The Lamb

    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, wooly, 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!

Commentary

Here’s a submission in anticipation of the coming Holiday season.

From ‘Songs of Innocence’, 1789.

Given the lurid fantasticism that we generally associate with Blake, here’s a little gem that sparkles with simplicity and innocence. Place this in contrast, against, say, “The Tyger” (Minstrels Poem #66)

I can never read these lines without strains of “Messiah” running through my head: “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, and He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and gently lead those that are with young…”.

— Daniel

Minstrels Links

William Blake:
Poem #26, Jerusalem
Poem #66, The Tyger
Poem #97, The Fly
Poem #368, Auguries of Innocence
Poem #546, The Sick Rose
Poem #771, The Divine Image
Poem #1087, A Poison Tree

The Wondering Minstrels, poem #1405 · 16 December 2003

Guest poem submitted by Daniel Ma

Fair use

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From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.

PIGandWHITT · 3 March 2005

‘Ash’ - Could some one actually describe what this poem means ? its just that i can’t, in my own words, describe the obvious connection between this poem and christianity - God.

Panda · 19 April 2007

Hey, I came across this whilst doing some writing on the poem, and noticed the comment at the bottom of the page asking to explain a link between it and Christianity/religion; thought I’d comment a part of my answer so far, if it’ll help anyone :-)

What answers are given to the question posed in the first line?

Little Lamb who made thee?

The question the child poses is simple - innocently inquisitive of the world
- yet profound, asking what every person wonders about their origins and the very nature of creation. The child answers his own rhetorical question directly within the second stanza; God made everything. One can argue that the lamb is a completely innocent creature, and so could not know the answer whereas the child is growing and so speaks with conviction; ‘Little lamb, I’ll tell thee’. Alternatively, it was Blake’s belief that people are closest to God as children, when they are entirely innocent, and therefore experience does not necessarily herald knowledge of the divine. The second stanza is reminiscent of a simple child-like riddle, and clearly names God as creator; Jesus was the Lamb of God, a sacrificial lamb for the benefit of mankind; ‘He is meek & he is mild’ (line 15) is a direct reference to the nativity, as is ‘He became a little child’ (line16). The question is also answered mildly through the poem in its use of language; the child speaking of God giving the lamb food and clothing could be related to a parable in the Bible, and words such as ‘rejoice’ (line 8) are used which are linked to angels.

Could that be posted as a comment please?

Thanks,

Kate