blake's most strongly religious poems on Divine Creation. "The Lamb" takes the rural farm life of the lamb and fuses it with the Biblical symbolism of Jesus Christ as the "Lamb of God".

By using poetic rhetorical questions, the speaker of the poem, who is childlike rather than being a child, creates a sort of lyrical questioning and answering:

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Doust thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,

And shows the main theme as being nature, with humans and animals being proof of a loving, compassionate Creator.

The lamb stands in relation to the speaker, as the speaker stands in relation to their elders; each must learn the truth of his existence by questioning the origin of his life. The Creator is identified specifically as Jesus Christ the Lamb of God:

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb.

He is meek, and he is mild;

He became a little child.

I a child, and thou a lamb.

We are called by his name

"The Lamb" also contains rustic countryside imagery, referring to the countryside and idealised lives of merry shepherds and shepherdesses. They are connected to the land and seasons and are considered more earthy and religious then their city counterparts.

By the stream and over the mead;

Gave the clothing of delight,

Softest clothing, woolly, bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice?

This imagery brings to mind a green meadow with fluffy white lambs prancing around, which in turn puts the reader in mind of simpler times and simpler joys. The lamb is a classic symbol of country life. Before farms had fences the farmer would hire shepherds to tend their flock, so the speaker of this poem may be one such shepherd. This also could be a hidden reference to God tending his flock.

Each stanza of "The Lamb" has five couplets, with the rhyme scheme being AABB which is common throughout the "Songs of Innocence", for example:

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Doust thou know who made thee?

Gave thee life and bid thee feed

By the stream and o'er the mead;

Line 1 and 2 match up whilst Line 3 and 4 rhymes. This rhyming of every paired line is prevalent throughout the poem, and by keeping the rhymes simple and close knit, Blake conveys the tone of childlike wonder and the singsong voice of innocent boys and girls. It is also believed that that the soft vowel sounds and repetition of certain words, such as thee is to convey the bleating of a lamb.

In the first stanza line 1 and 2 are also the same as line 9 and 10, although this is not copied in the second stanza. However, line 1 and 2 of the second stanza are exactly the same and so is line 9 and 10:

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:

And further on:

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

The poem is a child's song, in the form of question and answer. The first stanza is rural and descriptive, while the second stanza contains spiritual matters, with explanations and analogies. The child's question is both innocent and thoughtful, and has the sense of a song. By answering