Blake - The Tyger

THEMES:

-the natural world
-god and the divine
-legacy
-innocence vs. Experience
-beauty
-corruption

Summary of the big picture:
What is the poem about? Does it address anyone/anything?

-William Blake's literary masterpiece, 'The Tyger' has been scrutinized from literal and metaphorical point of views as he revisits his preferred dilemmas of innocence vs. experience. As for God, his creations are just beautiful and transcend the notions of good-evil. As is the case with his earlier poems, 'The Tyger' gives no visible answers except offering more questions.

-'Songs of Innocence' and 'Songs of Experience' juxtapose opposing sides of human nature, comparing and contrasting innocence with corruption. 'The Tyger' is an extension of the same theme, representing two diverse perspectives of the human world. William Blake doesn't take either side, but paints an opposing worldview for his readers. He also seems opposed to 3-fold controlling forces of religion, despotic rule and sexual repression.

Composition - is there anything contextually significant about when, where and why the poem was written?

-Catechism - refers to the way children were taught about god, a series of questions and answers about god that children were taught to learn by heart, this is reflected in the structure of the poem.

-the Tyger' was first published in William Blake's 1794 volume Songs of Experience, which contains many of his most celebrated poems. The Songs of Experience was designed to complement Blake's earlier collection, Songs of Innocence (1789), and 'The Tyger' should be seen as the later volume's answer to 'The Lamb', the 'innocent' poem that had appeared in the earlier volume.

-Framed as a series of questions, 'Tyger Tyger, burning bright' (as the poem is also often known), in summary, sees Blake's speaker wondering about the creator responsible for such a fearsome creature as the tiger.

What is significant about the form and structure of the poem? [use of a specific form e.g. an ode, stanza, structure, metre, rhyme scheme...]

-poem is structured in 6 regular quatrains and rhyming couplets, and uses trochaic tetrameter, a metre often used in children's rhymes - gives a misleading impression of simplicity.
-trochaic metre creates a relentless, insistent rhythm - the restless pacing of the tyger, the beating of its heart or the hammer blows on the anvil of creation?

-metre changes to iambic in the line: 'Did he who made the lamb make thee?' - emphasises the importance of this question to the poem as a whole.

What tone or mood is established at the beginning of the poem? Does this change as the poem continues, and if so, where?

-The initial verse refers to tyger, imploring about its beauty and creator. As the poem leads on gradually, the poem clearly makes it a point to discuss God as an entity as opposed to the tyger.

-William Blake champions metaphors as the first one is 'burning bright', which refers to the tyger's bright yellow fur, as it roams freely in the forest night. The central question as the reader slowly realizes pertains existence of God.

-Slowly, William Blake attacks the Christian God as he asks whether a divine entity is capable of creating such a mesmerizing creature with perfection definitions and extraordinaire beauty. Whether he deems God impotent of creating such a four-legged creature is left open-ended to the reader.

-Fearful symmetry is a nuanced trait that has dual allusions, one for the tyger and the other referring to divine deity. As apparent, the sublime characteristic refers to an entity extremely big and powerful yet mysterious.

-As a result, the poet starts off with poetic allusions, entirely open-ended for the reader to perceive as he pleases. He slowly arrives at the question as to how would God be when he hath created such a scary creature walking freely in the jungle.

What is significant about how figurative language is used in the poem? [ e.g. Types and patterns of imagery, simile/metaphor, symbolism...]

-many of the verbs have connotations of power, violence and destruction , and use harsh plosive sounds. By describing the tyger as 'burning', it is presented as strikingly beautiful yet also terrifying, highlighting the question of what kind of God would design such a majestic but ferocious beast.
-the verb 'frame' suggests that God has the power to both build and restrict this mighty animal. If the tyger is so terrible, how much more terrible must its creator be?
-does God 'smile his work to see' because he takes pleasure in violence and destruction? Is it a malicious smile? Or is the smile because the tyger's ferocity is also attractive and beautiful?
-repetition of the verb 'dare' could suggest a sense of recklessness, a God who unleashes the destructive energy of the tyger with little care for the consequences.
-'burning bright/ in the forests of the night' - suggests places of darkness where it is easy to get lost and where wild beasts lurk. The tyger is both awe-inspiring and terrifying in its sublime beauty.
-'distant deeps or skies' - is the source of the tygers energy and power in heaven or hell?
-'on what wings dare he aspire?' - an allusion to the fallen Angels who aspired to overthrow God and were cast down into hell? Is the force who made the Tyger not God but a demonic power? could also be an illusion to the myth of Icarus, who is a symbol of humankind aspiring beyond its limits. Is the creator of the Tiger almost pushing beyond his own limits in making such a terrifying beast?
-'what the hand, dare seize the fire?' - an allusion to the myth of prometheus, who stole fire from the gods to help humankind? this would make it another symbol of daring aspiration.
-'what the hammer? What the chain,/ in what furnace was thy brain?' - an allusion to the myth of Hephaestus, the Greek blacksmith god of fire. His symbols are a hammer and anvil. Prometheus stole fire from Hephaestus' sorge and was punished by him. It would suggest that this creator is seen as harsh and punitive rather than benevolent. Contrast between the natural world and the forge of industry and man-made tools .
-'stars threw down their spears' - another allusion to the fall of the angels - they were able to rebel against God because he created free will. Why does God 'smile' to see the chaos of rebellion and the establishment of hell?
-'did he who make the lamb make he?' - the lamb is an image both of the tender, mild and loving side of God, but also of sacrifice and death.

Is there anything significant about the use of sound/ patterns of sound? [e.g. sibilance, assonance, plosives, alliteration, onomatopoeia, internal rhyme...]

-'twist the sinews' - sibilance emphasises the sinister tone, suggesting the tyger is associated with dark and evil forces.

What is significant about structural features within the poem, e.g. caesura, enjambment, punctuation, repetition, juxtaposition...

-Enhanced by the use of repeated monosyllables eg. 'what... and .... what'.
-repeated questions throughout

What is significant about the ending of the poem? What final message or impression is the reader left with?

-repetition of the first stanza creates a cyclical structure - lack of answers/ progress in understanding God's true nature. Slant rhyme in the final couplet also shows a lack of resolution/ harmony
-change from 'could' to 'dare' emphasizes unsettling sense of fear.
-The last stanza is the repetition of the first as a chorus. Albeit, the word 'could' has been replaced by 'dare' by the poet. The poet in this section attempts to question the creator's ability. The poet embarks on challenging the ability of his creator to creating this mighty creature.