William Blake - Book Report/Review Example

Each perspective allows us to appreciate the other. Through innocence and experience, we discover real value in life. Blake uses animals as objects of opposition to prove his point. In "The Lamb," the lamb becomes a creature that symbolizes purity and innocence. The tone of the poem is like that of a pastoral, with obvious religious overtones. The lamb is an innocent creature just as Jesus was and those that follow Jesus are innocent in his eyes. We read, "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" (Blake The Lamb 14-7).

The poem's conclusion is a blessing. While "The Lamb" is a gentle poem that focuses on innocent aspects, "The Tyger" is a poem that focuses more on dangerous aspects of the creature. In contrast, "The Lamb" provides answers to the questions it posits but "The Tyger" does not. The poet wants the issues he raises in this poem to remain elusive as the tiger does. Powerful imagery brings the tiget in opposition the the lamb. In addition, the poet employs stronger language that change the mood of the poem.

For example, we read: Blake also uses images associated with infants to represent the opposition that allows us to progress in life. "Infant Joy" is a poem in which we see the beauty of a newborn baby. The poet repeats the word joy to emphasize the emotion he is trying to convey. This is the innocence he is attempting to capture. However, in "Infant Sorrow," we are introduced to another view of a newborn which is defenseless against a "dangerous world" (Infant Sorrow 2). Both poems allow us to see the positive and negative sides of bringing a new life into the world.

Blake introduces innocence and experience as opposite forces in the world that are necessary for us to fully appreciate life. He had a distinct concept in mind when he wrote, that without contraries, there is no progression and he brought this though to life by showing us opposing images of animals that are contrary in nature. "The Lamb," "The Tyger," "Infant Joy," and "Infant Sorrow,' allow us to visualize this difference and appreciate the value of each opposition. We can see the positive and the negative in each image that the poet presents, allowing us to understand that we must have contraries, or things in opposition to one another, to progress and move into a state of admiration.

Works CitedBlake, William. "Infant Sorrow." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. M. H. Abrams,