James Prothro
Poem Notes Sheet
Title of Work:
“The Lamb”
“The Chimney Sweeper (1st one)”
“The Tyger”
“The Sick Rose”
“The Chimney Sweeper (2nd one)”
Author:
William Blake
Summary of poem in three sentences or less:
“The Lamb” – It is addressing people by calling the lambs, a Christian reference. The speaker is
telling everyone that Christ created mankind.
“The Chimney Sweeper (1st one)” – The poem is about children who became chimney sweepers.
One has a dream about angels coming to one of the boys during a dream and tells the child that
God will provide joy in his life.
“The Tyger” – It is describing a tiger. However, it is a symbol for a demon or the devil. The
poem gives brief description of the animal.
“The Sick Rose” – It begins by describing a rose is being eaten by a worm. However, the second
stanza contains more human descriptions. It could describe sin entering a woman’s life.
“The Chimney Sweeper (2nd one)” – The poem describes a child who has been sold into chimney
sweeping. His parents left him and went to worship in the church and believe that they are doing
the right thing.
Speaker of the poem:
“The Lamb” – Unnamed narrator. Another Christian possibly.
“The Chimney Sweeper (1st one)” – A child who was a chimney sweeper (possibly older now).
“The Tyger” – Unnamed narrator. The same narrator from “The Lamb”?
“The Sick Rose” – Unnamed narrator.
“The Chimney Sweeper (2nd one)” – The child who has become a chimney sweeper.
Themes:
“The Lamb” – The birth of Christ (believing that Jesus has come to Earth once) and the creation
of mankind from God.
“The Chimney Sweeper (1st one)” – Believing in Christ will give you more joy in life than
anything else and can rescue you.
“The Tyger” – The evils of a demon (the devil) are outlined in this poem. It shows the evil and
questions how it was made.
“The Sick Rose” – How sin can begin to destroy a person’s life. Adultery or pre-marital sex?
“The Chimney Sweeper (2nd one)” – How the Church is destroying life. The poem creates a
negative feeling towards Church and Christianity.
Symbols:
“The Lamb” – Lamb is being used to represent mankind, but also to represent Jesus. Jesus was
described as a lamb in scripture.
“The Chimney Sweeper (1st one)” – The color white is used to represent purity (Christ). The
color black is used to represent impurity, such as worldly things.
“The Tyger” – The tiger itself is a symbol for demons or the devil.
“The Sick Rose” – The worm is a symbol is sin.
“The Chimney Sweeper (2nd one)” – Clothes of death symbolizes the outfit the child wore. Notes
of woe symbolizes his cries for help.
Religious references/examples:
“The Lamb” – The poem centers around telling people that god created them and everything
about them in the first stanza.
“The Chimney Sweeper (1st one)” – Angels were mentioned coming from Heaven. It also
mentions that the Angels told the boy about living a life for Christ.
“The Tyger” – It references God (with the pronoun “he”) on line 20 and asks if God could have
possibly made something with such evil.
“The Sick Rose” – The poem references sin by showing a rose, or possibly a person, being
consumed by sin.
“The Chimney Sweeper (2nd one)” – The poem mentions the Church and heaven, although their
use is the opposite of the 1st one.
Historical references/examples:
“The Lamb” “The Chimney Sweeper (1st one)” – Children were often sold off to work as chimney sweeps
during this time period.
“The Tyger” –
“The Sick Rose” – Adultery was looked down upon, and the poem could refer to an adulterer.
“The Chimney Sweeper (2nd one)” – It mentions the King and how the church could control
everything in society.
Key terms:
“The Lamb” – lamb
“The Chimney Sweeper (1st one)” – white hair, Angel, white
“The Tyger” – fire, burning, immortal, fearful
“The Sick Rose” – invisible worm, crimson, destroy
“The Chimney Sweeper (2nd one)” – clothes of death, notes of woe, heaven of our misery
Important lines (what you feel is important to understanding the poem):
“The Lamb” – “Gave thee life & bid thee feed,” , “For he calls himself a Lamb:”, “We are
called by his name.”
“The Chimney Sweeper (1st one)” – “You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair.”,
“…coffins of black.”, “So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.”
“The Tyger” – “In what distant deeps or skies / Burnt the fire of thine eyes?” , “”Did he who
made the Lamb make thee?”
“The Sick Rose” – “…thou art sick.” , “Has found out thy bed” , “Does thy life destroy.”
“The Chimney Sweeper (2nd one)” – “And smiled among the winter’s snow; / They clothed me
in the clothes of death” , “They think they have done me no injury” , “Who make up a heaven of
our misery.”
Any particular style to the poem (i.e.: punctuation, meter, rhyme scheme, etc.--some poems will
have something, others will not):
“The Lamb” uses rhyming couplets (AA, BB, CC, etc.) and repetition with the beginning and
end of each stanza.
“The Chimney Sweeper (1st one)” uses rhyming couplets.
“The Tyger” uses rhyming couplets.
“The Sick Rose” does not contain a particular style.
“The Chimney Sweeper (2nd one)” uses rhyming couplets for the first stanza. The second and
third stanzas have a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD.