Blake, William - The Lamb (3)

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’ll tell thee;
Little lamb, I’ll tell thee:
He is callèd 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 callèd by His name.
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Little lamb, God bless thee!

William Blake, 1794

- The poem "The Lamb", is formed by two stanzas and it opens with a question about creation. This question is addressed to the Lamb and it posed by Blake. The creator of the Lamb appears very generous: He is defined meek and mild.
- The expressions related to the Lamb convey purity, joy, harmlessness, tenderness and simplicity.
- The second stanza is the answer to the question posed in the first (lines 13-16). These lines refer to Christianity because the Lamb of God is Jesus.
- In the lines 17-18, the poet refers to himself as a child. The poet, the child, the lamb and Christ share the power of imagination. Blake sees himself as a child because looks the world with the innocence of childhood, just as the Lamb.
- The poet is like a child because the child represents the power of imagination. A child is innocent; Christ became a child, and Christ was innocent like a lamb. The state of innocence coincides with childhood, with the freedom of the imagination, which represents God operating in the human soul.
- The rhytm is sweet.