Examine the ways in which William Blake uses the Lamb and The Tyger to comment on the world he lived in
The Lamb and The Tyger are two different poems written by William Blake, the first taken from the Songs of Innocence and the second taken from the Songs of Experience. Both poems follow an A-A-B-B rhyme scheme and both focus on the topic of religion and the changing world in which Blake lived in.
The two poems show how landscape of Britain at the time of Blake changed. The first poem The Lamb uses more pastoral language and creates very natural imagery, showing how at that time the country had greater open countryside, whereas in The Tyger the language used is very different, and uses more industrial language and creates darker images showing the changes after the industrial revolution and how the cities expanded and reduced the countryside. The Tyger was also written after the enclosure laws of the 1750s had been set and the poem can also reflect Blakes views on those laws.
The two poems also show how Blakes opinion on the changing of the world changed. In the fist poem The Lamb Blake seems to be full of hope for the future, we can see this from his use of language, whereas in the second poem the Tyger the language used is more negative and dark. Showing how Blakes feelings changed about the world in which he lived in.
When reading these two poems aloud, you can notice the differences in the two poems just by the sound of them. The Lamb has a singsong nursery rhyme cadence to it. The lines flow together very smoothly and calmly. A sense of innocence can be heard from this poem. However, even though both poems use couplets to create that sense of rhythm, the several questions that are asked in The Tyger makes is seem more demanding. The lines are still regular and rhyming, but unlike The Lamb, the rhythm, as well as the consonants, is heavy. This shows how Blakes opinion on the world changed, the nursery rhyme like poetic meter of The Lamb shows Blakes innocent and naive views on the world, and shows us his hope for the future. Whereas in The Tyger the heavier structure creates a more sinister effect and shows what Blake thought of the world.
The two poems show Blakes changing views on religion. In The Lamb the lamb of course symbolizes Jesus. The traditional image of Jesus as a lamb underscores the Christian values of gentleness, meekness, and peace. This poem, like many of the Songs of Innocence, accepts what Blake saw as the more positive aspects of conventional Christian belief. In the Tyger Blake questions the fact that God must have created evil. And questions why would God make such evil in the world and let the evil continue? The Tyger in this poem represents the Evil in the world. The reference to the lamb in the penultimate stanza reminds the reader that a tiger and a lamb have been created by the same God, and again suggests to ask why would God make good and evil, represented in these poems by the lamb and the tiger.
The Tyger is the darker side of the idea of creation Blakes use of vivid imagery such as, fire, hammer, furnace, chain, anvil, and spears and the use of action words such as, burnt, seize, twist, beat, grasp, clasp, and threw creates dark hellish connotations. This shows how Blake questions God and the creation of the evil in the world. Unlike the Lamb which has words such as, softest, stream, bright, woolly, rejoice, and bless which are words of a lighter meaning, showing Gods good and loving side.
Both these poems are very religious, however they each represent one of the two most common aspect of religious sentiment. The Lamb is a poem that focuses mainly on the love and gentleness of God, while The Tyger is a poem that focuses on the powerful and almighty side of God. When the question is asked did he who made the Lamb make thee? it questions how God could create two completely different things. This shows how Blake questioned God creating both good and evil.
The two poems The Lamb and The Tyger use the comparison of the two different animals to show the two sides of God and the changing world in which Blake lived in, the lamb represents Gods kinder side and the tiger represents the more almighty and powerful side. The Two poems also show how the world changed from open countryside to greater towns and cities after the industrial revolution.
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