Contents: Poem Text Poem Summary Themes Style Critical Overview Criticism Sources For Further Study |
William Blake 1789
One of Blake’s most celebrated poems from his 1789 collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience, “The Lamb” subtly approaches the subject of creativity and creator alike. While on the surface Blake’s narrator seems to be speaking of the life of a real, physical lamb, in the end one realizes he is layering meaning with subtext derived from both Christian and classical mythology. The lamb is also a symbol of Jesus Christ, both as a child and as a physical incarnation of the deity. The child is both a creation of God and a lamb, one of God’s flock. Blake begins with a simple image and approaches it from differing angles to give the reader a better understanding of his vision of the nature of Divine Creation.
