The Lamb and the Tyger: a Closer Look at William Blake
"Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate, are necessary to human existence" (Blake). Addressing the contrasts of different states of the human mind is the main concern of William Blake. As a British Romantic poet of the 18th century, William Blake addresses the contrasts of different states of the human mind in his works Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience.
Blake, born and raised in London, demonstrated his early interest in creative expression by "engraving copies of drawings of Greek antiquities" (Wikipedia) at age ten. This interest led to his apprenticeship to a professional engraver at age fourteen. Although he excelled in mastering the craft of engraving, he also managed to express himself in written word. In 1789, Blake released Songs of Innocence, a collection of poems and engravings reflecting his childhood memory of divine visions and his view on the importance of innocence in human development.
The main poem from this collection, "The Lamb," epitomizes innocence and the relationship between the young and the divine. In singsong verse, a curious child questions the nature of a gentle lamb, and he learns what he already knows: God created the lamb. World events and life itself greatly affected Blake. In Songs of Experience (1794), the sequel to Songs of Innocence, he addresses his loss of "faith in the goodness mankind" (Wikipedia) caused by the fall of the French Revolution. The outstanding poem from this collection, "The Tyger," seeks the answer to the unknown: how can the god who created the peaceful lamb also be the creator of the fierce, destructive tiger? The speaker asks many questions, but receives no answer. That same year, Blake combined the two contrasting works into Songs of Innocence and Experience (Wikipedia).
Songs of Innocence, specifically "The Lamb," shows how innocence, though originally exclusive to infancy, contributes to the inherent, distinguishing traits of hope
Blake, born and raised in London, demonstrated his early interest in creative expression by "engraving copies of drawings of Greek antiquities" (Wikipedia) at age ten. This interest led to his apprenticeship to a professional engraver at age fourteen. Although he excelled in mastering the craft of engraving, he also managed to express himself in written word. In 1789, Blake released Songs of Innocence, a collection of poems and engravings reflecting his childhood memory of divine visions and his view on the importance of innocence in human development.
The main poem from this collection, "The Lamb," epitomizes innocence and the relationship between the young and the divine. In singsong verse, a curious child questions the nature of a gentle lamb, and he learns what he already knows: God created the lamb. World events and life itself greatly affected Blake. In Songs of Experience (1794), the sequel to Songs of Innocence, he addresses his loss of "faith in the goodness mankind" (Wikipedia) caused by the fall of the French Revolution. The outstanding poem from this collection, "The Tyger," seeks the answer to the unknown: how can the god who created the peaceful lamb also be the creator of the fierce, destructive tiger? The speaker asks many questions, but receives no answer. That same year, Blake combined the two contrasting works into Songs of Innocence and Experience (Wikipedia).
Songs of Innocence, specifically "The Lamb," shows how innocence, though originally exclusive to infancy, contributes to the inherent, distinguishing traits of hope