During one’s lifetime, they might come across various experiences that give them an insight to the hidden truths behind life; the good things and also the bad evil things. These ideas were the main topics in the poems of William Blake’s poems “The Lamb” and “The Tyger”. These poems were written during the literary era known as the Romantic Era, which took place from the late 18th century to the early 19th century. The era’s tenets were about individuality, spiritual elements, and emphasis of self-expression. “The Lamb” was included in Blake’s Songs of Innocence and told of the positive aspects of life in innocence and chastity. “The Tyger”, which was included in Songs of Experience, dealt with the more negative aspects such as the horrors
The theme conveyed in the poem is the beauty of creation is never fully understood by the created. In the poem, the speaker, having seen the evils of life, compares evil to a “tyger” and ponders on how something as beautiful as the tyger could be capable of such evil. The speaker then asks who could have made such a being. The title of the poem represents a tyger which symbolizes power, fear, and ferociousness. The mysterious speaker, though never confirmed, could be the young child from “The Lamb” grown up and now describing reality and its sad nature. Blake utilizes synecdoche in the poem as the speaker asks “what immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry?” This means to ask what kind of being could create such an evil perfection. He also further utilizes it in “[and] what shoulder, & what art, could twist the sinews of thy heart?” which means what strength and skill is capable of constructing the structures of the tyger. Blake also uses apostrophes as the speaker asks rhetorical questions towards how, who, and what was used to create the “tyger”. The author uses imagery to create a picture of a tyger with eyes made of fire which gives it an imperiously evil feel. The attitude of the speaker in the poem is perplexed and awed, which is revealed through the amount of questions the speaker asks. The poem presents a grim and mysterious mood through negative
“The Lamb” unlike its poetic counterpart, views the world in a naïve manner where the speaker is shielded by innocence and knows nothing about evil. Whereas “The Tyger” with the speaker having been exposed to real life, ponders why such evil in the world exists. Both poems feature their speakers asking questions of and about their creators, and thus are similar. Both poems dwell on the same matter while providing different perspectives. The speaker of “The Lamb” is cheerful to the lamb’s meekness and innocence which is comparable to that of Jesus’. The speaker of “The Tyger” however, is perplexed as to whether the same creator who created the lamb that is so immaculate could have created the tyger which full of evil. Though both poems are comparable, they also contrast each other. In “The Lamb”, the speaker knows of the lamb’s creator and directly states it but in “The Tyger” it isn’t clearly stated and left for the reader to make their judgment. For one to fully understand each poem, they might need to read both poems to see the two different sides they present in good and evil. Put together these poems ask the question of how good and evil can coexist in the world. These poems could be seen as the two faces of a coin they show contrasting views to reality. Though “The Lamb” offers a different view from “The Tyger”, they need to be together to get a full understanding of the
In the Neo-classical novel Candide the theme of innocence and experience is prevalent through the protagonist, Candide, journey of finding the prescription of how to live a useful life in the face of a harsh reality. In addition William Blake’s collection of Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience the two characters, tyger and lamb, show how we lose our innocence to gain experience. Although the innocence and experience are paradoxical terms, we can solve the paradox by analyzing these two works.
In Blake’s poem “The Lamb” from Songs of Innocence, Blake proves that in order to keep innocence alive, a child must not question. It is in a child’s nature to trust all that has been told. Therefore the lamb represents childhood as well as innocence. The lamb is personified as being a gentle creature without sin, and the poem itself is characterized by pleasant light imagery. This imagery is an indicator that innocence is a desired state of being. In the first stanza of the poem, the narrator asks questions regarding
In Blake’s work “The Lamb,” he shows innocence through sheep and their nature. Blake describes sheep’s nature by saying that they “Feed/By the stream & o'er the mead/ have thee clothing of delight/ Softest clothing, wooly, bright” (Blake 4-6). This passage shows that sheep are providers to man and do no harm. Blake says that sheep have a “tender voice/ making all the vales rejoice?” (Blake 7-8).
The Theme of the Suffering Innocent in Blake's London The poem "London" by William Blake paints a frightening, dark picture of the eighteenth century London, a picture of war, poverty and pain. Written in the historical context of the English crusade against France in 1793, William Blake cries out with vivid analogies and images against the repressive and hypocritical English society. He accuses the government, the clergy and the crown of failing their mandate to serve people. Blake confronts the reader in an apocalyptic picture with the devastating consequences of diseasing the creative capabilities of a society.
