Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life, and bid thee feed,

1. Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life, and bid thee feed, By the stream and o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, woolly, 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, and He is mild; 
 He became a little child. 
 I a child, and thou a lamb, 
 We are called by His name. 
 Little Lamb, God bless thee! 
 Little Lamb, God bless thee! “The Lamb” By William Blake From Songs of Innocence

2. “The Tyger,” by William Blake, from Songs of Experience What the hammer? what the chain? 
 In what furnace was thy brain? 
 What the anvil? what dread grasp 
 Dare its deadly terrors clasp? When the stars threw down their spears, 
 And watered heaven with their tears, 
 Did he smile his work to see? 
 Did he who made the lamb make thee? Tyger! Tyger! burning bright 
 In the forests of the night, 
 What immortal hand or eye 
 Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forest of the night What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies 
 Burnt the fire of thine eyes? 
 On what wings dare he aspire? 
 What the hand dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, and what art, 
 Could twist the sinews of thy heart? 
 And when thy heart began to beat, 
 What dread hand? and what dread feet?

3. Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life, and bid thee feed, By the stream and o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing, woolly, 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, and He is mild; 
 He became a little child. 
 I a child, and thou a lamb, 
 We are called by His name. 
 Little Lamb, God bless thee! 
 Little Lamb, God bless thee! What do we notice? • Lots of repetition • “Lamb,” “He” both capitalized • Perfect a-a-b-b rhyme scheme • Simple sentence structures, esp. in second stanza • Second stanza is a confident answer — complete with exclamation points — to the first-stanza questions • Soft, gentle sounds, esp. the frequent “l”words

4. What do we notice? What the hammer? what the chain? 
 In what furnace was thy brain? 
 What the anvil? what dread grasp 
 Dare its deadly terrors clasp? When the stars threw down their spears, 
 And watered heaven with their tears, 
 Did he smile his work to see? 
 Did he who made the lamb make thee? Tyger! Tyger! burning bright 
 In the forests of the night, 
 What immortal hand or eye 
 Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forest of the night What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies 
 Burnt the fire of thine eyes? 
 On what wings dare he aspire? 
 What the hand dare seize the fire? And what shoulder, and what art, 
 Could twist the sinews of thy heart? 
 And when thy heart began to beat, 
 What dread hand? and what dread feet? • Less repetition, far more questions, even ending with a question • The pronoun “he” not capitalized this time • Nearly perfect rhymes, but key, repeated question involves a near-rhyme • Far more complex structures: poem overall and individual sentences • Tone is desperate, confused as opposed to joyous • Harsher sounds: forest…frame…fearful; dread…dare…deadly

5. Overall observations Tyger Lamb Both • Simple ideas • Form matches message: simple, easy to follow • Two stanzas makes poem a simple Q&A format • Joyous, reverential tone • Soothing sounds • More complex ideas • Tone of despair, confusion, fear • Harsh sounds • “…Could frame thy fearful symmetry” is difficult to say — just as tyger is difficult to grasp • Multiple stanzas allows speaker to examine tyger in great depth • Understanding of tyger follows understanding of lamb: a person understands good before evil • Is tyger “evil”? • Speaker is respectful of both animals • Each animal is described as nearly perfect • Both forces (of love/ good and violence/ evil) belong in the world • God appears in both poems, though never named; perception changes, however

6. Thesis + topic sentences = skeletal outline In the companion poems “The Tyger” and “The Lamb,” William Blake uses diction, sound and structure to suggest that the world can appear beautifully simple or terribly troubling, depending on one’s perspective. Body ¶1: Simple vocabulary and sentence structure distinguish “The Lamb” from “The Tyger,” which uses more complex vocabulary to express more complex ideas. Body ¶2: Soft sounds make “The Lamb” a gentle, soothing read, in stark contrast to the harsh sounds that dominate “The Tyger.” Body ¶3: Even the forms of the poems are distinct. “The Lamb” has a simple, two-stanza structure that fits the uncomplicated message whereas “The Tyger” many stanzas filled with questions to emphasize its ideas. Conclusion