The Tyger

“The Tyger”

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare sieze the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Initial Impression-
The poem appears to question why an immortal being would create such a fearful, powerful creature—the tiger. William Blake asks what immortal hand or eye would have created the tiger. Blake refers to the tiger as burning bright in the forest night and having a fearful symmetry. This clearly represents the wretchedness of the tiger. Further, Williams Blake constantly refers to an immortal being, presumably God, with an apprehensive tone. For example, Blake asks, “dread hand and what dread feet” could have created the tiger. The poem, in a broad sense, is a comment on the contrasting creations of God. The question about the lamb, “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?,” is a rhetorical question that brings up the point of God’s contrasting creations. Unlike the Lamb, the tiger is not gentle or innocent. But like the lamb, the tiger is God’s creation.

Paraphrase-
The tiger stands out with its bright skin while in the darkness of the forest
How could God create such a fearful creature?

Where in the sky or ground did the creator give the tiger life through the tiger’s eyes?
How has he been inspired to do such evil?
Why doesn’t he stop the fearful creature?

What God, with reference to specific body parts, could create the tigers heart?
The tiger became alive and was born with dreaded hands and feet as fierce weapons

What machines were used to create the tiger?
What hands were involved in allowing for the tiger to be created?

Even after the killings, how did the creator (God, the immortal being) still smile?
Did this creator also really give birth to the Lamb?

The tiger stands out with its bright skin while in the unknown of the forest
How could God allow such a vile creature to live?

SWIFTT-
SW- The poem is composed of rhyming couplets and six stanzas. The poem consists of rhetorical questions that accuse the creator for being very harsh and possibly just as evil as the tiger. The poet’s diction highlights the anger he feels. Words such as dread, fearful, and bringing show the contempt that the poet has towards the tiger and its creator.
I- The imagery created in Blake’s poem provides a stark image of the tiger. The tiger is described as “bringing bright in the forest of the night” and as having “fearful symmetry.” This makes me imagine a terrible, fearless tiger. When Blake says, “When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,” he creates a scene of chaos that has ensued because tiger.
F- In the fourth stanza, Blake compares the creation of the tiger as a process that might be used to create metals.
T- The tone of the poem is cynical and accusatory. Blake continually questions the creator of the tiger about how he has been compelled to create such evil.
T- The theme of the poem is that God creates both evil and good. The tiger represents the evil God has created, while the lamb represents the good and innocence God has created.

Conclusion-
Blake makes the point that although the tiger contrast the innocent lamb, the tiger and the lamb are created by the same being. Blake continually asks God how he could have allowed for such evil on Earth. The cynicism shown by Blake is evident from his contempt of the fearful tiger. He blames the immortal being, God, for creating the evil tiger. The rhetorical questions asked by Blake reveal Blake’s critical viewpoint towards God and his creations. Further, my conclusion is very similar to my initial impression of the poem. I still believe that through the contrast of the lamb and the tiger, Blake is arguing with God about good and evil.