The Lamb and The Tyger: The Use of Contrast to Develop an Idea
In William Blake's two short poems "The Lamb" and "The Tyger", Blake uses the stark contrast in imagery, theme and tone between the two complimentary poems to comment about Christianity and god in the industrial age. “The lamb” and “The Tyger” are poems engraved in Blake’s book Songs of Innocence and Experience (cite Herbert ). Blake uses the two poems to demonstrate the contradiction between the church view on the world and the other more realistic and experienced view. “The Lamb” is a representation of the church view on the world and how god created such a beautiful creature like the lamb. On the other hand, “The Tyger” is a representation of the new industrialized world that Blake does not want us to ignore. The two poems work together to show us that the two sides exist in the world and
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With the Lamb natural softness and the Tyger strong and rough tone , It is used as a tool for the reader to see the differences between the poems if they are missed. The first line in the Tyger is " Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright" sets a very rough tone with the alliteration and repetition of the world Tyger. The Lamb still has alteration in the first two words of the first line" Little Lamb", but with a softer and a smoother tone. Blake uses phrases like “by the stream” and “such a tender voice” that make the tone more gentle to reflect the innocence of the child and? On the other hand, “The Tyger” is more moving and it has a heart like beat in it. The repetition of “what” in lines like “What dread hand? & what dread feet?” create the sensation of fast rhythmic movement like the heart beat of the tiger or the hammer and anvil sound in the factory. The tone in “The Tyger” shows the fast-moving urban life that most people started to move to at that time. While the lamb represents the natural rural life that romantic poets write