Comparison of the Lamb and Aunt Jennifer’s tigers
Innocence and experience are a fundamental element in the life of human beings; literary works have demonstrated these themes in their work. Childhood, for example, is an indication of innocence, whereas adults are associated with gaining experience. This essay seeks to compare the poems of The Lamb and Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers and explores the themes of innocence and experience. Blake uses a child and a lamb to signify innocence in his work. Adrienne shows the experience of life through a woman in her married life. The woman is an adult and has undergone a series of life encounters, and through it, she shows the experiences and the lessons we can pick from her life.
Various literary devices are used in these works of Adrienne Rich and William Blake. The purpose of this is to understand the message being conveyed on a deeper level. The common elements used are alliteration and symbolism. In the poem, the lamb, alliterations used, is demonstrated from the repetition of consonants sound in the same line, for example, ‘the little lamb.’ Aunt Jennifer’s tiger’s poem also employs the same in the ‘finger fluttering.’ These words create a musical effect and hence easy to recite by heart. Symbolism is used to express emotions and ideas indirectly. William Blake uses the child and the lamb in his poem to signify chastity and innocence. The tiger from Aunt Jennifer’s tigers mirrors the ideal person she wanted to become, one who is free and not tied down to an unhappy marriage. The heavy wedding ring on the finger symbolized the hardship she faced and control over her life. This symbolization expresses deep emotions and ideas.
Blake builds the idea of innocence through the lamb and the child (Caillard, and Blake). Ideally, a child or a lamb in real life is assumed as harmless and free of evil. The child in this context is amazed at how the lamb was created and question who the creator is. He sees the lamb as joyful and peaceful. The child then compares the lamb to Christ. Christ came as a child thus is the lamb’s creator. He praises Christ as peaceful, caring, and loving. The child acknowledges that Christ provided good clothing and voice to the lamb. The child’s innocence enables it to appreciate nature and acknowledge God. Adults with their overwhelming troubles can hardly give credit or praise a mere lamb, but a child’s expression is ruled with honesty
Aunt Jennifer excellently portrays her harsh and unpleasant life experiences. The ordeals are the long term experiences in her married life. She has a domineering husband who treats her harshly. She even finds it hard to pull the needle through the wool because the bitter experiences are still fresh in her memory. Adrienne uses expressions such as ordeal, ringed, mastered, and the massive weight of the uncle’s wedding band to show the unpleasant life that aunt Jennifer lived. By being ringed, Aunt Jeniffer reflects on her life as still surrounded by the bitter experiences of her married life. Even in her death, she was mastered by her husband, and still, she was terrified by the uncle.
The tigers that Aunt Jennifer sewed showed the life she longed for, free and confident. The tigers portrayed the boldness and freedom she desired. She wanted to be free from Uncle’s oppression and that she would have a better life than what her married life offered. The tigers would prance forever to show life with the freedom that everyone ought to have and not the one she lived. The writer punned Aunt Jennifer. She talks about the ring on her finger, which sits heavily on her (Rizza). This shows the difficulties which always surround Aunt Jennifer. These difficulties have made her weak and unable to do simple activities.
The first sight by Philip Larkin strikes a balance between experience and innocence. In his poem, he talks about lambs born during winter when there is snow, and they know nothing about what is beneath the snow. The lambs are out in the cold, but they have no experience of the earth other than the unwelcomed cold. Philip says they do not know about the immeasurable surprise of the earth. Another season is set forth, and the earth will be warm and blooming. In other words, other experiences exist, but until it is that time, no one can actually tell. Newborns have no experience, but the current situation is not deemed to last long.
Experience is important to improve one’s life and learn lessons. Older people have gained experience through the life series, and in that manner,, they pass it to the youth and the younger generation. A bridge between innocence and experiences is disappointments that result from poor decisions made in life. No one should take a leap because seasons change.
References
Caillard, Vincent, and William Blake. “The Songs Of Innocence Of William Blake.” The Musical Times And Singing Class Circular, vol 32, no. 583, 1891, p. 552. JSTOR, doi:10.2307/3364258.
Rizza, Michael James. “The “Split” In Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers.” The Explicator, vol 67, no. 1, 2008, pp. 63-66. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.3200/expl.67.1.63-66.
