The Lamb (poem)

"The Lamb" is a poem by William Blake, published in Songs of Innocence in 1789.

The final word of the third and fourth lines (the first couplet in the body of the text), "feed mead," rhyme identically with the final word of the first two lines, "thee," creating a smooth transition.

The body of the first stanza follows the rhyming scheme AABBCC: "feed mead delight bright voice rejoice;" the body of the second, follows the rhyming scheme ABCCBA: "name lamb mild child lamb name"—a pattern found in the Bible and a kernel of a larger Hebraic technique or device.

[4] It was also given a setting by Sir John Tavener, who explained: "'The Lamb' came to me fully grown and was written in an afternoon and dedicated to my nephew Simon for his 3rd birthday."

[5] Ginsberg's songs were re-worked by Steven Taylor for the album Songs of Innocence & of Experience: Shewing The Two Contrary States Of The Human Soul, released in 2019, by Ace Records, to coincide with the Blake exhibition at Tate Britain.