Before we jump into the 'The Tyger' and 'The Lamb,' let's discuss the larger bodies of work the poems belong to. In 1789, William Blake printed a collection of 19 poems called Songs of Innocence (which contained 'The Lamb'). Five years later, in 1794, Blake printed a collection of 26 poems entitled Songs of Experience (which contained 'The Tyger'). After this point, the two volumes were published together as a collection called Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul.
To be sure, that title sticks out because it's so long, but it's interesting for another reason. The title encourages us to consider the 'contrary states' of innocence and experience as we read the poems in both collections. However, because the collections are joined together, we must also be on the lookout for connections between the two. Even though they originally appeared in different volumes, 'The Tyger' and 'The Lamb' can be connected if we read them closely.
