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220359
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ASSIGNMENT 01
ROMANTIC LITERATURE
SEMESTER 03
Songs of Innocence and Experience are a form of lyrical poetry, written and
illustrated by William Blake. In 1794 Blake published songs of innocence and
experience: Showing the two contrary sides of the human soul.
The poem reflects Blake’s opinions and views that experiences bring the
individual into conflict with rules, moralism, and repression.
Songs of Innocence is a set of 19 poems, and songs of experience is a collection
of 28 poems. In the songs of innocence, the speaker represents the innocence
of being. He asks questions only for the joy of explaining of simple things, in
simplest of terms. The song of innocence discusses the mind of a child which is
free of the mental baggage of an adult, which sees things in its simplest and
purest form. Where songs of innocence deals with the joyous engagements
with the world, songs of experience deal with the bitter reality and detachment
from the world.
The Tyger has been recognized as Blake’s finest work. The lamb and the Tyger
are both representative poems, they celebrate two contrary states of human
soul - innocence and experience.
The lamb celebrates the divinity and innocence not merely of the child but also
of the least harmless creatures on earth, the lamb.
The Tyger shows how experience destroys the state of childlike innocence and
puts destructive forces in its place.
Both the “Lamb” and the “Tyger” are created by God. The Lamb represents the
milder and gentler aspects of human nature and the Tyger represents its
harsher and fiercer aspects
THE LAMB (SONGS OF INNOCENCE)
In the lamb we see, the speaker Is shown as a child
who in the first stanza is innocently asking the lamb
“who made thee?”
The speaker describes how the lamb runs around the
meadows and its sound makes the whole place
around joyful.
In the second stanza we see, the speaker offering to
reply to his above question himself, and offers to tell
the lamb, who made him. The speaker then tells that
the creator’s name is Lamb itself. He tells the lamb
that the creator was once a child, he describes that
the creator is gentle and kind. The speaker is a child
too and both the lamb and child share the same
name.
The lamb is depicted as the innocent period of life. A
soul which is untouched by the cruelties of the world.
It is a religious poem that marvels at the creation of
God. In the humble gentle, figure of the lamb, the
speaker sees the beautiful of God’s work. The child
has an innocent knowledge and perception of the
unity between the different levels of creation. Jesus is
referred to as “the lamb of God, who takes away the
sins of the world”. The child or speaker uses this meek
and mild aspect of Christ to explain the unity between
Christ and his creation.
THE TYGER (SONGS OF EXPERIENCE)
Just like the Lamb, The Tyger expresses awe at God’s
creation. But unlike The Lamb, The Tyger embodies
fear, danger and terror. In the poem we can see a
series of questions raised by the speaker. The
speaker wonders whether the Tyger was created by
the same God, which created the gentle and joyful
creatures. And if the Tyger Is the creation of God,
then why did God choose to create such a fearsome
being. Through the example of tiger, the poem
examines the existence of evil in the world.
The tiger is presented as an impressive figure and
seems to be part of God’s design for the world. It
“burns brightly” and has a “symmetry,” a quality
which Blake often associates with beauty and
purposeful intent on God’s part. But that “symmetry”
is also “fearful.”
The tiger’s association with fire (“burning brightly,”
for example) underscores this point—it’s visually
impressive but dangerous to get close to. The speaker
struggles to understand how a God that made the small,
vulnerable lamb could also choose to make a being that
would surely eat the lamb given half a chance. In other
words, the speaker struggles to understand why God
would create something that seems to have destruction
as its very purpose.
The poem leaves this line of questioning
unanswered, though the questions are themselves
made very clear and stark.