The Tyger, William Blake

Question 1

Meaning (4 points)

Answer 1

1. Poem spoken directly to tiger
2. Speaker = Blake
3. Questions what sort of creator would make an animal = both beautiful and deadly
4. Communicates = God is responsible for brining both goodness and evil to mankind?

Question 2

Context

Answer 2

1. Blake one of 1st common people to see Tiger
2. Rejected established religion

Question 3

Imagery #1

Answer 3

Imagery of blacksmith’s workshop = extended metaphor

‘hammer’, ‘furnace’ and ‘anvil’ (semantic field of blacksmith)

• Image: Divine powers labouring in physically demanding
  conditions to create life such as tiger i.e. Work = dangerous and hard
• God = blacksmith - shaping tiger
  
  • God described with imagery associated with hell and the Devil
  • Consequences of blacksmith making weapons and swords = Consequences of making tiger

Question 4

Imagery #2

Answer 4

Personification: “stars threw down their spears”

• Throw light
  
  • God can see literally creation/consequence
• Universe is aware and sentient
• “stars”
  
  • Associated with heaven
  • Stars represent disapproval of heavens at God’s creation of tiger
• “threw down their spears”
  
  • Discarded spears in fear when confronted by tiger
  • Trying to hunt down tiger before does any damage
• Stars weep (“tears”)
  
  • Heavenly sorrow - scary
  • Even universe thinks tiger is bad idea

Question 5

Tone #1

Answer 5

Inquisitive and accusing + little dismay

1. “What immortal hand or eye, / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”
   
   • Inability of mortals to fathom power needed to (awe-inspiring) tiger
   • OR suggests creation reflects something about creator
     
     • Undeniable existence of evil/violence in world = reflects nature of God
   • Question dominates poem
     
     • Tiger = symbolises idea of destruction in world
     • Poses question: if God is good then why has he created kindness and cruelty in world
     • Makes reader think of opportunity God had to
       create world without cruelty/death (BUT
       instead made tiger)

Question 6

Tone #2

Answer 6

Fearful: repetition “dread”

• Creator fearful but brave = sense of foreboding
• “dread hand”
  
  • Could be God’s
• “dread feet”
  
  • Ambiguous: Could belong to either animal or creator
  • Brings tiger and God together = show someone who makes ferocious beast = might be ferocious themselves

Question 7

Structure #1

Answer 7

6 quatrains in rhymed couplets + Largely trochaic (tetrameter)

• Rhythm
  
  • Beating of a hammer suggestive of blacksmith (poem’s central image)
  • OR padding of stealthy paws
  • OR beating of heart
• Each line ends unstressed syllable
  
  • = sense of something left unfinished
  • reflects way poem fails to answer speaker’s question
  • = difficult to understand God

Question 8

Structure #2

Answer 8

Cyclical structure: 1st stanza = last stanza

• “could frame” VS “dare frame”
  
  • “dare” = brave or bold enough to create it
• Wondering who would create evil TO wondering who would be reckless enough to create it
  
  • Anxiety not alleviated
  • Feel even more horrified by fact God deliberately created evil to prey on mankind

Question 9

Name 2 poems you could compare ‘The Tyger’ with

Answer 9

• “Prayer Before Birth”
• “War Photographer”

Question 10

“War Photographer” Comparison

Answer 10

Both poems show speaker who wants world to notice horror which exists

Question 11

“Prayer Before Birth” Comparison

Answer 11

Both poetic voices are trapped by their wonder at cruelties of world