Symbols, Imagery, Wordplay
William Blake loves lambs. They connect religion with both the human and natural worlds, being associated with the rugged fields and valleys of the English countryside as well as with farming and c...
Form and Meter
Blake's Songs of Innocence and Experience aren't called "songs" for nothing. In both form and rhythm, "The Lamb" bears similarities with Charles Wesley's hymn beginning "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild...
Speaker
The speaker seems to be an innocent and playful child who likes riddles. In the first line of the poem, he sounds curious about "who made" the lamb, but by the second line it's clear that he knows...
Setting
The setting of "The Lamb" is almost a caricature of British country life, complete with pastoral imagery depicting charming shepherds and sheep. Don't take our word for it: Blake published the poem...
Sound Check
Now that we've fawned over the little shepherd boy in the "Speaker Point of View" section of this guide, we're going to take the opposite approach. This poem sounds like an annoying kid circling ar...
What's Up With the Title?
The Songs of Innocence and Experience resembles a children's book, so it's titles are usually simple and straightforward. Case in point: the poem "The Little Boy Lost" and its nail-bitingly suspens...
Calling Card
In the "Introduction" to Songs of Innocence and Experience, the poet meets a small child sitting on a cloud. The child is laughing, but he also means business and starts giving orders to the poet:P...
Tough-O-Meter
The thing about children's poems is that they're written so that children can understand them. Granted, 18th century children used their "thees" and "thous" more than today's brood do, but the mess...
Brain Snacks
Sex Rating
"Sex? What's sex? I'm just a lamb. I don't know anything about sex. Maybe you should go talk to a voice of experience. We only deal with innocence here."
Shout Outs
Jesus Christ (lines 13-18)