"The Lamb" is a poem by English visionary William Blake, published in his 1789 collection Songs of Innocence. The poem sees in the figure of the lamb an expression of God's will and the beauty of God's creation. The poem is told from the perspective of a child, who shows an intuitive understanding of the nature of joy and, indeed, the joy of nature. In "The Lamb," there is little of the suspicion of urban environments found elsewhere in Blake's poetry. "The Lamb," then, is a kind of hymn to God, praising God's creation while also implying that humankind has lost the ability to appreciate it fully.
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The Full Text of “The Lamb”
1Little Lamb who made thee
2 Dost thou know who made thee
3Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
4By the stream & o'er the mead;
5Gave thee clothing of delight,
6Softest clothing wooly bright;
7Gave thee such a tender voice,
8Making all the vales rejoice!
9 Little Lamb who made thee
10 Dost thou know who made thee
11 Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
12 Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
13He is called by thy name,
14For he calls himself a Lamb:
15He is meek & he is mild,
16He became a little child:
17I a child & thou a lamb,
18We are called by his name.
19 Little Lamb God bless thee.
20 Little Lamb God bless thee.
The Full Text of “The Lamb”
1Little Lamb who made thee
2 Dost thou know who made thee
3Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
4By the stream & o'er the mead;
5Gave thee clothing of delight,
6Softest clothing wooly bright;
7Gave thee such a tender voice,
8Making all the vales rejoice!
9 Little Lamb who made thee
10 Dost thou know who made thee
11 Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
12 Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
13He is called by thy name,
14For he calls himself a Lamb:
15He is meek & he is mild,
16He became a little child:
17I a child & thou a lamb,
18We are called by his name.
19 Little Lamb God bless thee.
20 Little Lamb God bless thee.
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“The Lamb” Summary
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“The Lamb” Themes
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God and Creation
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Nature
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Childhood and Innocence
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Lamb”
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Lines 1-3
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed. -
Lines 4-8
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice! -
Lines 9-12
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb I'll tell thee! -
Lines 13-15
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild, -
Lines 16-20
He became a little child:
I a child & thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
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“The Lamb” Symbols
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The Lamb
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“The Lamb” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Allusion
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Assonance
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Apostrophe
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Anaphora
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Diacope
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Epizeuxis
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Enjambment
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Refrain
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Euphony
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Epistrophe
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“The Lamb” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Thee
- Dost
- Thou
- O'er
- Mead
- Vale
- Meek
- Mild
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Lamb”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Lamb” Speaker
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“The Lamb” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Lamb”
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More “The Lamb” Resources
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External Resources
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Blake's Radicalism — An excerpt from a documentary in which writer Iain Sinclair discusses Blake's radicalism.
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Illustrations and Other Poems — A resource from the Tate organization, which holds a large collection of Blake originals.
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Full Text of Songs of Innocence and Experience — Various formats for the full text in which "The Garden of Love" is collected.
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"The Lamb" Set to Music — A choral setting of "The Lamb" by John Tavener, performed by the choir Tenebrae.
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Pavarotti Sings the Agnus Dei — A version of the Agnus Dei (set to music by Georges Bizet), sung by Luciano Pavarotti.
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A Reading by Sir Ralph Richardson — The poem read by prominent 20th century theater actor Sir Ralph Richardson.
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Blake's Visions — An excerpt from a documentary in which writer Iain Sinclair discusses Blake's religious visions.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Blake
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