August 4, 2021
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Little Lamb who made thee? |
Introduction
William Blake’s poem “The Lamb,” included in his 1789 collection Songs of Innocence, exemplifies the themes of innocence, purity, and divine creation that permeate the work. Blake’s Songs of Innocence presents a vision of the world through the eyes of a child, capturing the simplicity and wonder of a state untainted by the complexities and corruptions of experience. “The Lamb” is structured as a question-and-answer dialogue between a speaker, often interpreted as a child, and a lamb, symbolizing innocence and gentleness.
The poem consists of two stanzas, each containing five rhymed couplets, which contribute to its rhythmic and melodic quality, akin to a nursery rhyme. The first stanza opens with the speaker asking the lamb, “Little Lamb, who made thee? / Dost thou know who made thee?” This direct and simple inquiry reflects the poem’s focus on the fundamental and pure questions of existence. The speaker then proceeds to describe the lamb’s characteristics, associating it with softness, meekness, and the pastoral imagery of “By the stream and o’er the mead.”
The second stanza provides the answer to the initial question, identifying the creator as both the lamb’s maker and a representation of Christ, referred to as “He is called by thy name, / For He calls Himself a Lamb.” The use of the lamb as a symbol for Christ ties the poem to Christian themes, particularly the idea of Jesus as the Lamb of God, embodying innocence, sacrifice, and redemption. This association also reflects Blake’s spiritual beliefs, which are deeply intertwined with his poetry and art.
“The Lamb” embodies key characteristics of Romantic literature, such as the emphasis on nature, the celebration of innocence, and the exploration of spiritual themes. The poem’s simple language and form mirror the purity of its subject matter, while its deeper religious symbolism invites contemplation of the divine presence in the natural world.
“The Lamb” remains relevant for its exploration of innocence and purity in a world often marked by complexity and corruption. The poem’s portrayal of a simple, direct connection between the creator and the created resonates with ongoing discussions about the role of spirituality, the natural world, and the preservation of innocence in modern life.
Through “The Lamb,” Blake offers a vision of a world where innocence and divine love are central, encapsulating the themes of the Songs of Innocence and contributing to the broader Romantic movement’s focus on the essential goodness of human nature and the spiritual dimension of existence.
Questions for Consideration
- Analyze the symbolism of the lamb in the poem. How does Blake use the lamb to represent themes of innocence, purity, and spirituality? Discuss how this symbol connects to Christian imagery, particularly the idea of Jesus as the Lamb of God.
- Explore the significance of the poem’s question-and-answer structure. How does this format contribute to the themes of curiosity and understanding in the poem? What does this structure suggest about the relationship between the speaker and the lamb?
- Compare “The Lamb” with “The Tyger” from Songs of Experience. How do these two poems contrast in their portrayal of creation, innocence, and experience? What do these differences reveal about Blake’s views on the duality of existence?
- Discuss how nature imagery in “The Lamb” conveys simplicity and peace. How does the natural setting of the poem enhance its message about the purity of creation?
- Examine the religious themes. How does Blake connect the lamb to Christian beliefs about Jesus and creation? What might the poem suggest about the relationship between humanity, innocence, and the divine?
- Analyze how “The Lamb” reflects Romantic ideals such as the celebration of innocence, the focus on childhood, and the connection between nature and spirituality. How does Blake’s portrayal of these themes align with the broader Romantic movement?
- Consider the significance of the poem’s simple language and structure. How does Blake’s choice of straightforward diction and rhyme contribute to the poem’s themes of innocence and purity? What effect does this simplicity have on the reader’s interpretation?
- Reflect on the theme of innocence. How does the poem’s emphasis on innocence and purity contrast with the complexities and challenges of the modern world? Discuss the contemporary relevance of this theme.
- Write a creative piece inspired by “The Lamb,” either in the form of a poem or a short narrative, that explores the themes of innocence, creation, and spirituality. Use Blake’s imagery and style as inspiration for your own work.
- Explore how “The Lamb” fits into Blake’s larger spiritual and artistic vision as expressed in Songs of Innocence. How does the poem reflect Blake’s views on the divine presence in the natural world and the role of innocence in human life?
