The Lamb by William Blake

Little Lamb who made thee

Dost thou know who made thee

Gave thee life & bid thee feed.

By the stream & o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing wooly 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 & he is mild,

He became a little child:

I a child & thou a lamb,

We are called by his name.

Little Lamb God bless thee.

INTRODUCTION –

The Lamb is a famous poem by the English poet, William Blake published in his collection Songs of Innocence in 1789. It is a 20 lines poem divided into two stanzas of ten lines each. Also, the rhyming scheme for each stanza is AABBCCDDEE. Hence the poem is written in rhyming couplets. Also, the poem is a didactic poem, i.e. it gives a moral lesson. The poem is a kind of hymn where the poet praises God for his unique creation and complains that humankind cannot fully appreciate it.

POET -

William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English Romantic poet, painter, and printmaker. He is most famous for his collection Songs of Innocence and Experience. His other works include Marriage of Heaven and Hell, The Four Zoas, Jerusalem, Holy Thursday, etc.

SUMMARY –

LINES 1 TO 10 –

The speaker of the poem is a child who is addressing a lamb. He asks the lamb whether he knows who his creator is. Who gave him life and made him eat food near the stream and the green meadows? Who gave him the coat of wool which covers his whole body like some joy? Also, who gave him such a pure and gentle voice which makes the entire valley rejoice? Who created you and gave you all this, little lamb?

LINES 11 TO 20 –

The speaker is now excited and tells the lamb that he can answer all the questions asked above? The creator of the lamb has the same name and so calls himself a lamb too. Here the description is of Jesus Christ. The creator is gentle and loving, and once he also was a little child. The speaker is also a small child; hence both he and the child are related to the creator, i.e. God. In the end, the speaker asks God to bless the lamb twice.

THEMES –

God’s creation – The lamb and the child who is the speaker both are the creations of God. They show how God makes pure and delicate beings.

Nature – The poem also provides us with the beauty of nature that God has provided to the lamb to have a beautiful and peaceful life.

Innocence – Lamb and child both are symbols of innocence. They describe the purity of the world and define the virtue of God’s creation.

END –

Hence, we can conclude the poem as a religious poem where the poet describes God’s grace and superior creation in the form of lamb that symbolizes purity and innocence. The speaker of the poem admires nature and so recognizes God’s creation as His masterpiece.

Ticker

The Lamb by William Blake