The Tyger Flashcards
The Tyger (title)
Tyger = unusual spelling, even at the time - could be done so the animal appears archaic/mythical
Tyger, tyger, burning bright
Memorable phrase - due to repetition (of tyger) and alliteration (burning bright)
“Burning bright” - comparison to a fire - beautiful but difficult to control and can easily be deadly
In the forests of the night:
Hiding in the depths of the night - idea of it being wild and mysterious
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
“Immortal” - suggestion of a divine entity, could be questioning who created everything
“Thy” - direct address to the tiger, indicates writer will not be getting an answer to his questions
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
“Deeps or skies” - questioning whether it came from heaven or hell
Seems to be leaning towards hell - references fire again
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
Heart = tiger’s perception of the world - suggests the creator placed a love for killing into the tiger’s heart
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?
Links the tiger and its creator - suggesting what created such an evil may also be evil (repetition of “dread” to describe the creator as its creation comes to life)
What the hammer? What the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
“Thy brain… deadly terrors” - suggests that the animal’s brain is full of bloodthirsty thoughts - wonders who would make that
First 3 lines (“hammer… chain… furnace… anvil”) = allusion to Hephaestus - imagery used to show him creating it in his workshop - Hephaestus was mainly known for creating deadly weapons
When the stars threw down their spears
And water’d heaven with their tears:
Allusion to the war of angels, when they fought Lucifer (for leaving heaven) - again references idea of heaven and hell (which is responsible for the tiger?)
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Contrast to “Lamb” - reference to another of Blake’s poems, in which the lamb represents purity and innocence - questioning if God can make something as innocent as a lamb and as evil as a tiger
Dare frame they fearful symmetry? (End)
Repeats first question with a slight change - cyclical structure - but question has shifted from who could attempt to create it, to who would try to create it
Overarching theme
Questioning why the creator of the universe brought evil/danger into the world
Structure
Regular meter - creates a regular rhythm - beat similar to the beating of a hammer or the tiger’s heart as it is being created - could also reflect the idea that God has a plan even if it is incomprehensible
Each line ends on an unstressed syllable - creates a sense of incompletion, reflecting the way the poem fails to answer the speaker’s questions about the tiger’s creation
