“THE LAMB” POEM TERM EXPLANATIONS
• dost – an archaic form of the word ‘do’
• o’er – a poetic contraction of ‘over’
• vales – valleys
• mead – shortened form of the word ‘meadows’
The Lamb-William Blake (https://poets.org/poet/william-blake) 1757-1827
Little lamb, who made thee?
Dost 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?
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, and He is mild,
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb,
We are called by His name.
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Stanza wise summary
Stanza 1
In the first stanza, the poet or the speaker rhetorically asks the “Little Lamb” if it knows who has created it. In the second
line, the question is repeated in order to create a poetic effect. In the third line and onwards, he elaborates his question.
According to the poet/speaker, He is the one who gave it life and provided it with the food that it eats. His food (grass, leaves
etc) grows along the streams (rivers) and also over the meadows. He gave it thick wool which covers its body preventing from
excessive heat and cold.
The poet calls the wool clothing of delight which is the softest clothing, wooly and very bright. The poet here is praising the pow
He is the one who gave it such a tender voice i.e. gentle/kind/affectionate voice. It is so gentle and charming that it makes the
whole valley rejoice. In the ending of the first stanza, the poet again asks the lamb who is its Creator,
Stanza 2
As told earlier, in the second stanza, the poet now answers himself the questions that he raised in the previous stanza. The poet
says that he will himself about the Creator to him (lamb). According to him, the Creator of Lamb is also known by the name of
Lamb. It is because he too calls himself a Lamb.
The poet then gives the reasons why the Creator i.e. Jesus Christ is a Lamb – he is gentle, calm, sympathetic. The poet says that
Christ became a little child. This line is again a reference to the Biblical assumption that Jesus is the son of God who is as
innocent as lamb.
The speaker now reveals that he is a child saying that both the lamb and he himself are as innocent and meek as Christ. Thus they
are also lambs (the three have innocence in common). In the final line, the speaker prays that God may bless it.
This poem is quite opposite to
The Tyger (https://englishsummary.com/lesson/the-tyger-william-blake/) in which the poet
appreciates fierceness of
the tiger.
Language and tone
The poem depends upon the repetition of the question and answer framework. This echoes what all children in the Church of England
(https://crossref-it.info/repository/atoz/Church-of-England) had to learn before confirmation (https://crossref-
it.info/repository/atoz/confirmation) , the question and answer structure of the catechism (https://crossref-
it.info/repository/atoz/catechism) . Thus the poem is associated with religious instruction. At the same time, it can be
associated with the innocent pleasure of children asking riddles. In this way, it manages to use the device of repeated
rhetorical questions (https://crossref-it.info/repository/atoz/rhetorical-questions) without appearing to use adult art.
The childlike voice also depends upon the cumulative effect of repeating words associated with gentleness – ‘mead (a lush
meadow)', ‘delight', ‘softest', ‘woolly', ‘tender', ‘meek', ‘mild'. The preponderance of L and M sounds reinforces the flowing,
soft implications of the language. It reinforces the impression of a child's voice and the softness of the lamb. The reader is
lulled into accepting this vision of lamb and child. It is only when s/he begins to reflect upon those aspects of the biblical
lamb and child not mentioned that it becomes clear that this gentle perspective is attractive, but incomplete.
Structure and versification
The Lamb is in rhymed couplets (https://crossref-it.info/repository/atoz/rhymed-couplets) in a basic trochaic metre
(https://crossref-it.info/repository/atoz/trochaic-metre) . This metre is often found in children's verse and so enhances the
impression of simplicity. The opening and closing couplets of each stanza (https://crossref-it.info/repository/atoz/stanza)
change by employing a spondee (https://crossref-it.info/repository/atoz/spondee) ‘made thee', which makes them more emphatic and
slows the reader down.
The patterning of repetition, with difference in the opening and closing couplets, frames the questions and answers. They
emphasise the idea that this is a catechism or, alternatively, a child's riddle. Think how often riddles and jokes use a similar
patterning of repetition.
Discussion questions
1. Which phrases are repeated in this poem? Why do you think that is?
2. Find the rhyming words in each stanza. What is the rhyme scheme of this poem?
3. What words or phrases are used to describe the Lamb?
4. What does “clothing” refer to in the first stanza?
5. According to the second stanza, who made the Lamb?
6. How is the one who made the Lamb described?
7. Who is the speaker in this poem? Hint: Look towards the end of the second stanza.
8. How does the poem make you feel about the Lamb?
9. How does the poem make you feel about the creator of the Lamb?
