Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed,
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly 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 & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
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Very Interesting I really enjoy William Blakes written poetry
Now for me this poem has referance to scriptural context.It can be taken two ways, one of the literal lamb, in verse one. And then it goes into the scriptural context.
He is called by thy name so with referance to Gods word the Bible, John The Baptist is talking to the crowds and John sees Jesus coming towards him and says: John 1:29
"See the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world" and verse 34 says: And I have seen it and I have borne witness that this one is the Son of God.
Under the Law of Moses animal sacrifices were offered up. At the time of the Ten Commandments the Israelites were told to mark the door post with the blood of an unblemshed lamb and on all the doorpost where the blood of the lamb was not there, the firstborn would die.
This was called the feast of the Passover. For if the blood of the lamb was there, no death would occurr in the dwelling place. The people in the dwelling place were passover and no death occurred as the Angel passed the dwelling place.
Before Jesus died for our sins He was celebrating the feast of the Passover as a Jew God had told the nation of Israel to do from the time of Moses. Jesus observed the feast of the Passover, but now animal sacrifice were soon to stop for all time.
Jesus was to become the Sacrificial Lamb. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice. "The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world."
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simple yet symbolistic
From guest joyee (contact)
The poem is very symbolisticyet simple.The Lamb symbolizes the innocence and joy found in a child's heart. The Lamb is a symbolisation of the redemption of Christ.And the relation of the three is made by the presence of innocence, goodness and simplicity.Its marvellous in the way Blake inter relates the three , Christ , the child, and the lamb. -
From guest Carol Purcell (contact)
My daughter is having a baby this month. Her nursery decorations are lambs. This poem will be perfect for the baby's room. My thoughts are simple when I read this. Jesus is the good shepherd. Jesus is the lamb that was slain for our sins. Jesus is the creator. Jesus came to Earth as a little child. Wow! Thank you lord for showing us the way. God bless my grandchild. -
At first look, someone may believe Blake is saying just how amazing the works and the products of God are, and this a simple praising poem. But I don't believe Blake was one to write something so simple. I think it's interesting to consider the line
"I a child and thou a lamb"
and then think what Blake intends to imply about the narrator be calling him a child. Some might like to say the narrator only calls himself a child because we are all "children of god" but I believe that here the word comes with all it's literal and figurative meaning. Blake might very well be implying this poem with all its childlike praising, is from the perspective of an innocent and ignorant child(meaning this is a childish thing to believe). After all ignorance and innocence are both connotations of the word child. It's common for people to look at this poem and the Tyger as contrasting poems that send contrasting messages. But it seems likely to me that both poems send a similar message questioning creationism and christianity. Like Kjelson said I believe when closly read poems from Songs of Innocence can be viewed as harsh critiques of christianity. -
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 & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
very beautiful poem by Blake.I am very fond of his poetry.Good work. -
cool, thanks for the correction.
Edited on May 18, 7:44 p.m. because ''. -
Thank you Kjelson,
The punctuation has been corrected.
Andrew -
In this poem from Blake's songs from innocence, the speaker of the poem is speaking to a representation of a Christian, or 'a lamb'. The pastoral element of this poem is meant to highlight not only the Christian world, but also the Hellenic world of sheperds, or pastors. In the first stanza, the speaker starts with a question, which is essential to the form and context in which the rest of the poem is read. To ask a Christian who 'made' them is a very simple question, obviously they would reply God- when in fact all of the following images are of the natural world. He mentions nothing of a soul, or happiness--but merely natural or 'worldly' objects which bring happiness and sustenance to 'the lamb'. At the end of the first stanza, the original line is changed by the omission of the comma, and the line thus reads "Little Lamb who made thee?"--an incomplete phrase at this point, which I read as ~Was it yourself who made you?~ The identity of a God based on a human image, rather than the other(Christian) way around is exemplified by this line.
The second stanza again holds some ambiguity within it's structure. Then it goes on to reinforce my idea about the final lines of the first stanza. The speaker refers to the maker "He is called by thy name" Thus reinforcing the idea that the lamb came before the God, hence "called by thy name". Then the next line, to fit the rhyme scheme throughout the rest of the poem--the word is printed "Lamb", but reads "lame". This may be the most upfront attack on the 'maker', since it brings imperfection, even lameness into the equation. Then the speaker deifies himself, "He became a little child;(read God), I a child and thou a lamb, We are called by his name" Of course, child can be read two different ways, human or God, but the next line seems to separate that more clearly, since I'm working with the precept that the Lamb is standing in for Joe Christian. They are both "called by his name" in a series of ways. Called in the sense that people refer to them by the two names of God, God and Lamb. Or also, called by his name, in the missionary sense, called by God to convert people (the Christian ethic).
The final two lines at first look give a double blessing to the innocent little lamb, but if you refer back to the first line again, the absence of a comma in the last two lines complicates the meaning. After self deification, the speaker could be saying "Little Lamb God, bless thee." or "Little Lamb, God bless thee." The difference being the singularity or multiplicity of the God in question. Is the speaker referring to a "Little Lamb God" that looks after lambs, or addressing a universal "God" which blesses all equally? The ambiguity of the final lines makes this poem fit perfectly into songs of innocence-- which when read closely, can be seen as a complexly harsh critique of Christianity.
By the way-----the punctuation of this poem is wrong on this page. Check an authoritative version. The punctuation greatly affects the available meaning for this poem...
Edited on May 18, 12:22 because ''. -
a free experience
this poem blake i believe is saying just how amazing the works and the product of God.....his couplets show very sweetness pure....i just think it's beautiful....chillike and praising -
Excellent, one to cherish and keep close to heart.
I am so moved by the utterance of this powerful poem. We are his sheep and He is our Shepperd, the Lamb of God. -
great melody
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."
What a piece of mataphysical, divene, philosophical thought.
the more we think the more we enjoy.
m proud that m copleting my 100'th critical comment with this great melody -
absolutely divine!!!
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