The Tyger by William Blake: Complete Analysis, Themes, Summary and Symbolism
Introduction and Overview of The Tyger by William Blake
Published in a collection of poems called Songs of Experience in 1794, Blake wrote “The Tyger” during his most radical year period. Blake published an earlier collection of poetry called Songs of Innocence in 1789. Once Songs of Experience came out five years later, the two were always published together.
Historical Background and Context of Songs of Experience
In general, Songs of Innocence contains idyllic poems, many of which deal with childhood and innocence. Idyllic poems have pretty specific qualities: they’re usually positive, sometimes extremely happy or optimistic and innocent. They also often take place in pastoral settings like countryside; springtime; harmless, cute wildlife; sunsets; babbling brooks; wandering bards; fair maidens and many times praise one or more of these things as subject.
The poems in Songs of Experience, on the other hand, wrestle with issues of what happens when that innocence is lost.
The use of ‘y’ in place of ‘i’ in the spelling of the name, emphatically prolonging the vowel-sound, is meant to create the enormous sense of wonder and awe at the very sight of the tiger.
“Tyger Tyger, burning bright…. fearful symmetry?”
Stanza-by-Stanza Analysis of The Tyger by William Blake
First Stanza Analysis – “Tyger Tyger, Burning Bright”
The Tyger is creating wonder and awe in the child speaker. The body of tiger is “burning bright” which is referred to the appearance of the tiger having fiery orange fur and the courageousness of the tiger standing in strong contrast to dark forest. Forests are synonymous with mystery, fearfulness and confusion. They signify the evil concept of creation, while open meadows and individual trees and plants represent the good aspect of it. The courageousness is the one.
Night signifies superstitions, ignorance and benightedness. Blake’s placing of the tiger against the nocturnal forest is quite natural and the tiger’s brightness is not an indication of terror but rather a ray of hope in the midst of accumulated errors of human society. The speaker asks “who created you” by which we know Almighty has created it which is further in the poem through immortal hands & eye, giving tiger a fearful symmetry.
Second Stanza Analysis – Creator, Heaven and Hell Imagery
“In what distant deeps or skies…. dare seize the fire?”
The first two lines of second stanza asks where the Tyger was created. The use of “distant deeps or skies” seem to refer to an otherworldly place, perhaps a kind of Hell (deeps) or Heaven (skies). The tyger might be either a divine creature or infernal creature. The metaphor of “burning” from line 1 returns with the burning “fire” of the tyger’s eyes, adding to the power and fearfulness of image. The Tyger — that we know is a big, powerful, mysterious thing — must have a pretty big, powerful, mysterious creator.
Line no. 7 might suggest a reference to Icarus and his flight to sun. Line no. 8 recalls the classical myth of Prometheus stealing the sacred fire from heaven for the benefit of the earth, as a result of which he was chained to the rock by Jupiter, and vultures were set upon to tear his flesh through the words ‘dare’ and ‘seize’.
Third Stanza Analysis – Divine Power and Creative Strength
“And what shoulder & what art… What dread hand? & What dread feet?”
The third stanza continues the questioning of who the creator of tyger is. What “shoulder” roughly means what kind of bodily strength could create the tyger. What “arts” refers to the skill of the creator that could put the part of tyger altogether. The speaker imagines the kind of skill and effort that must have gone into creating the tyger who would be strong enough to build the tyger’s muscular body. Whose hands and feet were the ones that made the tyger’s heart beating fast?
Fourth Stanza Analysis – Blacksmith Imagery and Creation
“What the hammer? what the chain, … Dare its deadly terrors clasp!”
The fourth stanza (lines 13-16) further question how the tyger was created. Blake uses the metaphor “blacksmith” who moulds metal with hammer, furnace (fire) and anvil. The stanza is very rhythmic, adding further to the chant-like quality that we talked about in lines 1-2. The speaker wonders about the tools the tyger’s creator must have used, imagining that the tyger’s brain was created in forge. What terrifying being would be so daring as to create the tyger?
