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The Lamb

The Lamb


by William Blake

The Lamb Analysis

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...


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...


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?


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...


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)

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