Saturday, January 23, 2010

"The Lamb" Vs. "The Tyger"

Compare any of the following pairs of poems, from Songs of Innocence and Experience:
"The Lamb" (Innocence, pp. 83-84) and "The Tyger" (Experience, pp. 92-93)


These two poems are actually very similiar and could almost be two parts of the same piece. "The Lamb" has the Narrator asking a lamb who has made them to be such a creature of joy and happy life. The answer is of course God, and the "lamb" is actually us, or rather human kind. This would be especially applicable to our younger ones who are without knowledge of the terrible vices and hardships far from home, or field rather. Frolic and rejoice as you know the name of your creator. Which is nice and lovely imagery. It reminds one of the concept of us all being part of God's flock, even in the image presented to us. It's a young man feeding a lamb within a flock.
"The Tyger" also has the Narrator asking a creature the question of who made them. However, this time it's the tyger or tiger. This is a being of muscle and beauty, very different from the lamb to the point the Narrator seems in disbelief that such a thing could be from the same creator ("Did he who made the Lamb make thee?". Here though, the Narrator doesn't talk about the actions of the Tyger, but it's creation and it's might. This is a creature of strength and will, with fire in it's eyes. The innocence of the lamb is gone. The images set forth here are full of words to horrify, "What dread hand? & what dread feet?" "...what dread grasp//Dare its deadly terror clasp?" The Tyger is a person of experienced, learned in the ways of the world and not as sweetly naive as any Lamb might be. In the image presented, though to a lesser extent the book version because it's black and white (pp 92), we see the sun setting, another image of aging that supports the rest.

What do you think Blake was trying to convey in these two opposites? I feel he's trying show us that while innocence is a thing to be treasured, but it cannot compare to the beauty of experience. Those lucky enough to possess it can sometimes appear rough and strong, but they're full of intelligence that the lamb cannot possess at that stage without drastically changing. This might not necessarily be from age, but at the very least through life and what we encounter throughout it.

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