Download The Tyger by William Blake

The Tyger by William Blake
Reading the Poem
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
What the hammer? what the chain?
In the forests of the night,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What immortal hand or eye
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
In what distant deeps or skies
When the stars threw down their spears,
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
And watered heaven with their tears,
On what wings dare he aspire?
Did he smile his work to see?
What the hand, dare sieze the fire?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
And what shoulder, & what art,
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
In the forests of the night,
And when thy heart began to beat,
What immortal hand or eye
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
History
William Blake spent his whole life in
London England.
He was born in 1757 and died in
1827.
His art and poetry was never
recognized as significant until
after he died.
Many thought he psychotic.
His parents supported his artistic
ability and sent him to art school
during his teen years.
Unlike his teachers of the time, Blake
questioned everything and
particularly liked the works of
Michelangelo and Raphael.
He did not begin to focus on poetry
until after he became a
printmaker's apprentice.
William Blake is now known as one of
the most famous poets and artists
England had.
William Blake's poetry is some of the
hardest to interpret and read.
His poetry centers around many
questions he had about religion
and purpose in the world.
His poetry demonstrates the thoughts
of the Romantic Era because he
constantly questions the bible and
religious views of the time which
is consistent with the ideals of the
time period.
"The Tyger" was written in his
collection known as the Songs of
Experience in 1794.
Paraphrasing Stanza 1
Tyger! Tyger! burning
bright
In the forest of the
night,
What immortal hand
or eye,
Could frame thy
fearful symmetry?
Tiger! Tiger! shining in
the dark, what godly
being created your
dangerous
sleekness?
Paraphrasing Stanza 2
In what distant deeps
or skies
Burnt the fire of thine
eyes?
On what wings dare
he aspire?
What the hand dare
seize the fire?
Did you come from
heaven or hell?
Whose hand dared
this arduous task of
creating this
dangerous being?
and for what
purpose?
Paraphrasing Stanza 3
And what shoulder,
and what art,
Could twist the sinews
of my heart?
And when thy heart
began to beat,
What dread hand?
and what dread
feet?
What strength and
skill did the creator
hold to create the
heart of the tiger?
When the heart
began to beat,
whose fearful hands
and feet caused it?
Paraphrasing Stanza 4
What the hammer?
what the chain?
In what furnace was
thy brain?
What the anvil? what
dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors
clasp?
With whose hammer?
With whose chain?
With what furnace
(fire) was the tiger's
brain created? With
whose anvil?
Whose fearful grip
dared to create a
deadly creature?
Paraphrasing Stanza 5
When the stars threw
down their spears,
And watered heaven
with tears,
Did he smile his work
to see?
Did he who made the
Lamb make thee?
When Satan rebelled
against God and
shocked heaven,
did Satan smile at
his creation, or did
God?
Paraphrasing Stanza 6: The Shift
Tyger! Tyger! burning
bright
In the forests of the
night,
What immortal hand
or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful
symmetry?
This may look
identical to the first
stanza, but the
authors changes his
topic. Can you tell
what it is?
The Shift
William Blake goes from saying "Could frame
thy fearful symmetry?" in the 4th line to
saying "Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?" in
the last line.This shows that the author has
changed tones. He goes from questioning the
ability of the creator of the tiger ("could") to
questioning his nerve ("dare") to do such a
thing.
Themes
The form of the poem is lyrical because it
expresses thoughts and emotions through
questioning rather than telling a story. This
gives the poem a nice feel along with the
emotions you receive.
The main purpose of the poem was to reflect
on life. All of the questions that William Blake
asks throughout the poem are reflections and
questions about how things originated.
Theme Continued
One major theme in this poem is to not always
agree and accept the things you are taught.
The poem goes away from traditional thinking
about god and questions who is actually
behind the creation of the tiger.
Another major theme that was developed
throughout the poem is the concept of good
vs evil. This whole poem has an
understanded reflection on God vs. Satan.
We perceive God to be the side of good, and
Satin the side of evil.
Connotations
Rhythm: The poem is mostly Iambic, but lacks a basic meter. This gives
the poem a beet, but causes the reader to stumble on the last syllable
because he adds an extra one to throw off the meter to force the
reader to slow down and think about what is being said. After all, his
poetry is very difficult to pinpoint what is actually being meant.
Melody: Rhyming was a major way William Blake tried to tie together the
loose ends of the lines after adding an extra syllable to most of them.
This gives the poem an easy flow, but then also highlights important
parts when it does not end up rhyming the last word of each stanza
with the next.
Imagery and the Title: The main part of the poem was a whole metaphor.
The Tyger itself is a metaphor; some of the best analysts still cannot
crack it. The Tyger could possibly represent humans, being dangerous
to the world, or even a revolutionary energy created by god during the
revolutions of the era. No one is for certain, which makes the poem
ambiguous but mystical at the same time.
Tone
Contemplative- William Blake changes his view
on the subject during the poem, going from
concept to concept, as if looking over the
idea as a whole and thinking about what it
could mean. He searches for a deeper
meaning within the idea.
Annotated Bibliography Source 1
Hjouj, Samer. "The Tyger - William Blake." The Tyger William Blake. N.p., 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2013.
A. This site was a student's analysis and discussion of the piece. The author
took the time to pick apart the poem and go over it in different ways. He
looks at the author's background as well as looking directly at stanzas and
parts of the poem.
B. This source is credible because it lists 9 sources and is organized and
backed by the college the author was in when he wrote it. The author did
not write it to sell copies of the poem or anything objective. He wrote it for
the purpose of analysis and helping others.
C. We used this source in further interpreting the poem and general
background on relating the poem to modern times. It helped us find the
more deep aspects of the poem and other analysis pieces that we may
have missed.
Annotated Bibliography Source 2
"The William Blake Archive Homepage." The William Blake
Archive Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2013.
A. This site is for a archive all about William Blake. It details his works, his life,
his history, etc. It is a very easy to use site with a search so that you can
find different pieces by William Blake.
B. This source was created by college professors, William Blake art collectors,
and is backed by the Library of Congress. It is non-profit and only out there
for as information database.
C. We used this source for background information on William Blake and his
main viewpoints during the time period in which he wrote The Tyger. We
used this site to search for information on how his life and the era could
relate to The Tyger.