WilliamWilliam BlakeBlake ’’ss ““TheThe TigerTiger ”” AboutAbout thethe PoetPoet

 Son of a London hosier, William was a poet, artist, mystic, and philosophical anarchist  's first printed work, (1783), is a collection of apprentice verse, mostly imitating classical models. The poems protest against war, tyranny, and King George III's treatment of the American colonies.  He published his most popular collection, Songs of Innocence , in 1789 and followed it, in 1794, with Songs of Experience . Some readers interpret Songs of Innocence in a straightforward fashion, considering it primarily a children's book, but others have found hints at parody or critique in its seemingly naive and simple lyrics. Both books of Songs were printed in an illustrated format reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts. The text and illustrations were printed from copper plates, and each picture was finished by hand in watercolors. PoemPoem

  Tyger! Tyger! burning bright  What the hammer? what the In the forests of the , chain? What immortal hand or eye In what furnace was thy brain? Could frame thy fearful What the anvil? what dread grasp symmetry? Dare its deadly terrors clasp? In what distant deeps or skies When the stars threw down their Burnt the fire of thine eyes? spears, On what wings dare he aspire? And watered heaven with their What the hand dare sieze the fire? tears, And what shoulder, & what art. Did he smile his work to see? Could twist the sinews of thy Did he who made make heart? thee? And when thy heart began to beat, Tyger! Tyger! burning bright What dread hand? & what dread In the forests of the night, feet? What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy ? AboutAbout thethe PoemPoem

 ""TheThe TygerTyger "" isis aa poempoem byby thethe EnglishEnglish poetpoet WilliamWilliam Blake.Blake. ItIt waswas publishedpublished asas partpart ofof hishis collectioncollection SongsSongs ofof ExperienceExperience inin 1794.1794. TheThe CambridgeCambridge CompanionCompanion toto WilliamWilliam BlakeBlake (2003)(2003) callscalls itit "the"the mostmost anthologisedanthologised poempoem inin EnglishEnglish ””..  MostMost modernmodern anthologiesanthologies havehave keptkept Blake'sBlake's choicechoice ofof thethe archaicarchaic spellingspelling "tyger"."tyger". HisHis choicechoice ofof "tyger""tyger" hashas usuallyusually beenbeen interpretedinterpreted asas beingbeing forfor effect,effect, perhaperhapsps toto renderrender anan "exotic"exotic oror alienalien qualityquality ofof thethe beast",orbeast",or becausebecause it'sit's notnot reallyreally aboutabout aa tigertiger atat all,all, butbut aa metaphor.metaphor. NotesNotes

 ItIt isis veryvery evidentevident inin thethe beginningbeginning ofof thisthis poempoem thatthat thethe poempoem isis addressedaddressed toto thethe "Tyger.""Tyger."

 ItIt beginsbegins withwith thethe repetitionrepetition ofof thethe namename "Tyger,"Tyger, tygertyger ””.. ThisThis repetitionrepetition createscreates aa chantchant --likelike moodmood toto thethe wholewhole poem,poem, whichwhich contributescontributes toto thethe mysteriousness.mysteriousness. "Burning"Burning bright"bright" maymay describedescribe thethe appearanceappearance ofof thethe TygerTyger (tigers(tigers havehave fieryfiery orangeorange fur),fur), oror itit maymay onon aa deeperdeeper levellevel describedescribe aa kindkind ofof energyenergy oror powerpower thatthat thisthis TygerTyger has.has. NotesNotes

 The poem is written in six quatrains rhyming aabb (quatrains are stanzas of four lines). The tiger initially appears as a strikin gly sensuous image. However, as the poem progresses, it takes on a symbolic character, and comes to embody the spiritual and moral problem the poem explores: perfectly beautiful and yet perfectly destructive, Blake ’s tiger becomes the symbolic center for an investigation into the presence of evil in the world. Sin ce the tiger ’s remarkable nature exists both in physical and moral terms, the speaker ’s questions about its origin must also encompass both physical and moral dimensions. The poem ’s series of questions repeatedly ask what sort of physical creativ e capacity the “fearful symmetry ” of the tiger bespeaks; assumedly only a very strong and powerful being could be capable of such a creation. Thanks - Vipanjeet