` Reflection on Blake's “The Tiger” and “The Lamb” from Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794) provides a journey into two different worlds. “The Tiger,” creates a mood engaging the reader so he/she has a “knowing” – a premonition of a darker side existing in life. Like, "The Tiger", the reader or listener realizes “The Lamb” evokes an innate "knowing". While "The Tiger" brings a darker side of life, the same understanding of the complexities of life arises with the sense of innocence, virtuousness, and wonder about life comes through in "The Lamb". Comparing Blake’s poems “The Tiger” and “The Lamb” provides an academic investigation of both the value of as well as the limitation of one person's perspective of life from two different views in dramatic form.
Comparative Drama
A primary clarity in comparing these two poems draws on the obvious drama Blake incorporates, especially considering how the poems play off one another providing a transformational momentum for the reader. This comparative dramatic quality creates a fanciful journey of the innocent objectivity drawn from childlike naiveté' about life in "The Lamb". The journey continues with the drama encased in "The Tiger". Here, innocence and almost blind faith evoked in "The Lamb" becomes dramatic callousness found in the world of "The Tiger" because now the world exists without innocence. Blake brilliantly describes the world he lived with its restrictive, repressive, despotic, and overt authority in “The Tiger". Thus, the drama of the one poem projects the comparative dramatic character of the other.
Comparative Imagery
Without any doubt, Blake's ability for creating comparative imagery between "The Tiger" and "The Lamb" juxtaposes the intended comparison of good and evil, soft and hard, as well as light and dark to the foreground. Lambs remind of softness while tigers are sinewy and dangerous, and both represent the civilized and the wild. The imagery of the gentleness Blake surrounds the lamb sets a light and airy mood, while the word pictures surrounding the tiger in comparison to the lamb brings the reader to a different reality of another type of living creature. Therefore, it is the comparative imagery that provides the pragmatic approach for creating the opposite yet divergent qualities of the two extremes Blake accomplishes.
“The Lamb” representing innocence with experience flaunted in “The Tiger” reveals how Blake's creativity intentionally formed tension between the two poems. This intended tension clearly meant as a comparative quality for the reader or listener by Blake aligns to the flow from innocent awareness to the more harsh felt experience evolving between “The Lamb” through the urgings of “The Tiger.” Blake's brilliance in creating a look at innocence as the antithesis of experience results in attracting readers to the two poems because of their overt comparative qualities. At the same time, a comparative quality exists between the two poems compelling some readers' applying his/her personal interpretations attempting to rationalize the comparative discord between the two poems executed in such perfectly balanced construction. “The Lamb” representative of innocence also shows Blake clearly creating imagery of the Bible related to scripture about the “Lamb of God.” Imagery of both poems frames another aspect of their comparative qualities.
The most fundamental aspect of the comparative qualities about "The Tiger" and "The Lamb" looks at how the message they present aligns to validating one another. Something in this connects to there is no light without the dark. The opposite messages of the two poems also relates to the fundamental comparative characteristics. This comparative opposition therefore leads to asking how both innocence, and the simple good of life can, exist alongside the complexities abounding within evil. The answer draws on Blake's understanding of human nature.
Theologically, the same question arises how God can allow these two different yet divergent qualities of human nature exist. Of course, religiously the answer lay in free will for the purpose of God. Therefore, comparing the underlying religious imagery of light and dark, Godliness and evil, and innocence and experience provides the heart of the issue. It is the nature of the two opposites expressed in both "The Tiger" and "The Lamb" that provide the comparative characteristics.
Conclusion
Concluding this academic examination and discourse looks at the intention from the onset to compare Blake’s poems “The Tiger” and “The Lamb” provides how both the value of as well as the limitation of one person's perspective of life from two different views creates the dramatic essence readers experience. Blake's ability for creating the dramatic in such two entirely different approaches giving each poem a singularly dramatic imagery becomes the more theatrical when comparing them.
Take the dramatic and symbolic comparative qualities of "The Tiger" and "The Lamb" as a parable depicting the journey of life explains the depth of the creative ability of Blake. Notwithstanding the overwhelming comparative quality of the two poems lay in Blake' having an obvious understanding of the psychological framework of humans. Even in the contemporary setting of the 21st century, these poems give pause for thought.