The maker of the tyger is visualized as a smith working in a cosmic smithy with all his equipments. The use of words “hammer”, “chain”, “furnace” and “anvil” proves the poet compels the readers to visualize the creator of tyger as a smith. The furnace must be also an extraordinary one from where the tiger’s brain was brought. The employment of words “dread”, “dare” and “deadly” signify the creator of the tyger to be more dreadful than the creation.
Fifth Stanza Analysis – The Lamb and Contrasting Symbols
“When the stars threw down their spears…. Lamb make thee?”
In line no. 17 “When the stars threw down their spears” an allusion is made to the fall of the rebel angels described in Milton’s Paradise Lost Book VI. The ‘stars’ in Blake’s poetry are emblems of cold religious regions and reactionary forces which repress energy and artistic freedom. The tears of stars are signs of grief in defeat and despair at seeing the birth of the awfully energetic tyger.
Good things have energy, the ability to go against injustice and courage. It is in complete contrast to the lamb but this creature will impart knowledge to human beings. At this time wonders the speaker, did the creator look at the tyger and smile at his accomplishment? And was the tyger made by the same creator who made the lamb?
Sixth Stanza Analysis – Meaning of “Dare Frame Thy Fearful Symmetry”
“Tyger tyger burning bright,…. Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?”
The final stanza of the poem “The Tyger” echoes the first stanza. The repetition is also a clever device to notice one change that is made to the stanza: “could” is switched to “dare”. The use of word “dare” has a significance in the final stanza which is that the speaker’s disbelief on the creation of tygers was great earlier with “could”. But his disbelief is not erased; it is still there.
The tyger is created by an extraordinary immortal divine being who is courageous because courageousness is the main point of separation between normal and extraordinary.
Speaker in The Tyger by William Blake
The speaker is clearly in awe of both the tiger and the incredible powers of whatever creator made such a fearsome creature. Accordingly, the speaker is restless and doubtful, probing into the mysteries of universe through a relentless series of rhetorical questions.
The speaker is both intimidated and amazed to think about the “dread” and “daringness” of whoever it was that made the tyger. The speaker’s key question is whether the same creator that made the tiger could be the one that made the lamb as well, since the lamb is a creature almost entirely opposite to the tiger.
Setting in The Tyger: Forest, Myth and Imagination
The setting of the poem is unspecified. In part, the poem’s opening situates the reader in the tiger’s natural habitat — the dark murky forest or jungle. In that sense, the poem opens with a vague sense of threat and danger, as though the reader has wandered into a setting in which they are suddenly prey rather than predator.
But then, the rest of the poem takes the reader on a journey through worlds that seem to be both abstract and concrete. The second stanza tries to imagine where the tiger was created, while the third tries to imagine the physical form of its creator. The fourth stanza is more like an industrial workshop, with loud assonance helping to create a sonic atmosphere that implies heat and pressure.
The fifth stanza seems to be more mythical, wondering about the heavens themselves and perhaps relating to the setting of the first. As the poem consists entirely of questions that strike at the heart of the meanings and nature of existence, the overall setting is also the speaker’s mind — and perhaps, by extension, the mind of any human who wonders about similar questions.
Form and Structure of The Tyger
“The Tyger” consists of six quatrains. The first and last quatrains are almost identical, with subtle differences in their punctuation and the change of the word “could” to “dare”.
This is important because the four stanzas in between characterize the creator that made the tiger as being daring — that is, the tiger is a fearsome creature and its creator must have been brave to make it.
The other important aspect of the form to consider is that the poem consists entirely of questions. This choice speaks to the fact that the poem has doubt and mystery at its heart. These are questions to which there are no clear available answers, but to the speaker, they nonetheless seem to confirm God’s power.
