Sydney Johns

Ms. Dafemekpor
AP Literature and Composition
11 November 2013
Period 6
Artwork can inspire peoples emotions, actions, and attitudes. Sometimes artists have
such a multi-faceted statement to convey, more than one piece of artwork is required. William
Blake created his artwork in this way; he showed themes with both paintings and poetry
specially sculpted to be viewed together. In this instance, Blake wrote the two poems The
Lamb and The Tyger to highlight the good and evil of nature ultimately questioning the origin
of humanity. In particular, Blake used diction, allusion, details, rhyme, tone, mood, and rhetorical
question to create two tightly woven complementary works.
Every author has a specific structure they prefer to use. Blake used similar structure in
both in the The Lamb and The Tyger. Most apparently, each poem has rhymes that are
paired either in couplets of quarters, which greatly influence the comparative rhythm of the
poems. The couplet rhyme structure in the The Lamb and specific details serve to give the
poem a childlike, sing-song tone. The lamb is described wearing clothing of delight/ softest
clothing wolly bright (line 5-6). The image of a gentle blessing creator is brought into readers
minds. This contributes to the trustworthy content mood of readers. The purpose of The Lamb
is to show the view of God from a premature perspective. This contrasts with the tone of the
The Tyger. Blake paints images of a tiger with burning bright (line 1) eyes and fearful
symmetry (line 4). The words fearful symmetry is an example of juxtaposition. Symmetry is
equated with attractive beauty whereas the word fearful is associated with recoiling and pain.
These images contribute to the unpleasant mood of readers. Blake uses imagery to show how
there is both beauty and revolting aspects of nature. Repetition structurally ties both of the

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works together. In both instances a stanza is highlighted in the beginning of the poem and
repeated in the last line to reiterate and contrast the good and evil of nature.
References act as evidence for ideas being presented. Similarly, Blake utilizes allusions
to highlight statements in society. In The Lamb while questioning his creator his question is
answered, He is called by thy name/ For he calls himself a Lamb: (line 13-14) The lamb
alludes to Jesus. Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God because he is obedient to the
masters word. This allusion is further cemented at the end of the poem when the child praises
the lamb, Little lamb God bless thee (line 20). In The Tyger on the other hand, alludes to a
higher being as well but does not specially use Gods name. The tiger is questioning his being
as well but all of his questions are left unanswered. He asks himself what shoulder, and what
art/ Could twist the sinews of thy heart? (line 10-11). The strong tiger is respectful and shows
reverence to the power of his creator. The allusion to a higher being by the tiger serves to
highlight the awe of nature. The beauty is highlighted through imagery of the bright brunt
fire of the eyes. The author wants to show amazement and ultimately the beauty of nature and
creation.
Contrasts serve to bring light to the all aspects of situation or idea. Blake uses similar
point-of-view, and connotation to create contrast. In both works, the point-of-view is from an
animal being personified. Animals are thought to be closer to nature. In both the The Lamb
and The Tyger the main characters are asking the same rhetorical question. The lion and the
lamb are symbolic of the ultimate conflict in nature. The two animals that Blake chose solidify
that the poems are two pieces of the same theme. The connotation in attitude to the higher
being/God serves as a contrast. In the The Lamb the higher being is generous, gives life,
feed, and even a stream whereas, the tiger questions if the creator even smiled when he
looked at him. The Tyger presents an unsure connotation toward the creator. The creator could
only see the tiger after the stars threw down their spears/ And waterd heaven with their tears
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(line 16-17). This alludes to the idea of the Big Bang Theory, which states that a comet hit the
Earth and triggered the evolution of organisms. The author presents this idea in the tiger
passage instead of the lamb passage because he wants to show that only everything that is
good and innocent comes from God.
Poetry is a way for artists to turn simple words into art. In this instance, William Blake
used two poems The Tyger and The Lamb to change vicious and innocent animals into
philosophical creatures who could pinpoint the meaning of existence. His use of allusion,
connotation, structure and other literary devices all served as colors and paintbrushes for
Blake to how the delightful but hideous sides of nature.

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