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William Blake · 1789
The Lamb
The full text of William Blake’s poem, what it means in plain words, and its best lines as pictures you can download and share.
- Poet
- William Blake
- Published
- 1789
- First line
- Little Lamb who made thee
The Lamb
William Blake
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
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!
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Little Lamb I’ll tell thee,
Little Lamb I’ll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
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.
Best lines
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Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child
Meaning and summary
A child asks a lamb whether it knows who made it, who gave it life, food, soft wool and a gentle voice that makes the valleys happy. Then the child answers: the lamb’s maker is called by the lamb’s own name, because he called himself a Lamb, meek and mild, and became a little child.
The poem sees the creator in gentleness and innocence. It is the partner of “The Tyger”, which asks how the same maker could create something fierce.
Form
Two ten-line stanzas in rhyming couplets, framed by a repeated question and a repeated blessing, simple as a children’s song.
About the poet
William Blake (1757–1827) published it in Songs of Innocence (1789); its dark partner “The Tyger” is in Songs of Experience (1794).
Poems
More classic poems
Questions
About the poem
What is The Lamb about?
A child asking a lamb who made it, and answering that its maker is gentle, like the lamb itself.
How are The Lamb and The Tyger connected?
They are partner poems: one sees the creator in gentleness, the other wonders at the creator of something fierce.
Who is the Lamb in the poem?
Christ, who is called the Lamb of God.