Poetry Analysis: "The Tyger"

928 Words2 Pages

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.

The first stanza directly addresses the Tyger, which is, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, “a large, carnivorous feline quadruped.” It sets up the theme of night, along with which comes darkness and evil. The third and fourth lines ask the first of many repetitive and, in a sense, unanswerable questions: what kind of creator has the ability to make something with such “fearful symmetry” (4)? The second stanza moves on to ask the same question in a different format, inquiring where the Tyger came from: heaven or hell. Starting in line 9, the speaker uses powerful imagery to ask again what God could create the Tyger. The diction portrays the Tyger as evil, with a “twist[ed]” heart (10). Lines 13-16 make up the fourth stanza and compare the creator to a blacksmith. Lines 19 and 20 ask two questions that are different from the rest: “Did he smile his work to see?/Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” These lines ask of the Tyger if his maker was happy to see what a monstrous being he had created, and if it was the same maker that made the pure and innocent Lamb. In a sense, t...

... middle of paper ...

...nd lets the reader find the deeper meanings in the poem. The Tyger stands for darkness and evil, while the Lamb is exact opposite. The blacksmith in lines 13-16 symbolizes the creator. These representations affect the reader by making it not just a poem concerning animals and creation, but also about the debate of a benevolent God creating something evil.

All of these poetic techniques work together to create imagery that shows the Tyger as malicious and evil, and the question of whether or not God could create such a monster is never completely answered. Through evaluating this poem the reader comes to understand that it is not truly about the Tyger, but about its maker. Even with so many literary devices used to enhance the reader’s understanding, the final question is still left with no clear response: did the same God who shaped the Tyger also form the Lamb?

Show More
Related

  • The Bull Calf

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    "The thing could barely stand." ("The Bull Calf" line 1). The calf is referred to as a thing not an animal or creature. This is the way the author blocks emotion. The first line in the first stanza is a contradiction from the rest of the stanza because the rest of it has a positive attitude and the first sentence shows that the animal is weak. The third and the fourth line show the glory of the animal by hinting to royalty. The last line in the first stanza helps to back this information up by pointing to Richard the second. In the fifth line the narrator uses thee word us this connects him to the event. "The fierce sunlight tugging the maize from the ground" ("The Bull Calf" line 6). This is imagery, the sunlight showing promise and hope, maize is yellow this refers us back to the sun through the similar color. The last line refers to Richard the second this makes the poem flow better into the next stanza, Richard the second was lowered from his rank much like the calf is going to be.

    Read More

  • Sympathy in Beowulf

    1361 Words  | 3 Pages

    While the monsters of the poem are the antagonists of the poem, the author still manages to make the reader feel traces of sympathy for them. Grendel’s human depiction, exile and misery tugs at the heart of readers and indeed shows a genuine side to the figure, while Grendel’s mother and the dragon are sympathetic mainly because they were provoked into being attacked over things they both had a deep affection for. Their actions make us question whether they are as evil as they seem.

    Read More

  • Beowulf & Grendel vs. Beowulf, the Epic Poem

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the opening seconds of the film you are already able to see differences from the poem. The poem begins with Grendel, who is a demon of pure evil which has spawned from hell, attacking Danes in the mead hall, killing all of them. This scene does happen in the movie but for different reasons. The film opens with a scene of the Danes hunting down Grendel’s father and also Grendel when he was a child. Grendel’s father was killed by the Danes, over a fish he had stolen from them. In the movie, Grendel is not a demon from hell, the Danes refer to him as a “troll,” and he is also said to be the Grinder of Teeth, meaning he has bad dreams.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In William Blake's 'The Tyger'

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Ralegh's Nature, that washed her hands in milk

