Language and Culture III Ronaldo L.

Rodriguez
Instituto Privado Almafuerte November 2007

“Did He Who Made the Lamb Made Thee?”

“Without contraries there is no progression”
Thomas Wright

The passage from Songs of Innocence (1789) to the Songs of Experience

(1794) by William Blake could be represented as a voyage from the sweetness of
childhood to trials of adult life. The transition from the former to the latter could
also be understood as an intellectual ‘partaking of the forbidden fruit of good and
evil’. In Moses’ account, one of consequences of Adam and Eve’s transgression
was that they lost their innocence and, as a result, they were cast out of the
garden with this verdict: “curse is the ground for thy sake1” Thus, according to
the Bible, Experience began.
Hence, an intellectual journey of this kind, leads to a number of questions like:
what could have been some of the reasons that brought Blake from one extreme
of the spectrum to the other, which motives could have prompted him to
establish such a sharp contrast; and finally, how are these changes realized in his
poems. It could be wisely said that the only individual fully able to answer these
questions is the author himself. However, due to the sharp difference between
the books above mentioned, his production offers excellent material for the
mental exercise of contrast.
The purpose of this paper will be then to analyze two of his poems: “The
Lamb” and “The Tiger”. This analysis will seek to highlight different kinds of
oppositions, thus showing that there is indeed a clear contrast between the spirits
of both books.
The first thing that needs to be done is to look at the historical context. The
Songs of Innocence were published in 1789, the very year in which the eyes of
the world turned into France and its Revolution. At that time, William Blake
belonged to a group of sympathizers of the Revolution who used to meet
frequently to comment the news from the other side of the channel. As Wright
put it:
”the fall of the Bastille, July 15th, 1789, thrilled them with
joy. At their dinners in 1791 Paine's book and the French
Revolution were toasted with three times three. "Every
bosom," says John Hall, "felt the divine glow of patriotism and
love of universal freedom. For my part I was transported."
Blake was so carried away that he went boldly about the
streets wearing the red cap of Liberty. "The shape of my
forehead," he said, "makes me a republican. I can't help being
one."

So, it appears that the spirit of equality, fraternity and freedom that this
historical process brought forth, may have prompted the feelings of bliss that
characterized the Songs of Innocence. Another aspect concerning background of
the time is the fast growth of Children’s Literature as a new literary genre and the
increasing attention to early education. In the words of Hilton (1998):

“the ‘discovery’ or ‘invention’ of childhood and the particular

interest in early education in the decades before the Songs
[…] saw the genre of collections of devotional and moral
poems emerged [considerably]”

1
Genesis 3:17
 However, since an antagonistic pair to almost very poem from Songs of
Innocence is possible to be found in Song of Experience and, the idea that the
Revolution as an inspirational context to the first of these books being appealing;
it is worthwhile wondering to which historical process can Experience be attached
to. Blake’s perception of his own time, as it has been analyzed by Wright (1929),
may contribute to enlighten this issue:

“In Europe Blake reached the boundary of his rebellious

mood. The impetus of his rebellion might by its own strength
have carried him further down the stream; but the Reign of
Terror was a rude check, and among other things it enabled
him to climb on to the bank and view the course of events
with some degree of detachment. He found that he could no
longer refuse to listen to another voice that had been
sounding more or less loudly for some years-the voice of his
own experience, and, that which inevitably follows, the voice
of the experience of mankind”
(Emphasis added)

Thus, the concept of “experience” as an opponent to the one of “innocence”,

seems to be influenced by the same Revolution, though in this case by its
negative consequences. Perhaps, the bloodshed that followed the Reign of Terror
caused Blake to consider the idea of approaching poetry from a different morality,
thus changing the viewpoint displayed in the Song of Innocence.

THE SONGS OF INNOCENCE

This book begins with a well-titled “Introduction”, in which some basic elements
to understand the spirit of the work are provided. Among other things, this
introduction depicts a piper which is singing “songs of pleasant glee” a phrase
that very well embraces the spirit of whole book. Another important element
mentioned in the narration of this introduction is that the piper and poet is told –
in a way that closely resembles the revelations that in Judea-Christian literature
characterize prophets-, to sing a song about the “Lamb”. The poet does so
saying:
Little lamb, who made thee?
Does 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?
Does thou know who made thee?

Little lamb, I tell thee;

Little lamb, I 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.
A child and thou a lamb,
We are called by His name.
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Little lamb, God bless thee!

