Songs of innocence and experience by William Blake

Q: Compare and contrast between The lamb and The Tiger.

Written by William Blake the Songs of innocence and experience express two opposite
states of the human soul, heaven and hell. Songs of Innocence expresses the state of
childhood, a state of free imagination and infinite joy and Songs of Experience
expresses that how the society gets corrupted when the innocent soul gets corrupted.

Although the two poems, the Lamb and the Tiger, are by same author, they have very
different feelings spreading from their tones. The Lamb represents innocence and The
Tyger represents the harshness of life.

The Lamb was published in the collection of Songs of Innocence that has a variety of
poems that reflect the innocence of life. In the poem, the speaker is a child who asks the
lamb whether it knows who made it and give a tender voice and. And then the child tells
that the creator is is called the name after of the lamb itself. On other hand, the poem
The Tyger was published in the collection of Songs of Experience .The speaker of the
poem says that the Creator of the tiger is an artisan of wonderful skill and strength who
collects the dangerous materials and creates the tiger. Gives it burning eyes and makes it
fearful. The speaker then tells that no one will make such dreadful creation.

In the poem, The Lamb itself symbolized the Jesus Christ. Because in bible Christ is
known as The Lamb of God which means the son of God. The lamb is also the symbol
of innocence and kindness and, also referred as meek and mild. Because, Christ is always
mild and helpful. He is the symbol of sacrifice. And God always help those who are in
the right path. Thus, through this poem Blake want to show the softness and mildness of
God. On the contrary, The Tyger was published in a collection called Songs of
Experience. This poem reflects the maturity one sees when a person grows up and
witnesses the harshness of life, realizing that the world is evil and cruel. With Blake's use
of vivid imagery such as, "fire", "hammer", "furnace", "chain", "anvil", and the use of
strict action words such as, "burnt", "seize", "twist", "beat", "grasp", creates specific
relentless connotations. The elegance of the tiger shows the fearful and dreadful face of
God. Gods powerfulness and energy represents by the tiger.

Through these poems William Blake is just expressing the good and evil of the world and
how life can be enjoying yet horrifying at the same time.

Songs of Innocence and of Experience by William Blake

Q: Criticize the social, political and religious factors that Blake has addressed in his
"Songs of Innocence and of Experience".

Written by William Blake the Songs of innocence and experience express two opposite
states of the human soul, heaven and hell. Songs of Innocence expresses the state of
childhood, a state of free imagination and infinite joy and Songs of Experience
expresses that how the society gets corrupted when the innocent soul gets corrupted.

Blake Is quiet philosophical and his Songs of innocence and experience he wrote
various poem in systematic section. However, by these poems Blake targets is to address
the social, political and religious problems the major problems in the society at his time.

One of the three major problems is, social conflict. Child labor is one aspect of social
problem. In the time of industrial revolution, people were getting more involved with
industry rather than farming. So the people who were rich getting richer and the people
who were poor getting poorer. Some poor parents also sold their children on account of
food and the babys proper care. Most of the child was sold to sweep the chimney, as it is
too narrow that only a baby can enter there, to master sweep who engaged them on poor
payment. The kid was as much little that they can utter properly. As in the poem The
Chimney Sweeper the little boy is so young, that he utter the word sweep as weep.
And also racism can be seen. The people who had black skin, they never been treated as
human being. The worst curse of society was the slavery. The English people always
neglected the black. In the poem The Little Black Boy the main target of the poet is
racism.

Because of the industrial revolution, people were hungry in collecting money, so they
became loses their morality instead of cruelty.

In Blakes period, church is the main political centre. The priest revealed the general
people that religion is more impotent than child. Thus, church and the King was the ruler
of the country. The church opposed the religion to the poor as they can possible. In the
poem The Chimney Sweeper from Experience, we find the little boy is sold to his
parents who are now in the church. The church also revealed that if someone want to pray
to God for forgiveness, then they should raise up his hand with any innocent soul. In the
poem Holy Thursday the harsh reality is hidden under colorful processions of children.
Thus religion is used in politics.

Blake thinks that Child is the symbol of innocence. Thus nothing should be imposed on
them and they are free from everything, this is the main concept of songs of Innocence.
But on contrary, he portrays cruelty of a mature heart, the roughness of life- which is the
concept of Songs of Experience.