The greatest poets can match the form of their poems to their content. William Blake is one such example of a great poet. He is able to utilize standard poetic techniques to illuminate the themes of his poetry. The rhymes in William Blake’s The Lamb parallel the perfect innocence of the lamb being addressed, and create a singsong mood, which enhances the rejoiceful theme of the poem.
Apart from the two lines that form a slant rhyme, all lines conclude in end rhymes, which are perfect, precise rhymes, paralleling the perfectly innocent lamb the speaker is addressing. “Feed” (3) rhymes with “mead” (4). “Mild” (15) rhymes with “child” (16). These examples of end rhyme are perfect rhymes, which serves a purpose. In the poem, the speaker addresses an innocent lamb. This lamb metaphorically represents the infant Jesus, or the Lamb of God. The infant Jesus, much like a baby lamb, is perfect and innocent, so addressing the lamb with heavy use of slant rhyme would be inappropriate. In this instance, Blake unites his poetic techniques with the topic of his poetry by uniting the perfection of the end rhyme with the perfection of the lamb.
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“Delight” (5) directly follows “bright” (6). “Voice” (7) directly follows “rejoice” (8). The simplistic rhyme scheme, AA BB CC, with groups of two consecutive lines always rhyming with each other creates the joyful mood of a children’s song. This is intentional because the speaker is so rejoiceful for God’s gifts to the world that he even expects an animal to be rejoiceful for its “softest clothing wooly bright” (6). He tells the lamb to happy and thankful but is also happy and thankful himself, as is shown by this celebratory mood. By creating this singsong mood, Blake indirectly illustrates the rejoiceful theme of the
In the poem there are sheep and goats which in comparison are followers of god and non followers. The sheep represented people who were loyal to god, who always led the right road and if they so much sinned, they would ask god for forgiveness. Goats were people who did not have faith
Blake also uses sound to deliver the meaning to the poem. The poem starts off with "My mother groaned! my father wept." You can hear the sounds that the parents make when their child has entered this world. Instead of joyful sounds like cheer or cries of joy, Blake chooses words that give a meaning that it is not such a good thing that this baby was brought into this world. The mother may groan because of the pain of delivery, but she also groans because she knows about horrible things in this world that the child will have to go through. The father also weeps for the same reason, he knows that the child is no longer in the safety of the womb, but now is in the world to face many trials and tribulations.
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).
In addition, the rhyme of the first two stanzas goes A B B A and C D D C respectively; however it is E F F in third stanza and G E G in the fourth stanza. Besides the end rhymes, there are the internal rhymes such as the words; “fields” (1) and “ewes” (2) and also “faintly” (3) that rhymes with “silently” (4).
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.
The definition of a rhyme according to Yourdictionary.com is a poem composed of lines with similar ending sounds or to speak in words or phrases with the same ending sound. An example of a rhyme being used outside of “The Lamb” is to say the words bike and like, or another example of rhyme is the children 's poem “Humpty Dumpty”. In “The Lamb” the author William Blake uses rhymes to make his poem more expressive. For example “ Little lamb, who made thee?/ Dost thou know who made thee?/ Gave thee life and bid thee feed,/ By the stream and o’er the mead;” (Lines 1-4). The author uses the words thee, feed, and mead, all rhymes that give the poem The Lamb much rhythm. The definition of rhythm according to Yourdictionary.com is a recurring movement of sound or speech. Another example is “Gave thee clothing of delight,/ Softest clothing wooly bright;” (Lines 5-6) . Last example I will use from “The Lamb” is “He is meek and he is mild,/ He became a little child:” (Lines 15-16). These are all examples of rhymes that the author uses to create rhythm and make the poem
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.
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 attitude that Blake brings to this poem is astounding. It shows how people feel during the 18th century. The tone usage throughout this poem displays how Blake along with many more feel about society and children. He uses many different emotions from the beginning to the end in his poem. He writes, “Could scarcely cry 'weep! '
In William Blake’s poem “The Lamb” the speaker begins with the ultimate question, “Little Lamb, who made thee?/ Dost though know who made thee?/” (Blake lines 1-2). The speaker then continues to elaborate on the question in a playful, innocent, singsong manner describing the kindness and thoughtfulness that the creator put in to producing this ever so gentle lamb. The tone of this poem is soft and lulling, the tender, calm rhyme scheme puts the reader in a soothing, dreamlike state. “The words and images presented - stream, mead, delight, softest, tender and rejoice - are positive and pastoral. One can picture a lamb frolicking in the green grass…” (Smith).
And finally, the rhyme is simple to help make the impact greater. " The Lamb and The Tyger" are poems about the good and bad things that God has created.
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.
In the first stanza, the use of sound—the flute—and the birds are important in showing that spring is an exciting season. Sound the flute Now it’s mute. Birds delight Day and Night Nightingale In the dale Lark in Sky Merrily Merrily Merrily to welcome in the year (1-9).
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 poems in this collection are actually complimentary to “Songs of Innocence.” For example, Blake’s “The Tyger” directly contrasts with “The Lamb.” “The Tyger” happens to be his most popular poem that has been written. The first question the speaker was asking the tiger in the poem is “what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?” Already, you can sense the similarity of this poem to “The Lamb” as the speaker is questioning his creation.