Examine Blake's twin poems "The Tyger" and "The Lamb" in regards to "two aspects of God and two states of man."

Two of William Blake's poems, "The Tyger" and "The Lamb",
can be described as "twin poems". The poems can be interpreted to play off each other as
mirrors of each other which show different aspects of one being. Historically, a tiger
and a lamb have been symbols of opposites. Therefore, these poems can be aligned in the
same way.

The poem "The Lamb", Blake describes a creature
which is looked upon with honor. The lamb was created by another named the same "The
Lamb" or God. It was by God's hand that the lamb was granted life. The description of
the lamb includes words such as "soft", "tender", and "bright". The lamb is a reflection
of God himself. Created in His image, the lamb represents the children of the world
given God himself became as child so as to live on
earth.

Therefore, the poem holds both aspects of man and of
God. The aspect of man is that God created life, His children, and named them after
himself, His lambs. The state of man detailed in the poem refers to man as a child,
"meek and mild".

The poem "The Tyger" is very different
from its sister poem. The Tyger is questioned regards his being a creature of God. The
poem depicts terminology which evokes fear. The Tyger is described using the following
words: "fire of thine eyes", "dread", and "terrors". The narrator finds it hard to
believe that the Tyger was created by the same hand of God which created the
Lamb:

What
immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful
symmetry?

The aspect of God
in the poem refers to the questioning that God could have created something so feared-
so unlike the loved lamb. The state of man depicted in the poem refers to the concept
that God made man and man has been allowed the free will to become what he
wishes.

These two poems mirror each other in regards to how
each was created- by God. Regardless, the speaker of each seems to question how God
could have created something which could evoke fear in man (the Tyger) instead of
evoking the feeling of comfort (the Lamb). One could interpret the poems in such a way
that shows God created man and what happens after their creation is left up to the path
which man decides to take.