Comparison of The Lamb and The Tiger Poetries of William Blake - Assignment Example

William Blake – The Lamb , The Tiger - Comparison The half –century from 1780 to 1830 is usually called the Romantic Age in English Literature. English Romanticism found its consummate expression in the poetry of the period . The famous poets of that time wrote a new kind of poetry which marked a revolutionary departure from the neo-classical tradition of the century of Johnson . The distinctive quality of this new poetry as against the neo-classical poetry lay in its new interest in the world of nature , its intense human sympathy or humanitarianism, its emphasis on the self or individual talent , its sense of wonder and mystery of god and its assumption of the poet as touched with prophetic fire etc. The new poetry however did not developed all of a sudden out of vacuum. Already in the eighteenth century there were poets whose poetry embodied latent or manifest tendencies of later romanticism. Many signs of shifting sensibility were already there in their poetry, although no clear obvious patterns had emerged. Prominent among these writers are poets like William Blake, Thomas Grey , Roburt Burns etc. William Blake is a brilliant poet among tem who addressed the contraries of human mind. As a British Romantic poet of the 18th century , William Blake addresses the contrasts of different s, a states of human mind in his works Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Born and brought up in London Blake exhibited his interest in creative expression by engraving copies of drawings of Greek antiquities” when he was a shall boy. This led him to engrave is mind as a child in is Songs of Innocenese, a collection of poems and engravings reflecting the childhood memory of divine visions and is view of the innocent mind of human being during the childhood days. The Lamp is one of the simple songs included in Blake’s first published work , Songs of Innocence . At first glance ‘The Lamp’ asks some innocent child like questions and gives their simple direct answers , but at a deeper level it underlines the essential unity of all creatures with nature and God . It is thus a characteristic poem of the mystic and visionary poet tat Blake is. It symbolizes innocence and the relation between young and divine .It is in the form of questions asked by a curious innocent child. He himself tells that God created the “Lamp”. The Lamp of the poem is any “Lamb’,’ it also represents Jesus , the lamb of God . The child speaker in his state of innocence –of wonder , simplicity , love and joy –ask a number of questions , in fact one question asked in multiple forms expressing the child’s irrepressible sense of wonder. “ Little lamb who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee?” The answer is implied in the question themselves , but the second verse answer these questions through confidently repeated assertions. The maker is none other than Jesus: the Lamb of God , and hence the answer: “ He is called by the name For he calls himself a lamb.” Thus the Lamb to whom the child- speaker puts the questions represents both Jesus and His creation . The child speaker, at the same time represents , the blessed state of innocence , the child –Christ. And so he realizes in wonder, “I a child and thou a lamp We are called by his name”, The questioning child, the lamb and the creator thus merge into harmonious totality in the second verse. This ultimate state of harmony is the governing principle of life in the universe . The poem , at its intellectual level, therefore, seeks to express Blake’s own mystical comprehension of the mystery of life ad dramatizes ‘ the merging and interfusion’ which is the ultimate condition of harmonious oneness.” The central idea , which imparts complexity to the simple poem seems to be that in this world of harmony, “ The work of the creator tends simplify towards being a duplication and reduplication of himself until finally , it is oneness which is blessedness”( John Halloway) . Thus the “Lamp” shows how innocence , which is an exclusive quality of of infancy, contribute to the inherent traits of hope and imagination. But Songs of Experience , particularly “ The Tyger “ reveals how experience flows from innocence and how it aids human development as well. The contrast between innocence and experience work together to create a well –balanced individual. In Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence William Blake demonstrates how conflicting states of existence play equal vital parts in the evolution of humanity. Many critics ignore Songs of Innocence especially , especially “ The Lamp” for its simplicity in structure ad vocabulary . According to Aubrey ( te depth of The lamp”)….demands a visionary leap …to feel the uncommon..( for the adult) reality that the child …. Lives so naturally., The naiveté of childhood does not spring from ‘ dependency or ignorance but from spiritual vision” . The Lamb depicts this when it uses lamb as a metaphor for Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The child’s realization that someone who created the Lamb, created himself , thus s sense of unity establishes there , between the human self and the natural world, and the divine kingdom. ( Aubrey) . But Ward says about the poem “ without the manifest spontaneity of …mystical insight , “ the poem’s simple theme , diction and meter thrust into unthinkable depth of feebleness. While the earlier poems were composed in a delightful mood of enchantment , the later ones reflect a state of mind disillusioned by the harshness of nature and experience . In fact Blake composed at least one Song of Experience for each song of innocence , to reveal the difference of two moods. . The Tiger can be read as a companion piece to The lamp and the two poems together reveal the difference in the poet’s attitude . The poem asks a series of questions which are never unlike ‘ The lamp” answered but the answers seem to be implicit in the very imagery of the poem. The poet here expresses the sense of bafflement , awe and mystery over the creation of the tiger, its fearful symmetry “ glittering like a flame in the darkness of the forest. The amazement over the dreadful tiger leads the poet spontaneously to an outpouring of the sense of wonder over the divine terror of the creator himself. “ On that wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire?” Stupefied by the uniqueness of the creation and the divine terror of the creator, the poet for a moment reflect on the possibility of the creator smiling at is creation after having completed his works in the smithy. For the creator who smiled in a similar way when the rebelling angels put down their arms in heaven and shed tears , this too was a moment that elicited nothing more tan an amused smile. But the poet is struck by the mysterious union of opposites that creation embodies: ‘Did he who made the Lamb made thee ? The central paradox of creation is that the same benign power God-who created a meek and loveable animal like the lamb has made a dreadful animal like a Tiger, too. The lamb represents Jesus, God’s Love ; the Tiger represents his righteous anger. Blake seems to ask the question “ How can one creator make both creatures.? The state of Innocence that informs “ The lamp” gives way to a state of experience in The Tiger”. This has promoted some critics to think that the main concern of The Tiger is the immense problem of evil” in the universe. Lamb represents forgiveness and the Tiger represents punishments. It seems that the poet attempts to reconcile the two irreconcilables in the poem . The poem at the same time emphasizes the duality of both the created and the creator. Te Tiger with its fearful symmetry “ indicated both the beauty and terror of the created being ; and God of love and God of terror and wrath. This duality or contrariness ultimately leads to the paradox of creation and in the poem to the tension of the opposites intrinsic to its symbolism. The collection of Songs of innocence and Songs of Experience, William Blake analyses the relationship between conflicting states of human soul to show how each relies upon the other to benefit the progression of humanity. “The Lamb recreates the innocence in the infancy while “The Tyger” rectifies the simplemindedness. According to Sagar , Blake confronts and acknowledges the contrary to see if he possesses the ability to come to terms with experience. Furr examines it necessary to attain ‘redemption’ The poet was stressing the need of having a balanced attitude towards the two extreme sides of life . Works Cited Aubrey, Brain “ Critical essay on “ TheLamp” Poetry for students (2001) Blake , William , “ The Lamb , mason 61-“ The Tyger” Mason Halloway, John, Blake Te Lyric Poetry, London Furr , Dereck . An Overwiew of “ The Tyger “ Poetry for Students(1997) Sagar, Keith. Innocence . 2002. Aug 2005 Read More