In William Blake’s poem “The Lamb,” the speaker asks who made the lamb. The poem uses a childlike question-and-answer structure to celebrate the animal’s gentleness, softness, and innocence.
The speaker eventually identifies the lamb’s creator through Christian imagery, calling the creator by the same name as the animal. This links the lamb with Jesus Christ, whose traditional symbols include gentleness, sacrifice, and pastoral innocence.
“The Lamb” is commonly read alongside Blake’s “The Tyger.” The two poems ask related questions about creation, but “The Lamb” emphasizes innocence while “The Tyger” emphasizes terrifying energy. They are not a single poem, and neither should be reduced to a simple statement about zoology.
Blake published “The Lamb” in “Songs of Innocence” in 1789. The collection was produced as an illuminated book, meaning Blake combined etched text and imagery and colored many copies by hand. The poem’s repeated questions and regular rhythm help create its nursery-song quality.