“Lamb” and “Tiger” by William Blake

In both poems Blake asked the same question. How can the same God make such a monster as a tiger and also make such an innocent animal as a lamb. In "The Tiger" the God represents as a strong, dark and evil nature, because the tiger is a feared creature and the next quotation shows this:

"What the hammer? What the chain?

....Dare its deadly terrors clasp?" (line 13-16)

"The Lamb" is a very symbolic poem. The lamb can symbolize innocence and naivety of a child, or it can represent God himself. The poem gives credit to God for making such a beautiful being as the lamb. In that poem Blake used simple vocabulary that is understandable even for children and because of it some people consider that "The Lamb" is a children's poem.

"He is meek and he is mild,

He became a little child..." (line 15-16)

"The Lamb" is very well structured poem. The first verse has the questions and in the second verse it already has all the answers. While in "The Tiger" the narrator could not find answers for his question even until the end of poem.

"The Tiger" has fifteen questions, and no answers. And "The Lamb" has seven questions, and answers to all of the questions. Maybe Blake was trying to explain that the world is a very confused place, and no one can get any answers.

The tone of the poem "The Tiger" seems to be in fear, with uses of words such as burning bright, fearful and terrors, placing an image in the reader's mind, trying to show us a fearless, independent animal - a monster that only lived to kill. Many people believed that tiger was created by ? force of evil.

What is immediately obvious is the powerful rhythm of the poem and power of the words. Blake uses "A, A, B, B" rhyming pattern and it seems like a rapid beating of the heart (...bright ...night ...symmetry ...fire ...art ...heart). The using of fast beating rhythm could also mean to scare the reader. The poem was written in quatrain verses. In the poem the speaker was fearful and respectful describing the tiger; he was trying to represent to us the scared look of the animal, and let us to think how someone could create this monster.

"What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?" (line 3-4)

In the end of the poem speaker was saying:

"What immortal hand or eye

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?" (line 23-24)

The concluding verse of the poem is identical to the first verse; but the word "could" was replaced with "dare". Instead of asking if it is possible to create the tiger, the speaker is asking why someone would make such a fearful creature. The main question that was asked in the poem was: who could have dared to make a beast as terrifying as the tiger? In the fifth verse the poet asks the question:

"Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who make the Lamb make thee?" (line 19-20)

Blake is saying that it was God who made both the gentle lamb and the fearful tiger and that He may regret creating such a beast that destroys other creatures of God.

The tone of the poem "The Lamb" gentle and soft and it seems as a slower heart beat when you are calm and relaxed. We can read the poem at the bedtime for children.

The lamb as the main character often appears in the children poems. Maybe that's one of the reasons why people consider that Blake has written this poem for children. In the Bible lamb often represents as a meek, kind and loving Son of God, Jesus.

"He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a lamb;" (line 13-14)

Blake uses the same rhyming pattern as for the poem "The Tiger", but unlike "The Tiger" poem "The Lamb" written in longer verses.

In both poems Blake wanted to show the reader that God could be powerful and meek as shown in "The Tiger" and "The Lamb". Blake is one of the people who saw visions and devoted his life to worship God with his poetry and art. Blake could see the world in symbols and to each of these symbols he gave meaning. In those two poems Blake shows that God create tiger, lamb and everything on the earth, he also shows that God has different personalities that He can be meek and innocent as a lamb or He can be fearless and strong as a tiger.

I think William Blake is a very talented person who could express his feelings in the form of poems and engravings. Today, after more than two hundred years we can still enjoyed his works very much. I have never known or heard about William Blake before and while I was analysing the poems I learned more about him and his creative writing and can fairly say that Blake's poems and engraving will never leave person indifferent and will stay in his mind forever.