The Tyger Flashcards
Meaning
-narrator questions why god would make something so deadly
-but also marvels are the tyger’s mystic
Structure
Trochaic tetrameter
Half rhyme
Apostrophising
Cyclinical
Trochaic tetrameter
-is a pounding rhythm, reflecting the forging of the tiger, the power of god, and god as a blacksmith for the tiger
Some lines are iambs
Half rhyme
Eye, symmetry
-shows the speakers inability to capture the perfect nature of the tiger
Apostrophising
He addresses the tiger throughout the poem
Cyclinical
His questions are still not answered, he has reached no conclusions,
The word could switches to dare
Imagery
Visual imagery(parallel with stars)
Did he who made the lamb make thee
Visual imagery
Burning bright in the forest of the night
, awe, like a star or the sun, set against the back drop of darkness which is the space or the dark forest
Parallel between stars
Did he who made the lamb make thee
Juxtaposes images of innocence and ferocity
The lamb can also be Jesus as he is the lamb of god, so juxtaposes Jesus with a tiger, making the tiger seem amazing
Language
Metaphor
Allusions
Plosive alliteration
Extended metaphor of god as a black smith
Semantic field of violence
Epizeuxis
Metaphor
Burning bright, reference to the tigers fur
Allusions
-when the stars threw down their spears, demotion of gods arch angel satan, reference to paradise lost
-the lamb is an allusion to Jesus Christ
-on what wings dare he aspire allusions to Icarus
Plosive alliteration
Burning bring, portrays power in the b sounds
Extended metaphor of god as a black smith
-portrays god in a human light
-blasphemous?
Semantic field of violence
Juxtaposes the religious talk of god through the poem, as god is all loving
-possibly suggest that humans could not comprehend gods intentions
