The Lamb Analysis

Archit Shukla
C. Srygley
AP Literature
12 January 2012

The Lamb by William Blake Analysis

Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb.
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.
Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Little Lamb, God bless thee!

Initial: “The Lamb,” a poem by William Blake found in Songs of Innocence, is broken into two stanza with the speaker of the poem directing his voice towards the lamb. The speaker in the first stanza states, “Little Lamb, who made thee.” This general topic resides throughout the initial stanza. The speaker describes the feeding, wool, and voice of the lamb, and restates the question: “Who made thee?” The second stanza, however, is where the speaker responds in which the creator of thee calls himself a lamb. Repetition in this stanza is also evident in that both the first and last line is repeated twice. Descriptions of “who made thee” are established; further, the speaker states that the creator is in fact meek and became a little child. I feel that this poem is full of religious influence, specifically that of Blake’s Christian faith. Secondly, the diction is rather archaic in that “thee,” “thou,” and “thy” are used multiple times.

Paraphrase:
Little Lamb who made you

Do you know who made you

Gave you life, and offered you food

By the stream or the mead.

Gave you delightful clothing

Softest clothing wooly bright;

Gave you a tender-sweet voice,

Making all the valleys rejoice:

Little Lamb who made you

Do you know who made you

Little Lamb I'll tell you,

Little Lamb I'll tell you:

He is called by your name,

For he calls himself a Lamb:

He is humble & he is calm,

He became a little child:

I a child & you a lamb,

We are called by his name.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

SWIFT:

S: In terms of syntax, Blake uses a style of two stanzas each with ten lines. In the second stanza, however, there is a repetition of lines in both the first two and last two lines. The rhyme scheme is flowing and easily noticeable. The sentence structure itself is simple and declares a direct message to the reader.
W: The diction or word choice is reflecting the light and calm nature of both the lamb and the “creator.” The diction is archaic in the sense of “thee” “thou” and other older words take the place of common “you” “me” and “they.”
I: Imagery is not key in this poem but evident. Blake supplies the reader with descriptive details of the lamb in the sense of soft wool and tender voice; however, a true sense of imagery is not vividly present.
F: In terms of simile, metaphor, or other figurative speech, there seems to be none present.
T: The tone of this poem seems to feel relaxed yet informative. It is as if Blake is informing the lamb of the truth in religion. The timid and serene nature of the lamb is reflected throughout the tone of this poem.T: The generic theme of this poem is that although externals may be different both the creator and the created share connection.

Final: Initially, I felt that Blake’s poem was heavily based on religious belief. I agree with its basis; however, I feel that symbolism is evident throughout the poem. For instance, I believe that the poem is read in the eyes of a Priest delivering a sermon to a lamb. The lamb is a symbol for man in the sense of independence and beauty but also in confusion. I feel that the lamb or man is confused of his origin and birth. This allows for a connection between man and God to be made.