Sound & Sense Chapter 9

Thesis: Each poem questions the creation of life, but each poem's inquiry focuses on the nature of each animal, which causes great contrast between the theories of creation.

The nature of each suggested creation stems from the nature of each animal. Lambs are known to be soft and gentle creatures, which is why attributes of a lamb are included in the poem. The speaker addresses a lambs "clothing of delight" (5) and "tender voice" (7) to express the gentility of a lamb. The inclusion of attributes of the lamb explain the proposed creation of the animal. Because lambs are gentle creatures, their proposed creation is gentle and nurturing. The gentility of a lamb directly contrasts the ferocity of a tiger. Rather than a nurturing creation, The Tiger suggests a birth from hard work and manual labor. The tiger is known for its speed and its wit, which is why the speaker asks questions addressing these attributes: "What dread hand forged thy dread feet? [...] In what furnace was thy brain?" (12-14). The insincerity of the tiger's suggested creation offers explanation for the tiger's vicious nature. The poems suggest that the animals' creations were vastly different because their animalistic natures are vastly different.

Throughout The Lamb, the speaker directly addresses the lamb and asks, "Who made thee" (1,2,9,10). The speaker feels comfortable with the lamb and wishes to discuss its peaceful creation. The speaker feels an obvious fondness for the lamb that stems from its gentle nature, which is why the tone throughout the poem is light-hearted and friendly. The Tiger has a fearful tone throughout the poem, directly contrasting that of The Lamb. At the end of the poem the speaker asks the tiger, "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" (20). This question resembles the question for the lamb, but unlike in The Lamb, this question is only asked once in The Tiger. The speaker does not appear to be direct with the tiger, suggesting intimidation. Unlike the fondness expressed towards the lamb, the speaker is hesitant to address the tiger because of its ferocity.