Explication of Blake
The poetry of William Blake is renowned for its critique of society and injustice as well as expressing strong religious influences. Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience were written concerning the destiny of the human spirit and the differences between how children and adults view and understand the world. Blake believed that man had the potential to attain both wisdom through experience and joy through innocence. He admired the innocence of children and thought that self-awareness could be realized through the recapturing of the wonderment and imagination of a child. Songs of Innocence reflect that innocence and joy. Songs of Experience were written to expound upon how the knowledge of injustices, evils, and confusion arrive as a result of life experience. These poems focus on understanding the evils and injustices of the world without becoming tainted by them in order to gain an awareness of our true identities. Two of Blake's most well known poems are "The Lamb" from Songs of Innocence and "The Tyger" from S
After "He became a little child" (line 16), Jesus became known as The Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. The tiger is terrifying in its beauty, strength, complexity, and vitality. The wisdom that comes from experience allows one to ponder life's mysteries, inherent complications and problems, injustices, and abuses without becoming tainted by them while maintaining a state of innocence. The poem ends with the poet questioning not who "could" create the animal, but who would "dare" to create such an animal. Each work contains elements relating to their themes. The picture of the lamb feeding "by the stream and oe'r the mead" (line 4) suggests God's kindness in creation. Through further examination we realize that experience, like the tiger, is to be respected and revered, but not enjoyed. The lamb is described as being meek, vulnerable, and harmless when Blake says, "Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, woolly, bright; Gave thee such a tender voice" (lines 3-7). We are reminded in the second stanza that God, who created the lamb, is also like the lamb. The lamb is obviously one of God's creations with innocence and meekness with which he must be pleased, but Blake wonders whether He is as pleased with the tiger, "Did he smile his work to see?" (line 19). Simply returning to a state of innocence and ignoring the lessons taught through experience is not sufficient for us to become aware of our own identities, but recognizing and understanding the evils around us without becoming tainted by them is how we achieve self-awareness. "The Tyger" also deals with religious elements and creation asking, "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" (line 20).
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Acceptance Essays
