William Blake, a unique poet in the literary canon, is one of the most criticized poets of all time. Having a rather unique stylistic approach to topics, especially religion, Blake seems to contradict himself in his own writings and, therefore, raises questions in the minds of readers about specific topics. Two of his poems in particular have been widely criticized and seen in various lights. "The Tyger", written in 1774, and "The Lamb", written five years later in 1789, are considered complementary poems due to their similar humanistic subject matter and strong differences from each other. Through the use of specific stimuli and the use of rhetorical questions, Blake establishes an ultimatum between the two poems, creating the illusion that each creature in the poems may have different creators. In this way, Blake questions traditional Christian doctrine in such a way as to arouse curiosity about the identity of the creator, or creators, and the nature of each; thus, the reader opens up to a broader pattern of thought. “The Lamb” and “The Tiger” were originally collected into two separate collections of poems in one volume of work called “Songs of Innocence and Experience.” Identified with "the contrasting and complementary nature of youth and maturity," as stated in Steven Clark's review, "Songs of Innocence and Experience (Book)" (256), each collection of poems displayed a broad spectrum ranging from a confident, like that of a child, to a more expert point of view, like that of an adult. Although considered two separate collections, “The Songs of Innocence” would commonly have a corresponding poem in “The Songs of Experience” (Robert Evans). , “Literary Contexts in Poetry: “The Tyger” by William Blake). [Ont.]: University of Toronto Press, 2005. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web, April 24, 2014. Jackson, Wallace. "William Blake In 1789 Unorganized Modern Language Quarterly 33.4 (1972): 399. Academic Research Full Web. April 24, 2014. Mays, Kelly J. "The Lamb." New York: W. W. Norton, 2014. 665. Print. Mays, Kelly J. “The Tyger.” Norton's Introduction to Literature. Portable Edition New York: W. W. Norton, 2014. Print.R., Mary and Rodney M. Baine. The Tiger.'" Studies in English Literature (Rice) 15.4 (1975): 566-578. Academic search completed. Network. 24 April 2014. The Holy Bible, King James Version. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2005