Poem Comparison - Chapter 9 - "The Lamb" and "The Tiger" by William Blake

"The Lamb" and "The Tiger" are two poems by William Blake that are able to be compared and contracted against each other. At first glance, the name ties them together, with them both being named "The" and then an animal; yet these two animals are quite different from each other. In the first poem, "The Lamb", the speaker is talking to a "Little Lamb" and asking it many questions (1). Since lamb is capitalized, the speaker is telling that he is not actually speaking to a lamb, but a person being called a Lamb. Calling the Lamb "little" emphasizes that the Lamb is innocent because it is so small. This innocence is also supported by the line "softest clothing wooly bright" to describe the softness and brightness of the person and how they are pure and innocent (6). Lambs often have white wool, so this white color adds to the purity and innocence of the person being spoken to. There Lamb is then compared to another person who "is called by thy name, / For he calls himself a Lamb" (14). This person is Jesus. At the end of the poem we learn that God is the one who made the lamb, for God blesses the lamb. By the end, one can see that this poem is a metaphor about Christianity and the lamb is a Christian who is good.

"The Tiger" is a sister-poem to "The Lamb". These two poems play off of the theme of good vs. evil. This poem also calls a person by the name of an animal, in this case "Tiger" (1). This Tiger is not a good person like the Lamb, but a person who is viewed evil. The Tiger is said to be "burning bright" like a fire with a brain forged in a "furnace" (1) (14). This association with fire reveals how a tiger is the embodiment of powerful destructive force. This could also be an association with hell. The diction in "The Tiger" is harsh, repeating words such as "dread" and speaking of "deadly terrors" (12) (16). This is quite different than the lilting sweetness of "The Lamb" who is "meek and mild" (15). With all of those evil traits and harsh words, the speaker wonders if "he who made the Lamb" made the Tiger (20). He wonders whether God made this evil person just as if he had made the good and pure person.