Topic > Comparison of Two Contrasting Poems by William Blake

The Experience of InnocenceIn William Blake's "Songs of Innocence", he refers to the Lamb through numerous ways and even writes a specific song, called "The Lamb". In “The Lamb,” the speaking child reveals a soft, hymn-like tone through simplistic diction and rhyme scheme. The speaker also shows closeness to God through his innocence, as seen by a knowledgeable reader; the child speaks to the Lamb and does not realize that Christ was the sacrificial lamb. Furthermore, "The Lamb" shows how the innocent speaker takes the world for what it is and does not question it, unlike Blake's later "Songs of Experience". Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay “The Tyger” contrasts with its companion poem, “The Lamb,” in several ways. First, although the titles of the two poems are very similar, each animal represents something completely different. The Tiger represents a powerful and potentially dangerous animal, while the Lamb is a symbol of weak and vulnerable innocence. Furthermore, the Lamb is also the symbol of Christ and divinity and is found in both poems. In “The Tyger,” the speaker asks “Did he who created the Lamb create you?” wondering if the creator, God, created both good and evil in the world. “The Tyger” also differs from “The Lamb” in terms of the speaker. In “The Tyger,” Blake has only one speaker, who does not accept the world for what it is, but rather questions and reflects on the entire poem. Words like “fire,” “night,” “furnace,” and “deadly terrors” describe a sense of darkness and mystery found through the experience of the world. Mysteries found show a sense of experience because it is an abstract thought that requires a deeper sense of the world and such that mysteries are created to describe something that cannot be grasped rationally. Blake also asks in line 5, “In what depths or distant skies / Did the fire of thy eyes burn?” In this stanza, Blake uses the depths and distant skies as an abstract place where the speaker asks an ambiguous question as to whether the tiger is from Hell or Heaven and whether it is good or evil. In “The Tyger” the speaker questions evil and mystery, unlike “The Lamb,” where the speaker is innocent and only talks about the good things in the world because he has not experienced corruption. Comparing the number of stanzas in the two poems also shows the opposite. In “The Lamb” there are only two stanzas that show the simplicity of innocence, while as in “The Tyger” there are six stanzas that show the complexity of experience. Additionally, the rhyme schemes of the six stanzas provide a chant-like feel to the poem, allowing for a darker tone, while "The Lamb" has a rhyme scheme that would sing more like a hymn, giving a soothing tone to the poem. The differences between the two poems show the opposites between innocence and experience. Through “The Lamb,” Blake demonstrates the innocence of childhood and how children are closer to divinity because of their unawareness of the world. While in contrast, Blake demonstrates through “The Tyger,” as people have grown and become more knowledgeable, their worldview has become tainted and, in a sense, blinded by the mysteries of the world..