Introduction
The poems “The Lamb” and “The Tyger” are written by William Blake while the poem “lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey” is written by William Wordsworth. “The Lamb” appeared in Blake’s songs of innocence while “Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey” is the last poem of Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth. “The Tyger” another poem by Blake’s appears in his songs of experience. The two poems written by Blake complement each other but most importantly, all the three poems share a similar quality and theme. (Anthony, 412)
This essay will attempt to interpret and explain the meaning of the three poems and the similar qualities linking all the poems will also be discussed. The intent is that, at the end of this essay, the reader will clearly understand all the three poems and the similar quality which they share.
The Lamb
William Blake’s poem “The Lamb” could be described as a philosophical and religious poem. The theme of the poem is love and to fully comprehend the poem, a reader needs to read its companion piece “The Tyger” also written by Blake. “The Lamb” focuses on Man’s innocence when he was created. From lines 1-8 of the poem, the writer seems to be reminding Humans of how we came to existence. Blake also tries to point out our resemblance to our creator. (Anthony, 315) The writer seems to be asking in the poem, Man who made you? Do you know who made you, gave you life, and fed you? These questions refer to us humans and the use of “Lamb” is the religious symbolism in the poem. In the new testament of the Christian Bible precisely in Isaiah 53:7, JESUS is called the Lamb of the world, and his gentleness, meekness, and mildness are emphasized in the poem. (Anthony, 327) Line 14 of the poem “The Lamb” reads, “For he calls Himself Lamb” while Line 18 reads, “we are called by his name”. This means if JESUS is called the Lamb in the Bible and Man is referred to in the poem as little Lamb; it, therefore, means Man is supposed to portray the qualities of a Lamb which are meekness and mildness. Love in other words is the central theme of Blake’s poem “The Lamb” (Anthony, 512)
The Tyger
“The Tyger” is another poem by William Blake and it appeared in his songs of experience. This poem as aforementioned above complements the poem “The Lamb”. Unlike the Lamb which talks entirely about love and good, “The Tyger” on the other hand, talks about love, pain, good and evil. The writer begins this poem by describing the dangerous qualities of a Tyger. Blake talks about the fierceness and aggression of a Tyger and the use of Tyger in the poem symbolizes evil while the allusion to the Lamb in the poem signifies kindness. (Anthony, 222)
However, the key to understanding this poem is in line 20 of the poem. It is in Line 20 that an allusion is made to the Lamb. Here the writer tries to note the presence of good and evil in one place. The Tyger can be termed as a socio-religious poem. By using the Lamb and Tyger to signify good and evil respectively in one poem, Blake tries to address an issue that has confused and disturbed scholars for many years. The issue of good and evil existing in the same place has confused and disturbed scholars, clergies, and academicians for centuries. Most of these people spent their lives trying to figure out why there is so much love and hatred in the world at the same time. In the poem “The Tyger” William Blake seems to wonder about this mystery too. (Anthony, 301)
Lines wrote a few miles above Tintern Abbey
“Lines written a few miles above the Tintern Abbey” is a poem by William Wordsworth in July of 1798 and it was the last poem in his Lyrical Ballads. Wordsworth’s poem talks about love, nature, and friendship. (Anthony, 422)
Wordsworth starts the poem by narrating his visit to the desolate abbey alone before his second visit to the same place in the company of his sister Dorothy Wordsworth. He describes how memorable he felt being back at the same place in the company of somebody he loved. Wordsworth’s poem “Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey” is about nature, familial love, and death. (Anthony, 444)
Conclusion and the similar quality between the three poems
All three poems share common quality and that quality is love. In Blake’s Poem “The Lamb” the main theme is Love and the poem clearly shows and describes how humans are supposed to emulate JESUS through his good characters. Also, the poem “The Tyger” also written by William Blake, the poem describes how the world is filled with evil and love. (Anthony, 307)
The last poem “Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey” also shows how strong familial love can be. Throughout the poem, the writer consistently referred to his sister as his friend. Even when he assumed death was to find him first, his love for his sister never died. If such undying love had existed in the hearts of humans then the world would have been a better place. There is an emphasis on Love in all three poems and this quality strongly links the three poems.