The Analysis of William Blake's "the Tyger" and "the Lamb"

The analysis of William Blake's "The Tyger" and "The Lamb"

In William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Blake uses "The Tyger" and "The Lamb" to confront his audience with a powerful juxtaposition of nature. In both poems, Blake reflects and praises on the wonder of natural creation. He composes the two pieces of work to exemplify his ideas on different aspects of life and creation. The two poems are designed to show different ways of seeing the world and the creations within it. In presenting his poems, Blake uses similar theme and tone to explain the nature of creation however he uses different diction as he attempts to explain the natural creation of the two diverse animals.

Both poems "The Tyger" and "The Lamb" have similar theme of creation but both portrays very different aspects of life. "The Tyger" focuses on the dangers to be faced in life and nature while "The Lamb" celebrates nature as seen through the innocent eyes of a child. "The Lamb" portrays the innocence aspects of life through the narration of a child that wonder about the creation of the lamb. The language in this poem is simple and repetitive. Blake conveys a childlike character through his use of clever rhyming and varying perspective and questioning. The child represents innocence and his curiosity is expressed through the series of rhetorical questions that he asks throughout the poem.

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know what made thee?

Gave thee life, and bid thee feed

By the stream and o'er the mead; (1-4)

A series of rhetorical questions are also asked in "The Tyger" while continuing to explore the theme of creation. However, this poem also focuses on the danger and evil aspect of life. The evil is portrayed through the intense description of the tyger. This poem illustrates dark imagery, which contrasts strongly with the softness of "The Lamb". The first impression that readers are given about the tyger is that tyger is a terrible and dangerous animal. He exaggerates the description of the animal when he writes:

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry? (1-4)

This poem focuses on the negative side of creation and expresses that there is always an improvement to be made in this creation.

By keeping the tone of the poems the same, Blake establishes the serious and somber tone in both poems. Even though the two poems talked about the creation of two diverse animals, the serious tone remains constant throughout each poem. It enhances the overall meaning of the poems. In "The Lamb", the child narrator was curious and eager to know the creator of the lamb. He asks a series of questions throughout the poem and his