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How has religion affected literature
Comparing the lamb and the tyger poem
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I’ve always use the title of a poem as an indicator of what to anticipate before reading it. But, in this case of William Blake’s poems, they are titled by two different animals. In Blake’s first poem, “The Lamb”, which is from his collection, Songs of innocence and the second poem “The Tyger” is from Songs of Experience they both reflect symbolisms. In “The Lamb”, and “The Tyger” Blake speaks with a powerful juxtaposition of nature. The innocent ‘lamb’ reminds me of a child and the powerful vicious ‘Tyger’ is the experiences of how a child can lose their innocence as they become adults. The poem's purpose is to be regarded in collation with each other. However, after completing both poems, they both seem to have more of a religious aspect. …show more content…
The above stanzas is multifaceted in its clarity, but the notion of something being immortal yet, having a hand or eye like a man, as well as some sort of force having the ability to do things, immediately, I thought of God. The Tyger questions like in “The Lamb”, there is a curiosity in regards to who the creator of Tyger was? The unanswered question leaves us wondering, how many creators exists. “The Tyger” poem also deals with the unknown. God is powerful, mysterious and sometimes scary. For example, In Psalm 25:14 it says,” The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him, and he will shew them his covenant.” In other words to love God is to fear him. Which is very similar to the Tyger. 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? The Tyger like the lamb is made in the image of God. The speaker can't seem to accept that the creator who made the lamb created Tyger. In line 20, the reader says, “Did he who made the lamb make thee? That clearly, demonstrate doubt in speaker. How could God create an innocence lamb and then make such a dreadful
The poem is fairly short and the language is figurative. The poet uses simile to compare death to a good nigh. There is also foreshadowing is the first verse. The poet opens the poem with "Do not go gentile into that good night" which right away indicates that the poet is referring to not taking death lying down. The reader is given a sense of growing old. In the first stanza of the poem describe old age, "Old age should burn and rave at close of day" As you get old there is a daily struggle against death; you should fight for your life and take it day by day. In the second stanza the poet says "Though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lighting they don not go gentile into that good night" I thin what the poet is trying to say is even though you’re getting older and you know the time is coming you haven’t shown a sign of death you ‘re still have life so fight against death. Then in third stanza the poet describes someone who lived a good life but doesn’t want to let go "Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright their deed might have danced in a green bay, rage rage against the dying of the light." It was as if he was saying had he lived longer things could haven been better. In the fourth stanza " Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, and learn, too late they grieved it on its way, Don not go gentile into that good night. The poet is saying Sinners who led a bad life learn too late that they could have led a better life so they fight against death in hopes for a second chance. In he fifth stanza the poem talks of someone who has had a near death experience "Grave men, near death, who see with the blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, rage rage against the dying of the light.
In "The Tyger" William Blake portrays a fearless immortal who created both the docile lamb and the fiery tiger. The poem is presented with a cycle of questions. Although these questions about the tiger's creator remain unanswered, through the use of symbolism, figurative language, and the structure of the poem, William Blake conveys to the readers that the creator of both creatures is God. He encourages the readers to perceive the tiger as the guiding light that illuminates the darkness rooted in the human soul. "The Tyger" reveals to the readers the necessity for a balance in the world. God created the world with both good and evil to form the "symmetry" of existence. Only through contrasting and comparing, are humans capable of seeing the goodness more clearly.
As an educated woman, she is fascinated by natural philosophy and, throughout her poem, discusses how she finds the glory of God in the world around her. She describes the solar system as a calculated entity, in which God has a hand in directing. She likens the earth to a “vast machine” and “adore[s] the God that whirls surrounding spheres” (Wheatley 12,14). This view of God as a tinkerer of the machinery of the universe was prevalent at that time, especially in the deist view of God as someone like a watchmaker. Central to this idea of God is the understanding that he is predictable and in
In line one, “Infinity, when all things it beheld,” Taylor implies that God is Infinite and has always existed. In line two, he suggests that everything that exists was created from nothing at all. In the third line, “Upon what Base was fixed the Lath wherein” he is asking upon what base was this earth built on, but he capitalizes the word Base as if to symbolize that the base or foundation is God. “He turned this Globe,” In the beginning of line four Taylor simply states that, “He,” once again capitalized referring to God, “Turned this Globe,” where he is
The two poems, “The Tyger” and “The Lamb,” deal with the difference between different types of people. A tiger is a person who goes and gets whatever he or she wants, and won’t let anything get in his or her way. Tigers are the rich people. Lambs are the ones who are content to get bossed around. They are scared to disobey orders. Lambs are the poor people. Blake writes, “Little lamb God bless thee.” Lambs are the people of God. Blake...
