THE LAMB
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
In this poem, the narrator is like a child. He is questioning the lamb's and his origin,world and creater like a song. And he enjoys repeating things. He is comparing the lamb with himself, especially in the second stanza. I think all these comparings actually a reflection of God in them. He sees a harmony between lamb's and God's characteristics. For example in the last two lines we can think like that:
ReplyDelete"Little Lamb, God bless thee.
Little Lamb God, bless thee." If we put commas like that an ambiguity occurs in the meanings of these lines. And again we can see the harmony of God and the lamb in the narrator's mind.
in that poem, the innosence of nature is emphasized. poet uses the technique of questioning. but questions whose answers have already known. and he also emphasize that only people who dont lose their unity with god can see the beauty, delight and the hapiiness of the life.and also only those people again cansee the beauty behind the nature. they see themselves like a gıd, because they are the reflections of the god on the earth. so they are unseperable.. and in that poem, the lamb stands for innosence. and people who has a tie with the god have also innosence in their spirits. and for them the physical appearance is not important it is important to have a good spirit and joy of life and delight. for example he says,
ReplyDelete"softest clothing wooly bright;
gave thee such a tender voice,"
in these lines,he again emphasizes that ordinary people can not understand these beautiful things.
and i agree with the comment of merve ertaştan. the last two lines can be interpreted like that. it symbolizes the unity of god and the lamb again. the lamb is like a god. because it is a reflection of god and has the all beauty of god in it.
He is meek & he is mild
ReplyDeleteHe became a little child
I a child& thou a lamb
We are called by his name
We all know that William Blake had a different view of God and religion. I appreciate his bravery.Because it was not easy to have the courage of explaining a different view of thinking.Especially in the lines above,with the image of lamb he can descibe the God in a different and more ordinary way, I think. But the reflection of creator in creature is given in a very affective way.
First of all, William Blake asks a simple question like an innocent child in the first line but as well as it's simple I think it has the most complex matter about the origins of the world that humanity has been trying to explain since the creation of world.He was able to ask this obscure and complex question in a very simple sentence 'who made thee'.
ReplyDeleteThe answer to this question is also perfect. 'I a child thou a lamb, we are called by his name'.These lines contain all the answers and explanation about this spiritual matter in a simple and excellent way again.They tell us that the whole universe he created contains someting from him and tells us all about him in every aspect so we should just turn to the nature and listen him in order to answer these questions.
So these lines are perfect examples of The Romantic Period for me.
In this poem Blake describes a child by using the symbol: the lamb. when we compare this poem with the Tyger we can see that in that poem tyger symbolizes the people who have grown up and developed. When people get older they lose their innocence so they are not meak like a lamb but they are dangerous and strong like a tyger.
ReplyDeleteThe poem also gives clues about Blake's thoughts about religion. He believed in God but he didn't follow the path of church. In this poem he described God through his own perceptions of the idea of God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgCVumXD2q8&feature=related
ReplyDeleteWilliam Blakes "The Tyger" Short Lecture by John Stacy
To understand William Blake, we have to know that he has a different view of God.He has strong belief in Christianity.I think we can make a connection between his belief and his choosing Lamb.( Christ was called the Lamb many times in the New Testament.)
ReplyDeleteThe lamb is telling us there is much that is gentle and innocent in the world but to see it,we have to have a tie with God.An aliniated person can not see the beyond.Once we have the tie,we will be able to see the reflection of God in its creauture.
I all agree with my friends' thoughts and interpretations of the poem.
We can say that the lamb in the poem is compared to jesus Christ who is also known as "the lamb of god".The lamb resembles the god in some ways,as it is white and this shows us the purity and the meekness of the god.It explains us the innocence of man.It makes us to think how pure and kind the world is on the other hand, the other poem "tyger" is the opposite.It describes the evil side of the world.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG6dExraCLg
ReplyDeletehere is the recording of the poem for you...
