William BlakeThe Lamb(1757-1827)

William Blake

o Was born on November 28, 1757

o Was an English poet, painter and printmaker

o Blake was a strange, imaginative child

o Due to his imagination, he was more at home and imagine about brooks, fairies and flowers.o He claimed to see visions of Gods and angels

o He was born at 28 Broad Street (now Broadwick St.) in Soho, London

o His Father was James Blake and his mother was Catherine Wright Armitage Blakeo Died on August 12, 1827

o He also claimed to see great dead such as:

Virgil Dante Moses Homer

The LambBy William Blake

Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee?Gave thee life and bade thee feedBy the stream and o’er the mead:Gave thee clothing of delight,

* Bade (bid)- to offer

* Mead – an alcoholic drink of fermented honey

* Thou/Thee – ‘You’

Blake question ‘us’ of who made us and if we know who he was. The one who gave us life, food and clothing of great pleasure as of the flow of our life.

* Little Lamb – Us

Softest clothing, wooly, bright;Gave thee such a tender voice,Making all the vales rejoice? Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee?

* Dost – ‘do’

* Thee – ‘you’

He gave you the best clothing he can give: the softest, the wooly and the bright. He also gave you the voice so you may speak your happiness. He then repeat the question he asked in the first line. He is now asking if we have then realized who is our maker after what he have mentioned about him.

* Vales - valley

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 – ‘God’

* Thy – ‘his’

* Lamb – ‘a follower’

Therefore, Blake will just tell us about him, about our maker. He calls himself by his name for he himself is a FOLLOWER just like us ordinary people.

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!

* Meek – humbly submissive; too mild* His name – God’s name

According to Blake, He is mild and meek. Like us, He also been a child and a follower. And that God call us by his name to follow Him. Blake wishes that may God bless us all.