The Lamb - A poem by William Blake

William Blake - The Lamb

Little Lamb, who made thee
   Does 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 woolly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice.
Making all the vales rejoice:
   Little Lamb who made thee
   Does 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 childh
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by His name,
   Little Lamb God bless thee,
   Little Lamb God bless thee.

Added: on March 10th, 2006 at 3:42 PM | Viewed: 6465 times | Comments (5)

The Lamb - Comments and Information
Poet: William Blake Poem: The Lamb Volume: Songs of Innocence Year: Published/Written in 1789 Poem of the Day on: Dec 10 2004 Comment 5 of 5, added on May 31st, 2006 at 9:54 AM. i thought the lamb represented mankind???? Comment 4 of 5, added on May 17th, 2006 at 7:29 AM. a stanza of questions a stanza of answers isnt this all a bit too....easy? The rhyming couplets, equal stanza lengths...The Lamb, acting as a pure and innocent image of God, is implicitly presented as superficial, distorted and rigid with Blake imposing such an idealistic, almost nursery rhyme like frame. God is not supposed to be framed! What is with human's insistence in placing meaning and definition onto every bloody thing? And also, note that the imperfect trochaic form gives 7 syllables to the first and last lines of each stanza whereby the rest of the lines have 6. Blake is purposefully putting emphasis on the QUESTIONS! Now this may just constitute Blake's outside perspective on things orrrr stressing a sense of uncertainty and speculation. Religion provides answers for questions. It has no effect on the Lamb whatsoever...is that all it has to offer???? Ami Comment 3 of 5, added on March 10th, 2006 at 3:42 PM. 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. Evan from Canada More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, The Lamb, has received 5 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by William Blake with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!

Poem Info
The Lamb Volume: Songs of Innocence Year: Published/Written in 1789 Last read: 2008-12-05 05:17:16 Poem of the Day on: Dec 10 2004 Viewed 6465 times. Added on March 10th, 2006 at 3:42 PM.

Blake Info
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