The Lamb of and the Tiger
I have so many “favorite poets” that I may lose credibility by adding another; nonetheless William Blake (1757-1827) is one of my favorite poets. In his lifetime Blake did not achieve great fame. His genius had to wait to be discovered by later generations. Now he is considered one the preeminent Romantic Poets. He was a poet, a painter, and an engraver. In this podcast, I shall focus on two poems taken from Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience: The Lamb, from Songs of Innocence, and the Tiger from Songs of Experience.
I do not pretend to tell you how to interpret Blake or any other poet. The beauty of great poetry is its agelessness and its ambiguity. I am attracted to Blake’s simplicity of language and depth of thought. That is a wonderful combination. Mark Twain has that same effect on me. The beauty of language itself attracts me to poetry, but I often approach poetry as a mystery to be solved. I am also aware that poets can be tricky. I am conscious of Alexander’s Pope’s words. I paraphrase. ‘Good satire is when you cut off someone’s head and they don’t know it until they move.’
Blake contrasts his poems in Songs of Innocence with his poems in Songs of Experience. They are opposites. One must read both for full exposure.
A theme that fascinates me is the principle of opposition. Without opposing forces life could not exist even on the atomic level. Atoms have protons and neutrons and electrons. Without that energy, life would cease to exist. On a larger level we have cosmic opposites: good and evil, God and Satan, light and dark, order and disorder, one the opposite of the other.
No one likes misery; however, without misery, how can you know joy? William Blake addresses the principle of opposition in his contrasting poems The Lamb and the Tiger. In fact, he addresses the very nature of God.
Let’s begin with the poem, The Lamb.
Little lamb, who made thee?
Does 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?
Does thou know who made thee?
Little lamb, I’ll tell thee;
Little lamb, I’ll tell thee:
He is callèd 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 callèd by His name.
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Little lamb, God bless thee!
That seems like an innocent enough poem, doesn’t it? It could be read in any Christian Sunday School class. Just examine some of the titles of our Savior, Jesus Christ, found in the Poem:
· He is meek
· He is mild
· He became a little child
The scriptures offer similar titles of Christ
· Good Shepherd
· Lamb of God
· Meek and Lowly
· The door of the sheep
· The great shepherd of the sheep
· The shepherd and bishop of souls
· The Lamb