The poem begins with the question, ‘’Little lamb who made thee’’. From this beginning , it is firstly understood that someone asks the origin, creator of the lamb, and it goes on with the same question, ‘’Dost thou know who made thee’’. As it is generally known, children ask simple and naive questions like who made me?, who made you? etc. They keep asking even if they know the answer. Therefore, it is certain that this poem is told by a child. In addition, his asking questions to a lamb, repetition and simplicity in his manner gives the impression that this is a child’s song as we can deduct from the name of Blake’s book ‘Songs of innocence’. In this book, the main symbol is a child and events are narrated from a child’s perspective. In fact, the child doesn’t have his own perspective, he only repeats the information given to him by adults or asks simple questions as in ‘’Little lamb who made thee’’.
ReplyDeleteThere are several repetitions in the poem.In my opinion the reason is that the poem is like a song.As we talked before ,in the class, William Blake regards his poems as songs.
ReplyDeleteThough there is a contradiction between 'The Lamb' and 'The Tiger',in fact these two poems make a whole.Because William Blake does not perceive religion like other people who lived in his period.According to him God not only includes softness and goodness , but also includes wild and badness in it.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Blake regards his poems as songs since they bear in mind harmony and they have a real musical aspect.We can cath it from repetition and the way of the words listed in order.
ReplyDeleteIn such lines as:
Softest clothing wooly bright
Gave thee such a tender voice
W.Blake is implying the softness quality of visual appearance,you get behind the appearance,indeed.This is so clear and bright but it can only be seen by poets.In such lines as:
He is called by thy name
For he calls himself a Lamb
Blake lays emphasis on the unity.the part is called by whole and Lamb is called by God ,God is called by Lamb.There is a raflection of creature in the creator.It's an eternal unity of part and whole.
And Lamb is literally an animal but figuratively a symbol of purity.Therfore when we see the matter in its perspective we can see the purity softness and innocence of the world.
Who is meek?the God and Lamb.In Christianity God is powerful and he is punishing but in this poem God is not so.Blake says people,you are not sinfull you are innocence like Lamb but dont forget your creator.He is also meek and mild dont fear of it...
MERVE ÖNDER
ReplyDeletein that poem, the innosence of nature is emphasized. poet uses the technique of questioning. but questions whose answers have already known. and he also emphasize that only people who dont lose their unity with god can see the beauty, delight and the hapiiness of the life.and also only those people again cansee the beauty behind the nature. they see themselves like a gıd, because they are the reflections of the god on the earth. so they are unseperable.. and in that poem, the lamb stands for innosence. and people who has a tie with the god have also innosence in their spirits. and for them the physical appearance is not important it is important to have a good spirit and joy of life and delight. for example he says,
"softest clothing wooly bright;
gave thee such a tender voice,"
in these lines,he again emphasizes that ordinary people can not understand these beautiful things.
and i agree with the comment of merve ertaştan. the last two lines can be interpreted like that. it symbolizes the unity of god and the lamb again. the lamb is like a god. because it is a reflection of god and has the all beauty of god in it
-MerveKıymaz-
ReplyDeletehere we have the translation of the poem:
Kim yarattı seni ey küçük kuzu?
Ey küçük kuzu,seni kim doğurdu?
Kim yaşam verdi sana
Irmak kıyılarında,çayırlarda;
Bu güzel giysiyi sana kim ördü?
Bu yumuşacık,bu bembeyaz yünü;
Kime borçlusun o tatlı sesini?
Sevince boğarsın bütün vadiyi
Kim yarattı seni ey küçük kuzu?
Ey küçük kuzu,seni kim doğurdu?
Ey küçük kuzu,söyleyeyim sana,
Ey küçük kuzu,söyleyeyim sana;
'Kuzu' senin gibi onun ismi de,
O da bu ismi vermiş kendisine.
O da sevgi dolu,o da mütevazı,
O da bizim gibi çocuk yürekli.
Ben bir çocuğum,sen de bir kuzu
Senin ismin kuzu,benim ismim kuzu
Kutsasın küçük kuzu seni tanrı!
Kutsasın küçük kuzu tanrı seni!
