The Tyger By: William BlakePresentation by: Keith Flagg

Biography

William Blake was a painter, poet, and a printmaker and was born in the Soho region of London. The Bible greatly inspired Blake in his writing as well as it did in his early years. Blake started publishing his poetry in 1783 and used illuminated printing in his work.

OrganizationTyger Tyger, burning bright, A

In the forests of the night; A

What immortal hand or eye, B

Could frame thy fearful symmetry? B

In what distant deeps or skies. C

Burnt the fire of thine eyes? C

On what wings dare he aspire? D

What the hand, dare seize the fire? D

And what shoulder, & what art, E

Could twist the sinews of thy heart? E

And when thy heart began to beat, F

What dread hand? & what dread feet? F

This poem is organized in six stanzas and there are four lines in each. The poem is a lyric because of its song like rhythm and quality. It is also a couplet due to the dual rhyme pattern (right). The organization makes the poem catchy and emphasizes the end rhyme.

Imagery

The speaker then asks what tools were used to create such a creature and uses anvil and chain as the objects as if he were relating the creator to a blacksmith.

The poem fills the readers’ mind with images of a fearful bright tiger and the image of an innocent lamb. Then he compares the two and asks how a creator of such a strong and powerful creature could create such a dainty and innocent one.

Examples of the imageryin The Tyger

What the hammer? what the chain, What the anvil? what dread grasp,

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

Poetic Terms

End RhymePersonificationWhen the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears

Personifies stars by stating that they throw spears and have the ability to cry.

Tyger Tyger, burning bright, A

In the forests of the night; A

What immortal hand or eye, B

Could frame thy fearful symmetry? B

In what distant deeps or skies. C

Burnt the fire of thine eyes? C

On what wings dare he aspire? D

What the hand, dare seize the fire? D

And what shoulder, & what art, E

Could twist the sinews of thy heart? E

And when thy heart began to beat, F

What dread hand? & what dread feet? F

RepetitionTyger Tyger burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye,Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Tyger Tyger burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye,Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

The speaker also asks questions beginning in “what the” which can be seen as repetition.

MetaphorWhat the hammer? what the chain, In what furnace was thy brain?What the anvil? what dread grasp, Dare its deadly terrors clasp! 

Compares the creator to a blacksmith.

Literal meaning of The Tyger

The Tyger tells of a fearsome creature in the forest and the speaker struggles to understand the beast and even asks if the creator of the tyger could have created the lamb because of how different the two are.

Figurative meaning of The Tyger

Figuratively the meaning of this poem is to acknowledge that the creator of innocence and peace could have created such courage and fearsome power. The author clearly shows the influence from the bible in his art. The poem also pays attention that these things were derived from the same tools of creation.

Author’s Purpose

The purpose of the poem was to send a message to the reader saying that it is amazing how closely related two different subjects may be. The poem really demonstrates how opposites can be hard to understand.

Theme

The theme of the poem is that two different things are not so different when traced back to the beginning of their creation. This can be valuable when comparing two extremes. Life and death and yin and yang are an example of these comparable extremes.

Citation

wikipehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blakedia.org/wiki/William_Blakehttp://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/william-blakehttp://www.biography.com/people/william-blake-9214491#the-maturing-artisthttp://www.yenra.com/quotations/william-blake.gifhttp://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172943http://s3ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/terminal05/2012/9/13/16/enhanced-buzz-3104-1347566610-4.jpghttp://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/132/d/8/tiger_by_zuza7595-d4zhca8.pnghttp://www.psdgraphics.com/file/seamless-chrome-chain.jpghttp://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kx659kbX9D1qz86lxo1_400.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Flower_jtca001.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Albion_Chieftain_Medieval_Sword_05_(6091895537).jpghttps://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7204/6958209245_477cbb033e_z.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/Yin_yang.svg/466px-Yin_yang.svg.pnghttp://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140607143524/godofwar/images/a/a4/Mlss_mario-hammer.jpg