"The Jaguar" was also written by Ted Hughes, a poem which was split into two halves bringing up the element of personification. The first half of the poem descibes animals in a zoo using similies and metaphores. It creates a funny image for the reader imagining the animals in their cages "The apes yawn and adore their fleas in the sun." and "The parrots shriek as if they were on fire, or strut Like cheap tarts to attract the stroller with the nut." This also brings up the idea of how animals are spoiled, never having to hunt for their own food, sitting around all day, in a habitat that was prepared for them. This shows that man behaves as if he can control animals with his technology, but once he has controled one thing, he gets bored with it and looks on to the next thing to control, "The Jaguar". In the second half of the poem, hughes uses deliberate references to Blake's language, including his words and images because Blake was seen as being visionary. The aspects of nature are beyond man's understanding and they look in awe and wonder at the Jaguar. They are scared at the jaguar but also have admiration for the creature.
William Blake (1757-1827) is the more biblical out of the two poets. He wrote two famous poems which linked together: "The Tyger" and "The Lamb".
"The Lamb" is a traditional symbol of innocence. It is also the animal of sacrifice, therefore resembles innocence. A child is innocent, harmless and has no experience. "Gave thee such a tender voice"~ has the voice of a child. Innocence does not need clothing, just as a baby can be naked, "softest clothing, woolly, bright" the lamb has no artificial clothing. The lamb is often used in the Bible, especially in the New Testament, where Christ is the lamb of God, offered as a sacrifice to attone for the sins of mankind. Adam and Eve were innocent in the Garden of Eden with the lamb being God's love. When they ate the apple they became like "The Tyger", knowledge leading to power, with God's anger throwing them out of the garden. I think this symbolises growing up; a child grows up as the lamb and becomes the tyger: Big, aggressive, always looking for more and always trying to be better than himself, like man. Eating the apple was growing up, and being introduced to the real world. The lamb resembled a child "he is meek, and he is mild; he became a little child". Again, in contrast to the lamb being God's love, the Tyger is God's anger.
"The Tyger" is like a set of scales on a piano, going up and down. Blake develops the Tyger becoming more powerful and more experienced, for example "what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?" evolving into "what immortal hand or eye dare frame thy fearful symmetry?" Both the creator and the tyger are equally powerful, yet different. "When the stars threw down their spears and watered Heaven with their tears", tears and spears contrast, but are connected, eg tears being the result of a blow from a spear. To strengthern the mysterious image of the creator, Blake repeats twice "in the forest of the night" which indicates an unexplored and unknown place. The poem also comments on eyes "what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?" This line indicates the strength and watchfulness of the creator's eyes..... therefore God watches over his creation. The introduction to the poem "Tyger!
Tyger! burning bright, in the forest of the night" is the description of an animal never seen before by man. The tyger is seen as "burning bright" due to its spectacular orange coat. It is a magnificent, yet shocking, creature which hunts at night in the depths of the forest. Blake wrote this poem at about the time of the industrial revolution. This was a dark and gloomy time with pollution and an over-crowded population. "What the hammer? what the chain?" is in contact to all the machinery in the industries. It asks the question "Who do you think you are, to think that you can make something as unique as me with your machines?"
In "The Lamb" and "The Tyger", Blake questions the origins of both animals and enters into a dialogue with the animals: "who made thee?", "in what furnace was thy brain?" In both poems, the question is rhetorical as he answers it (in " "The Lamb") with the line "little lamb, I'll tell you thee: he is called by thy name, for he calls himself a lamb". This leads the reader to the pure innocence and love that exists in the creation of one animal that "is called by thy name".
In "The Tyger" Blake appears to be (I) questioning the very reason as to why God made such a creature. "Did he who made the lamb make thee?" and (II) inviting the reader to consider this when comparing it with God's other creations.