Commentary on The Lamb Essay

The Lamb Commentary

The Lamb is a poem written by William Blake from the collection poems called the Songs of Innocence. The Lamb has two stanzas, each containing five rhymed couplets. The repetition of the first and last couplet gives a nice rhythm to the poem which makes it song like. The soft vowels makes the poem light and happy. The setting of the poem is in a meadow which is nice and calm. A place to find peace and where the lambs are found. It is mentioned in the poem, by the stream and oer the mead The mead is an acronym for meadow. The poem is derived into literal and figurative meanings all related to Christianity. The structure of the poem is hymn-like. By structuring the poem in a hymn like manner, using the refrain of Little Lamb and the simplest sentence length that are found in hymns. Since most of the time punctuation of the poem will be determined by the pace caesuras and end-stopped, it is used to vary the pace of the poem and to create the sing-song effect. Blakes spelling which seems odd and traditional but strikes the readers as old-fashioned. The childlike diction and repetition used in the poem put an almost incantatory effect to the poem if read aloud.

The poem starts of with an innocent young child was merely trying to have a chat with the lamb being curious about how the lamb have came about. The poem is written is the form of question and answer showing a really curious child asking an innocent question such as who made thee?. It is the deepest and most timeless question any nave and innocent child can ask. It is the most basic question which questions the origin of human beings and the nature of creation. It was transformed into a rhetorical question because the child answers his own question in the next stanza. Softest clothing shows tactile imagery and woolly,bright provides a visual imagery. Blake also used auditory imagery such as tender voice. The usage of the different kinds of imagery lets us into believing the childs point of viewing the idea. The idea being so innocent and soft. The pure description of the lamb being so comfortable and delicate. Tender voice also shows personification because a lamb bleats. At the end of the first stanza, it was the repetition of the first few lines of the beginning of the stanza, this creates the effect of a nursery rhyme. It creates rhythm and makes it seem like the chorus of the old nursery rhyme called Mary Had A Little Lamb.

The second stanza starts with a repetition Little lamb, Ill tell thee, this shows that the child is answering and telling the lamb. The second stanza represents the answer which is presented in a puzzle or riddle form. Childs play was mainly the answer to the rhetorical question but this contributes to a sense of ironic knowingness in the poem. In the second stanza, He is called by thy name The capital He would show that the lamb signifies Jesus. This reveals the childs confidence in Christianity and his innocent acceptance of its teachings. The traditional image of Jesus as a lamb symbolizes the Christian teachings of innocence, gentleness and harmlessness. This is the childs approach to God. Blake have successfully related this poem to Christianity. Blake uses imagery such as allusion, He is meek and He is mild. In the bible, Jesus is called the lamb for embracing his meekness and mildness. I a child and thou a lamb shows the nave child trying to prove himself right with his answer. We are called by His name also proves his belief in Christianity and his acceptance that we were created by God. Jesus being associated to His. The alliteration in little lamb again creates a rhythm to the poem. As the child blesses the lamb being so gentle and soft. The entire second stanza creates a rather religious effect.

The lamb has a biblical meaning to it. It is a symbol to mankind, Jesus and the lamb itself. The lamb itself is a tame and soft animal. It relates to the poem as a contrast to children. Children being so pure and innocent. They can also be took as nave and gullible due to their lack of experience and exposure to the real world. The lamb also symbolizes Jesus also known as the Lamb of God. Throughout the poem, Blake had shown the positive aspects of conventional Christian beliefs. The poem also shows the childs idea of nature and God. This poem also gives a great depth of knowledge about how the Creator have given us life, food and clothing as mentioned in the first stanza. The poem dramatizes the conflict between Innocence and Greatness, questioning how innocence could come from such great power.