The Lamb (W. Blake)

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!

1. First impression: This poem is filled very particular word choices and a peculiar syntax which includes an aa, bb, cc, dd, aa rhyming scale, repetition and alliteration. The poem talks about a little lamb, which I connected to a biblical allusion. In the second paragraph there is also an allusion to the Bible in which the author identifies the lamb as a male child who calls himself a lamb. The poem also begins and ends the first stanza with the same rhetorical question.

2. Paraphrase:

a. Small lamb, who created you?

b. Do you know who created you?

c. Gave you life, and offered you food

d. By the stream and over the meadow;

e. Softest garments, woolly, bright;

f. Gave you such a tender voice,

g. Making all valleys joyful

h. Do you know who created you?

i. Little lamb, I’ll tell you,

j. Little lamb, I’ll tell you:

k. He is called by your name

l. Because he call himself a lamb

m. He is humbly patient, he is docile;

n. He became a small child

o. I a child and you a lamb.

p. We are all called by his name.

q. God bless you little lamb

r. God bless you little lamb

3. Syntax/Word Choice: The poem opens with a rather unique rhetorical question: “Little Lamb, who made thee?” The author uses a rhyming scheme of aa, bb, cc, dd, aa with a two stanza composition. The first stanza opens and concludes with a pair of very similar rhetorical questions. The first and last two lines of both stanzas end with “thee”. This poem also has repetition, which makes emphasis on the words “Little Lamb”; this also serves as alliteration. The author makes use of certain words in order to create an interconnection to the title/topic of the lamb which flows through the entire piece. The author also selected words like “stream”, “mead”, and “vales” which all relate to nature and are common locations were lambs can be found.

4. Imagery: The author paints a nature scene as the poem progresses. Also the images portray a sort of holiness and appeal to the tactile senses. Some examples are found in the first stanza, 4^th line, “By the stream and o’er the mead;” which is a good example of the imagery of a scene that would maybe occur in a farmland. Other examples of imagery include the soft clothing of a lamb. The simple idea of lamb is something the reader can quickly connect to a white, fluffy and soft innocent animal.

5. Figurative Language: In this poem, Blake uses several allusions to the bible. The little lamb can be interpreted to be Jesus; “He calls himself a Lamb… He became a little child”. In the old testament Jesus decides to become a lamb of sacrificed himself and became like humans in order to better understand them and save them from their since, therefore serving as an offering to pay for the sins of the world. Another example of figurative language is when he mentions that “we are called by his name” which could imply that the term of ‘Christians’ derived from Jesus Christ, is used to call the people he saved.

6. Tone: The tone for this poem is logical or rational yet positive. The tone is logical in the sense that the author is curious about the little lamb origin or creation; “Little lamb who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee?”. Throughout the poem the author re-emphasizes the same question, twice in the first stanza. When referring to the positive side of this poem’s tone, we can see how mesmerized the author is with the beauty of nature, and of the lamb itself; “Softest clothing, woolly, bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice?” In the second stanza of this poem, the author adopts an explanatory tone, “He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb. He is meek, and he is mild;”

7. Theme: When referring to the poems theme, there is a prevailing rhetorical journey to discover who the lamb is. The author repeatedly inquires “Little Lamb who made thee?” in the sense that the reader also wonders about the origins of the little lamb. There is also the theme of a paradise or Utopia with the description of this beautiful meadow and the purity of the “clothing of delight”. One can picture the lamb as a bright snow-white fragile little creature.

8. Conclusions: The poem opens with a set of rhetorical questions which inquire about this delicate small creature, the lamb. The author then goes on to mention how such a small creature with the softest wool has brought joy to the vales with its tender voice. The first stanza then concludes restating the question: “little lamb who made thee”. The second stanza then goes on and answers the question saying that he is God’s creation. He is called by his name and is compared to Jesus when he became a human child and sacrificed himself like a lamb in order to save humanity from their sins. Therefore the author concludes with “Little Lamb, God bless thee!” for he is a symbol of redemption.