The poem, ‘The Lamb’, opens with a rhetorical question,
‘Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee…’
Blake has used alliteration to start the poem, ‘Little Lamb.’ This sets a comfortable, peaceful scene. It seems as though the poet knows the answer to his question, that god is the creator. Hence Blake seems to be a devout Christian, he has given reference to Christ and a creator within his first few lines. Blake is questioning the nature of creation. The poem continues in rhyming couplets.
‘The Tyger’ is also written in rhyming couplets, both poems share a similarity. However, ‘The Tyger’ begins in a different style altogether;
‘Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forest of the night...’
Blake, again has used alliteration to start the poem, ‘Tyger, Tyger’. The night is dark, it is often kept to do evil things, such as murder and crime. Blake could be referring to a murder, the killing of a tiger. Further along the poem he says,
‘What immortal hand or eye,
could frame thy fearful symmetry?’
Over here, Blake is again contemplating over the creator of the tiger, in both poems, he has not forgotten to mention or to indicate the wonders of god’s creation, be it evil or be it innocent.
Blake discusses the physical and the mental being of both animals within his poems. In The Lamb, Blake describes a lambs attire as;
‘Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing of delight…’
The wording is calm and mellow, hence allows the reader to feel at ease and tranquillity. Also, clothing is a necessity in life, a protection, hence Blake could be referring to the lamb as a being that is protected and safe.
However in the poem ‘The Tyger’, Blake has given a tense atmosphere,
‘And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?’
Blake has used strong wording, and again implemented the use of rhetorical questions throughout the poem. Blake has created the imagery and his feelings of the terrifying beast.
Within the first poem, The Lamb, the scenery can be sensed;
‘By the stream & o’er the mead…’
There is a dill and a soothing effect in the sentence. The pastoral scenery could be indicating to the peaceful life that was lead by Blake himself, at the age of twenty two. Twenty two is an age when an individual is young innocent and brimming with life, in which all aspects of life are calm.
In contrast The Tyger has the use of Blacksmith imagery;
‘What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?’
Blake could be referring to the dark ages. The ‘furnace’ could be referring to the anger in the tiger. Heat is a metaphor that is generally used for anger. Blake could be referring to the anger of his life. Blake wrote this poem at the age of twenty five, he could be facing the difficulties. Further he says,
‘When the stars threw down their spears
And watered heaven with their tears:’
The poet has personified the stars, and has given the stars the quality of crying, ‘water’d’ is referring to the stars crying, hence, the stars could be crying out of regret or disappointment. This again could be referring to Blake’s regrets or disappointments in life.
Blake questions the lamb,
‘Little Lamb who made thee’
He answers his question by saying,
‘He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lam:’
It is proven here that Blake refers to Jesus, he uses biblical reference by saying,
‘He is meek & he is mild’
It seems as though Blake is proud of the creation of god, he is teaching the lamb of his creator. He is fond of the Lamb, he finishes the poem by wishes the lamb goodness by saying,
‘Little Lamb God bless thee.’
On the contrary, Blake questions the Tyger about its creator,
‘Did he who made the Lamb make thee?’
He is comparing the Lamb with the Tyger, a ferocious beast and a meek and mild animal; do they both have the same creator? Blake could be referring to the world, its good and evil, the anger and hatred of humanity. However he does not wish or pray for the tiger, instead he concludes his poem by saying,
‘Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?’
he has used strong wording of dislike and fear. He has repeated the first and last stanza, except on the last line, he uses stronger wording, ‘dare’, it is as though the existence of the Tyger is a mistake, a wrong doing.
With close reference to the poems, it is evident that Blake has conveyed his ideas of the world very differently in both poems, The Lamb and The Tyger. The lamb is a peaceful poem, in which life is at ease. However, The Tyger is a poem in which evil and hatred is discussed. Blake has successfully conveyed his feeling with the aid of anthropomorphism.
