Critical Analysis of "The Tyger" by William Blake

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Tyger.

By William Blake.

William Blake was a mystic poet who pondered upon the mysteries of the universe and seeked to unravel them. In his poem “the tiger”, Blake questions the need of god to create such a ferocious and destructive animal after having created a harmless and gentle one as the lamb already thus pondering upon the dichotomy of creation i.e. to have 2 branching aspects to every aspect, positive as well as negative. Thus the central theme of the poem itself deals with this dichotomy as he asks why the same creator could create both the lamb and the tiger whose creation seems like an eternal puzzle to him.

The poem begins with the line “tiger, tiger burning bright” in which the word “tiger” is repeated to make it seem as if the poet is addressing to the tiger itself and achieve emphasis. The words “burning bright” which show alliteration through the plosive "b”, identify the tiger with fire thus casting fire as the central image in the poem. The poet associates the tiger with fire because of their very similar characteristics. They both are violent, wild, ferocious, merciless and destructive, devastating etc. not to mention, they resemble each other as well. A tiger in the dark would look just like fire with its stripes of orange and black! In the second line of the poem which is “in the forest of the night”, the poet associates the tiger with darkness as well as wilderness through “the forest of the night" which is in contrast with “burning bright”. In the next line of the poem the poet shifts from the tiger to its creator. The poet questions the immorality of the creator and is sure that he is immortal or the tiger would certainly turn around and kill its creator on being created itself! Such is the nature of this animal. He ponders upon the hands that made and the eyes [of the creator] that watched as the hands made the perfect and flawless structure of the tiger which the marvelous creator was able to give the tiger as in line “frame they fearful symmetry”.

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In the next stanza the poet wonders where the fire used to make the eyes of the tiger was derived from. Was it taken from the heights of heaven or the depths of hell? coming back to the creator, he ponders upon the wings of the creator to be able to fly to such extreme highs and lows and the hands he must have to actually take the fire and carry it back and in the line “what the hand dare seize the fire”. In the last two line of the stanza the word “dare” is repeated and implies the ...

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