The Lamb, the Tyger, and the Creator
The Lamb, the Tyger, and the Creator
William Blake writes about the origin of life and its creator through his two poems “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.” He uses these two poems to depict different aspects of the world’s creator. In “The Lamb,” Blake takes a passive approach to discuss creation. He uses a lamb to exemplify his point, and depicts a warm creator. Blake illustrates another perspective of the creator through “The Tyger.” In this poem, Blake examines the nature of the tyger to show a more cold-hearted type of creator. Through his poems “The Lamb” and “The Tyger,” William Blake demonstrates the complexity and impossibility to understand God and creation through the various approaches used to observe the creator.
In “The Lamb,” William Blake uses a childlike approach to confront the matter of creation. Blake begins the poem with the speaker, a child, talking to a lamb in rhyming couplets. This format produces an innocent and naïve feeling throughout the poem. In the first stanza, the child asks the lamb, “Little Lamb, who made thee? / Dost thou know who made thee?” The repetition of this question in the immediate beginning shows the focus of the poem, the origin of life. The child marvels at the lamb’s “softest clothing” and “tender voice,” wondering who gave the lamb its life. He admires every characteristic of the lamb, and is in awe of its creator. Although this poem can easily be overlooked as a nursery rhyme, the child confronts one of the greatest mysteries to mankind through his interactions with the lamb.
The child answers his question in the second stanza. He begins by saying, “Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee, / Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee.” The child knows who made the lamb.
“He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb. He is meek & he is mild, He became a little child.”
The child identifies the lamb’s creator as a person who also calls himself a Lamb. Through this statement, the child refers to Jesus, who
William Blake writes about the origin of life and its creator through his two poems “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.” He uses these two poems to depict different aspects of the world’s creator. In “The Lamb,” Blake takes a passive approach to discuss creation. He uses a lamb to exemplify his point, and depicts a warm creator. Blake illustrates another perspective of the creator through “The Tyger.” In this poem, Blake examines the nature of the tyger to show a more cold-hearted type of creator. Through his poems “The Lamb” and “The Tyger,” William Blake demonstrates the complexity and impossibility to understand God and creation through the various approaches used to observe the creator.
In “The Lamb,” William Blake uses a childlike approach to confront the matter of creation. Blake begins the poem with the speaker, a child, talking to a lamb in rhyming couplets. This format produces an innocent and naïve feeling throughout the poem. In the first stanza, the child asks the lamb, “Little Lamb, who made thee? / Dost thou know who made thee?” The repetition of this question in the immediate beginning shows the focus of the poem, the origin of life. The child marvels at the lamb’s “softest clothing” and “tender voice,” wondering who gave the lamb its life. He admires every characteristic of the lamb, and is in awe of its creator. Although this poem can easily be overlooked as a nursery rhyme, the child confronts one of the greatest mysteries to mankind through his interactions with the lamb.
The child answers his question in the second stanza. He begins by saying, “Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee, / Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee.” The child knows who made the lamb.
“He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb. He is meek & he is mild, He became a little child.”
The child identifies the lamb’s creator as a person who also calls himself a Lamb. Through this statement, the child refers to Jesus, who