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Essay on The Tyger

Decent Essays

“The Tyger” Ana Melching

Does god create both gentle and fearful creatures? If he does

what right does he have? Both of these rhetorical questions are

asked by William Blake in his poem “The Tyger.” The poem takes

the reader on a journey of faith, questioning god and his nature. The poem

completes a cycle of questioning the creator of the tyger, discussing how it

could have been created, and then returns to questioning the creator again.

Both questions about the tyger’s creator are left unanswered. William Blake

uses rhythm, rhyme, and poetic devices to create a unique effect and to

parallel his theme in his work “The Tyger.”

William Blake’s choice of rhythm is …show more content…

Couplets contain

two lines, paralleling the dichotomy of the poem, that everything

has two sides or parts. The rhyme scheme is AA BB CC etc. Because the

rhyming words are so distinguishable from the non-rhyming words, they

form two separate categories, which also parallels the dichotomy of the

poem.

William Blake’s choice of poetic devices greatly affect his

work “The Tyger.” He uses cacophony, which is a rough sounding group of

words, to exemplify the brute nature of the tyger and to wonder if it was

made in hell by an evil creator. This can be seen in line sixteen when he

says, “Dare its deadly terrors clasp.” This line sounds unpleasant and harsh

to the ears. William Blake uses euphony, which is a smooth sounding group

of words, to show the gentle nature of god and to wonder if he created the

tyger. This can be seen in line twenty when he says “Did he who made the

lamb make thee?” This line sounds soft and pleasing to the ears. William

Blake uses alliteration and assonance to make his words seem harsh or soft.

He uses alliteration, which is the repetition of identical consonants to make

his words seem harsh as in “distant deeps” or “dare the deadly.” This

emphasizes the tiger’s rough nature, and questions the nature of it’s creator.

He

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