The Lamb

Blake's illustration to The Lamb from the Songs of Innocence and of Experience Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul ( Songs of innocence and experience: the two opposing states of the human soul pointing ) ( Library of Congress )

The Lamb ( The Lamb ) is a poem by the English poet and artist William Blake (1757-1827), which was first published in 1789 in his Songs of Innocence ( Songs of Innocence ). It is also known as the Christmas carol (Carol) in various settings .

The Lamb is the counterpart to Blake's poem The Tyger ( The Tiger ) from his Songs of Experience ( Songs of Experience ). Blake wrote his Songs of Experience - core themes in his philosophy and work.

As in many of Blake's works, Christianity is at the center of the poem. The lamb is a metaphor for Jesus Christ , who in the Gospel of John the Baptist ( Joh 1.29 LUT ) ( Joh 1.29 EU ) is also referred to as "God's lamb" / "lamb of God".

The poem consists of two stanzas of ten lines each with the refrain "Little Lamb who made thee? / Dost thou know who made thee?" ("Little Lamb, who made you? / Do you know who made you?") And the rhyme scheme [aabbccddaa aaefggfeaa]. In the first stanza the speaker asks the Lamb who his creator is, the answer is at the end of the poem. It provides a description of the qualities of the Lamb who is considered a pure and gentle being. The second stanza compares the lamb with the baby Jesus and between the lamb and the speaker's good soul. In the last two lines the speaker identifies the Creator: God.

Like the other Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience ( of innocence and experience songs ) should The Lamb will probably originally sung Blake's original melody is lost today.

The English composer Vaughan Williams set it as a song, although he said: "A poem I hate, this terrible little lamb" ("that horrible little lamb - a poem that I hate".) Also by the American poet Allen Ginsberg (1970s) and the English composer John Tavener (1982) it was set to music.

text

English	translation
The Lamb Little lamb, who made thee? Does 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? Does thou know who made thee? Little lamb, I'll tell thee; Little lamb, I'll tell thee: He is callèd 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!	The Lamb Little Lamb, who made you? Do you know who made you? Gave you life, begged you: eat! At the river and in the pasture? Gave you a beautiful dress, A softest dress, woolly, white; Gave you such a gentle voice That makes the valleys happy? Little lamb who made you Do you know who made you? Little Lamb, I'll tell you, Little Lamb, I'll tell you: HE is called after you, Because He calls himself a Lamb. He is pious, he is mild, he was a little child himself. I, a child, and you, a lamb, We are both named after Him. Little lamb, God bless you! Little lamb, God bless you!

literature

William Blake: Between Fire and Fire. Poetic Works , Munich 1996, ISBN 978-3423023979 .

Web links

A comparison of different extent versions of Blake's Illustrated and Hand Painted version of "The Lamb" in the William Blake Archive
A Bibliography of Important Interpretations of "The Lamb from the University of Georgia English Department.

Various German transmissions: a , b , c , d , e
Singable, rhyming transmission: [1]
recmusic.org (list of different settings)

Wikisource: The Lamb - Sources and full texts

Videos

The Lamb (a) (b) (John Tavener, Choir of King's College, Cambridge)
The Lamb , setting by Ralph Vaughan Williams from the Ten Blake Songs , No. 5

Individual evidence

^ "The problem of 'The Tyger' is, quite simply, how to reconcile the Forgiveness of Sins (the Lamb) with the Punishment of Sins (the Tyger)." ("The problem of" The Tiger "is quite simple, how to reconcile the forgiveness of sins (The Lamb) with the punishment of sins (The Tiger).") ( Bahumuth.chaosnet.org )
↑ cf. Kazin, Alfred, "Introduction", The Portable Blake . The Viking Portable Library. Pp. 41-43
↑ Trevor Hold: Parry to Finzi: Twenty English Song Composers . Boydell Press, 2005, ISBN 9781843831747 , p. 122.
^ "Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake, by Allen Ginsberg"
↑ see sound examples

[1] "The problem of 'The Tyger' is, quite simply, how to reconcile the Forgiveness of Sins (the Lamb) with the Punishment of Sins (the Tyger)." ("The problem of" The Tiger "is quite simple, how to reconcile the forgiveness of sins (The Lamb) with the punishment of sins (The Tiger).") ( Bahumuth.chaosnet.org )

[2] . Kazin, Alfred, "Introduction", The Portable Blake . The Viking Portable Library. Pp. 41-43

[Hold-3] Trevor Hold: Parry to Finzi: Twenty English Song Composers . Boydell Press, 2005, ISBN 9781843831747 , p. 122.

[4] "Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake, by Allen Ginsberg"

[5] see sound examples