In many ways, this poem resembles the spirit of Children’s Literature of the
time, a genre meant to educate and to emphasize the importance of moral values
teaching, in particular, to the new generations (Hilton, 1998). Among other ideas,
the poem suggests that mankind has been created by God and that He has given
them all the things that they have. Also, the concepts of the Son of God coming
to earth “as a child” and living in the mist of men; along with the idea that “we
are called by his name”, are some of the elements that bind this poem to the
central thesis of Christian thought: salvation through Jesus Christ. The terms:
“lamb” and “shepherd”, used by Blake in this and other poems of Songs of
Innocence, are good evidence of the author’s mastery of the Bible, for they, in
several contexts, are used to designate the Lord Jesus Christ. Two instances of
such a usage can be, on the one hand, one of David’s Salms in which the Lord is
referred to as “the Good shepherd”2 and, on the other, the passage of the Gospel
John where He is said to be “the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the
world”3.
Thus, the poem as a whole seems to be intended to bring its readers close to
the doctrine of Christianity. Perhaps, since Blake’s spirituality is not attachable to
a particular denomination, his intension may have been to encourage a personal
rather than an orthodox devotion through religious membership.

THE SONGS OF EXPERIENCE

As mentioned above, Blake’s mood and viewpoint changes dramatically in
Songs of Experience. It seems that innocence (precisely) has been lost and that
in adult life things are not as beautiful and optimistic as they have been depicted
in the poet’s own production or as they have been taught from generation to
generation. An example of such a change is found in “The Tiger”, a poem which is
obviously and deliberately meant to be contrasted with “The Lamb”. In its lines,
the author states:
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forest of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deep or skies

Burn 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?

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 spares,

And watered heaven with thy tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb made thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright

In the forest of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Blake’s selection of the tiger to be contrasted with the lamb is both functional
and logical for many reasons. While the lamb is one of the most innocent animals
of all living creatures, for it has no way to defend itself from predators, the tiger
is one of the most feared creatures because of its strength and capacity to prey.
Yet, a similarity, in contrast with the opposition suggested by the animals, occurs
in the verse where the bard, almost with unbelief, asks: “Did he who made the
2
Salm 23
3
John 1:29 “The next day John seth the Jesus coming unto him, and saith: Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world”
lamb made thee?” This moving question (Wright, 1929) could be illustrating a
number of reservations. On the one hand, an taken into account the previous
inquiry “Did he smile His work to see?” it could be suggested that, perhaps, the
real questions Blake is putting forth are: how can a loving God allow evil to
happen? Is it possible that the same hand that gave mankind “life, feed [and]
clothing of delight…” “could frame [the] fearful symmetry” of evil? This alternative
seems to account for the obvious misunderstanding between the perspectives
displayed in both poems and, moreover, it seems to fit Flecher’s appreciation that
Blake felt “intense indignation […] for all cruelty and every thing that he [took]
for cruelty4” Hence, the impression of disillusion (Wright, 1929) that Experience
causes as a whole, could indicate that, in spite of his faith, Blake was unable to
harmonize these oppositions. So, because of the strong doubt that emerges from
these questions, it seems that, on the one hand, Blake’s own capacity to believe
weakened and, on the other, that his criticism to the established church (which is
present in Songs of Experience in poems such as “The Garden of Love”) turned
towards heaven. Nevertheless, and despite all this reasoning, a different
interpretation is possible. Taken Blake’s heterodoxy for granted, it appears that
in his contrasting these ideas, the issue of perfection is again portrayed although
this time it is not represented by the meekness of an innocent animal but through
the shape of a feared one. Such an idea would sound, at least, awkward in the
official world of Christendom; nevertheless, in Blake’s peculiar religiosity, the idea
making God accountable not only for good but also for evil, without depriving him
of the attribute of perfection, is possible. From a more orthodox perspective, on
the contrary, such a proposal would lead to an idea of a “god” without capital ‘G’
in opposition to the “only true God5”.

CONCLUSION
To sum up, it could be said that the poet experienced a change from 1789,
when he published the Songs of Innocence, to 1794 when Songs of Experience
first appeared, which could be associated with the historical background of the
time, in particular, with the feelings of disillusion that followed the Reign of Terror
among other negative consequences of the French Revolution. On the other hand,
the intention of contrasting the antagonistic pairs of ´innocence´ and ´experience
´; and ´good´ and ´evil´, can be understood from the author´s heterodox
viewpoint as opposites but nevertheless as coming from the same source: God.
Elsewhere, it could be concluded that the poet’s faith in God faltered and kept
itself aloof from orthodox explanations. From this perspective, the contrast
between both books and poems analyzed, suggests the idea that Blake struggled
with unanswered questions about the true nature and character of the Deity.

4
Flecher, Robert Huntington: A History of English Literature
5
John 17:3
Bibliography

• Blake, William: “The Songs of Innocence and The Song of Experience” The
Project Gutenberg EBook
• Flecher, Robert Huntington: “A History of English Literature” Blackmask
online hppt://www.blackmask.com
• Hilton, Nelson: “Songs of innocence and of Experience” The Blackwell
Comparison to Romanticism 1998. Duncan Wu (cd) Oxford: Blackwell
Publishers. http://virtual.park.uga.edu
• The Holy Bible. Authorized King James Version. The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1979
• Wright, Thomas: The Life of William Blake. Volume: 1. Publisher: Bucks, T.
Wright. Place of Publication: Olney, England. Publication Year: 1929.