Patrick Chee
World Literature II
Sundermeir Section A-L

The Tyger Versus The Lamb

By Patrick Chee
Please don't plagiarize
The Lamb
Little Lamb who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life & bid thee feed,
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly 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 & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.

from: Songs of Innocence
The Tyger
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 seize the fire?

And what shoulders, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thine 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 terror clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd 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 forest of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

from: Songs of Experience


Who Made Thee?


[A picture of William Blake]
Actually the first question one should ask when writing about The Lamb or The Tyger is "Who is the author?" The answer to which would be this fellow to the left here, William Blake (for more information on him please click on the link). William Blake (1757-1827) is considered one of the major poets of the Romantic period. Not only was Blake a poet though, he was also an artist. In both his poetry and his art Blake explored mainly Christian subjects. This religious focus in his art stemmed from his mystic belief and the visions he perceived of angels and even God himself.
In 1789, Blake published a set of joyful and lyrical poems known as the Songs of Innocence among them, The Lamb. (Click here for detailed view of the print at right.) In 1794 though, war broke out between England and France. It has been speculated that the war may have been the cause for Blake's composition of a companion set of poems. This set of poems, which he named the Songs of Experience, reflected a more mature and pessimistic view of the world. Included in this set was The Tyger. Blake reprinted the Songs of Innocence along with his new set and added illustrations (such as the one at left).

Between the two sets, Blake created a dichotomy between the simple and happy Songs of Experience and his innocence lost Songs of Experience. Truly this contrast is best seen between Blake's poems The Tiger and The Lamb. The poems are written with very different tones and subjects but they retain some similarities which make the comparison all the more intriguing.

The Lamb is written in a simple, childlike tone. As Blakes illustrations suggest, the speaker is a little child talking to a lamb asking it Little Lamb who made the?/Dost thou know who made thee?. The answer is slightly below the surface of this poem which is built on Christian symbolism. This symbolism is best expressed in lines 16 and 17 I a child & thou a lamb,/We are called by his name. The lamb and the child, are both symbols of Jesus Christ and of the innocence that is classically assigned these icons of western society. Even the language the poem is filled with such joy and harmony, it lends one to thinking how blissful childhood was. This innocence though, is most prominently remembered just after it is lost. Like a friend deceased, innocence is lost once and forever. Only the fond memories of them are what they leave behind. Many try in vain to regain them, but often this leaves people in disillusionment, anger or even bitterness.
 [Picture of original print-
(Click here for detailed view of the print above)
(Click for detailed view of below picture) [Picture of original print-
These emotions are well expressed in The Tyger from Songs of Experience. In this poem, the speaker is much older than the child of The Lamb. The tone is more dark and questioning. The speaker asks, What immortal hand or eye/Could frame thy fearful symmetry? Blakes use of this question shows us the loss of innocence and trust in even the immortal hand of God. This questioning continues throughout The Tyger and illustrates the mistrust that the speaker has for the maker who at once made the Lamb and the Tyger. The Tyger is described in this poem as almost metallic being forged with furnace, hammer, and anvil in stanza four. The Tyger burning bright, as if still hot from the fire as if out of the depths of hell. Surely this imagery is meant to burn the question posed in line twenty, Did he who made the Lamb make thee? into the minds of the readers. How can this be? The Lamb and the Tyger of the same God? The question posed, there is no real answer resolved within the poem, but the question is what matters.

Once a person begins to question a subject it no longer holds the pure and fundamental solidarity it once had. This is what occurs when The Lamb in juxtaposition to the The Tyger. A clash between the joyful, happiness of a childs blind faith, and the questioning of that faith when met by the burning, fearful symmetry of the Tyger. Blakes work must have been greatly influenced by the war in 1794. His faith in God shaken, his poems greatly reflect his distrust, disillusionment, and maybe even anger at the loss of his innocence. Personally, I dont know which is better. Is it better to know that the world is not pure and innocent and question at every turn? Or is it better to be blissfully blind and ignorant, happy but not wise? Or is there somewhere in between? Blakes poems do not answer this for us. It is left for us to explore and find our own contentment reconciling The Tyger and The Lamb.


Please don't plagiarize



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