Songs of Innocence and Experience' juxtaposes the innocent and pastoral world of childhood against the adult world of corruption, with 'The Lamb' representing a meek virtue and 'The Tyger' showing opposing, darker forces. The lamb is the voice of a child, whilst some critics believe the Tyger is a presence of evil. Keynes believes The Tyger' contains the "riddle of the universe-. The Lamb', on the other hand, is much less complex.
Blake was a supporter of the French Revolution, approving of the revolt against the authority of the Kings, but he was appalled by the anarchy the Revolution unleashed. It is believed by many critics that these attitudes are expressed in The Tyger'. Blake also shows his contempt for the Industrial Revolution in 'The Tyger', with many references to mechanical creation, rather than the innocence of nature, shown in 'The Lamb'. Innocence is conveyed through the lamb, which symbolises Jesus. The traditional image of Jesus as a lamb accentuates the Christian values of meekness and peace. The image of the child is also associated with Jesus. This poem, like many in 'Songs of Innocence' accepts what Blake saw as the positive aspects of Christian belief. The tyger is beautiful yet also terrible in its capacity for violence. I believe Blake is trying to put forward the question that what kind of God would design such a beast as the tyger? What does the existence of evil in the world tell us about the nature of God - and what does it mean to live in a world where a being can be both beauty and evilness? Pared with 'The Lamb', the two poems give a perspective on religion that includes the good as well as the evil. The poems complement each other and offer a good instance of how Blake perceives religion.
The Songs of Innocence' portrays the nave hopes and fears that afflict the lives of children and trace their transformation into adulthood. The Lamb' is written from the perspective of a child and draws attention to natural human understanding before the corruption of experience.