Themes and message

The main themes William Blake focuses on in “The Lamb” are the themes of religion/creation and innocence.

Religion/creation

The theme of religion becomes obvious in the second stanza of the poem, where the image of Jesus Christ appears. Before this, the first stanza seems to simply mirror the speaker’s amazement concerning the lamb’s existence. However, the second stanza clarifies the speaker’s intention and reveals that the poem is a reflection on the way in which the natural world (illustrated by the child and the lamb) is connected to the world of God.

The religious aspect of the poem is revealed when the lamb becomes a metaphorical image of Jesus Christ, who is also called “The Lamb of God” and who has sacrificed His life to absolve mankind of sin:

He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child: (ll. 14-17)

The verse “He b...