The Lamb & The Tiger- William Blake

The Lamb

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed,
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee.
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.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!

First Instinct

          After reading through the poem “The Lamb” by William Blake, my first reaction to the text was that I thought about the Lamb of God. In first stanza, Blake mentions little details that can be related to God and the Bible. For example, in the third line Blake mentions “gave the life” relates to God because God gives life to all living things on earth.  An example of how the poem is related to something religious is that mead is a form of alcohol. The blood of God in church is presented by red wine which is another form of alcohol. Finally, in the last couple of line, Blake says “God bless thee”.  Another reaction, I had to the poem is that the word choice throughout the poem was soft and light. The softness of the poems kind of reminded me of a lamb itself.

Paraphrasing

Who made the little lamb?
Do you know who made it?
Gave it life and provide it food,
By the stream and over the field;
Gave the clothing of happiness
The clothing of bright wool;
Gave it such a tender voice,
Making all the valleys celebrate?
Who made the little lamb?
Do you know who made it?

Little Lamb, I will tell you,
Little Lamb, I will tell you.
He is called by the name,
He calls himself a Lamb.
He is timid, and he is gentle.
He was a little child.
I’m a child, and you a lamb,
We are call by His name.
Little Lamb, God bless you!
Little Lamb, God bless you!



SWIFTT

Syntax/ Word: “The Lamb” has two stanzas that are about equal in length. This functions as Blake’s way to realize that the two stanzas are equally important to understand. After reading through the poem, readers realize that the poem is written in a way that a nursery rhyme would be.

Imagery: Throughout the poem Blake uses imagery to describe the lamb and nature.  The image of “softest clothing, woolly, bright” describes both the lamb and nature because the readers can picture the lamb being soft and woolly while being outside in the bright sun.

Figurative: The main form of figurative language Blake uses in “The Lamb” is allusions. Throughout the poem, Blake alludes to the bible. The author alludes to the bible in order to discuss the lamb in the poem. Through this reference, the readers connect the little lamb to the Lamb of God and can more fully understand the author’s purpose to make the readers think of the lamb as pure.

Tone: Once the readers have fully analyzed the poem by Blake, readers can conclude that the tone of the poem is pure. There is a pure tone to the poem for plenty of reasons. The first reason is that the poem is about a little lamb. The majority of the time when an individual thinks of a little lamb they think of something that is pure. The second way is the tone is pure is when some individuals they of lamb, they think of the Lamb of God.

Theme: After further analyzing the poem by Blake, the readers can have a better understand of what the theme of the poem is. The theme of the poem is innocence. Innocence is the theme because little lambs are innocent. Also the Lamb of God is innocent.

Conclusion

                    After further analyzing the poem “The Lamb” by Blake readers can conclude what Blake’s true meaning for writing the poem is. Once I closely analyzed the poem, I concluded that my first reaction was correct. The poem is about the Lamb of God. The true meaning of the poem compares the little lamb to the Lamb of God.

The Tiger

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

First Instinct

          After reading through the poem, “The Tiger” by Blake, my first reaction to the text was that it describes a tiger. The readers can realize that the poem is describing a tiger due to the first and last stanza. In an individual is in a forest at night and there is a tiger nearby all they well see its eyes. The eyes of the tiger will be bright because of the reflection of light from the moon. One an individual notices this eye, they instantly become terrified.

Paraphrasing

Tiger! Tiger! Brightly blazing
At night in the forests
What unreal hands or eye
Could frame the fearful balance?

In the distant skies
The thin eyes burn with fire?
On what does he dare desire?
What hand dare take the fire?

And what shoulder & art
Could twist the tendons of the heart?
And when the heart beings to beat,
What fear hand and feet?
What hammer and chain?
In what heater was the brain?

What hammer and chain?
What furnace was your brain in?
What blacksmith? What fearful clutch
Challenge it lethal freighting clasp?

When the stars heave down their spikes,
And their tears flooded heaven
Did he smile at his work?
Did the same person who made the lamb, make the tiger?

Tiger! Tiger! Brightly blazing
At night in the forests
What unreal hands or eye
Could frame the fearful balance?

SWIFTT

Syntax/ Word: “The Tyger” has two repeating stanzas, the beginning and last. This is Blake’s way to place emphasize on what he believes to be most important in his poem. The middle stanzas are used to describe the beautiful animal. After reading through the poem, readers realize that the poem is written in a way that a nursery rhyme would be.

Imagery: Throughout the poem Blake uses imagery to describe the tiger and nature.  The image of dark glowing eyes surrounded by dark forest describes both the tiger and nature because the readers can picture the tiger staring at them through the tree branches. They can also picture seeing only darkness and two bright eyes staring back at them.

Figurative: The main form of figurative language Blake uses in “The Tyger” is rhetorical questions. Throughout the poem, Blake uses rhetorical questions to make the readers think about what Blake is asking them, even though the answer to the question is known. For example, “Is he the one who made the lamb?” is a rhetorical question that the readers already know the answer to but they still think about it. Of course, the same individual created the lamb and the tiger; God.

Tone: Once the readers have fully analyzed the poem by Blake, readers can conclude that the tone of the poem is danger. There is a danger tone to the poem for plenty of reasons. The first reason is that the poem is about a tiger who hunts at night. Therefore, if an individual runs into a tiger during the night they are died. Second reason why the tone of the poem is danger is because it is the opposite of the lamb. The lamb is innocent, while the tiger is dangerous.  

Theme: After further analyzing the poem by Blake, the readers can have a better understand of what the theme of the poem is. The theme of the poem is that it is the opposite of the lamb, even though they had the same creator.

Conclusion

                    After further analyzing the poem “The Tyger” by Blake readers can conclude what Blake’s true meaning for writing the poem is. Once I closely analyzed the poem, I concluded that my first reaction was correct. The poem is about a dangerous. Blake wrote about a tiger because he wanted to contradiction his own poem about the Lamb of God.