The Lamb

"The Lamb " is a poem by William Blake, published in "Songs of Innocence" in 1789. Like many of Blake's works, the poem is about religion, specifically about Christianity.

Background

It is said that the poem was intended to be set to music, which is why the words are so simpleFact|date=April 2008. "The Lamb" was made into a song by Vaughan Williams. It was also set to music by Sir John Tavener, who explained, "The Lamb" came to me fully grown and was written in an afternoon and dedicated to my nephew Simon for his 3rd birthday." American poet Allen Ginsberg set the poem to music, along with several other of Blake's poems. (See: http://writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Ginsberg-Blake.html)

"The Lamb" can be compared to a more grandiose Blake poem: "The Tyger" in "Songs of Experience". One interpretation is that "The Lamb" is a look at childish innocence, and that "The Tyger" refers to the DevilFact|date=April 2008.

The lamb in the poem may be compared to Jesus Christ, who is also known as "The Lamb of God" [ [http://php.ug.cs.usyd.edu.au/~jnot4610/bibref.php?book=%20John&verse=1:29&src=!| John 1:29] ]

Poetic structure

This poem has a simple rhyme scheme : AA BB CC DD AA AA EF DD FE AA

The layout is set up by two stanzas with the refrain: "Little Lamb who made thee?/Dost thou know who made thee?"

In the first stanza, the poet wonders who's the lamb's creator; the answer lies at the end of the poem. Here we find a physical description of the lamb, seen as a pure and gentle creature.

In the second stanza, the lamb is compared and the infant Jesus Fact|date=April 2008, as well as between the lamb and the poet's soulFact|date=April 2008. In the last two lines Blake identifies the creator: God Fact|date=April 2008.

References

External links