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Sample #
5
An Analysis of “The Lamb” by William Blake
One of the first
poets belonging to the movement of Romanticism, William Blake was
not just a poet, but also a painter, engraver, and visionary mystic
whose hand-illustrated series of lyrical and epic poems, beginning
with Songs of Innocence (1789) and Songs of Experience (1794), form
one of the most strikingly original and independent bodies of work
in the Western cultural tradition. “Man,
born free, is everywhere in chains." This was the basis for William
Blake's poetry. Blake may have written dreams of sunny days, angels,
"wise guardians," "songs of pleasant glee," little ones leaping,
shouting, and laughing, but to Blake these were all "Songs of
Innocence." To Blake, one had not experienced enough to "know" that
life was dreadful, dreary, cruel, and merciless. The reason behind
writing "Songs of Innocence," then "Songs of Experience," was to
illustrate that when one is naïve, they may think that life is
greater than it really seems to be. This theme followed the many
poets written within these two contradictory collections. This essay
addresses the theme of innocence that is prevalent in “The Lamb.”
Although not
directly titled the same, "The Lamb" of "Songs of Innocence" is the
harmonious poem compared to "The Tyger" of "Songs of Experience."
In this poem, Blake personifies "The Lamb" as a naïve animal that is
pure like its "Softest clothing, wooly, bright," and has a "tender
voice." This is a reference that is made towards describing
innocence. In the poem The Lamb was asked if it knew who had created
it. It was asked this question as it was so "meek" and "mild" that
the poet had doubts about the depth and breadth of its awareness.
The poem revolves around the central theme of innocence and naiveté.
The lamb it is thought is so naïve that it just may not even be
aware of who or what created it. Who “gave thee life, and bid thee
feed” and who “gave thee clothing of delight.”
The adjectives
that are used to describe the lamb are all characteristics of a good
and innocent animal. Contrastingly in "The Tyger" characteristics
such as the "immortal hand or eye" hands that "seize the fire" are
used as a description attesting to the worldliness of the tyger.
Blake meant for both these animals to contrast each other. And he
puts in strong details such as the "dread hand and dread feet" and
strong ironclad objects such as the hammer and the chain. While
asking the same question: who had created you, it was put in such a
way that the Tyger was so much more strong and knowledgeable than
the Lamb.
Blake writes with
the mind set that he will bring joy to a crashing halt. He first
creates an ideal. Blake makes a poem that was completely happy and
heartfelt that evoked warm feelings and then wrote a dark sinister
double to it. The Lamb was the poem that evoked the joy and the
delight of innocence, for any and everyone is delighted with
innocence, then he wrote the poem that would darken that innocence
and perhaps brings to mind fear for the innocence that is surely to
be destroyed or consumed by the dark and dreary reality of
experience – “The Tyger.” It was indeed very creative to be able to
create the separate meanings in the different poems as Blake had
done. Although the poems had the same title, it was a whole
different message intended. And that message was of how although
innocence may
be a fresh breeze of air it is more often consumed by the harshness
and veracity of experience.
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