The Tyger Flashcards
‘The tyger’
literary allusion to another one of Blake’s poems ‘The lamb’ - a symbol of innocent mankind
‘Tyger, Tyer, burning bright’
Alliteration- ironic because the poem is complex- deceiving because it sounds like a nursery rhyme
‘Burning bright’
Fiery imagery- danger- like tigers, they’re beautiful to look at but can cause a lot of harm
‘What immortal hand or eyes’
Allusions to the divine- the focus is what kind of god created the tyger
‘Fearful symmetry’
Juxtaposes danger/beauty- symmetry suggests a skilful designer who payed attention to detail
‘distant deeps or skies’
Allusion to heaven and hell - what kind of god created this creature
‘burnt the fire’
Image of tiger being created out of fire - mirrors the flame- like the image of the tiger and creates an image of a daring god who plays with fire
‘What the hammer? what the chain, in what furnace’
Metaphor- God =blacksmith
‘Dread…Dare…Deadly’
Alliteration =horror
‘when the stars threw down their spears And water’d heaven with their tears’
Personification - did the angels in heaven protest against Gods creation
‘Did he who made the Lamb make thee?’
Explores the duality of the Christian god= punitive and forgiving- what type of God capable of making a meek animal such as a lamb chooses to create an animal as ferocious as the tiger
Last stanza is repetition of the first stanza
his questions will never be answered
‘Dare frame the fearful symmetry’
A god that takes risks and plays with fire - Did God take a risk in creating mankind with free will?
