Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
William Blake was a visionary. He did not like the rational, materialistic world around him, but
dreamed of a world where imagination and feelings would be central to peoples lives.
Lead in
Today we accept it as natural that there are many theories, both scientific and religious, to
explain how the world was made. William Blake, like most of his contemporaries, believed that
God made the world. But what is God really like? Here is the first of Blakes two, very different,
depictions of God.
Songs of Innocence
The Lamb
By William Blake
Little Lamb who made thee1
Dost thou2 know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed3.
By the stream & o'er the mead4;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly5 bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales6 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 thy7 name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek8 & 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.
William Blake, The Lamb, 1789
Glossary
1. thee: you
2. Dost thou: do you
6 Bid thee feed: told you to eat
3. wooly: woolly
4. vales: valleys
5. thy: your
8
9
10
11
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Comprehension
Who is the poet addressing? What question does he ask the addressee?
What gifts has the Creator given the Lamb?
Underline the words in the first stanza that refer to where the lamb lives.
Who is the poet referring to as He in line 13?
In line 14 the poet says that the Creator calls himself a Lamb. Can you explain this
biblical reference?
6. What does the poet mean when he says in line 16 that the Creator became a little child?
12
13
Analysis
14
1. The poem is formed by a question and an answer. In which lines is the question posed
and in which lines is it answered?
2. Find descriptive details in the first stanza that appeal to the readers:
- sight: By the stream & oer the mead
- touch:
- hearing:..
3. A mood of gentle happiness is created in the first stanza. Underline the words that convey
this atmosphere. What kind of world is depicted in the poem?
4. In the second stanza the poet establishes a link between the Creator, the lamb and the poet
as a child.
a. In which lines are these links made?
b. What qualities do the Creator, lamb and the child (poet) share?
c. What does the Creator, who became the child Jesus, have in common with lambs?
5. Which of the following would you consider to be the man theme of the poem?
- The innocence and joy of the lamb and childhood reflect the true nature of God.
- God has created many wonderful things, including lambs and children.
- If man lives in close contact with nature, he becomes more godlike.
- Man can only truly experience God through nature.
- God is not responsible for all the evil that exists in the world. Evil is the result of
mans corruption.
6. How would you describe the language of the poem?
- Sophisticated
- Refined
- Childlike
- Simple
- Poetic
- Scientific
7. Examine the musical features of the poem.
a. Is the rhyming scheme regular?
b. Find examples of alliteration in the poem.
- Example: Little Lamb
c. Find examples of assonance in the poem.
- Example: By the stream & oer the mead
d. What are the prevailing consonant and vowel sounds? Would you consider them to be
harsh or gentle?
e. Underline examples of repetition in the poem. Repetition and a strong trochaic pattern
are typical of nursery rhymes and prayers. In what way is it appropriate that Blakes
poem should remind the reader both of a nursery rhyme and a prayer?
- Is God always gentle and helpful? Read this poem and find out what Blake thinks.
7. dare: to be brave enough to so something
- Songs of Experience
- The Tyger
1
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame2 thy fearful3 symmetry4?
- Light
- Dark
- Heat
- Cold
- Danger
- Security
- Fire
- Power
6. Identify the use of the personification in lines 17-18. How would you explain the reaction
of the stars when they witnessed the creation of the tiger?
- They wished to defend themselves against the dangers posed by the tiger.
- They felt insignificant and helpless before the magnificence of Gods new creation.
- They were saddened by the destructive nature of the tiger.
7. Why does the poet ask if the same Creator made both the lamb and the tiger? (line 20)
8. Apart from one word, the final stanza is identical to the first stanza. Which word has been
changed? Have the poets questions about the nature of the Creator been answered in the
course of the poem or has his perplexity been intensified?
9. Which of the following emotions does the tiger inspire in the poet? You can choose more
than one.
- Fear
- Horror
- Admiration
- Disbelief
- Awe
- Confusion
- Panic
10. Work out the rhyming scheme. Is it regular?
11. Find examples of alliteration and assonance.
12. Underline examples of repetition in the poem.
13.