ШУМЕНСКИ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ “ЕПИСКОП КОНСТАНТИН ПРЕСЛАВСКИ” Факултет по хуманитарни науки Project title: Write a critical analysis of William Blake's poem "The Tiger' paying special attention to the stance of the poetic speaker Name: Ивелин Иванов Минков Faculty number: 1063 Forth year English studies SHUMEN …show more content…
Firstly, few words need to be said about the tiger’s reputation as an animal, in the author’s time. Thomas Bewick’s “A General History of Quadrupeds” describes it in the following way:” fierce without provocation, and cruel without necessity, its thirst for blood is insatiable”. At that time, the word tiger had turned into a trope for fear, terror and cruelty. For instance, on the seventh of January 1792, Times compares the French cruelty with that of tigers and wolves. All this means that by penning the image of his tiger, Blake had an awful and cruel animal in mind, one of the most ferocious and bloodthirsty “…Dare its deadly terrors clasp”. This is confirmed by the horror the poetic speaker feels, when speaking for the tiger and at times even losing his grammar. Allegedly, Blake might have seen a tiger in London in the traveling menageries. Secondly, special attention is to be paid to the image behind the animal. Many literary critics believe that the tiger is a kind of a cousin of Job’s Leviathan in the book of Job. Indisputably, many a Bible commentator agrees that this Leviathan is the Evil One. Not only that, but, the poetic speaker’s depiction of the tiger evokes other images from the Bible that lead us to such conclusions. For instance, the words: “burning bright in the forests of the night” - burning bright refers to celestial beings in the Bible. The book of Ezekiel
Unlike the lamb this poems meaning is something different I believe. In my opinion this poem can be interpreted as a response to the industrialization that Britain was going through during the time of Blake. I think we first see this in the title “The Tyger” or tiger misspelled. When you think of a tiger you think of ruthlessness, ferocity, fast acting, just as the industrialization of Britain. This theme is very common through out Blake’s pieces as we see it in almost every poem. It is present in “The Chimney Sweeper” and “London”. Blake paints an image of what the tiger represents through out this poem and its harsh nonetheless, which further makes me believe that he is talking about the revolution. I believe that the description of the tyger that Blake gives us an insight to think that it is unpleasant and hurtful, not necessarily the tyger itself but the revolution that is tied in with it. We see the word “dread” repeatedly used in describing the tyger and we can draw a conclusion to say that it puts an emphasis on the pain and suffering that was
The poem, The Tyger, contrasts innocence and experience, and good and evil. The description of the tiger in the poem is as a destructive, horrid creature. The original drawing on the poem shows a smiling, cuddly tiger which is quite the contrast to the tiger described in the poem. This picture might suggest a misunderstanding of the tiger and perhaps the fears that arouse from the poem are unjustified. This poem contrasts the tiger with a lamb which often symbolizes innocence, Jesus, and good. The tiger is perceived as evil or demonic. Blake suggest that the lamb and the tiger have the same creator and in a way states that the tiger might also have the ability to have the benign characteristics of the lamb. The tiger initially appears as a beautiful image but as the poem progresses, it explores a perfectively beautiful yet destructive symbol that represents the presence of evil in the world. In the poem, Blake writes: " What immortal hand or eye, / Could frame thy fearful symmetry (4-5)." It is hard to determine if the tiger is solely evil or good.
All in all, the tiger will emerge from the door on the right because like most women, this princess will do almost anything for her own happiness and to keep the one she loves. That is why she chooses death of her lover, the accused man, over giving the man a life happy with a lovely damsel. She assumes that if he shall die of being eaten, they will meet once again happy in love. He will love her and only her, and not be married or be in love with another woman. The princess’s mission is accomplished.
According to Blake this creature has a special "inner" source of energy which distinguishes its existence from the cold and dark world of inanimate things (Blake 3). There is also an essence of the devil in the tiger. William Blake points this out by using words like furnace and just by him picking a tiger. There are many other violent predators out in the jungle but he chose the tiger because of its bright orange and black. When it runs it looks like a fireball. In line twenty of "The Tyger," William Blake says, "Did He who make the lamb make thee?" (Blake 539). What he is wondering is if he made such an innocent creature like the lamb how could he make a beast like the tiger?
Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it. Before the gate had even reached a foot off the ground the young lover, heartbroken, watched four frantic feet pacing back and forth and heard a deep, rhythmic panting. His mind frenziedly raced with dozens of thoughts: How could you do this to me? My dear lover, do you care but only for yourself? Someone must have forced her to tell me to choose the right door! What sort of fool am I to fall in love with the fairest lady in the kingdom?! What am I to do now? Run The tiger steadily stepped out of his dark cage, allowing the afternoon sun to warm his striped fur. He gazed first at the masses seated breathlessly around the stadium
Rosemary Dobson’s The Tiger delicately examines the notion of discovery as a medium of freedom, relating back to her own mental captivity similar to a tiger in a cage. The extended metaphor allows careful analysis of the sub-lying plot describing a poet's sense of discovery through their imagination. Through Dobson’s use of emotive language in “smouldering with rage,” the audience can better understand the poet’s deeply felt emotion, being unable to write to her heart’s content. “Behind the black-barred page” further accentuates, assisted by the alliteration, the statement's metaphoric value of remaining captive under frustration and oppression, destroying any belief or hope of achieving freedom to discover. Additionally, the hyperbole in the celestial frame of “He rakes the sky and stars...and is not done,” emphasises the search and will to discover, explaining that Dobson will do anything for her freedom, in order to achieve self gratification. The extended metaphor is resolved in the final
I believe the princess pointed her man in the direction of the tiger because she was jealous and would rather have him killed then see him love another women. “But how much oftener had she seen him at the other door I don't think she could see him with another women when he's the love of her life, I think when you love someone you couldn't see yours self with someone else you wanna be with that person that you love the most.
The antagonist in Tears of a Tiger is depression and guilt. Andrew is getting really depressed, because he has the guilt of killing his best friend, Robert Washington, who died in a car accident, by drinking and driving. Everyday as the months go by, the guilt and depression begin to grow. Andrew may seem happy sometimes on the outside, but in the inside Andrew is mentally and emotionally damaged. Suicide is one of the biggest antagonists. At the end of the book, Andrew commits suicide because he is tired and fed up with the stress and guilt.
The tiger is the first animal on the totem pole. The tiger symbolizes raw feelings and emotions, the ability to trust yourself, willpower, unpredictability in actions and feelings, and the courage to face problems. I posses these traits, because I am able to trust in myself and have the courage to face life's hardest problems. I am able
In "London", William Blake brings to light a city overrun by poverty and hardship. Blake discards the common, glorifying view of London and replaces it with his idea of truth. London is nothing more but a city strapped by harsh economic times where Royalty and other venues of power have allowed morality and goodness to deteriorate so that suffering and poverty are all that exist. It is with the use of three distinct metaphors; "mind-forg'd manacles", "blackning Church", and "Marriage hearse", that Blake conveys the idea of a city that suffers from physical and psychological imprisonment, social oppression, and an unraveling moral society.
London by William Blake is a poem characterised by its dark and overbearing tone. It is a glimpse at a period of England's history (particularly London) during war and poverty, experienced by the narrator as he walks through the streets. Using personification it draws a great human aspect to its representation of thoughts and beliefs of the narrator.
One of the pivotal figures of the Romantic Movement was William Blake. Although an artist at first, he eventually published poems, expressing his creativity even more. In his poems and artwork, his views on society, politics, religion, and literature were exquisitely and controversially portrayed. Over the course of his life, he experienced times of turmoil and joy, with those feelings being expressed in his work. From birth to death, the one thing that remained constant was God, who Blake constantly wrote and drew about in order to get a better understanding. Despite not receiving critical acclaim in his lifetime, he has been praised since his death. Through William Blake’s life, work, and legacy, his impact on the Romantic Movement is clear and evident.
Blake not only talks of fire and evil when referring to the tiger, but of art and beauty as well; “what
William Blake is one of England’s most famous literary figures. He is remembered and admired for his skill as a painter, engraver, and poet. He was born on Nov. 28, 1757 to a poor Hosier’s family living in or around London. Being of a poor family, Blake received little in the way of comfort or education while growing up. Amazingly, he did not attend school for very long and dropped out shortly after learning to read and write so that he could work in his father’s shop. The life of a hosier however was not the right path for Blake as he exhibited early on a skill for reading and drawing. Blake’s skill for reading can be seen in his understanding for and use of works such as the Bible and Greek classic literature.
The first stanza focuses on the tigers and creates an impression of majesty and power, such as with their ‘sleek chivalric certainty’ (l.4). In psychology and literature, ‘the symbol of the cat was related to the redemption of something feminine’ , and so Rich’s use of the tigers as a predatorial and strong member of the cat family demonstrates Aunt Jennifer’s internal power that derives from her being a woman. The word ‘chivalric’ is traditionally associated with knights and military prowess, and Rich subverts this typically male adjective to the feminine tigers and their representation of Aunt Jennifer’s inner strength (l.4).