William Blake is considered to be one of the greatest poets of British history. He wrote poems in such a unique way which made him stand out through his illustrations and ideas. Blake was from the 19th century English Romantic period, his writing style made it possible for the common people to understand since he wanted to make it accessible to them. This was a time when poets valued imagination and emotion as well as the concern with the particular human being. As a young boy, Blake had visions that he said to be the source of his inspiration (Allen, 1072). His parents did all they could to discourage his “gift” but then they realized that he was different and Blake got home schooled. His imagination definitely stayed with him as he grew up …show more content…
He saw the state of innocence as being loving and trusting, which he would relate it to children. Experience taught him that the world was cruel, which then lead to his image of Christ as a warrior against evil where he found a spiritual meaning in nature. In “The Tyger,” Blake uses meter and rhyme to make his message standout and flow with the rhythm of his poem. He frequently uses end-stops which give a chanting feeling. By using different devices, Blake has created a solid poem. The image of a tiger secretly moving around through the dark forest is created in the first stanza. The poem starts off with: “Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night...”(---”The Tyger”). As the reader, the picture of a tiger in a dark forest with a coat on fire comes up in your mind. This brings up a negative impression of the tiger, some might consider the tiger as a symbol of evil and it might even stir up the opinion of it being scary. In this poem, Blake creates a mixed metaphor. The tiger is a symbol of nature but is yet feared by many since he can be intimidating and violent. With this he is referring to the idea that there are two different types of people in this world but we need both for …show more content…
When I first read this poem, I thought it was very negative since it mentions words like destruction, and revenge. This poem is about two lovers. One of them cheated on their partner and the other one wants revenge. The poem is very contradictory since the beginning. “O Rose, thou art sick” (---”The Sick Rose”). This is from the first stanza and roses are usually seen as symbol of love, beauty and romance. But then, it mentions the words sick so we get the sense that something bad happened. Either the rose could be hurt or just represent a bad occasion. I think that Blake intended for the rose to be thought of being the woman and he is being portrayed by the worm. The rose is a symbol of love, which has become infected and is dying away. He mentions how he doesn 't know what caused her to ruin the great relationship they had and that it truly got him by surprise. Love is an airborne virus and you don 't really see it coming, it just happens and it might leave you heartbroken. Blake’s message is that love could either tear you down or build you up but if you are being guided by God then that love will impact you positively while building you
The ideas that are presented in poems are often the same ideas everyone is thinking but are too afraid to speak their mind for fear that they might be judged. Allen Ginsberg explained this predicament when he said “[p]oetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in private” (Ginsberg). This quote applies especially to “The Tyger” by William Blake. William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” at the surface is very simplistic; however, with further analysis the story’s theme of religion asks fundamental questions that pertain to one’s worldview with the use of symbolism.
Blake’s poetry focuses on imagination. When Blake created his work, it gained very little attention. Blake’s artistic and poetic vision is reflected in his creations. Blake was against the Church of England because he thought the doctrines were being misused as a form of social control, it meant the people were taught to be passively obedient and accept oppression, poverty, and inequality. In Blake’s poems “The Lamb,” “The Tyger,” and Proverbs of Hell, he shows that good requires evil in order to exist through imagery of animals and man.
William Blake is remembered by his poetry, engravements, printmaking, and paintings. He was born in Soho, London, Great Britain on November 28, 1757. William was the third of seven siblings, which two of them died from infancy. As a kid he didn’t attend school, instead he was homeschooled by his mother. His mother thought him to read and write. As a little boy he was always different. Most kids of his age were going to school, hanging out with friends, or just simply playing. While William was getting visions of unusual things. At the age of four he had a vision of god and when he was nine he had another vision of angles on trees.
William Blake is a literature genius. Most of his work speaks volume to the readers. Blake’s poem “The Mental Traveller” features a conflict between a male and female that all readers can relate to because of the lessons learned as you read. The poet William Blake isn’t just known for just writing. He was also a well-known painter and a printmaker. Blake is considered a seminal figure in the history of poetry. His poems are from the Romantic age (The end of the 18th Century). He was born in Soho, London, Great Britain. He was the third of seven children. Even though Blake was such an inspiration as a writer he only went to school just enough to read and write. According to Bloom’s critical views on William Blake; one of Blake’s inspirations was the Bible because he believed and belonged to the Moravian Church.
William Blake’s works’ were simpler than Lord Byron’s. Blake took a softer approach as he expressed his ideas without saying too much. His works included phrases that had more meaning to its simple message. He took what he had learned in the world and added it into his poetry. He was able to capture all sides of life whether it dealt with a child or the unknown presence of an object. He was bale to take the little and turn it into something big that would be remembered for a long time.
In conclusion these two poems by William Blake are both deep and have hidden meanings, they both use imagery, repetition, alliteration and ryming couplets as well as biblical references to create a vivid pictures in the readers head. But these poems do differ in many ways such as the structure, theme and way it is written. The Tyger appeals to me most as it has more hidden meanings than the Lamb and the Lamb is boring and as if written by a child (for effect). In this essay I have analysed, contrasted and compared the two poems The Tyger and The Lamb to the best of my ability detailing the poetic devices used and the underlying meanings.
