GUIDED ANALYSIS OF THE POEMS “THE LAMB”AND “THE TYGER”

by W.BLAKE

* Comprehension

The Lamb The Tyger

Speaking voice The poet The poet
The addressee The lamb The tiger
The speaker wonders about Who created the lamb Who created the tiger (II, 3-4)
and whether he had created the
lamb too (I, 20)
“He” The Creator The Creator
“We” The poet and the lamb

* Analysis structure

The Lamb The Tyger

Stanza pattern Two ten-line stanzas Six quatrains
Rhyme scheme AABBCCDDEE AABBCCDDEE deviations at
ll.3-4 and 23-24
Repetition of words/lines - “Little lamb who made - Stanza 1 and stanza 6 with
and thee?” a slight difference
- “Dost thou know …..? (could /dare)
- “Little lamb I’ll tell thee” - “Did he know…?”
- “Little lamb God bless..” (ll.19,20)
- “child”, “lamb”, “name”,
“clothing”
Symmetrical - “He is meek and he is - “what shoulder and what
constructions mild” art” (l.9)
- “I a child and thou a - “what dread hand and
lamb” what dread feet” (l.12)
- “What the hammer? What
the chain?”( l. 13)
Alliteration “Little lamb”( l.1,9,11,12,19,20), “burning bright” (l.1), “frame…
“meek…mild (l.15) , fearful” (l.4),”distant deeps” (l.5),
“voice ….vales” (ll. 7-8) “what wings”(l.7), “what…was”
(l.14)
Lexis Simple, referred to nature More complex, referred to
craftsmanship and the body
Rhythm Slow, it suits the meditative Fast and hammering
mood of the poet
Questions Little lamb who made thee? What immortal hand or eye,
Dost thou know who made Could frame thy fearful
thee(ll.1-2, 9-10) symmetry (ll. 3-4 and
ll.6,7,10,12,13,14,15,16,19,20,23-
24)
Answers “I’ll tell thee”: the second stanza No answer
provides the answer
* Qualities of the Creator
The Lamb
The creator is characterized by generosity:
“Gave thee” repeated three times (ll. 3,5,7).
He is “meek” and “mild”, he became a “little
child” and called himself “lamb”. He is good
natured and gentle.
* Qualities of the characters
The Lamb
- clothing of delight: joy and softness
- tender voice: sweetness and mildness
- the lamb is associated with the child and
with Christ: innocence
* Poet’s attitude to:
The Lamb
The poet is confident because he says he shares
the innocence of the child/lamb and the divine
creative power of Christ
Task :
Now write a commentary on the poems pointing out the similarities and differences listed above.
You can follow your textbook hints on page 150.
The Tyger
The Creator is represented as an immortal (l.3),
powerful creature, terrifying(“dread”) and
fearless.
He is described through the parts of the
body(hand, eye, shoulder, feet, smile, dread
grasp) and he compared to a blacksmith (“could
frame”, dare seize the fire”, “hammer”, “chain”,
“furnace”,” anvil”)
The Tyger
- burning bright: fire and energy
- fearful symmetry :beauty and fright
- the fire of thine eyes :energy, power,
vitality
- the sinews of thine hearth
- thy brain
- deadly terror: mystery generating fear
The Tyger
The poet cannot understand : he wonders how
the same hand which created the innocent, sweet
lamb could create the “fearful symmetry” of the
tiger
LOOK FOR INFORMATION ABOUT W.BLAKE’S LIFE AND MAIN WORKS AND FILL IN
THE FOLLOWING GRID

BIOGRAPHY

MAIN WORKS

BLAKE’S THEMES

BLAKE AND
ROMANTICISM