The Shepherd

After reading Alex’s post about “The Lamb” and the following responses, I wanted to revisit “The Shepard.” Because a shepherd is a biblical figure, I originally thought that Blake was connecting religion to nature, showing the peace and harmony between religion and earth’s creation. However, I now feel that it is a religious critique about a Christian follower’s lifestyle. By saying the shepherd “strays” makes it seem like he has no real direction or idea about where he is going. Rather, he is blindly “following his sheep,” or other Christian followers, all the while being “filled with praise.” Blake makes it seem like the Shepherd is at peace because he never questions or rejects other Christian followers (ideas reflected in “The Lamb”). In stanza two, I think Blake is also criticizing Christian’s for their unholy actions when no one is watching. Blake says how the flocks (aka Christian followers) are “at peace,” but only because they “know when their Shepherd is nigh.” I read that as Christians act genuine, “innocent” and “tender,” but only when they have another Christian (or a Shepherd) watching them.