What group of people is the author of The Lamb trying to reach with his message?

Essay by jbabe5Junior High, 9th grade November 2003

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One could say the speaker of "The Lamb" is a shepherd, as, shepherds traditionally tend to flocks of sheep. As seen in the poem, lines three through eight, the shepherd knows that they eat "by the stream & o'er the mead," what their wool feels like, and that the "vales rejoice" or the valleys echo with their "tender voices." Only the shepherd would know the lambs' habits. In stanza two, the reader discovers the lamb's creator is Jesus, "He is called by thy name," and that the speaker is a "child (of God)." Jesus is both a lamb and a child of God. Jesus also knows and does many of the things only the speaker does. Coincidentally, they both tend to flocks, although Jesus' flock does not consist of sheep, as the speakers' does. The poem also sounds like the speaker is speaking to a child. This is because the first syllable of each line is stressed, which is called trochaic metre.

Trochaic metre is commonly found in nursery rhymes and sounds innocent and childlike. The rhyme scheme, aabbccddaa, also reminds the reader of nursery rhymes, because of the rhyming words occur at the end of each line. The rhythm is also light, jumpy, and playful like a child. More common in the second stanza than the first, are simple, one-syllable words, as if the speaker were talking to a child. Connotations of lamb are cute and cuddly, similar to a child. The repetition of the words "little" and "lamb" seven times remind the reader, or perhaps, a simple-minded child, a little lamb is involved in this poem. The adjectives used, are cheery: delight, soft, tender, wooly, bright. These same words would be used to tell a story to a child. After examining the metre, rhyme scheme, rhythm,