Comparison of the Poems The Tyger and The Lamb

Comparison of the Poems The Tyger and The Lamb

In William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience we are confronted

with a powerful juxtaposition of nature. The innocuous ‘lamb’ and the

ferocious ‘Tyger’ are designed to be interpreted in comparison with

each other. Both creatures innovatively define childhood, they

provide a contrast between youthful innocence and the experience of

age contaminating it. ‘The Lamb’ is simplistic in vocabulary and

style, Blake uses childish repetitions nostalgic of children’s nursery

rhymes.

“Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,

Little Lamb I’ll tell thee:“

This childish concept is significant as the reader is informed in the

second stanza that the voice of the poem is of a child: ‘I a child &

thou a lamb,’ The reader establishes a genuine affection for the

innocence that the Lamb has which continues to manifest throughout the

poem however, the Lamb is later on compared to a Christ or God-like

figure in addition to a child:

“He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb;

He is meek & he is mild,

He became a little child…”

Observing that the gentle lamb is defenceless when compared to a

predatory ‘tyger‘, emphasises Blake’s view that childhood innocence

evaporates when it is challenged with the harsh reality of adulthood

experience, corresponding to ’The Tyger’.

“Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

In the forests of the night;”

This represents Blake’s visionary quality as a poet, he uses the

metaphor ‘burning bright’ to symbolise the distinctive fiery orange

colouring of the ‘Tyger’ but also it contrasts with the setting.

Choosing to make the forest of the night plural effectively conjures

the image of a mysterious and hostile place, establishing te...

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...r suggests

that the Tiger should not have been created. This is significant

because Blake implies that although both creatures are polar opposites

in nature, one is innocent and vulnerable and the other ferocious and

volatile they both exist in the human spirit. Both animals are

creations of God and ultimately both natures exist in God. Blake’s

belief that Good and Evil are both parts of God, which is essential

for balance in the world, allowing there to be free will for people to

make decisions.

Thus, neither the seemingly innocent ‘Lamb’ is all Good, nor is the

‘Tyger ‘all Bad. Different circumstances call people to use their

attributes in different ways. For instance it would be better to have

the strength, and predatory quality presented in the ‘Tyger’ to

survive when faced with confrontation rather than the naïve

vulnerability of a docile lamb.