The TygerWilliam Blake

THE TYGER (from Songs Of Experience)

By William Blake

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 seize 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?

Unpicking the deeper meanings…

• Blake believed that God was a kind of Blacksmith that had fashioned the world like smiths fashion horseshoes.• He also believed that God was a kind of artist who had made the

world incredibly beautifully and artistically.• Just like some people question the existence of God – Blake tries to

show it through a series of Rhetorical Questions.

Structure and form

• Symmetrical• The last stanza almost repeats the first, apart from 1 key word (Dare)• 6 quatrains rhyming couplets – simple form, but layers of meaning can

be found• Throughout the poem a series of rhetorical questions are posed.

Answers are not given, even at the end• It can be linked to a poem The Lamb in Songs of Innocence.

Stanza 1

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

= Fierce Tiger in the forest - who made you?

Stanza 2

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

= Where were you created in fire? Who dared to make you of such fiery stuff?

Stanza 3

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?

= Who could have been strong AND skilful enough? And when you came alive who wouldn’t be scared?

Stanza 4

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

= What tools were used to make you? Who dared to make you?

Stanza 5

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?

= When the maker finished was he pleased? Is it possible one God made fierce and gentle things?

Stanza 6

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

= Tiger, who made you?

Narrative stance

• Semantic field of awe - who could be responsible for making such a powerful and terrifying creature as the tiger?• Addresses the tiger directly “thy fearful symmetry”• The reader is left to decide exactly what the speaker’s feelings really

are.

Analysis

• Dynamic verbs – frame / burnt / seize / twist / beat / clasp / threw down / burning. All contain energy and power, linked to the tiger and its creator.

• Pre – modified nouns suggest Blake’s elevated vision – fearful symmetry / distant deeps / immortal hand

• Connotations of fierce beauty – burning bright / forests / night / deeps / skies / fire / heart / stars / spears / tears

Analysis

• Suggestions of creation – frame / seize / twist / began to beat / hammer / anvil / furnace• Visual imagery contrasts the bright tiger with the dark forests of the

night. (Creating good out of evil?)• Stars / spears / tears (of happiness?) - Personification• Repetition – “and” adds urgency in stanza 3• Alliteration for emphasis burning bright, distant deeps, began beat