the Tyger

• The Tiger


  A famous poem by William Blake
• The poem is part of the Person at Excel International GCSE Anthology, Part 3 which exclusively features poems
• The poem


  • Written in 6 quatrains (4 line stanzas)
  • Has an AABB rhyme scheme in stanzas 1-6, and AABB rhyme scheme in stanzas 2-5
• Repetition of "Tiger, tiger"


  Emphasises the beauty and dangerous complexity of the tiger
• William Blake


  • Was a Romantic poet who saw nature as having both innocence/purity and an underlying danger
• The poem's references to nature

  Reflect Blake's Romantic views
• Alliteration of "burning bright"


  • Emphasises the tiger's beauty and appearance
• Pathetic fallacy of "forest of the night"


  • Reflects the speaker's fear and reverence of the tiger
• Description of the tiger's "fearful symmetry"

  • Shows the tiger is sublime, causing both respect and fear
• The speaker's questions about the tiger's creation

  1. Contemplating how such a powerful, ferocious creature could be created by God

  2. Wondering about the nature of the creator who made both the lamb and the tiger
• Repetition of "thy" and "what"

  • Emphasises the speaker's direct address and intrigue with the tiger's composition and creation
• Imagery of blacksmithing


  • Suggests the tiger was crafted like an exquisite work of art
• Contrast between the lamb and the tiger


  The speaker cannot comprehend how the same creator made both the meek lamb and the ferocious tiger
• The final stanza repeats the first two lines, acting as a refrain
• The repetition in the final stanza reinforces the speaker's awe and wonder at the tiger's creation