“The Lamb” and “The Tyger” By: William Blake

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Jessie Holmes and Calvin Thamkansom

Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life, and bid thee feed By the stream and 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?

Dost 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, and he is mild;

He became a little child. I a child, and thou a lamb. We are called by his name.

Little Lamb, God bless thee! –Little Lamb, God bless thee!

“The Lamb”William Blake

“The Lamb” Diction:The words of the poem are expressed in a way as to show reverence in the magnificence of Jesus. Words we don’t use anymore: Thee, Thy, Thou, Dost, Mead, O’er

Tone: It has an uplifting feeling, innocent, reverence

ex: “Softest clothing, woolly, bright;/ Gave thee such a tender voice, / Making all the vales rejoice”

Mood: Uplifting, Peaceful, Calm, and soothing.

Rhetorical Situation:He speaks to the lamb and asks about his creator, “who made thee”, when the creator is The Lamb.

Figurative Language:Repetition: “Little Lamb, God bless thee/Little Lamb, God bless thee!”

Imagery: “Softest clothing, Woolly,” Touch “Bright” Sight

Sound: Rhyme Pattern: aaaabbccaaaadeffedaaaa

What Kind of Poem:Meditation poem

• Uses a “Lamb” as a symbol of God and creation.

• Asks “Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? ” in the first half of the poem and then answers it with a response of God.

• Spiritual, creation, and peaceful theme.

• Relates the lamb’s “clothing of delight, softest clothing wooly bright” with God.

• Can imagine the lamb “by the stream” where William describes it as “such a tender voice.”

• Blake capitalizes the word “Lamb” because he refers the lamb as Christ and says, “For he calls himself a Lamb.”

“The Tyger”by

William BlakeTyger, 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 sieze 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 spearsAnd water'd 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?

“The Tyger”William Blake

Literal sense of the poem:God is looking at his creation, which we believe to be angels or Lucifer, like he is very disappointed in their choices. He reiterates that they are his creation and are meant for one reason, but they don’t choose to follow. Therefore, God sends them down, like a father sends away his betraying son.

Diction:Blake uses a lot of fragment sentences, showing his anger and hurt.

ex: “What dread hand? & what dread feet?/ What the hammer? what the chain”He also uses old English: thy, thou, thee, thine, sinews

Tone:Angry, Hurt, Distrustful,

Mood: Concern, Disappointment, Misguided

Rhetorical situation:He is talking to the Tyger about why he turned his back on God.

Figurative language:“Tyger, Tyger Burning bright” Repetition/ Alliteration“When the stars threw down their spears” PersonificationAnd water'd heaven with their tears:” Personification

Imagery:“Tyger, Tyger, burning bright,/ In the forests of the night” Sight“Thy heart began to beat” Hear“Burnt the fire of thine eyes” Touch

Sound: Rhyme Pattern: aabb/ bbcc/ddeeffgg/ hhiiaabb

The kind of poem is… Quatrain Poetry Term

• In the poem, the Tiger is used as a reference of a creation of God.• “Did he smile his work to

see”• Parallelism.

• “Tyger, Tyger burning bright,/ In the forests of the night:/ What immortal hand or eye…”

• Personification• “When the stars threw down

their spears/ And water'd heaven with their tears:”

• Blake wrote the poem as if he was an outside witness to a disappointed father looking down on his son.• “On what wings dare he

aspire!/ What the hand, dare sieze the fire?”

• Alliteration• “burning bright”

Works Cited Pagehttp://www.biographyonline.net/poets/william_blake.html

http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/biography.xq?b=biography&targ_div=d1

http://annabella-gualdoni.suite101.com/reflections-on-william-blakes-the-lamb-a199619

http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/the-tyger.htm