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 Songs of Experience. Each work contains elements relating to their themes. "The Lamb" is written through the viewpoint of a child as a symbol of innocence analogous to "The Tyger" as an example of experience. In "The Lamb", Blake discusses many points pertaining to religion. 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). The picture of the lamb feeding "by the stream and oe'r the mead" (line 4) suggests God's kindness in creation. We are reminded in the second stanza that God, who created the lamb, is also like the lamb. "For he calls Himself a Lamb. He is meek, and He is mild" (lines 14-15). After "He became a little child" (line 16), Jesus became known as The...