the tyger and the lamb

            William Blake, in his two poems, "The Lamb" and "The Tyger", from Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, respectively, shows what Blake referred to as "the two contrary states of the human soul." In "The lamb", Blake creates what is the epitome of innocence for him, a gentle and caring creature, surrounded by pastoral imagery. In "The Tyger" however, the imagery changes, the focus is on the blazing fire, burning out of a dark sky, and the elusive, yet powerfully exhilarating Tyger. The change from innocence to experience is well documented, and serves to comment on the change that we as humans seem to endure. The lamb emphasises a "blind faith", where the Tyger represents a skeptical doubt. Through this the comment lies chiefly on advances in industry and science, further questioning the view that scientific evidence is seen as more important than religious faith. Blake however, seems not to totally condemn "The Tyger". True he does refer to it in a negative light, but also, through his poem, he suggests that "Innocence is the contrary of experience and not its negation." He suggests that for innocence to exist there must on some level be experience. Although two very different forces, they do not oppose each other, and in one sense are both necessary for human existence.
             Blake believed people were not intrinsically good nor bad, but as adults they grow away from the innocence embodied by childhood. He believed that joy and spontaneity were ruined with this growth, and social rules and institutions were the cause of this. The reader notices Blake's powerful belief in the purity of the child, in his songs of innocence. It is in these poems that faith and beauty prevail. There is an emphasise on nature and the topics emphasise belief, as opposed to scientific doubt. This is shown in "The lamb" by the surety of the speaker, that it was God who created the lamb. He refers to God as the one who: .