The Innocence of Lamb in Songs of Innocence by William Blake

Songs of Innocence by William Blake collocates the naà ¯ve lives of children and loss of innocence of adults, with moral Christian values and how religion has the capacity to promote cruelty and prejudice. Blake was born in 1757, up to and after the French Revolution he wrote many works criticizing enlightened rationalism and instead focused on intellectual ideas that avoided institutionalization and propelled ethical and moral order. Blake’s collection of poem exposes and explores the values and limitations of secular and religious institutions. â€Å"The Lamb† focuses on children’s naivetà ©s and innocence, but also curiosity in regards to faith, and ideas of nature and God. Though naivetà © and meekness are present throughout â€Å"The Lamb†, Blake focuses on an underlying Christian theme of combining the pastoral with the spiritual. For example, the speaker, a boy, talks to a lamb, his beastly counterpart. The boy, speaking to the lamb asks. â€Å" Little lamb, who made thee?† (Blake 1). The opening query asked by the boy represents rhetoric of both the natural and spiritual world. Bryan Aubrey, in his critical essay of the lamb states, â€Å"everything in creation is embraced by the tenderness of the divine†¦[there] is no separation between human self, the natural world, and the divine kingdom† (Aubrey 1). Therefore, just as Blake suggests the lamb does not just represent the innocent but is the principal idea of the poem. The lamb represents unity among nature and religious creation.Show MoreRelatedSongs of Good and Evil1545 Words   |  7 Pagesall describe William Blake’s life (Greenblatt, Abrams, Lynch, Stillinger). Blake was born November 28, 1757 in London, England and his artistic ability became evident in his early years. Blake had a very simple upbringing and had little education. His formal education was in art and at the age of fourteen he entered an apprenticeship with a well-known engrav er who taught Blake his skills in engraving. In Blake’s free time, he began reading writing poetry. At the age of twenty-one, Blake completed hisRead MoreAnalysis Of William Blakes Songs Of Innocence And Of Experience1005 Words   |  5 PagesSongs of Innocence and of Experience, which is written by William Blake, was published in 1794. Author wants to describe the contrary of two states of human soul: innocence and experience. While Songs of Innocence include is collection of poems about happy, or joyful world, Songs of Experience are a collection of poems about sorrows, or sufferings. The above selection text is from The Lamb which is a poem in Songs of Innocence. The first impressive about this poem is that it is as a song for childrenRead MoreWilliam Blake s The Tyger1132 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Blake’s â€Å"The Tyger† and Tragedies William Blake wrote a set of poems in his collection Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Some of the poems in each collection were meant to be read together to show the difference between innocence and experience. Many people question why Blake wrote a two part series to his poems and what they could actually mean. Two specific poems, â€Å"The Lamb† and â€Å"The Tyger,† were meant to be read together. â€Å"The Lamb† is a part of Blake’s Songs of Innocence andRead MoreEssay The Writings of William Blake1106 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Blake was one of England’s greatest writers (Tejvan) in the nineteenth century, but his brilliancy was not noticed until after he was deceased. Blake was very much a free spirit who often spoke his mind and was very sensitive to cruelty. At the age of twenty five he married a woman named Catherine Boucher. They created a book of all Blake’s poems called Songs on Innocence, which was not very popula r while he was alive. On the other hand Blake’s other book of poems, Songs of Experience, wereRead MoreWilliam Blake in Contrast of Songs of Innocence and of Experience1452 Words   |  6 PagesEN 222-Intro to British Lit. II April 21, 2012 William Blake in contrast of Songs of Innocence and of Experience William Blake, an engraver, exemplified his passion for children through his many poems. Blake lived in London most of his life and many fellow literati viewed him as eccentric. He claimed to have interactions with angels and prophets, which had a great influence on his outlook of life. Blake believed all prominent entities, those being church, state, and government had become sick withRead MoreWilliam Blake s The Lamb And The Tyger873 Words   |  4 Pagesdescribed as pure, tender, and innocent. Even in the Holy Bible, lambs are talked about in such high honor that they were even used to be holy sacrifices during biblical times. William Blake describes the young sheep in similar characteristics in the poem â€Å"The Lamb† and â€Å"The Tyger†. A tiger as we know its characteristics to be is fierce and mysterious. Always lurking around, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. In William Blake’s two separate poems he ties each of the poems together wit hRead MoreEssay Comparing the Lamb and the Tyger in In Songs of Innocence592 Words   |  3 PagesComparing the Lamb and the Tyger in In Songs of Innocence Children embody the very essence of innocence. They see the world through virgin eyes, hear life with fresh ears and create the world with a simple mind and pure heart. It is about the only time in a persons life when the weight of sin, corruption, egotism, and hatred are not blurring their vision and thoughts. It is the only time a person is completely free. But this state of innocence becomes separated and exiled once experienceRead MoreOpposition in William Blakes The Lamb and the Tyger689 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Opposition in William Blakes The Lamb and The Tyger William Blakes Songs of Innocence and Experience contain some of his most known poems including The Lamb from Songs of Innocence and The Tyger from Songs of Experience. These two poems are intended to reflect contrasting views of religion, innocence, and creation, with The Tyger examining the intrinsic relationship between good and evil. Blake utilizes contrasting images and symbols to examine opposing perspectives of good and evilRead MoreThe Lamb and the Tyger Essay1437 Words   |  6 PagesThe Tyger and The Lamb by William Blake, written in 1794 included both of these poems in his collection Songs of Innocence and Song of Experience, takes readers on a journey of faith. Through a cycle of unanswered questions, William Blake motivates the readers to question God. These two poems are meant to be interpreted in a comparison and contrast. They share two different perspectives, those being innocence and experience. To Blake, innocence is not better than experience. Both states haveRe ad MoreEssay Songs about Life712 Words   |  3 PagesIn Songs of Innocence and Experience (1789 and 1794), William Blake arouses readers minds and leads them into a path of finding their own answers and conclusions to his poems. He sets up his poems in the first book, Songs of Innocence, with a few questions as if they were asked from a childs perspective since children are considered the closest representation of innocence in life. However, in the second book, Songs of Experience, Blakes continues to write his poems about thought-provoking concepts