“The Lamb” and “The Tyger” seem to both be similar in a way that there are certain questions that are being asked throughout most of the poems, “who created such a creature?”,”how can that creator have thought of something so beautiful or horrid”? Although both poems are discussing the complexity of both creations, there is this unanswered question of why did the creator make these creations in this particular way? Is it to embrace the beauty and goodness of the creator or to show the horrid and evil creations of man that are unexplainable? Both poems relate to Frankenstein in which there is a particular creature that sets so many questions as to why or how and what is the meaning of this creation. I learned that the Monster from Frankenstein is not exactly this”monster” how most of the characters we encounter in the story say he is, he is really this lifeless and lonely individual who seeks a normal life involved with love and companionship. From the exterior I picture the monster to be as how the media have made him many years ago, as this giant green zombie looking creature with a scare on his forehead and these broad shoulders and that one lazy eye, anyone that comes across something like that will immediately get terrified and think its an evil monster. As I got to know more about the monster I figured that in the inside he isn’t this horrible and evil monster I thought he was, he actually is someone who simply seeks someone or something to build and share a life with.
In the text Frankenstein, anyone who sees the monster immediately rejects him or fears him because of his appearance, throughout the entire time he is alive he lives a life full of rejection and hate. While in both poems by William Blake the speaker is questioning such creations and trying to get an answer is to why these creations are the way they are. I think all three texts are similar in the way that there is something were just to figure out about these creations. Blake builds up this idea of nature is being a work of art, and that in a certain way it must have a reflection of its creator. There is a possibility that Victor might have created this monster as a reflection os himself and how his life has been. In the poems, it seems to me that the creator of these animals is God or possibly a God-like thing. These animals can be a reflection of God because of its beauty and mystery that cannot be answered and explained, we just accept it as it is. How an animal or a monster was made so perfect or symmetrical is a creation of god because of its complexity. When the monster in Frankenstein was finally complete and alive, Victor was so proud and he described it to be this beautiful creature because it is his own, or possibly a reflection of him. When something is your own you tend to find it so beautiful and has no flaws. The poems and Frankenstein both have this concept in which there is a creation that cannot be fully or completely explained but its a representation of the creator or of something beautiful that represents goodness or evil.
The Creature As The Lamb- To my way of thinking Blake’s poem “The Lamb” wants to bring us to an understanding that this creature,a lamb, is a thing of mildness,meekness, and delight, just in the same way that a child would be a delight to their parent in its wanting to be be obedient,meek and mild. These wonderful qualities are God given. While the creature in Shelley ‘s “Frankenstein ” has been tried in the court of popular opinion, and found to be horrible and ogre like, I posit that the creature is like the lamb. Here are my arguments. ..The lamb was created innocent- free from vice. The creature was similarly benign when he was created. He had enough sense to turn to his creator,but was spurned and rejected by his creator. Blake assures us that the lambs creator was likewise a Lamb. So we know the creature had a rotten and vapid example from the start. Woe is he.
Like a child the creature had no concept of who he was. What he learned of himself was projected onto him by what others thought and how thy reacted toward him. Like the Lamb Jesus, no matter the outward appearance, or the claim to be a lamb did not save him from being outcast or slaughtered in the public eye.
Blake the adult claims to be a child. This duality/paradox is part of our human existence. The creature was created an adult, but needed acceptance,love and guidance,and naturally he turned to his creator as would a child.
The lamb needs the safety and protection of a shepherd to curb errant behavior. Without a shepherd a lamb would unthinkingly step over a precipice. Also can be obstinate in their way, needing to be hooked by a staff. I see this paralleled in the creature.
It was fairly easy to come the conclusion that after reading both William Blake’s, The Lamb & The Tyger ”, that the Lamb and Tyger both contrast each other in a number of ways, like two seasons with changes in weather days apart clearly felt as you walk outside. The Lamb and the Tyger each exhibit characteristics that the outside world we live in today, if I were to describe each of them like a particular season, the Lamb being like summer : warm, fruitful, and innocent and the Tyger I would say is like the winter ; dark, cold and foggy in its intentions . Each poem discusses why each created the way they were, and both question their place in the world. Both both obviously were created by a higher power. The lamb is described like a “child , soft, miled , well clothed”. Although the Tyger is put in a situation where he is doubted as it is exhibiting characteristics that are a polar opposite to the lamb. In both poems, like I mentioned before Blake, made the lamb so peaceful and beautiful like summer, while creating a creature so terrifying like the Tyger.
Shifting gears for a moment, Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, in the eyes of Victor like William Blake their creations appeal to them and are beautiful but at the same terrifying once brought to life on paper. It is with great difficulty to not come to the conclusion that the creature is an amalgamation of both the Lamb and the Tyger. Mary Shelley’s creature was made to be beautiful in the eyes of Victor, but once brought to life his perspective was completely changed. To quote the book, “his limbs were in proportion, and i had selected selected his features as beautiful, his yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles arteries beneath, his hair was of a lustrous black , and flowing, his teeth of a pearly whiteness, but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same color as the dun white sockets in which they were set , his shrivelled complexion, and straight black lips”.
After creating something, through a process that many would consider impossible, Victor chose to neglect his creation, out of genuine terror after realizing of what he thought of something as being beautiful, once it was literally set in motion with the enormous size it carries, Victor I believe foresaw the potential damage the creature would cause. His ambitious experiment failed an he felt nothing but distain for his creation. Normally when a creator plan is brought to fruition by bringing something or someone to life, it’s inventor expresses joy and happiness. Once the creature was brought to life, Victor thought of the creature as reflection of himself and realize what he himself was truly like as a person. The Lamb can be described as the creature, while the Tyger can be the creature and Victor. We all live in world that is filled with people and things that are characterized as good and evil, however it on certain occasions it is fairly easy to see that both good and evil can co-exist within something or someone .