The poem “The Tyger” by William Blake is a poem about two different personalities. The Lamb is the innocent mankind, whereas the Tyger is a much more wild, mysterious and ferocious animal capable of great good and terrifying evil. The author of this poem William Blake is a man who takes pride in knowing about his religion. He has written this poem in his collection of poems called Songs of experience. In this poem he talks about creation of evil. The poet uses a very powerful rhyming scheme along with a lot of Allusions referring to both Christian views of God, and Greek/roman God’s and Goddesses throughout the poem. The poem itself presents a sort of strange view on one central question that he repeats twice in the poem referring to the evil of the Tyger. “Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”
The two poems of William Blake, The Lamb and The Tyger are two poems that show the different kinds of people in society. To start in the poem The Lamb this shows a person whom is very innocent and caring. It is said in the poem “Little Lamb God bless thee.” Meaning a creature that is so innocent and kind and cute is created by God. This kind of person is also created by God, is innocent, kind, and cute just as well as the lamb. Now on the other hand, you have The Tyger which is also written by William Blake. This poem shows a different type of person in Blake’s society. This person is angry, mean and very dangerous. In this specific poem asks “What the hand, dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, and what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart?” It’s in this statement that Blake asks what kind of person could create such a monster as a tiger. Which he ponders the question of if God could have created something as horrible as a tiger when he had created something as innocent as a lamb. This shows the other type of person in society somebody that is also angry, mean, and very dangerous as a tiger.
...gle and simple interpretation of the poem makes it a responsive target for repeated critical thinking, interpretation, and re-reading. “The Tyger” is an approachable but uncatchable piece of art.
William Blake’s 1793 poem “The Tyger” has many interpretations, but its main purpose is to question God as a creator. Its poetic techniques generate a vivid picture that encourages the reader to see the Tyger as a horrifying and terrible being. The speaker addresses the question of whether or not the same God who made the lamb, a gentle creature, could have also formed the Tyger and all its darkness. This issue is addressed through many poetic devices including rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism, all of which show up throughout the poem and are combined to create a strong image of the Tyger and a less than thorough interpretation of its maker.
The state of innocence, once lost through experience, is never possible to regain. As in The Lamb, God is one in the same with the child. They both embody the same innocence. He became a child. But in The Tyger, man has corrupted what they believe to be God so He can fit into their world of experience. This God might be the tiger's (man's) creator, but he is no longer one with him like He is the lamb (child). Once innocence is lost, it's not possible to revive it to what it once was in childhood. Nothing lasts forever, even innocence in this "best of all possible worlds."
" The poem is enveloped in a sea of naivety as well as humor as the speaker is. directly speaking with an animal seeking profound philosophical clarification concerning similar questions that all humans have. contemplated at one point in their life and have been unable to answer. I will be able to answer. The child's question: "Who made thee," is relatively simple.
“The Tyger” by William Blake redefines the use of metaphors using them in unique and complex ways. Within the first stanza of the poem Blake repeats “Tyger!” A few times to create this chant like reading of the piece. The reason he does is to, one, to set the character of the story and, two, to create almost a sense of mystery and an old world atmosphere. In that same line the words “burning bright” are used to describe to tiger appearance; however, it could be that he is referring to the coloring of the beast or possibly some sort of energy about animal. Then as he continues in the stanza to bring god into the piece by stating “What Immortal hand or eye. Could frame such fearful symmetry”. This is a direct question to the reader of what sort of other worldly being could create such a ferocious animal. He also uses the word “frame” in there almost as if he’s trying to frame a picture, to the reader. The picture of god
“The TYGER”, is a poem by William Blake, an English poet who lived between eighteenth and nineteenth century. The poem is a lyric one which focuses on the creations of God. It is made of questions which addressed to “The Tyger” in order to know more about its creation. In the poem you don’t face any narrative movement because nothing else happens except the author questioning “The Tyger”.
In “The Lamb,” the speaker asks the lamb about how it was made, the clothing of its wool and its “tender voice.” The speaker then answers its own question and bestows the blessing of the lamb. The Lamb can symbolize a child, innocence, meek, or vulnerability. Also, it can be perceived as Jesus. “The lamb is also a metaphor for the child speaker, who belongs to Christ's ‘flock.’ In Christianity, Jesus is compared both to a lamb going to the sacrifice and to a shepherd who protects his flock of lambs and sheep” (Shmoop). At the beginning of this poem, it starts out with the question of “Little Lamb, who made thee… I a child and thou a lamb” (Line 1, 17). It refers to the saying in the Bible, “…in the beginning when god created the heavens and the earth. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind” (Mazur). The narrator only calls himself a child because we are all “children of god” as many say. In line 18, “We are called by his name,” reinforces the idea that the lamb...
The repeated use of the word “dare” to replace the “could” of the first stanza introduces a dimension of aspiration and willfulness into the sheer might of the creative act. The Tyger is full of words that seem more advanced than the elementary vocabulary in The Lamb and that carry unpleasant connotations such as “distant deeps” or “dreadful terror”. “These words not only enforce the idea that not all of creation is good but also add a sense of fear to this side of it by voicing the speakers own fear of it and stirring up negative emotions within the audience. Blake creates this alarm to bring home his personal doubt about some of God’s creation.