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
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.
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.
William Blake, was born in 1757 and died in 1827, created the poems “The Lamb,” “The Tyger,” and Proverbs of Hell. Blake grew up in a poor environment. He studied to become an Engraver and a professional artist. His engraving took part in the Romanticism era. The Romanticism is a movement that developed during the 18th and early 19th century as a reaction against the Restoration and Enlightenment periods focuses on logic and reason. Blake’s poetry would focus on imagination. When Blake created his work, it gained very little attention. Blake’s artistic and poetic vision consists in his creations. Blake was against the Church of England because he thought the doctrines were being misused as a form of social control, it meant the people were taught to be passively obedient and accept oppression, poverty, and inequality. In Blake’s poems “The Lamb,” “The Tyger,” and Proverbs of Hell, he shows that good requires evil in order to exist through imagery animals and man.
The imagery of nature and humanity intermingling presents Blake's opinion on the inborn, innate harmony between nature and man. The persona of the poem goes on to express the `gentle streams beneath our feet' where `innocence and virtue meet'. This is where innocence dwells: synchronization with nature, not synchronization with industry where `babes are reduced to misery, fed with a cold usurous hand' as in the experienced version of `Holy Thursday'. The concept of the need for the individual's faithfulness to the laws of nature and what is natural is further reiterated in `the marriage of heaven and hell' in plate 10 where Blake states `where man is not, nature is barren'. The most elevated form of nature is human nature and when man resists and consciously negates nature, `nature' becomes `barren'. Blake goes on to say `sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires'. This harks back to `the Songs of Innocence' `A Cradle Song' where the `infants smiles are his own smiles'. The infant is free to act out its desires as it pleases. It is unbound, untainted. Blake's concern is for the pallid and repressed, subjugated future that awaits the children who must `nurse unacted desires' and emotions in this new world of industrialisation. Despairingly, this is restated again in `the mind-forg'd manacles' of `London'. The imagery of the lambs of the `Songs of Innocence' `Introduction' is developed in `the Chimney Sweeper' into the image of `Little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head, that curl'd like a lamb's back, was shav'd'.
Because of Blake’s support of Rousseau’s noble savage, his poetry is somewhat anti-Enlightenment, a characteristic of Romanticism. Another Romantic ideal was the beauty of the natural world, which opposed the Enlightened thinkers of the Industrial Revolution. Finally, Blake’s usage of a child, who is speaking to animals that are unable to respond, demonstrates the Romantic belief in the “importance of feelings and imagination over reason” (Romanticism 699). William Blake’s “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” are excellent examples of Romantic literature that supports Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s myth of the noble savage.
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...
In conclusion these two poems by William Blake are both deep and have hidden meanings, they both use imagery, repetition, alliteration and ryming couplets as well as biblical references to create a vivid pictures in the readers head. But these poems do differ in many ways such as the structure, theme and way it is written. The Tyger appeals to me most as it has more hidden meanings than the Lamb and the Lamb is boring and as if written by a child (for effect). In this essay I have analysed, contrasted and compared the two poems The Tyger and The Lamb to the best of my ability detailing the poetic devices used and the underlying meanings.
...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.
...nd lets the reader find the deeper meanings in the poem. The Tyger stands for darkness and evil, while the Lamb is exact opposite. The blacksmith in lines 13-16 symbolizes the creator. These representations affect the reader by making it not just a poem concerning animals and creation, but also about the debate of a benevolent God creating something evil.
William Blake was born and raised in London from 1757 to 1827. Throughout his early years, Blake experienced many strange and unusual visions, claiming to have seen “angels and ghostly monks” (Moore). For those reasons, William Blake decided to write about mystical beings and Gods. Two examples of the poet expressing his point of view are seen in “The Tyger” and “The Lamb.” Both poems demonstrate how the world is and to sharpen one’s perception. People perceive the world in their own outlook, often times judging things before they even know the deeper meaning of its inner personification. Blake’s wondrous questions actually make an acceptable point because he questions whether God created the tiger with the same intentions as he did with the lamb.
This invokes reassurance in the reader. 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.
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, one of the infamous English romantic poets, is most known for his romantic views on conventional scenes and objects, which were presented in his works The Songs of Innocence and The Songs of Experience. The first collection was published in 1789, and addresses subjects such as suffering and death from the innocent and optimistic perspective of a child. The later collection addresses these same issues, but is told from the perspective of an experienced bard. The poems contained in The Songs of Innocence often have a counter part in the second collection that reflects a darker or more corrupted take on the same subject. For example, the purity presented in the creation of “The Lamb” is dramatically contrasted with its shameful counterpart “The Tyger”.
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"!
William Blake, a romantic poet in the late 1700s, wrote a collection of biblical poems, called The Songs of Innocence and Experience. In this collection, Blake wrote a six-stanza poem consisting almost entirely of questions, titled “The Tyger”. Blake addresses this “Tyger” throughout the entire poem, beginning by asking who or what immortal creature made the Tyger. Blake then describes the Tyger as a fearsome and evil creature and tries to understand how the person who made the Tyger could have continued the process once it’s horrible “heart began to beat” (Blake 11). He compares the creator of the animal to a blacksmith, asking if the creator used an anvil and hammer to create the creature or other tools. Towards the end of the poem, Blake