Religion has always been global, in the sense that religious communities and traditions have maintained permeable boundaries. Being a visionary, Blake had his own way of seeing religion. At the heart of Songs of Experience, The Tyger explores the loss of innocence that the Lamb personifies. It symbolizes the terrible and dark forces of the world just like the Lamb for kindness, vulnerability and innocence. Comparing the two pieces creates a complex worldview that recognizes the existence of both good and evil in the world of religion, questioning their origin and how they might be related. When compared, the poems explore how the presence of innocence can be challenged by experience and the powers of evil. Blake explores this relationship through the use of diction, characterization, and structure. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Blake uses contrasting diction in the two poems to place emphasis on religious disparity. In The Lamb the semantic field of naivety is used which is evident through the adjectives “meek”, “meek” and “tender”. The adjective “meek” denotes being gentle, weak, or easily dominated, which highlights the vulnerability of innocence. However, in relation to religion, it could mean being aware of and obedient to God's plan for the world. The innocence of the child can be manifested through Blake's use of simple, child-like diction that does not exceed more than 2 syllables and which also serves as a reflection of God: simple, pure and transparent. The idea is further accentuated by the use of archaic language through “thee”, “you” and “do” which was a common way of speaking to a child. While the diction is comforting and clear, it leaves the reader feeling uncomfortable as it is known that this is not the entirety of what the world has to offer. In contrast, in The Tyger, there is a use of the semantic field that connotes the existence of evil which can be seen through the use of the words “deadly”, “terror” and “fearful”. This begs the question of why God, who created the gentle lamb, also created such a dangerous creature as the "Tiger". Additionally, the use of the synecdoche of the human body is also interesting as it humanizes evil. When paired with the semantic field of industrialization, exemplified by "hammer" and "furnace", it could also imply Blake's belief that the Industrial Revolution is "evil" as it has taken over our society, taking away our innocence and replacing it . with material changes. This idea is further explored through the personification of the stars through the quote “the stars cast down their spears.” The "stars" could represent rebel angels. Therefore, it can be interpreted that the rebellious angels in Heaven surrendered to the power of God are represented by the "Tiger" in this poem and that they cried in humiliation and threw their spears when God proceeded to create the earth and its inhabitants. This shows the contrast between the two poems as even nature could go against its natural state of obedience. Furthermore, the refrain employed in the first and last stanzas in which "could" is replaced with "dare" is also noteworthy. A low modality verb is replaced with a challenging verb that reflects the transition from innocence to experience as the glass of innocence is broken and exposed to the reality of the world. In the context of religion, it could represent how religion is no longer a source of life and liberation but an agent of social control. The characterization of the "Lamb" and the "Tiger" is included forpresent liminality in religion. Animals are both instruments of nature in which they are creations of God. The Lamb is a religious figure, an expression of God who represents innocence, youth and the pleasant aspect of nature. While the "Tiger" represents the most powerful and fearsome part of nature, emphasizing moral decay. There is a certain closeness with both animals as they both have the same creator. However, one wonders how a supposedly benevolent God could create such a ferocious creature since it carries with it evil connotations. Being closely linked to fire, this could be an allusion to Prometheus, who deceived the gods, stealing fire and giving it to humanity. Prometheus was not rewarded for his ingenuity; instead he was condemned to eternal punishment. Much like Prometheus, the "Tiger" is doomed in the sense that he will constantly be seen as the evil aspect of religion. Making further connections with religion, the two poems could perhaps be interpreted as representing both sides of the Bible: the New Testament and the Old Testament. The "Lamb" could be a reference to Jesus, so the poem is representative of the New Testament which portrays the Christian God as benevolent. Consequently, The Tiger would be representative of the Old Testament in which God is greedy, vain and ruthless. This makes connections with Blake's views on religion as he rejected the Old Testament stereotype of God as vengeful. He felt that people used this idea to justify their own revenge and desire for land and power. An alternative view would be that the two animals could represent Blake's “two contrary states of the human soul” since the first part sets out an imaginative vision of the state of innocence. The second shows how life changes, becomes corrupted and that experience is inevitable; a necessary phase that is fundamental in the cycle of life. Furthermore, Blake's use of different sentence structures and tones acts as an embodiment of the polarity of his views in religion. The difference is shown by the innocent child speaking in "The Lamb" and the mature speaker in "The Tyger" where contrasting techniques are used to juxtapose the poems. Examples are the simple sentence structure used in "The Lamb" and the more interrogative rhetorical questions used in "The Tyger"; the naive diction and the sophisticated diction; and the child's literal certainty that God is the Creator countered by the lack of an answer for a creator. The effect on the reader would be that the transition from innocence to experience would be inevitable and in the context of religion, most readers would find comfort in the “Lamb” over the “Tiger”. In The Lamb there is a simplicity in the way the child speaks. The child asks if he knows how it was made: “Lamb, who created you? / Do you know who created you?”. The use of the apostrophe accentuates the child's expressionless tone as he seems not to feel any embarrassment about talking to an animal or that there is something slightly ridiculous about talking to one as perhaps an elderly person might feel. In the first two stanzas, repetition is used which creates a melodic rhythm that can be directly contrasted with The Tyger's sophisticated rhetorical questions. The apostrophe in this last poem is employed in a more complex manner that results in an introspective tone, as if the speaker is speaking to himself rather than to a real being. The effect of this would be that the innocence prevalent in our world is often overlooked and dominated as we are distracted by the materialistic world around us which destroys the innocence which is then transformed into experience. The speaker seems to see the 'Tiger' as an entity to be feared through the metaphor of “burned by the fire of your eyes”..