In the poem “The Tyger” by William Blake the tone of baffled contemplation is developed by diction, syntax, figurative language, and imagery. Through these elements, we can conclude that the
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 Tyger” takes a unique look into the human soul in comparison to a tiger. This poem was written for Blake’s 1794 collection entitled Songs of Experience which contained
Through diction, figurative language and imagery, and syntax, William Blake conveys an intense and curious tone, revealing the doubt of whether or not human power was given by a higher being. The author, William Blake, uses connotation to make his audience understand what the true subject of the poem that he refers to is. For example, the word, “tyger,” in this poem is not specifying an actual tiger, but is used to represent humans. When Blake says, “thy fearful symmetry,” he is giving the tyger the characteristics of strength and power. Humans, as well, are strong and have the potential to create a big impact on the world, just as tigers do in the wild. Overall, the main focus of this poem is who the creator of the tyger is. This is supported with “And what shoulder, & what art/ Could twist the sinews of thy heart” and “On what wings dare he aspire.”
In the poem “The Tyger” by William Blake, the use of rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism all help the reader understand the theme and what was going through the authors thoughts while writing. William Blake was a mystic poet who channeled his thoughts and questions to write poems. He questioned the creator of both the Tyger and lamb, how could the same God create a destructive creature like the Tyger and on the other hand create a gentle animal, the lamb. This ties into the theme of the poem of how a God could and would create a monster like the Tyger.
Blake employs simplistic and allusive diction to portray the innocent nature of the children. The simplicity of a child’s experience is exemplified through Blake’s usage of “cry”, “laughing”, and “fear” which illustrate universal emotions felt by many. In addition, Blake uses allusive language through examples like “Angel”, “God”, and “heaven.” The reference to the heavens in the first poem functions to evoke feelings of goodness, which goes along with the dream like qualities of the poem, aiding in constructing the image of an innocent child. In the second poem, however, the focus on the oppression and structure connotes the dynamic of the destruction of a child’s innocence.
''The Tyger'' I had a hard time trying to figure what this poem was about. I am really not good at figuring
Tyger is a poem that strongly focuses on the concepts of religious beliefs and nature. The poem is made up of six stanzas all asking questions about how god could create such a thing and when he started, how he could continue to create such a beast. The first and last stanza of the poem are the same except, instead of asking who could create tiger he asks who dare create the tiger. Blake compares the creator to the blacksmith and uses the beat of the poem to represent god hammering the tiger into existence. Through out this poem Blake asks why god could create such a thing of beauty and sorrow and how humans could live in a world with both beauty and horror. This poem focuses on nature and god making it a great example of how romantics were influenced by their
In the poems "The Lamb" and "The Tyger," William Blake uses symbolism, tone, and rhyme to advance the theme that God can create good and bad creatures. The poem "The Lamb" was in Blake's "Songs of Innocence," which was published in 1789. "The Tyger," in his "Songs of Experience," was published in 1794. In these contrasting poems he shows symbols of what he calls "the two contrary states of the human soul" (Shilstone 1).
Looking at a powerful animal in fascination sends a lot of questions through one’s head. Even with God’s amazing design, this wonder can easily be switched to dismay. William Blake, the author of “The Tyger,” fulfills this interpretation of wonder. In this poem, the speaker seems to be watching a Tiger with great interest. Noticing how much power this animal possesses, our main character states a question as to why God would make such a perfectly dangerous creature. Moving forward in the poem, this question remains unanswered.
William Blake’s poetry is considered through the Romantics era and they access through the sublime. The Romantics poetry through the sublime is beyond comprehension and spiritual fullness. A major common theme is a nature (agnostic religion). In William Blake’s poem “The Tyger” he describes the tiger as a creature that was created by a higher power some time before. In Blake’s poem he questions, “What immortal hand or eye/ Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?” (Blake 22-23). He describes the tiger as a form of symmetry that can be seen as evil, yet have intriguing features such as those that make the tiger a beautiful creation. Blake also questions if that the higher being who created the tiger also created all else around the world such as a human being. Blake shifts his first stanzas from the tiger to the creator. Not only is he questioning who created the tiger, but he is also describing the beauty and evil of the world. The beauty that the Romantics believe in is nature and one evil seen through the world is materialism that distract humans from the beauty of nature 's gifts. He believes that people lose touch with spirituality when haven’t given to nature. Blake also illustrated his own works through
The archetype of this poem focuses on how aggressive and vicious the tiger is. It also can be seen as a more physical comparison such as, “Tyger Tyger, burning bright,” (line 1, page 749). Blake says the tiger is burning bright, but does not mean this literally, for he is comparing the color of the tiger to the color of fire. Blake does insult God for creating the creature because all it does is kill and destroy. The tiger also has more power. In which, the Songs of Experience poems are related to those that are leaders, fighters, and that are more outspoken; therefore, The Tyger fits more perfectly with that collection of
William Blake’s The Tyger, in my opinion, is an intriguing poem that looks at the idea of how God is a mystery and how humanity is at a loss to fully understand his creations by contemplating the forging of a beautiful yet ferocious tiger. Blake begins the poem by beginning a conversation with the tiger and almost immediately begins his questions of who could make such a fierce creature. He wonders if God could really create such a creature or maybe it is a creature produced from a darker source. Blake also refers to the tiger as a form of art, almost as if the creator made the tiger perfectly. The image of a blacksmith is also given through the poem as Blake refers to a blacksmith’s common tools and
William Blake was one of several transitionary writers between the Age of Reason and the Age of Romanticism. He saw the poverty and suffering that surrounded him and was a supporter of the French Revolution in its early days. He could not accept the neoclassical idea of a stable, orderly hierarchy in the universe, but instead viewed existence as a blending of opposite poles - good and evil, innocence and experience, heaven and hell. His magnum opus Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience is the epitome of how his work embodied his beliefs.
Blake uses traditional symbols of angels and devils, animal imagery, and especially images of fire and flame to: 1) set up a dual world, a confrontation of opposites or "contraries" which illustrate how the rules of Reason and Religion repress and pervert the basic creative energy of humanity, 2) argues for apocalyptic transformation of the self "through the radical regeneration of each person's own power to imagine" (Johnson/Grant, xxiv), and 3) reconstructs Man in a new image, a fully realized Man who is both rational and imaginative, partaking of his divinity through creativity. The form of the poem consists of "The Argument," expositions on his concepts of the "contraries" and of "expanded perception" which are both interspersed with "Memorable Fancies" that explicate and enlarge on his expositions, and concludes with "A Song of Liberty," a prophecy of a future heaven on earth.