The Tyger

• what does the poem explore

  creation, and questioning the creator, in awe of the creator and scared, shown especially through the use of rhetorical questions
• The Tyger (title)

  capitilisation - as if it is a proper noun

  
  

  an archaic word - the everlasting nature and timelessness of the word.

  
  

  connotations of a ferocious being.
• Tyger, Tyger burning bright

  repetition = awe

  alliterative plosive, almost sounds like a nursery rhyme which deceives the reader as this is not that type of poem

  
  

  - connotes fire - inspiration/illumination

  metaphor for the orange colour

  directly addressing the tiger.
• In the forests of the night:

  darkness - mystery + a secluded setting

  
  

  forest - organic imagery of growth.
• What immortal hand or eye,

  immortal - refers to the creator/god
• Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

  questions ability and audacity of creator.

  disturbing the rhyme - uncertainty, uneasy mood.

  fearful symmetry- scared of the perfection and sublimity of the creator.

  
  

  in awe of a skillful creator.
• In what distant deeps or skies

  Sibilance and plosive alliteration - heaven and hell - god has gone high and low to to create a being such as the tiger and the speaker is in awe of this.
• Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

  powerful description

  lucifer allusions of hell and adores god who almost plays with fire.
• On what wings dare he aspire?

  classical allusion - reference to the Greek mythology figure of Icarus who flew close to the sun.

  
  

  dare - thinks it must be greater than god and applauds god's imagination
• What the hand, dare seize the fire?

  allusion to prometheus who stole fire.

  
  

  fire - mirrors the orange colour of the tiger.

  the tyger could be created from fire, making it seem powerful/ferocious and illuminating while surrounded by the darkness of the forest
• And what shoulder, &what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

  body parts - commends physical strength

  
  

  art - commends skill

  't' - delicate/fragile

  list of questions - intrigued but no answers.
• And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? & what dread feet?

  dread - the speaker wonders if the creator fears their own creation

  
  

  amazed/fearful
• What the hammer? what the chain,

  the creation could be responsible for destruction

  
  

  imagery of a blacksmith - a skillful figure

  
  

  what tools could be used to create such a being, mystery behind its creation
• In what furnace was thy brain?

  an interrogative tone

  
  

  furnace - used to shape an object in manufacturing

  
  

  questions the tyger's intelligence.
• What the anvil? what dread grasp,

  Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

  repetition of dread + verb (dare) + exclamation - no one can challenge him due to power and horror, the bravery - scared of god.
• When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears:

  stars - metaphor for angels, linking to burning bright

  
  

  fire - hell side

  stars - heaven side

  
  

  personification - wonders if the angels strongly protest against such a creation (like the tiger).
• Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

  questions if he was proud

  
  

  biblical allusion to jesus, god, the creator.

  
  

  anaphora - Did he = god, questions the duality of a christian god.

  
  

  lamb - jesus

  thee - tyger

  juxtaposition of lamb against the tyger

  
  

  the lamb - another poem by blake, looks at the purity and innocence of a lamb and also questions the creator. a gentle/sing-song poem.

  
  

  Blake presents a darkerside, a more adult perspective compared to the innocence of the lamb

  
  

  he is staggered that the same god can create good and evil.
• Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

  In the forests of the night;

  What immortal hand or eye,

  Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

  repetition of first stanza, except could - dare, complexity of god, got no answers, right back where he started.

  
  

  dare - a god that is brave/take risks

  
  

  CONTEXT - in 1794 there was darkness in his life/world

  
  

  the tiger inspires him as he sees it as a fierce sign of good.

  
  

  unanswered questions + strong 'f' sound - frustration, complexity of nature, there is no simple concept/nature

  
  

  last line = R.Q

  ends in an uncertain tone
• what is the extended metaphor

  awe (in the diversity of creations, the power of the creator, struggles to comprehend god. etc.)
• stanza 4

  allusion to the industrial revolution
• form / structure

  6 quatrains

  rhyming couplets

  trochaic meter (falling rhythm) - approaching (a driving force)

  
  

  catalectic lines (7syllables/8syllables) - prevents the poem from being entirely perfect and creates uncertainty, too many questions (restless) - ends on a perfect line of 8 syllables

  
  

  represents god working in a factory or hammering. also contrastingly has that nursery rhyme aspect.
• what does fire symbolise in the poem?

  speaker wonders if fire is similar to the animal

  enlightenment

  predatory

  evil

  sinful

  negative

  beautiful yet dangerous
• how is the fire a source of inspiration

  he is surprised by the audacity of such a creator but also creations such as the tiger, icarus and prometheus (who commits hubris) who get punished
• rhyme scheme

  couplets, regular rhyme scheme - harmony/perfection of the tyger

  
  

  symmetrical poem - cyclical poem

  - equal stanza length
• context

  inspired by social reform and the french revolution
• mood/tone


  darker

  sinister

  aggresive

  ferocious
• themes


  religion

  awe/wonder

  power

  creation