Studies in English Language and Literature

  William Blake, a mystic, a visionary, a pre-Romantic as well as a Romantic poet, is best known for his Songs of Innocence and of Experience . In his Songs , we get a reverberating message of the ‘two equal states of the human soul’. In this regard, we should note that The Lamb is the theme poem of his Songs of Innocence , while The Tyger is the theme poem of his Songs of Experience . However, here, we shall discuss a bit about his The Lamb . Broadly speaking, The Lamb is a poem of two stanzas with ten lines each. It is usually said that this poem is composed in nursery rhyme. It produces a jingling sound in our hearts, as we go through it. However, this creation by Blake, no doubt, conveys great messages to us, as and when we intend to discover those. It must be noted that this poem is spoken through the voice of a little human child to a lamb. Most strikingly, as we advance reading the poem, we, slowly but surely, come to discern the serious meanings of life in an easy way.

The word 'lyric' has its origin to an ancient string instrument known as lyre. People used to play on lyres and sing. Now let us discuss what lyric poetry is. Suffused with personal emotions and feelings, it is a formal kind of poetry. Usually spoken from the vantage point of the first person, that is, “I”, this poem is stuffed with musical musings. That is to say, after going through a lyric poem, we can feel its beats and musicality with ease. Now let us have a general overview of one of the chief practitioners of this genre. William Wordsworth, one of the chief exponents of lyric poetry, put his lyrical skills so dexterously. His The Lyrical Ballads is one of the finest examples. Now you may ask what a ballad is. A ballad is a poem that tells a story usually in the form of quatrains.  So long we have discussed about lyrical poetry and its general overview. Now we will discuss about Wordsworth as a lyrical poet in a nutshell. For example, in I wandered Lonely as a Cloud