“The Tyger” is arguably the most famous poem written by William Blake. The lines are short and straightforward, organized into six stanzas of almost equal length. The lines that may be viewed as longer, however just somewhat, occur in the middle of the poem, in the third stanza, due for the most part to word length and not as much too increased number of metrical additions. The sentences in the poem are for the most part subordinate consisting of long strings of words that build more details of the image as the sentence goes on. An example is in the first stanza: The speaker starts first by portraying what he wants to discuss and where it is located, just to end it with a question; who might create such a creature. The first two lines outline the subject of the poem and the last two lines outline the question the speaker would like to ask in his words yet since they are locked into one long question, the syntax is considered subordinate. The rhythm of the poem comprises of lines that are trochaic tetrameter with a catalexis at the end of each line. There are three trochees per line, consisting of a stressed syllable, followed by an unstressed syllable, ending with a stressed syllable. There are couple of variations from this pattern yet very few. One instance of variation occurs in lines 10-11 when the speaker asks about the heart of the tiger: Line nine consists of three trochees followed by a catalexis at the end of the line. Line ten, nonetheless, reverses the stress
such a terrifying beast?” and “Who is God who dares to make such a terrifying
The last few lines in the poem are sentience that have been chopped up into different lines, to help
The poem is separated into two parts, each with sixteen lines, and is loosely based on an iambic pentameter metre. The rhyme scheme is ABAB throughout the poem, with the noticeable exception of the last four lines of part II, in which it changes to
The poem is formed of eight stanzas, each one is six lines long except for the fifth stanza which is an octet. The stanzas are formed of sets of three rhyming couplets in the
With a few exceptions, the poem primarily follows the form of accentual-syllabic verse. The majority of lines are composed of three syllables, most often two unstressed and one stressed. Using a combination of structural technique and descriptive language, Williams emphasizes the action of visual perception.
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.
In this poem, each stanza is made up of two couplets. These couplets because of their steady going rhyme, reminds the reader of the Tyger’s heartbeat, beating as we say the words as Blake intended them to be read. Blake states what words he thinks are the most important to the poem by using repetition. Repetition plays a key role, for example the word “dread” is repeated many times throughout the poem, particularly in lines 12 and 15. Every time Blake repeats this word it adds emphasis to the word or phrase its used in, contributing to the image of the Tyger in each readers mind.
Structure is a defining device in poetry; however, readers often overlook its importance. The structure of the poem emphasizes certain aspects of a poem and reveals clues regarding the overall meaning of a piece. In Tony Hoagland’s poem, Special Problems
The poem contains six quatrains, and does not follow any consistent rhyme scheme. Every line starts with a strong beat and ends up with a weak beat. The first and third lines in each stanza have iambic tetrameter, but the second and fourth lines do not contain any consistent meter. The feet generate a rhythm
Along with the irregularities in meter, neither poem has a regular line length or rhyming pattern. Dickinson’s poem contains alternating tetrameters and trimeters, with the exception of the first line, which contains 7 syllables. The poem contains some irregular rhyme; ‘heard’ in line 5 rhymes with ‘bird’ in line 7, and ‘Sea’ in line 10 rhymes with ‘Me’ in line 12. Whitman’s poem contains even more irregular line lengths. The first 4 lines of each stanza vary from 12 to 15 syllables, but the last 4 lines of each stanza vary from 5 to 8 syllables. Unlike in Dickinson’s poem, the rhyming scheme carries throughout the whole poem, although the AABBCDED rhyme pattern contains a few cases of near rhyme.
Because the poem is long, it won’t be quoted extensively here, but it is attached at the end of the paper for ease of reference. Instead, the paper will analyze the poetic elements in the work, stanza by stanza. First, because the poem is being read on-line, it’s not possible to say for certain that each stanza is a particular number of lines long. Each of several versions looks different on the screen; that is, there is no pattern to the number of lines in each stanza. However, the stanzas are more like paragraphs in a letter than
The poem begins with two lines which are repeated throughout the poem which convey what the narrator is thinking, they represent the voice in
show a large amount of similarity, as well as differences, both in the way he
Rhyme is found all throughout the poem and has a huge effect on the reader. Blake used rhyme and detail to create some more wicked thoughts of the Tyger in the readers mind. Each stanza is made up of two couplets. Because these couplets keep a steady going rhyme, we
is a representation of the relationship between creator and creature. This poem may be one of his more popular poems from The Songs of Experience. In the poem, Blake writes about how the Tyger was created by the same immortal being who created the sheep. In this case, Blake is referring to God creating both good and evil in the world. Blake depicts this by this excerpt from the poem, ?the contrast between fire and night ? [which] corresponds to the contrast of yellow and black stripes ringing the Tyger itself [sic].?8 John E. Grant comments that William Blake?s poem is ? ? horrifying, as well as awesome, to think of an animate thing being hammered into shape in the smith.?9 Through this statement, Grant is referring to the creation of Tyger and the rest of humanity by God. The hammer merely being an instrument of creation.10 It is strange how much Blake speaks of God and creation as a whole, as he was not religious or a believer in one God, creator of the