Poetry Comparison: the Lamb and the Tyger
Rebeka Barney
May 3,2012
Mrs Nunely
English 102
MWF 11 am Lamb Vs Tyger! Grr.. “The Tyger” and “The Lamb” are poems written by William Blake. William was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Though he was considered mentally unstable or “mad” by some contemporaries of his time, he was later held in high regard for his expressiveness and creativity. In both of these short poems, Blake poses rhetorical questions to make the reader think and reflect. He uses figurative language to discuss main points and convey major themes. Blake also uses vivid imagery to paint pictures in the readers mind throughout both poems. Looking into all these parts of the poems made me realize that even though they have similar themes, the poems are still very different. In line six of “The Tyger,” Blake uses visual imagery to describe a powerful creature with fiery eyes and dreadful hands and feet. He portrays the tiger in a daunting manner. In contrast, Blake uses softer and lighter words in “The Lamb.” The lamb is depicted as gentle and soft, with a “tender voice,” (Blake7). The lamb is conveyed as innocence while the tiger is dominance and fear. The messages of the two poems are similar. They both talk about the beauty of God’s creations. In the poem, “The Lamb,” Blake asks rhetorical questions about who created the lamb. Later in the poem Blake answers those questions by saying, “God did.” God created the Lamb, and we are kind of like lamb because he created us too. In “The Tyger,” Blake starts out the same way. He asks questions about who created the tiger? Who created this horrible, monstrous beast? Did Satan create it, or did God create it? The difference in this poem is Blake never answers the question. He leaves it to the reader to make a decision about who created the tiger. This deviation from “The Lamb,” is extremely interesting, because by doing this, Blake is relating the poem to our lives. He is asking the same questions many
May 3,2012
Mrs Nunely
English 102
MWF 11 am Lamb Vs Tyger! Grr.. “The Tyger” and “The Lamb” are poems written by William Blake. William was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Though he was considered mentally unstable or “mad” by some contemporaries of his time, he was later held in high regard for his expressiveness and creativity. In both of these short poems, Blake poses rhetorical questions to make the reader think and reflect. He uses figurative language to discuss main points and convey major themes. Blake also uses vivid imagery to paint pictures in the readers mind throughout both poems. Looking into all these parts of the poems made me realize that even though they have similar themes, the poems are still very different. In line six of “The Tyger,” Blake uses visual imagery to describe a powerful creature with fiery eyes and dreadful hands and feet. He portrays the tiger in a daunting manner. In contrast, Blake uses softer and lighter words in “The Lamb.” The lamb is depicted as gentle and soft, with a “tender voice,” (Blake7). The lamb is conveyed as innocence while the tiger is dominance and fear. The messages of the two poems are similar. They both talk about the beauty of God’s creations. In the poem, “The Lamb,” Blake asks rhetorical questions about who created the lamb. Later in the poem Blake answers those questions by saying, “God did.” God created the Lamb, and we are kind of like lamb because he created us too. In “The Tyger,” Blake starts out the same way. He asks questions about who created the tiger? Who created this horrible, monstrous beast? Did Satan create it, or did God create it? The difference in this poem is Blake never answers the question. He leaves it to the reader to make a decision about who created the tiger. This deviation from “The Lamb,” is extremely interesting, because by doing this, Blake is relating the poem to our lives. He is asking the same questions many