Language and style

Analysing the language and style of the poem “The Lamb” by William Blake is very important, as it can help you discover specific analytical elements employed by the author.

Playing with the language

The poem “The Lamb” is very straightforward and easy to understand and the author does not rely too much on wordplay. There is, however, one instance in which the term “lamb” is associated with both the animal and with Jesus Christ:

He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb: (ll. 14-15)

The lamb becomes, thus, a symbol of the natural world created by God, but also of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for mankind.

Tense of the verbs

The first stanza of the poem is mostly written using verbs in the past tense, such as “made” (l. 1, l. 2, l. 9, l. 10) and “gave” (l. 3, l. 5, l. 7). These verbs are part of questions that the speaker addresses to the lamb in an attempt to find out about the lamb’s creator.

The second stanza of the poem begins with a verb in the future tense, which is repeated twice: “I’ll tell” (l. 12, l. 13). The use of the future tense reveals that the only one who can answer the questions is not the lamb but the speaker himself. The rest of the second stanza is comprised of verbs in the present tense: “is called” (l. 14), “calls” (l. 15), “is” (l. 16) and “are called” (l. 19). The use of the present tense implies the continuing importance of Christ’s sacrifice and his continuing connection to all innocent life on Earth.

Finally, the poem ends with two v...