Literature
Summary and analysis of The Lamb by Blake
Introduction
“The Lamb” by William Blake originally published in Songs of Innocence in the year 1789. The Lamb is among the 19 poems in the Songs of Innocence, and is one of the most widely read poems in English language. Although the poem is considered as a child’s song due to the simple rhyme and rhythm scheme, the poem becomes more complex in suggestion and allusion as it progresses. In the poem, “the lamb” shows innocence and purity (Cunningham, Reich, and Fichner-Rathus 589).
Blake starts his poem with a pastoral verse in which a question is asked by a narrator in a childlike tone, diction, and rhythm – though the lamb is unable to reply. The narrator asks the lamb about its origins, and about its creation. However, the question in the first verse is utilized as a rhetorical device that has been used to cause the reader to think. The question about the Creator of the lamb is not about the biological parents, but the narrator of the poem is asking about the creation in the Divine sense. After asking the question, the narrator move to the blessings such as sustenance of life including food and clothes. The narrator also talks about the beautiful voice given by the Divine.
Then there is an answer to the question showing that the lamb was created by the one who is known as “a Lamb,” and one who is similar to the child as well as the lamb in gentleness. It is through the second verse that Blake helped in thinking about something significant and large. In this part of the poem, he symbolized the lamb with Jesus Christ, both as a child as well as a physical incarnation of the deity (Cunningham, Reich, and Fichner-Rathus 589), who is also referred to as the “Lamb of God” in the Bible (Sorrentini xvi). The second part of the poem shows the “meek” and “mild” nature of the lamb, and Jesus also enjoined his followers to be mild and meek (Cunningham, Reich, and Fichner-Rathus 589), to “turn the other cheek” rather than to resist someone with an evil personality (Green 825). The poem ends with the narrator’s blessing on the lamb.
Summary and Analysis of Third and Fourth Lines
In the third and fourth lines, the narrator of the poem shows that the Creator helps in living a life (Blake 13). The poem implies that the Creator gives life and means of sustenance such as food, which is available not only in the water but also in the land. These lines show that the lamb is blessed with a life, in which it can drink water from the streams and take food from the meadows, and these things are provided to the lamb without any problem, i.e. nature is very friendly in facilitating others to live a good and happy life. It is actually the nature of Divine Law that the life is supported by different means in different parts of the world.
In the poem, the third and fourth line shows that the life of lamb is a kind of divine creation.
Summary and Analysis of Fifth and Sixth Lines
In the next two lines, Blake suggests another important provision of Divine Law, i.e. clothing, and he presented this blessing of nature while considering the lamb (Blake 13). Blake notes that the clothes of the lamb are not ordinary but they are actually the clothes of “delight”. This is actually a first instance of symbolizing the meanings in the poem, i.e. the lamb is a kind of symbol, which is an emblem of naturalness and purity, and shows an original being.
With the help of poem, Blake is symbolizing the swaddling clothes of the Jesus, when he was a child, and his hairs that were symbolized by the “lamb’s wool.” With the word “bright”, Blake has symbolized the brightness of Christ that comes from within, and also shows the ability of Christ to reflect light. This is also true for white lambs as the whitest of them have an ability to reflect most of the light coming from external sources.
Summary and Analysis of Seventh and Eighth Lines
In the seventh and eight lines, Blake discussed another blessing of the nature, i.e. voice (Blake 13). In these lines, the voice is apparently related to the voice of the lamb that is the bleating of the lambs, which is very “tender” and soft in nature, but it is also related to the beautiful voice of the child, especially Jesus Christ, when he was a child. The words as well as the speech of the Christ are also considered as “tender” due to the presence of love and softness. The voice of Christ was able to “rejoice” the life.
In these lines, “vales” apparently represent valleys, but the narrator of the poem is asking the reader to reflect on the landscapes and other surroundings, and how the creature is influenced by them and the beautiful voice echoing in them.
Summary and Analysis of Ninth and Tenth Lines
In the ninth and tenth lines, Blake made a repetition of the first two lines (Blake 13). This repetition is probably helpful in developing a new perspective on the creation. With this repetition, one can find the huge and grand nature of creativity. Particularly, Blake is trying to help the reader to think deeply about the biological as well as symbolizing nature of the lamb. Moreover, he is trying to help the reader to consider the relationship of the biological and figurative lamb, and their relationship to the Divine.
Summary and Analysis of Eleventh and Twelfth Lines
In the next two lines of the poem, Blake introduced the narrator of the poem by mentioning the letter “I” (Blake 13). This shows that narrator could be Blake or he could be the piper as mentioned in the “Introduction” to Songs of Innocence. The context of the poem shows that the identity of the person in these two lines is not as important as the idea that the person seems to know the nature of creation, and is enthusiastic to share his knowledge about the Divine Law with not only the lamb but also with the world.
These two lines are repetitive, thereby enforcing the concept of the nature of the lamb and its creation.
Summary and Analysis of Thirteenth and Fourteenth Lines
In the thirteenth and fourteenth lines, the narrator of the poem illustrated the lamb again in a deep and more obvious manner (Blake 13). These lines show that the narrator is not only talking about the biological lamb, but also illustrates Jesus Christ in the symbol of lamb. As Blake is talking about the nature of creation, one can assume that Blake is thinking not only about worldly creation but also the spiritual being. In these lines, Blake uses the word “call” two times, which is probably reflecting the divine nature of creativity.
Summary and Analysis of Fifteenth and Sixteenth Lines
In the fifteenth and sixteenth lines, the narrator of the poem has presented the message of Jesus Christ that “the meek shall inherit the world”. Moreover, the lines show that the best way of living in the world is to live gently and lovably. The narrator of the poem also relates the Divine behavior to the behavior of the little lamb. Moving on in this connection, the narrator further connotes that the Creator and the “little child” are actually the same thing. These lines are also showing the Blake’s opinion about creativity that is a kind of child-like activity. On a further note, the coming of Divine into the world as a child is trying to give an understanding of our own nature.
Summary and Analysis of Seventeenth and Eighteenth Lines
In the seventeenth and eighteenth lines, Blake has developed a mystical relationship between “I” and “thou”, and shows their relation to the Divine. Blake portrays a sympathetic and realistic image of a lamb. The relationship between “I” and “thou” is not only showing a Divine connection but also showing a connection between the lower unconsciousness and higher consciousness. These lines are also showing that not only human child has a relationship to the Divine but animal child is also equally related to the Divine in the name as well as quality.
Summary and Analysis of Nineteenth and Twentieth Lines
In the last two lines, Blake has made repetition of a line, i.e. “Little Lamb, God bless thee.” With these lines, Blake is showing that the narrator’s illustration has been completed, and after the completion of the illustration, he has blessed lamb that is also symbolizing the blessing of the narrator himself as well as the Jesus Christ. The repetition of the sentence shows that the narrator is blessing with enthusiasm.
Works Cited
Blake, W. Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Filiquarian Pub., 2007. Print.
Cunningham, L.S., J.J. Reich, and L. Fichner-Rathus. Culture and Values: A Survey of the Western Humanities. Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
Green, J.B., et al. Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics. Baker Publishing Group, 2011. Print.
Sorrentini, A. Behold! The Lamb of God. AuthorHouse, 2014. Print.
