The Lamp by William Blake

William Blake
The Lamp

Little Lamb who made thee
Dost 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 wooly 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 & 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.

Comment:



First of all, the poem, "The Lamb," was published with William Blake's collection Songs of Innocence. This poem is contrasted with his another poem, "The tyger," which was collected in Songs of Experience.

The poem has two stanzas which seem to be arranged in a question and answer format. Similar to "The Tyger," "The lamb" is also asking about the creation of God. The lamb is a common metaphor for Jesus Christ because he is also called the "The Lamb of God" in John 1:29. Moreover, the image of child is also related to Jesus in the Gospel.

This poem Blake seems to have more positive aspects of conventional Christian belief. However, it avoids to depict or mention the suffering and evil in the world.The language usage of this poem and the rhyme of this poem are very childish, which match the characteristic of innocence.

Even though "The Lamb" describes more positive images of conventional Christian, it reinforces the question asked in "The Tyger" when people analysis "The Lamb" and "The Tyger" together. Child and innocence could embody pure and origin of creation, but child and innocence could also mean immature and lack of knowledge. Blake did not give people an answer, but he left a space for people to think from the perspectives of innocence and experience to observe their faith and belief.