"The Tyger" and "The Lamb"
The Links between Blake's "The Tyger" and "The Lamb"
As more of William Blake's work is read, links begin to appear. The poems ?The Lamb? and the ?The Tyger? are such a case, and a link of a common theme of creation can be found.
?The Lamb? itself glorifies the goodness of the creator of the Lamb, and finds within the creator a source of gentleness, selflessness, and love. The idea of a kind creator is expressed by the alignment of the creator with the symbol for the most gentle creation ? the lamb. This theme is achieved through:
nursery-rhyme repetition and a chorus with a predictable rhyme.
rhetorical questioning followed by an immediate and simple answer.
word choices about the creator that calm and soothe - verbs of giving such as ?made? and ?gave?.
The setting ? a green vale, where words such as: ?tender,? ?meek,? and ?woolly? emphasize the Lamb?s gentle nature.
Another means by which the poet reassures the reader of the gentle and benevolent nature of the creator is through the use of repetition and parallelism, which allows for a very predictable and simple presentation which is nothing less than intentionally child-like.
However, just as innocence is a simpler state than experience, ?The Lamb? is simpler in design and concept than its counterpoem ?The Tyger?, which uses layers of rhetorical questioning and symbols to lead the reader to their own conclusion.
However, this rhetorical technique of guided questions leads readers to greater doubts regarding the goodnessness of the creator. Looking at the method of the questioning leads to an amazing thing. The word ?what? is used over a dozen times in this short poem. The text questions the creator, yet it does not ask ?who??, instead it asks ?what?? This may be reflective of how inhumane the creation of the tiger first seems.
The refrain of ?Tyger, Tyger burning bright? is emphasized by alliteration because it is important to note that the horror and evil is also one that ?burns bright.? The poem is about the Tyger?s double power ? horrible, yet in a way that inspires mortal awe. Stylistically, the poem is constructed of pairs of rhyming couplets. A strong and appropriate rhythm is created through the use of stressed and unstressed syllables. The pattern results in a primitive ?drum beat? that is apt for a tiger in a forest.
The creation verbs ?twist,? ?dare,? ?burnt,? and ?seize? foreground the danger and daring of the creation act, while the place of creation is described as a distant, fiery, furnace. And the ?hammer,? ?anvil,? and ?furnace? are images of an industrial revolution which Blake would have seen approaching in his lifetime. These all position the reader to think that the creator of the Tyger is different to the creator of the Lamb in the previous poem.
The last two lines of the fifth stanza help to resolve the discord between the creator and the speaker. The god smiles, and the man cowers. But while the man is afraid, he has a sense of understanding for God's smile. It could be a wicked and sadistic smile, but it could also be the smile of an artist who has made the best of conceivable worlds, a world that contains both the tiger and the lamb.
Blake etched both sides of the plates he used for printing poems. Exact measurements indicate that the question ?did he who made the Lamb make thee?? can refer to the poem of that name only millimeters away on the flip side. This is just one indication that we are meant to compare ?The Tyger? and ?The Lamb?.
Both ?The Tyger? and ?The Lamb? are about creation, and both have an ending rhyme scheme that is much the same. They employ end rhymes with ?ee? sounds or ?ight? sounds; an obviously intentional parallel structure which helps us link the two, before we link their themes.
The 2 contrary states of the human soul expressed in the anthology?s title (Innocence and Experience) are nicely personified in the ideas of these two animals ? the Lamb and the Tyger. As a Biblical allusion, the idea goes well beyond the simple idea of the animals. The reader might well remember the ?peaceable kingdom? and wonder if the lion can lie with the lamb?
When juxtaposed with the ?The Lamb,? ?The Tyger? counters the singular presentation of a good creator by accepting both the lamb and the tiger. It embraces these two attitudes at once, thus enlarging the idea of the creator. This creator has both the capacity for tenderness and dread.
Therefore, in comparison, ?The Lamb? becomes even more silly in concept as well as design. It becomes quaint, rather than something that we can believe. The counterpoem has us enlightened to the duality and now we are no longer content with the singular ideal, even if it is a comforting one.
These two poems, when read, form an instant link in the reader?s mind. Apart from the reference in ?The Tyger? to the Lamb, the common theme of creation and a creator run true, and lead us to our conclusions about the goodnessness of the creator mentioned.
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