The Lamb by William Blake

"The Lamb" is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789.

THE LAMB

   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!

Summary

The speaker is identifying himself as a child, asks a series of questions of a little lamb, and then answers the questions for the lamb. He asks if the lamb knows who made it, who provides it food to eat, or who gives it warm wool and a pleasant voice. The speaker then tells the lamb that the one who made it is also called “the Lamb” and is the creator of both the lamb and the speaker. He goes on to explain that this Creator is meek and mild, and Himself became a little child. The speaker finishes by blessing the lamb in God’s name. 

This poem has a simple rhyme scheme: AA BB CC DD...... By keeping the rhymes simple and close-knit, Blake conveys the tone of childlike wonder and the singsong voice of innocent boys and girls. The soft vowel sounds and repetition of the “l” sound may also convey the soft bleating of a lamb.

The layout is set up by two stanzas with the refrain: "Little Lamb who made thee” or “Dost thou know who made thee?" In the first stanza, the speaker asks the lamb who his creator is; the answer lies at the end of the poem. Here we find a physical description of the lamb, seen as a pure and gentle creature. In the second stanza, the lamb is compared with the infant Jesus, as well as between the lamb and the speaker's soul. In the last two lines the speaker identifies the creator, God. Indeed the poem is about Christianity. The lamb is a common metaphor for Jesus Christ, who is also called "The Lamb of God" in John 1:29.

The second stanza supplies the answer proposed in the first stanza. Blake describes the Lord Jesus Christ as the creator of the lamb. Since Jesus is often called the Lamb of God, the symbolism of the animal chosen in the poem is very obvious. Blake also names the similarities between the lamb and the Lord; their name, meekness, and mildness. Blake ends his poem by blessing the lamb for his relation to the Lord.

Analysis

One of Blake’s most strongly religious poems, “The Lamb” takes the pastoral life of the lamb and fuses it with the Biblical symbolism of Jesus Christ as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” This is clearly a Biblical allusion. By using poetic rhetorical questions, the speaker, who is probably childlike rather than actually a child, creates a sort of lyric catechism in which the existence of both a young boy and a tender lamb stand as proof of a loving, compassionate Creator.

The lamb stands in relation to the boy as the boy stands in relation to his elders; each must learn the truth of his existence by questioning the origin of his life and inferring a Creator who possesses the same characteristics of gentleness, innocence, and loving kindness as both the lamb and the child. Then the direct revelation of the Scripture comes into play. The Creator, here identified specifically as Jesus Christ by his title of “Lamb of God,” displays these characteristics in his design of the natural and human world, and in His offer of salvation to all (hence the child is also “called by his name”) through his incarnation “he became a little child” and presumably his death and resurrection.

Themes

The main theme is to praise the Lord for creating such a beautiful world and the virtuous creatures within it. The line, He became a child, shows how Blake honors Jesus for coming to the Earth to sacrifice himself for all mankind.

Also the lines "I a child, and thou a lamb” or “We are called by his name" show even more of the religious theme. We discover here that the speaker is indeed a child, which is aligned with all the works in Songs of Innocence. The second line shows the speaker's belief that all life has been created and named by the Lord. This idea supports the belief that as God's creations, we should all worship Him.