The Tyger and The Lamb was written by William
Blake.
William Blake was born on November 28, 1757 in
London.
Blake married Catherine Boucher at age 25. They published a book of Blake's poems and drawings called Songs of Innocence .
Some of his most famous poems include, Love’s
Secret, The School Boy, Infant Sorrow, and The
Angel.
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Tyger Tyger. burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye.
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat.
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp.
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears
And watered heaven with their tears:
Did he smile His work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Little Lamb, who made thee
Does thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing woolly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice.
Making all the vales rejoice:
Little Lamb who made thee
Does thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee;
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by His name,
Little Lamb God bless thee,
Little Lamb God bless thee.
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The poem The Lamb, by William Blake is a meditation poem written in 1789. It is about a physical object, an animal, but it addresses the much grander topics of God and creation. It asks rhetorical questions to a lamb in the first half and then answers the questions in the second half of the poem. The author begins the questions in the second voice, “Little Lamb, who made thee” and then ends in the first voice, “Little Lamb I’ll tell thee.” It is an inquisitive poem in which the author explains how a higher power has created something.
"Reflections on William Blake's "The Lamb": Analysis of a
Peaceful, Spiritual Poem." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and
Writers' Network . Web. 08 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.suite101.com/content/reflections-on-william-blakesthe-lamb-a199619>.
An analysis of "The Tyger" must begin with Blake's stylized spelling of the word Tyger. This spelling makes the reader pause to consider while the symbolic protagonist calls forth multiple, emotional images. The idea, tiger, creates reactions of both awe and terror; however, by placing his tyger "in the forest" (rather than the jungle) Blake both softens the image and contributes to the unnatural atmosphere begun by the word Tyger.
Next, Blake's description of his tyger reminds the reader of an artistic criticism. The descriptive word symmetry (excellence of proportion and regularity of form) expands the idea, tiger, to an abstract (like a painting) so that when Blake appends the word fearful (which has more than a hundred synonyms ranging from unearthly and ghoulish to horrible, frightful, and aweful) the reader is nearly startled by both the beautiful contrast and the absolute truth of the description.
Granted, every word in a poem could be called into question and analyzed individually, but the remainder of these words can be handled more effectively by grouping them into three broader categories: improbable images, suggested allusions, and superimposed figures.
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In the Tyger and The Lamb the author uses visual language. The language is spelled differently to symbolize the characters. For example tiger is spelled as Tyger, to show that it is more evil. The poem uses vivid words such as fire, evil, anvil, and immortal. The only word that has another meaning in the poem is the word Tyger to show that it was evil. In The lamb one of the words that stick out is the word thee. This can be in relation to God. Both of these poems are in relation to God. The history of the word thee can be traced to the Bible.
The Lamb the tone of the poem was very sweet and settle, as a lamb. If you did not know what type of animal a lamb was, by the time you completed reading
Blake’s poem you would. You would know that the lamb is a benign creature opposed to a ferociosu one.The tone in The Tyger was a little more abtruse. The tone William Blake was trying to portray was not extremely harsh, yet still not as gentle as the tone in
The Lamb. The suspense kind of picked up in the middle of the poem. Then towards the end the suspense in some way faded out. The situation the poem depicts is like a tiger moving in on its prey. At first everything is calm and settle, then as the chase begins the suspense picks up quickly. Finally when the tiger does catch the prey, the suspense fades out.
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The moods were similar but then again slightly different. The mood in The Lamb was more a more calm, spiritual mood. It made you relax and just invision peace and tranquility. The smooth rhythmic pattern was very invigorating. The Tyger’s mood was more suspenseful and though provoking. The beat was like a continuous loud, harsh drum beat. The beat started out steady, in the middle became more rapid, and then again returned to a steady beat.
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I believe that the speaker in the poem resembles a Sheppard or a farmer. I believe that he is talking to the animals and to God testing his creation methods. The author wants people to know how special these animals truly are and what they resemble. The speaker is speaking directly to the reader.
Personification is given to the animals in The Lamb and The Tyger. In the Lamb its says
“Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?”
Also there is repetition in both poems for example “Tyger Tyger
and Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee:
The Tiger, by William Blake: Study Guide." Free Study Guides for
Shakespeare and Other Authors . Web. 11 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Tiger.html>.
" The Tiger, by William Blake: Study Guide." Free Study Guides for
Shakespeare and Other Authors . Web. 11 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Tiger.html>.
Structure and Rhyme Scheme
The poem consists of six quatrains. (A quatrain is a four-line stanza.)
Each quatrain contains two couplets. (A couplet is a pair of rhyming lines). Thus we have a 24-line poem with 12 couplets and 6 stanzas– a neat, balanced package. The question in the final stanza repeats
(except for one word, dare ) the wording of the first stanza, perhaps suggesting that the question Blake raises will continue to perplex thinkers ad infinitum.
The Tiger, by William Blake: Study Guide." Free Study Guides for
Shakespeare and Other Authors . Web. 11 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Tiger.html>.
Alliteration
T
t
b
b
The Tiger, by William Blake: Study Guide." Free Study Guides for Shakespeare and Other Authors . Web. 11 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Tiger.html>.
The poem consists of six quatrains. (A quatrain is a four-line stanza.) Each quatrain contains two couplets. (A couplet is a pair of rhyming lines). Thus we have a 24-line poem with 12 couplets and 6 stanzas –a neat, balanced package. The question in the final stanza repeats (except for one word, dare ) the wording of the first stanza, perhaps suggesting that the question Blake raises will continue to perplex thinkers ad infinitum.
The Tiger, by William Blake: Study Guide." Free Study Guides for Shakespeare and Other Authors . Web. 11 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides2/Tiger.html>.
The author did a great job of creating the mood in both poems. The reader was able to clearly see the difference in The Tyger and The
Lamb. The elements that were the strongest were the figurative language and metaphors. Yes, some metaphors were interesting because it was able to explain the poems vividly. The rhyme scheme did a great job of helping the reader understand the poems.
We liked everything about these two poems. After reading the poem we clearly understood what roles The Tyger and The Lamb played. It gave us a great perspective in why God created each animal different. It did not relate to us in specific way but we clearly understood the message the author was trying to make.