The Lamb
What kind of tone is presented in "The Lamb"?
Comforting
"The Tyger" focuses on this kind of duality
Good and evil
Why is the speaker working as a chimney sweeper?
His mother died and his father sold him
What kind of tone is presented in the speaker's words?
Who does the speaker resolve his anger with?
His friend
An allusion is a reference to a well-known person, place, or thing. In this poem, the lamb is an allusion to whom?
Jesus ("The Lamb of God")
The speaker implies that the tiger's creation is ____.
a) innocent
b) dangerous
c) indifferent
The black coffins symbolize both the narrowness of the chimneys and ______.
Inevitable deaths of the chimney sweepers
This poem paints the parents, priests, and even God as ____ because the parents are off to pray while the children suffer.
Hypocrites
The speaker's anger is symbolized by what?
An apple
The speaker of the poem claims to be a _____.
Child
Humans
This character and his hair can give a reader connection between this Songs of Innocence poem and "The Lamb."
Tom Dacre
This poem starts: "A little black thing among the snow, Crying "weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe..."
What is this image supposed to be?
A young chimney sweeper boy covered in soot
What religious connection does "A Poison Tree" have?
Connects with the story of the Original Sin (aka the story of Adam & Eve)
Repetition is used during this poem. What question is being repeated? What is the answer to that question?
1. Who made thee?
2. God
Repetition is used in this poem. What question is being repeated?
What immortal hand or eye,
could frame thy fearful symmetry?
(Who created you?)
When the angel sets the chimney sweepers free in the speaker's dream, they wash and clean themselves in a river. This connects with this religious rite/ceremony in the Christian faith.
Baptism
What are the "clothes of death" (Line 7) supposed to be? Why?
1. Chimney sweeper clothes
2. Connects with the miserable conditions the sweepers work that will inevitably lead to their deaths
What is the moral/lesson behind "A Poison Tree"
Bottling emotions (namely anger) can lead to dangerous consequences
The structure of the poem makes it appear that it was supposed to be sung like this - a song you'd hear/sing in church.
Hymn
"The Tyger" makes allusions to two mythological figures. Who are they?:
1. Stanza 2's "Burnt the fire of thyne eyes" & "What the hand, dare seize the fire" could bring out images of this Greek titan associated with fire.
2. The tiger's creation in Stanza 4 could bring out images of this blacksmith to the Gods (aka the god of craftsmen, artisans, & sculptors)
1. Prometheus
2. Hephaestus (known as Vulcan to the Romans)
According to the speaker, why should he and the other sweepers continue to toil in their work on earth?
They will feel freedom when they get to Heaven
Lines 9-10 state "And because I am happy and dance and sing, They think they have done me no injury..."
What are these lines saying about the children?
They are resilient and try to make the best of their situation and/or they're masking their suffering
Analyze this famous William Blake quote: "Without contraries, there is no progression."
We must see both the good and bad in things. We cannot evolve unless we see the balance of good and evil