An Analysis of Intertextuality in William Blake’s Companion Poems: The Lamb and The Tyger

This study undertakes a thorough analysis of the aspects of intertextuality and their undertones in William Blake’s companion poems:The Lamb (1789) from the Songs of Innocence and The Tyger (1794) from the Songs of Experience. These poems are often read side by side since they are described as counterparts to one another reflecting Blake’s dualistic ideology on the conflicting states of the human soul (good vs. evil). The researchers adopted Charles Bazerman’s(2004) theory in analyzing intertextuality within texts. The analysis of the poems revealed that there are 22 instances of religious and literary intertextual allusions within both poems and their type of textual integration was mainly description. In addition, a great percentage of those allusions consist of religious undertones which help reflect the dualistic approach that Blake adopted in his volumes of poetry.