Archetypes In The Lamb, The Tyger, And Infant Sorrow

Some writing that may seem like it is prose writing contains a deeper, more beyond way of thinking with intentions of delivering a more sophisticated message. Sometimes, these meanings are accomplished by creating archetypes. An archetype is quite simply a plot pattern, character type, or idea with emotional power and widespread appeal. An author by the name of William Blake wrote four poems that utilize these ideas of archetypes to elaborate on meanings the typical reader would miss. In the texts The Lamb, The Tyger, The Chimney Sweeper, and Infant Sorrow, William Blake uses archetypes to explain certain ideas or thoughts. In the text The Lamb, Blake discusses the innocence of the lamb. On the surface, this poem seems like Blake is talking about the lamb and who his creator is; however, the true meaning behind it requires a bit of explanation. Blake wrote two collections of poems into books, namely, Songs of Innocence, and Songs of Experience. Poems associated with Songs of Innocence are usually poems that induce happiness or show joy. This poem elaborates on the speaker asking who the

This final text from Blake is from Songs of Experience, and that is for a good reason. In this poem, there is a kid born to a father and a mother. The father was crying when he was born, and he just showed resentment to all things in his life. Beyond that meaning, these lines engage us with the meaning Blake wants us to see, “Helpless, naked, piping loud; like a fiend hid in a cloud.” (Page 752, Lines 3-4). A college teacher, Robert William, explains the deeper, hidden meaning that Blake wants us to understand, “Most scarily of all, the baby is described in a simile as like a devil ("a fiend") hid in a cloud. What does that mean? How might the baby be like a devil hidden under a (traditionally angelic!) cloud? Is birth a little demon breaking out into the world?” (Robert