Art Imitating Life for William Blake

In both "The Lamb" and "The Tyger", William Blake seeks to understand from whence these creatures came to be. Using a certain simplicity of verse, Blake creates two poems whose tone reflects the nature of the creatures that he is describing. In "The Lamb", Blake creates a tone that encourages a thoughtful gentleness that mirrors the nature of the lamb whose origin he questions,whereas in "The Tyger", Blake illustrates the exotic, fearful nature of this beautiful and mysterious creature with powerful imagery.

When one thinks of the nature of a lamb, pastoral imagery might come to mind. Meadows filled with natural splendor bear witness to the calm innocence of the lambs that inhabit it. Blake captures this essence in his poem by calling into question who made this beautiful lamb and adding beautiful imagery with his interrogation. He remarks the lamb's "tender voice" (Line 7) his "softest clothing wooly bright" (Line 6) and how he has the power to make "all the vales rejoice" (Line 8). The imagery that these phrases evoke call to mind the innocent nature of this animal, and that is the tone with which Blake creates this poem. Linking the lamb to Jesus Christ, Blake refers to the animal as "meek" and "mild" (Line 15), just like the young Christ. In this poem, art truly imitates life by calling to mind the innocence and simplicity of the tender animal who lends its name to Blake's text.

For "The Tyger", Blake uses the same approach of using the animal's nature to frame the tone of his poem, but the imagery and attitude that he creates could not be more different. Commencing the work with "Tyger Tyger, burning bright/In the forests of the night" (Lines 1-2), Blake begins with a strong statement as to the powerful presence that this creature evokes. Questioning who could frame the creature's "fearful symmetry" (Line 4), Blake is not as able as he was in his previous poem to link this animal to the "meek" and "mild" Christ child described earlier. Indeed, Blake questions who could "dare" to create an animal as ferocious as this "tyger" several times throughout the poem. With its fiery eyes and sinewy heart, Blake wonders, "Did he who made the lamb make thee?" (Line 20).

In both of these poems, Blake questions the origins of the creatures who entitle his works. While one may attest quite early that the same entity should have created both, the difference in demeanor, appearance and attitude of both creatures suggests otherwise to this poet. Both poems use the same poetic device of echoing the tone to the nature of the animal: The lamb being gentle and comforting, while the tiger is wild and outlandish. These poems are a true representation of art imitating life, and Blake links the tone of these poems perfectly to the nature of the animals who entitle them.