William Blake was an English romantic poet who lived from 1757 to 1827 through both the American and the French revolutions. Although he lived during the Romantic Age, and was clearly part of the movement, Blake was a modern thinker who had a rebellious political spirit. He was the first to turn poetry and art into sociopolitical weapons to be raised rebelliously against the establishment. His poetry exemplified many of the same topics being discussed today. Although he was known as both a madman and a mystic, (Elliott) his poetry is both relevant and radical. He employed a brilliant approach as he took in the uncomfortable political and moral topics of his day and from them he created unique artistic representations. His poetry recounts in symbolic allegory the negative effects of the French and American revolutions and his visual art portrays the violence and sadistic nature of slavery. Blake was arguably one of the most stubbornly anti-oppression and anti-establishment writers in the English canon.
The two poems, “The Tyger” and “The Lamb,” deal with the difference between different types of people. A tiger is a person who goes and gets whatever he or she wants, and won’t let anything get in his or her way. Tigers are the rich people. Lambs are the ones who are content to get bossed around. They are scared to disobey orders. Lambs are the poor people. Blake writes, “Little lamb God bless thee.” Lambs are the people of God. Blake...
William Blake’s 1793 poem “The Tyger” has many interpretations, but its main purpose is to question God as a creator. Its poetic techniques generate a vivid picture that encourages the reader to see the Tyger as a horrifying and terrible being. The speaker addresses the question of whether or not the same God who made the lamb, a gentle creature, could have also formed the Tyger and all its darkness. This issue is addressed through many poetic devices including rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism, all of which show up throughout the poem and are combined to create a strong image of the Tyger and a less than thorough interpretation of its maker.
...ons. He shows everyone the meaning of the world that lies ahead of them, and the different ways to approach them. Blake effectively displays the different perspectives of man's path in life by his use of contrasting figures and the symbolism it conveys. The tiger may represent man's original state of sin and the qualities that portray it while the lamb symbolizes the innocence and purity brought along with its creation. Everyone’s knowledge is symbolic.
In his work, Songs of Innocence and Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul, William Blake uses the aforementioned contrasting states of being to illustrate his unique view of the world around him. Through this work, Blake lays bare his soulful views of religion and ethics, daring the reader to continue on in their narcissistic attitudes and self-serving politics. While Blake's work had countless themes, some of the most prevalent were religious reform, social change, and morality. Philosophically, one would think that William Blake was a Deist; however Blake rejected the Deist view of life. He was a devout Christian, yet he also wanted nothing to do with the church or their teachings. These views give Blake a refreshingly sincere quality with regards to his art and writings. Blake frequently alluded to Biblical teachings in his work and, more often than not, used corresponding story lines to rail against the Church's views and accepted practices. One may say however, that Blake's universal appeal lies within his social commentary. Similar to a fable, Blake weaves a poetically mystical journey for the reader, usually culminating in a moral lesson. One such poem, "A Poison Tree," clearly illustrates some of William Blake's moral beliefs. With his use of imagery, as well as an instinctive knowledge of human nature, William Blake shows just how one goes from the light to the darkness (from innocence to experience) by the repression of emotions.
In this essay, I will argue that William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” alludes to his belief in a darker side of creation and the implications of the Industrial Revolution. In this essay, my argument is based on Blake’s use of rhetorical questions, word choice, and the poem’s context; specifically in the fourth and fifth stanzas. In the beginning of the poem the tiger appears as a striking and wondrous creature, however, as the poem progresses, the tiger takes on a symbolic meaning, and comes to be a physical manifestation of the spiritual and moral problem the poem explores: creation, divine and manmade. Frighteningly beautiful and destructive, Blake’s tiger becomes the main symbol for his questions into the presence of evil in the world. For example, the reference to the lamb in the final stanza, “Did he who made the lamb make thee?” reminds the reader that a tiger and a lamb have been created by the same God, and raises questions about the implications of this....
The sublime is the feeling of delightful horror associated with powerful, large objects that produce both a feeling of awe and fear. Blake alludes to the “fearful symmetry” (4) of the Tyger in order to create the sublime feeling that the creature is both daunting but exquisite. The sublime quality develops further when Blake asks “What dread hand? & what dread feet?” (12). Implementing the word “dread” adds to the frightening tone of the poem, creating a sense of wonder and mystery that derives from the sublime. Blake uses the sublime notion to allow the readers to process the enormity of both the Tyger and its creator, helping develop the poet’s main question; what “immortal hand or eye” (3) could be so powerful to create a formidable creature like the Tyger? The poem “The Tyger” is complexified by the unusual spelling Blake chose for the word “tiger”. The purpose of the alternative spelling is to enhance the complexity of divine creation, Blake’s main concern throughout the poem. The spelling of “Tyger” is also employed to suggest to the reader that the Tyger discussed in the poem is a different, darker beast than the jungle tiger. Humanity, the devil, or sinful actions themselves could all be argued as the “Tyger” Blake refers to. Blake himself does not explain why he misspelled the word, adding to the unanswered questions, which the entire poem consists of,
"William Blake - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss." The Literature Network: Online Classic Literature, Poems, and Quotes. Essays & Summaries. Web. 07 July 2011. .
Blake is saying to the lamb, I'll tell you who made you, and it is