Firstly, what is poetry?
Poetry is many things to many people, and the same poem can have different meaning to different people. After researching what poetry is, I found that I agreed with this definition the most:
“Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Poetry has been known to employ meter and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary. Poetry is an ancient form that has gone through numerous and drastic reinvention over time. The very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define”, (Flanagan, 2011).
Read William Blake’s ‘The lamb’, and see if you can construct an analysis. What are the key points of your analysis?
Little lamb, who made thee?
Does 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?
Does thou know who made thee?
Little lamb, I’ll tell thee;
Little lamb, I’ll tell thee:
He is callèd 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 callèd by His name.
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Little lamb, God bless thee!
After researching who William Blake was, it was clear that he was a religious man. This comes across strongly in this poem, as I don’t believe he is actually talking to a lamb, but using the lamb as a metaphor for man. He is reiterating his own faith to the lamb by reminding him of the gifts that God has given him; life, food, soft clothing, a tender voice.
Repetition of questions may indicate a questioning of the lamb’s faith.
Author rejoices and delights in his own faith, spreading the word.
2 stanzas of 10 lines each, 5 rhymed couplets with a musical quality.
Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDDAA, AAEFGGFEAA
Direct references to Jesus being called the Lamb of God. A lamb is the child of a sheep, we are children of God. The author is rejoicing in all of God’s creatures.
Reference:
Flanagan, M. (2011). Poetry, About.com Guide, viewed 10 July 2011, http://contemporarylit.about.com/cs/literaryterms/g/poetry.htm
Poetry is many things to many people, and the same poem can have different meaning to different people. After researching what poetry is, I found that I agreed with this definition the most:
“Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. Poetry has been known to employ meter and rhyme, but this is by no means necessary. Poetry is an ancient form that has gone through numerous and drastic reinvention over time. The very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define”, (Flanagan, 2011).
Read William Blake’s ‘The lamb’, and see if you can construct an analysis. What are the key points of your analysis?
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| Little Lamb Prince, Melissa Nucara, 2011. |
Does 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?
Does thou know who made thee?
Little lamb, I’ll tell thee;
Little lamb, I’ll tell thee:
He is callèd 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 callèd by His name.
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Little lamb, God bless thee!
After researching who William Blake was, it was clear that he was a religious man. This comes across strongly in this poem, as I don’t believe he is actually talking to a lamb, but using the lamb as a metaphor for man. He is reiterating his own faith to the lamb by reminding him of the gifts that God has given him; life, food, soft clothing, a tender voice.
Repetition of questions may indicate a questioning of the lamb’s faith.
Author rejoices and delights in his own faith, spreading the word.
2 stanzas of 10 lines each, 5 rhymed couplets with a musical quality.
Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDDAA, AAEFGGFEAA
Direct references to Jesus being called the Lamb of God. A lamb is the child of a sheep, we are children of God. The author is rejoicing in all of God’s creatures.
Reference:
Flanagan, M. (2011). Poetry, About.com Guide, viewed 10 July 2011, http://contemporarylit.about.com/cs/literaryterms/g/poetry.htm
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