Appreciation of 'The Tyger'.

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Peter Cui 10G English.

Appreciation of ‘The Tyger’

Subject matter

Blake is this poem gives a description of the tiger, describing vividly its appearance, its structure, its beauty and its terror. As well as describing the tiger, the poet also tries to explain how he pictures the creation of the tiger, as well as the terror of the creator (who created such a fearsome and awesome creature).

Purpose

        The poet’s purpose in this poem is to describe something that fascinates him. The tiger in his view is a powerful, yet beautiful creature, a creature so powerful that it is terrifying. However, the poet also attempts to comprehend its creator, God. He shows that if the creation is powerful and terrifying, and asks the question how powerful must be the creator? The poet clearly expresses that he is very afraid of the power of God, and what God is able to do. Throughout the poem the poet expresses his admiration, his wonder and his fear, this poem is as much a study of the tiger as a study of God.

Emotion

Though the poem is mostly descriptive, the poet gives the reader some clues of the emotions that he feels. On the face of this poem, it seems to be a poem about a nature. However, looking further into the poem one can see that the poem is a very religious poem. One of the most dominant emotion that one can feel when reading the poem is the wonder and awe. Whether it is at the tiger or at God, Blake shows much wonder; as shown in the extract in verse 1:

And what shoulder & what art,

Could twist thy heart?’

Blake describes the colours of the tiger’s fur as ‘burning’, as though the fur of the tiger was a fire itself. This fire is carried on into verse two where Blake describes that there is a fire burning in the eyes of the tiger.. In line 3 and 4  of verse 1 Blake turns his attention to the creator:

What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry.’

His wonders about what the hands and eyes of God are like. Blake sees the tiger as  a creation of a great craftsman, a work of art. The most important parts of a craftsman are his eyes and his hands. They are a craftsman’s most important tools, allowing him to craft the image he has in his imagination. This idea could have been influenced by Blake’s work as a engraver.

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        The other dominant emotion in the poem is the fear shown by Blake. His is very afraid of the tiger. Yet his is even more afraid of God the creator of such an awesome beast. This is a sometimes a feature of Christians to be ‘God-fearing’ people. This fear can be seen in the following extracts:

‘What dread hand? & what dread feet?’

‘In what furnace was thy brain?’

‘Dare its deadly terrors clasp’

The extracts above show how much Blake fears the tiger. He is afraid of the tiger’s claws, and the image in Blake’s mind is a beast ...

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