Trs:Tozan ALKAN
It will never be known if the Lamb was meant to symbolize christ or not. Although I beleive it is safe to say that the Lamb symbolizes a being vulnerable and one that is innocent, almost oblivious to the evil elsewhere. The Lamb is referred to in many of Blake's poems as this sort of creature, I beleive it is safe to say the same in this one.
ReplyDeleteIt is very arguable as to why Christ is the Lamb of God, but only if the word of God is not true. Looking to the words of William Blake, there is much insight to be found on this question. William Blake is at first calling the lamb out as though it were an animal, “Little Lamb, who made thee?...Gave thee clothing of delight…Dost thou know who made thee?” Blake is switching now in the latter half of his poem to the Deity of Christ, “He is called by they name, For he calls himself a Lamb: He is meek and mild, He became a little child:”
Here, William Blake is showing the reader the complexity of Christ in that Jesus is “The Lamb” who is slain for the world. Christ is full of the characteristics of a Lamb. He is meek and mild; he is humble enough that he is becoming a child.
In Christian history Jesus was referred to as "a lamb" so, I think the poem, having religious air, referres to him.
ReplyDeleteI was really touched by the pureness of the words in this poem. It seems so pure and nice. It reveals religious attitude and philosophy of William Blake as well as his pride towards Jesus, the Mesiah. Becauses he says :"Little Lamb God bless thee."
It also seems as if the writer connects himself to the Prophet saying "WE are called by his name."
My overall impression about the poem is that it is very pleasant, nice and pure. I like it.
And the poet is trying to say that we are all creations of god and that we are all god's children in essence we are all innocent.
Birsen Kubat In this poem something attrected my attention that is the child calls the lamb as "little." I think by using this word he wants to say the lamb that:" You are inferior to me, I am more experienced than you." In the poem the child represents the experienced one and the lamb is the symbol of the innocence...
ReplyDeleteLamb is weak, mild, tender, and meek.
ReplyDeleteJiyan Taher
Children also are weak, tender, and meek. In other word both lamb and children are associated with innocents. In this poem the speaker described the creator of it. He says “He is meek and mild” the creator of such a meek and mild being like the lamb must also be meek and mild. So because we are all creations of God and than we are all God’s children in essence we are all innocent.
As far as I understand, this poet is the song of a child. It is a song because there is repetition of the same phrases and the words. And we can find the purity and naiveness of a child in the poem. The questions are much innocence for adults. Although the simpleness of the questions it has deep meanings also.
ReplyDeleteFor example:
"who made thee"
It seems as a vey simple one but it directs people to think their origin and the god who creates them.
hanım öncel
ReplyDeletewilliam blake wants to take the atttention of gods creatingthe lamp with so many beauiful mild features.Generally lamp symbolises innnocence and if god iwould not be so mild, merciful he would not give the lamp innocency so we can say that according to william blake when you are looking nature you can see God.He asks questions wose answers he know.
nagihan
ReplyDeletethis poem like a child song and the speaker has deep questions in his mind. these questions about the origin of the human being- his entity- and the creator of the unıverse. however, actually he knows all the answers about his questions and we can see this in this lines:
'I a child& thou a lamb
We are called by his name'
this poem is about the dignity, the unity and the purity of the human being..
The general interpretation of the symbol of "the lamb" is Jesus himself and can also be taken as "God" because he is merciful and forgiving. Throughout the poem, we can understand Blake dictates something about religion with the depictions he makes and symbols he uses. But especially the following line:
ReplyDelete"We are called by his name"
tells us that God is in us, and in a way we are God.
The poem begins with the question, "Little Lamb, who made thee?" The speaker, a child, asks the lamb about its origins: how it came into being, how it acquired its particular manner of feeding, its "clothing" of wool, its "tender voice." In the next stanza, the speaker attempts a riddling answer to his own question: the lamb was made by one who "calls himself a Lamb," one who resembles in his gentleness both the child and the lamb. The poem ends with the child bestowing a blessing on the lamb.
ReplyDelete