Notes & Commentary
- ↑ Perhaps the best example of the Songs of Innocence, “The Lamb” has a child-like narrator—perhaps the naked one in Blake’s accompanying illustration. The lamb is a traditional symbol of innocence and God’s love, and his expression here is joyful, tender, and “thoroughly humantarian” (Battenhouse 1958, pp. 53, 54). There’s a sort of mysticism in Blake’s innocent voice which suggests a deeper meaning (Battenhouse 1958, p. 54).
Blake’s vision was one of a Romantic intensification of the everyday—of seeing the value in the mundane. These poetic visions a way of consider the observable qualities and, more importantly, filter them through the poetic imagination in order to understand the innermost essence of what is being observed (Tomlinson 1987, pp. 14, 16). Tomlinson explains that “it is when any one individual moment is perceived with such fullness and intensity that it seems to become a moment outside ordinary time, and to last for ever” (Tomlinson 1987, p. 16). Blake thought that this poetic insight could uncover something infinite about the subjects, and it was his duty to help others cleanse these “the doors of perception” (Tomlinson 1987, p. 17). This poetic act might tell us more about the poet than about the object—they are not objective descriptions, but subjective responses—but perhaps they help to develop our own imaginative empathy by challenging our own observations of the world and allowing us to react to the poet’s vision. Blake called alternate visions “contraries” or opposite forces that help to define, to motivate, and to reconcile our own views of reality (Tomlinson 1987, pp. 19–20). Thus, innocence and experience have contraries as their primary focus.
Compare this poem with its contrary “The Tyger.” Consider what each might symbolize—the lamb seems to be innocence, purity, naïveté, or devotion. Both poems both explore the connection between making and being, both important concepts in Blake’s work: making, Makdidi explains, “marks the convergence of our joys and desires with our imaginations; it is the truest and fullest form of imaginative practice” (Makdisi 2015, p. 112). - ↑ The poem’s opening echoes the form of childern’s religious instruction with catechistic questions and answers (Greenblatt 2018, p. 50). Similar questions are mused about by the speaker of “The Tyger,” but the answers remain ambiguous in the poem of experience.
- ↑ The Lamb is threefold: a literal lamb, the speaker, and Christ.
- ↑ Makdisi suggests that “this convergence of I-you-we-he” is part of the making/being theme in this poem: “To make and to be made, at least under certain circumstances, is to participate in this common form of being which Blake called God; and to participate in this common form of being is also to make, to create, to produce.” By being made, one participates in being and that very act of creation (Makdisi 2015, p. 215).
Bibliography
- Ackroyd, Peter (1995). Blake: A Biography. New York: Ballantine Books.
- Battenhouse, Henry M. (1958). English Romantic Writers. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.
- Bloom, Harold (2003). William Blake. Bloom’s Major Poets. New York: Chelsea House.
- Frye, Northrup (1947). Fearful Symmetry: A Study of William Blake. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Gardner, Stanley (1969). Blake. Literary Critiques. New York: Arco.
- Green, Martin Burgess (1972). Cities of Light and Sons of Morning. Boston: Little, Brown.
- Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. (2018). The Norton Anthology of English Literature. The Major Authors. 2 (Tenth ed.). New York: W. W. Norton.
- Makdisi, Saree (2003). "The Political Aesthetic of Blake's Images". In Eaves, Morris. The Cambridge Companion to William Blake. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP. pp. 110–132.
- — (2015). Reading William Blake. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
- Paulin, Tom (March 3, 2007). "The Invisible Worm". Guardian. Retrieved 2021-09-04.
- Thompson, E. P. (1993). Witness Against the Beast. New York: The New Press.
- Tomlinson, Alan (1987). Song of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake. MacMillan Master Guides. London: MacMillan Education.
- Wolfson, Susan J. (2003). "Blake's Language in Poetic Form". In Eaves, Morris. The Cambridge Companion to William Blake. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP. pp. 63–83.
Links and Web Resources
- Blake at the Internet Archive.
- Blake’s Notebook at the British Museum.
- William Blake Study Questions
