A kid after my own heart: nephew plays "shopping" and fills his cart with books. Atta boy! Related Posts:I sewed a toy lamb for one of my nephews who just had his first birthday (given to him along with a book, naturally). It turned out okay, though I wasn't completely happy with the face... I think that maybe I set the eyes too high. In any case, it's kind of cute and met with my nephew's unqualified approval, which is all that matters. Speaking of lambs... The Lamb Little Lamb who made thee Dost thou know who made thee Gave thee life & bid thee feed. By the stream & o’er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing wooly bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice! Little Lamb who made thee Dost thou know who made thee Little Lamb I’ll tell thee, Little Lamb I’ll tell thee! He is called by thy name, For he calls himself a Lamb: He is meek & he is mild, He became a little child: I a child & thou a lamb, We are called by his name. Little Lamb God bless thee. Little Lamb God bless thee. -William Blake The above poem "The Lamb" is found in William Blake's 1789 Songs of Innocence. It is a poem which is written in the form of a posed question and then an answer. The voice in the poem is that of a child, which is fitting because it is a work about innocence and child-like faith. It's in the form of a question posed and then answered by the child. At first the question seems quite literal: the child asks a little lamb if he knows who made him, gave him life, and cares for him. Then the question becomes rhetorical as the child answers his own query, and the lamb becomes a metaphor for Jesus the Lamb of God. As the speaker refers to Jesus as the Christ child and as the Lamb, the pure, gentle, peaceful nature of God is emphasized. This seems very straightforward- almost simplistic- unless one realizes that Blake's "The Lamb" is meant to be read juxtaposed with his poem "The Tyger", found in Songs of Experience, written in 1794 and published in a single volume with Songs of Innocence. In "The Tyger", we find an echo of the child's question "who made thee" in the opening verse: "What immortal hand or eye,/ Could frame thy fearful symmetry?" And then, in the fifth verse: "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" Blake reminds us that, if the making of the lamb displays the gentle, loving attributes of God, the creation of the tiger- beautiful, powerful, and dangerous- represents other less peaceful aspects. The creator who made the cute, fluffy lamb also formed the fierce and deadly tiger; the God of love and mercy is also the God of power and judgement. You don't get one without the other. "The Lamb" as you might discern from the title Songs of Innocence was intended to be sung and has been set to music several times. I sang it once in the choir at my old church, to the tune composed by Sir John Tavener in 1982. Here is a boys' choir singing that version: Related Posts:This is a picture of the ruins of the library of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. It was set on fire by German troops in 1914 during World War I: This is a picture of Jewish and other non-German books being burned in Nazi Germany: This is a picture of the Al Saeh library in Tripoli, Lebanon, burned down by radical Muslims in 2014: This is the public library in downtown St Louis, Missouri after rioters smashed and trashed it a few days ago: Dear rioters: if you find yourself or the people you associate with smashing library windows and destroying books- which provide education and entertainment for all, irrespective of race, wealth, or social standing- it's a good sign that you're on the wrong side and frankly, a bad person. Related Posts: When I was a teenager, I went through a period when I was addicted to murder mystery novels from the 1940's. Because these were readily available at used bookstores, I own quite a collection of them, including several by Charlotte Armstrong. One of these is The Unsuspected, written in 1945. It wasn't until sometime later that I realized there was a movie based on the novel, filmed in 1947 and starring Claude Rains, Audrey Totter, Joan Caulfield, Constance Bennett, and Michael (Ted) North. I didn't get around to seeing the film until last year; while it's not my favourite film noir, it is definitely worth watching. One reason for this is the cinematography: this is a gorgeously shot movie, reminding me at times of The Naked City. It must be admitted that all of the acting isn't the best, especially that of Michael North. This was, I think, his first- and last- starring role in a film, and soon after this he left acting and became an agent. Audrey Totter as Althea is, however, delightfully catty and Claude Rains is amazing as Victor Grandison, the unsuspected one.
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About MeI'm a lover of good books, classic movies, and well-written shows (as well as some pretty cheesy ones, to be completely honest). Categories
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