The Lamb

The Lamb

BY WILLIAM BLAKE

Little Lamb who made thee 

         Dost 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 wooly bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales 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 thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb: 

He is meek & 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.

Before I read this poem, I wanted to learn a little background of the poet, William Blake, because I wanted to understand the life the poet led that induced him to write the poem. William Blake during his time was considered as a genius to some and an insane person to many others, such as Wordsworth. He lived in poverty most of his life with his wife and earned a meager wage as an engraver and illustrator. 

What's ironic about this poem is that the speaker addresses a certain person as "Little Lamb" as if the person's name is actually Little Lamb (I guess it could be). However, the speaker goes on to ask the person "Dost thou know who made thee". The irony is that Jesus is often referred to as lamb of sacrifice and the answer to the question should be 'lamb: Jesus', but the speaker addresses the person as "Little Lamb". Therefore, why would the speaker ask Little Lamb who made him because the answer should be Jesus? Jesus, due to his dying on the cross as the perfect sacrifice, is the lamb. Or could it be that the speaker is addressing Jesus directly and the entity "called by thy name" is God because of the Holy Trinity? Because Christians believe that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are essentially one same entity, it could be that the speaker is using the trinity definition in the poem. 

            The tone of this poem is rather very soothing and excited at the same time. The speaker in the first stanza tells the person all the grace God or Jesus bestows on His creation. God “Gave thee life & bid thee feed” and did many other things for us. I interpret this stanza as a song of praise to glorify God and to recognize the love of God or Jesus. The second stanza continues the tone of praise while also becoming more assertive. The second line, “Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!” emphasizes the eagerness to which the speaker wishes to share the name of the benefactor.  The stanza stresses the sacrifice Jesus made even though He himself was pure and like a “little child”. The befuddling line is when the speaker says “I a child & thou a lamb”. Why would the speaker refer to the person as the lamb if the speaker is trying to convey a message about God and Jesus?

            I picked this poem because as a Christian, I thought that I will be able to decipher the poem more in depth. However, because I have a set image and ideology about the belief behind Christianity, it was actually harder to analyze the poem due to the preconceived ideas. Just as when you learn and adapt to certain ideas, it is very difficult to change the perception when it is so firmly ingrained inside of you. I think the speaker is trying to relay a message about God and Jesus but the subject is still very ambiguous to me.

Works Cited: 

"William Blake." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2013.