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nature, that washed her hands in milk” can be divided structurally into two halves; the first three stanzas constitute the first half, and the last three stanzas make up the second half. Each stanza in the first half corresponds to a stanza in the second half. The first stanza describes the temperament of Nature, who is, above all, creative. This first stanza of the first half corresponds to stanza four, the first stanza in the second half of the poem. Stanza four divulges the nature of Time, who, unlike Nature, is ultimately a destroyer. Time is introduced as the enemy of Nature, and Ralegh points out that not only does Nature “despise” Time, she has good reason for it (l. 19). Time humiliates her: he “rudely gives her love the lie,/Makes Hope a fool, and Sorrow wise” (20-21). The parallel between the temperaments of Nature and Time is continued in stanzas two and five. Stanza two describes the mistress that Nature makes for Love. This mistress, who is made of “snow and silk” instead of earth, has features that are easily broken (3). Each external feature is individually fragile: her eyes are made of light, which cannot even be touched, her breath is as delicate as a violet, and she has “lips of jelly” (7-8). Her demeanor is unreliable, as well; it is made “Only of wantonness and wit” (12). It is no surprise that all of the delicate beauty Nature creates in stanza two is destroyed by Time in stanza five. Time “dims, discolors, and destroys” the creation of Nature, feature by feature (25-26). Stanzas three and six complete the parallel. In the third stanza, the mistress is made, but in her is “a heart of stone” (15). Ralegh points out that her charm o...

    Read More

  • Effective Use of Imagery in William Blake’s The Lamb and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s A Very Old Man Wi

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the poem, "The Lamb," Blake uses imagery to explain the way the, "Little Lamb" (Line 1), looks like.

    Read More

  • Rorschach Good or Evil?

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first literary reference is the title of Chapter 5, which is called “Fearful Symmetry” which comes from the William Blake’s poem “The Tyger”. The poem itself is not cited until the end of the chapter, but not the whole poem, so in order for the reader to understand the importance of the reference, one must read the poem, and understand the interpretation behind it. The last two stanzas of poem are most important to understanding the meaning: “…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 ...

    Read More

  • the lamb

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    The rhyme conspire in "The Tyger" is additionally of an exceptionally rudimentary style. The purpose behind the rhyme plan is the same as it was for "The Lamb." They both are carried out to make you truly reconsider

    Read More

  • Compare and contrast the poems The Tyger and The Donkey and

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    Compare and contrast the poems The Tyger and The Donkey and discuss which poet gives us the clearest depiction of humanity. William Blake is a wealthy, upper-class writer who separates himself from the rest of the wealthy community. Blake has a hate for the techniques used by many of the wealthy, company owners who gain and capitalise through cheap and expendable labour, supplied by the ever-growing poverty in the country. Blake makes a point to try and reveal this industrial savagery through his work. "The Tyger" is presented as a metaphorical approach to the struggle between the rich and the poor; good and evil.

    Read More

  • The Lamb vs. The Tyger By William Blake

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Willam Blake's Efforts to Change Society Through The Lamb,The Tyger, The Chimney Sweeper, and Infant Sorrows

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Tyger Essay

    586 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Blake, a romantic poet in the late 1700s, wrote a collection of biblical poems, called The Songs of Innocence and Experience. In this collection, Blake wrote a six-stanza poem consisting almost entirely of questions, titled “The Tyger”. Blake addresses this “Tyger” throughout the entire poem, beginning by asking who or what immortal creature made the Tyger. Blake then describes the Tyger as a fearsome and evil creature and tries to understand how the person who made the Tyger could have continued the process once it’s horrible “heart began to beat” (Blake 11). He compares the creator of the animal to a blacksmith, asking if the creator used an anvil and hammer to create the creature or other tools. Towards the end of the poem, Blake

    Read More

  • The Romantic Era Of Romanticism In The Tyger By William Blake

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    In William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” seems to focus on having one 's reasons overwhelmed by the beauty and horror of the natural world, but it also includes religion and creation. In the beginning the tyger is being questioned about his creation, and who created him, “What immortal hand or eye / Could frame thy fearful symmetry (line 3-4). This quote is more or less asking, “who created you and why did they create you?”. A vital contrast is made throughout the poem of good and evil; beauty and horror, the tyger is said to possess both

    Read More

  • Christian References in William Blake's The Lamb

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    " The poem is enveloped in a sea of naivety as well as humor as the speaker is. directly speaking with an animal seeking profound philosophical clarification concerning similar questions that all humans have. contemplated at one point in their life and have been unable to answer. I will be able to answer. The child's question: "Who made thee," is relatively simple.

    Read More

  • The Lamb By William Blake Analysis

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Lamb” starts with an innocent directness and a natural world with no visible signs of adults. William Blake addresses the lamb itself, saying it is pure, innocent and it is associated with Christ. William Blake describes the lamb exactly as he sees it. The lamb has been blessed with soft and warm

    Read More

More about Poetry Analysis: "The Tyger"

Open Document