Meter in The Tyger: Rhythmic Pattern and Musical Quality
“The Tyger” has a strong sense of meter throughout, which is part of the reason it is one of the most widely memorized poems in the English language. But although the meter sounds simple, it is technically quite complex. It feels trochaic, but it doesn’t fit a trochaic scheme because none of the lines finishes with an unstressed syllable.
Rhyme Scheme in The Tyger
“The Tyger” is written in rhyming couplets throughout, using the form:
AA BB
Major Themes in The Tyger by William Blake
Theme of Creativity and Imagination in The Tyger
Though “The Tyger” is specifically about how the nature of God’s creation can be reconciled with the existence of the fearsome tiger, it’s also about creativity more generally.
Everything about the creation of the tiger suggests effort, skill, artistry, and imagination on the creator’s part, suggesting that these qualities are necessary to create anything as frighteningly beautiful as the tiger. What’s more, the speaker also hints that good creation — in art, for example — needs to incorporate this more dangerous and intimidating side of the world.
The poem is itself a product of creativity. The artistry is mirrored by some of the word choices made throughout the poem. The “framing” of “symmetry” suggests a visual artist or engraver making sure the proportions of a project are correct.
The fourth stanza in particular describes a metal workshop, where beautiful things are made under intensely hot and pressurized conditions.
Along these lines, it’s also important to note the way in which the creation of the tiger is consistently linked with fire. Indeed, the tiger itself is a kind of fiery creature, testament to the intense imagination with which it was created.
The imagination, the poem ultimately suggests, is the location of a miraculous but dangerous kind of creative strength. That’s why it takes bravery — the willingness to “dare” — to create anything of any worth out of the “fire” of creativity.
Theme of Divine Power, Good and Evil in The Tyger
The poem explores the mystery of creation and asks how a benevolent God could create a creature as powerful and terrifying as the tiger.
The repeated questions reflect the speaker’s struggle to understand the coexistence of innocence and experience, gentleness and violence, beauty and terror in the universe.
The comparison between the tiger and the lamb highlights the dual nature of God’s creation and the complexity of existence.
Symbolism in The Tyger by William Blake
The Tiger as a Symbol of Divine Energy and Power
Like the lamb in Blake’s poem of the same name, the tiger represents an aspect of God. Whereas the lamb seems to suggest that God is loving and tender, the tiger speaks to another side of God’s character.
The poem gently suggests that God created the tiger. God is ultimately responsible, since God created heaven, earth, and hell. The tiger is therefore symbolic of God’s ability to be violent and frightening, traits which seem to be at odds with the creator who made the small and vulnerable lamb.
The tiger, then, also represents the unknowability of God: humankind can love God and be in awe of His creations, but it can never hope to fully comprehend the way that God operates within and conceives of the world.
“The Tyger” is ultimately less about actual tigers and more about all the large concepts that humanity finds it difficult to comprehend.
Frequently Asked Questions About The Tyger by William Blake
What is the main theme of The Tyger?
The main theme of the poem is the mystery of creation and the coexistence of beauty, power, fear, and evil in God’s universe.
What does the tiger symbolize in The Tyger?
The tiger symbolizes divine energy, strength, creativity, power, and the mysterious nature of God’s creation.
Why is The Tyger compared to The Lamb?
The two poems represent contrasting aspects of God’s creation. The lamb symbolizes innocence and gentleness, while the tiger symbolizes experience, power, and awe.
What is meant by “fearful symmetry”?
“Fearful symmetry” refers to the tiger’s perfect yet terrifying design, combining beauty, balance, power, and danger.
What is the rhyme scheme of The Tyger?
The poem follows a regular rhyme scheme of AA BB throughout the stanzas.
Conclusion
The Tyger is one of William Blake’s most celebrated poems from Songs of Experience. Through powerful imagery, rhetorical questions, and rich symbolism, Blake explores the mysteries of creation, divine power, creativity, and the coexistence of innocence and experience. The tiger becomes a symbol of strength, energy, and the unknowable aspects of God’s creation. Ultimately, the poem challenges readers to reflect on the complexity of the universe and the divine force behind it.