Owen presents us a sarcastic view towards the idea of being honorable to sacrifice for their country and buttresses it with abundant of horrific images. It is a war sonnet that captures the feelings of survivors to those who lost their lives in war. The use of a sonnet creates a sense of intensity in his poem, briefness and portrays the nature of death on a battlefield. Moreover, Owen uses the rhyme scheme of “ababcdcdeffegg” to show the strong division between the lines. The choice of a sonnet allows Owen to convey his message effectively and remain emotional to keep the readers interested. His tone in the poem is gloomy and proposes the reader to consider the question at the beginning of the poem: “What passing-bells for these who die as cattle” (1). Their deaths are significant to those of cattle and it occurs in masses. This leads the reader to consider t...
The ideas that are presented in poems are often the same ideas everyone is thinking but are too afraid to speak their mind for fear that they might be judged. Allen Ginsberg explained this predicament when he said “[p]oetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in private” (Ginsberg). This quote applies especially to “The Tyger” by William Blake. William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” at the surface is very simplistic; however, with further analysis the story’s theme of religion asks fundamental questions that pertain to one’s worldview with the use of symbolism.
...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.
From the imperfect symmetry of the poem’s form to the incongruent harmony between the poem and the illustration, they all emphasize the idea that good and evil exist simultaneously. It is only in an imperfect world is one able to gather knowledge, make mistakes, and gain experience. It all comes full circle when looking back at the collection, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, that the poem The Tyger is derived from. Without both evil and good, the author would not have had the ability to identify with experience, and the poem The Tyger would not be the same.
William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” also asks the ultimate question “What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame thy fearful symmetry?/” (Blake lines 3-4). The tone of this poem is more of a horrific nature. The speaker seems as if he is trying to escape this horrendous beast, the reader can almost feel the panic and terror that the speaker seems to be going through. “Blake creates this effect by drawing on several poetic devices”(Furr). The first of these is trochaic meter, which gives the poem an underlying beat or chant like quality.
giving the tiger an even more awe-inspiring quality. The stanza finishes with "Did he who made the lamb make thee?" Which gives the idea of disbelief at the prospect of a creator making a harmless pleasant creature such as the lamb and a dangerous mighty and awful creature like the tiger. b) Explore the ways Blake uses imagery and repetition in this poem. The most obvious repetition in this poem is the "Tiger"!
The `Songs of Experience' `Introduction' appears to be a lamentation concerning the demise of innocence, the gradual loss of nature through the corollary of experience. The persona cries `calling the lapsed soul', calling the `Earth, o Earth' to `return' from `the slumberous mass'. The Earth replies in `the Earth's answer' with the remark `break this heavy chain that does freeze my bones around' suggesting the coercive forces of industry and the artificial forces of man over the Earth, over nature. The `little girl' and `little boy' grow to be `lost' in this new world governed by industry, in this new world of mechanised Christendom, in this new world absolving itself of altruistic action and concern for the individual. The `lost' boy and girl make their way back to their instinctive origin and find solace in nature. The harmony of nature and its association with man is represented well in the first stanza of `Song [2]' of `the poetical sketches':
In this essay I am going to be looking at two poems from the Songs of innocence and experience works. These poems are The Lamb and The Tyger written by William Blake. Both these poems have many underlying meanings and are cryptic in ways and both poems are very different to each other. In this essay I will be analysing the two poems, showing my opinions of the underlying themes and backing them up with quotes from the poems. I will compare the poems looking at the similarities and differences between them and also look at each one individually focusing on the imagery, structure and the poetic devices William Blake has used. Firstly I will look at the Tyger a poem about experience.
The sublime is the feeling of delightful horror associated with powerful, large objects that produce both a feeling of awe and fear. Blake alludes to the “fearful symmetry” (4) of the Tyger in order to create the sublime feeling that the creature is both daunting but exquisite. The sublime quality develops further when Blake asks “What dread hand? & what dread feet?” (12). Implementing the word “dread” adds to the frightening tone of the poem, creating a sense of wonder and mystery that derives from the sublime. Blake uses the sublime notion to allow the readers to process the enormity of both the Tyger and its creator, helping develop the poet’s main question; what “immortal hand or eye” (3) could be so powerful to create a formidable creature like the Tyger? The poem “The Tyger” is complexified by the unusual spelling Blake chose for the word “tiger”. The purpose of the alternative spelling is to enhance the complexity of divine creation, Blake’s main concern throughout the poem. The spelling of “Tyger” is also employed to suggest to the reader that the Tyger discussed in the poem is a different, darker beast than the jungle tiger. Humanity, the devil, or sinful actions themselves could all be argued as the “Tyger” Blake refers to. Blake himself does not explain why he misspelled the word, adding to the unanswered questions, which the entire poem consists of,
middle of paper ... ... Through symbolism and reference, Blake’s “The Tyger” effectively portrays civilized human existence. Although “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” appear to be fairly different in subject matter, both poems include a deep, indirect portrayal of Rousseau’s noble savage myth. Also, both poems include a variety of romantic ideals.