“The Tyger” and “The Lamb” are often 2 poems paired together and I think that was Blakes intention, for example line 20 of “The Tyger” it says “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?”
So these will be the first two poems I analyse, the themes here show Blake was a very mystical and spiritual person.
“The Tyger” is quite a strong and powerful poem. The tiger itself appears dangerous but beautiful - " burning bright" . The poem is full of questions, but two main questions are being asked. “Who is this God, who could imagine such a terrifying beast?” and “Who is God who dares to make such a terrifying beast? You can see how the first question is slightly linked to the second question by looking at the slight alteration between the first and sixth stanza( Could and Dare)The poem draws our attention to the fact that the world contains conflicting elements: ferocity, strength gentleness, peace - these elements all being present in God. The poem maintains a rhythm of four beats to a line as well as frequent examples of alliteration and assonance. This makes the poem easier to understand for all ages. There is a lot of repetition in the poem, " Tiger." is repeated in the opening line, and the first stanza is repeated with a slight alteration. At the end of the poem the words " What?" , " dare" and " dread" make several appearances. The repetition of these words and the questioning creates a sense of awe and wonder. The imagery used in the poem creates a picture of God as blacksmith. " seize the fire" , " twist the sinews" , " hammer" , " chain" , " furnace" , " anvil" . Blake once used to be an engraver so that might have been his inspiration.
“The Lamb” begins with the question, "Little Lamb, who made thee?" The first stanza is rural and descriptive, while the second focuses on abstract spiritual matters.
The speaker, a child, asks the lamb about its origins: how it came into being, how it acquired its particular manner of feeding, its "clothing" of wool, its "tender voice." In the next stanza, the speaker attempts a hard answer to his own question: the lamb was made by one who "calls himself a Lamb," one who resembles in his gentleness both the child and the lamb. The poem ends with the child giving a blessing to the lamb. The lamb is used to symbolize Jesus. The traditional image of Jesus as a lamb presents the Christian values of gentleness, meekness, and peace.
The next poem “London” is Blakes horrid perception of urban life. He was angry about the suffering of infants,chimney sweeps,soldiers and young prostitutes which shows In this poem.
The voice in “London” is that of someone wandering through the streets of London who is commenting on what he sees. He sees despair in the faces of the people he meets and hears fear and doubt in their voices. The ill cry of the chimney-sweeper stands as an insult to the Church, and the blood of a soldier stains the outer walls of the monarch's own home. The nighttime is just as bad, the cursing of prostitutes destroys a newborn infant and welcomes the "Marriage hearse." Blake isn’t blaming a set of institutions or a system of enslavement for the city's problems. Its the victims who help to make their own "mind-forg'd manacles," which is saying it’s the victims fault for making London how it is.
The next two poems are both entitled “The Chimney Sweeper”, one is from Experience and the other from Innocence. This is a perfect example of Blake’s different ideas because essentially, it’s the same poem with different views.
“The Chimney Sweeper (Innocence)”, in the next to last line of the first stanza, the cry "'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" is the child's attempt at saying "Sweep! Sweep!," which was the chimney sweeper's street cry. This poem shows that the children have a very positive outlook on life. They make the best of their lives and do not fear death.
“The Chimney Sweeper (Experience)” is very different from the one from Innocence. This time, the child blames his parents for putting him in the position he was in. He is miserable in his situation and he also blames "God & his Priest & King". This point of view is different from that of its Innocence poem because the chimneysweeper has been influenced by society and has an "experienced" point of view of the world.
The next poem is about Blakes views of the church and shows a strong disliking to it,
The first-person speaker in “The Little Vagabond” is a boy "from the streets" who gives his notion of an alternative existence. He is showing some experience of the morals of the adult world, and of church as one of society's major flawed institutions, he criticizes the church and imagines it that it should be a place of pure joy. It is possible that Blake intended that he was the voice of the poem. Sarcasm and irony are seen throughout the poem. There are many harsh words such as “cold” used to describe the church as it is but when he describes what he wants it to be the feeling of the poem becomes warmer, like that of a poem in Song of Innocence.
From these poems I believed that what Blake means by “Innocence” is that of a simple life where you don’t know about the troubles around you and blissfully go along with life as it hits you.
And from this, “Experience” is what life is really life, it concentrates on the negative sides of things and shows that there is always an improvement to be made.
I personally find Blakes rather intriguing. At first when you look at one of two poems it is hard to understand the ideas that blake puts forward but after many poem analyses it becomes clear of the difference between Innocence and Experience. Blake must have been a very conscious man.
