Tyger Blake's "The Tyger"

William Blake is a well-respected English painter, poet, and printmaker whose works went greatly unrecognized during his lifetime, but who has since been recognized as a major contributor to literature and art. Blake was born on November 28, 1757 in London and died on August 12, 1827. Through his work, Blake sought to express his political and religious views and often illuminated these works with illustrations that emphasized the meaning behind what he wrote. "Blake believed that his poetry could be read and understood by common people, but he was determined not to sacrifice his vision in order to become popular" ("William Blake"). Blake's collection of illuminated poems contained within Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience are intended to compliment each other and contain some of his better-known works such as "The Tyger." "The Tyger," found in Songs of Experience, explores the relationship between religion and creation as well as introduces the concept of good and evil.

Songs of Experience were first published in 1789 and republished as Songs of Innocence and of Experience Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul in 1794 (Sagar). This collection of poems aims to explore the concepts of innocence and knowledge within a religious construct and also seeks to explore the relationship between good and evil. Each poem in the collection shares a similar structure to its complimentary counterpart, which additionally reflects similar and opposing themes. As such "The Tyger," and its counterpart, "The Lamb," appears to be written in a lyrical manner and both poems can be set to music, something that has been done over the years. Additionally, both poems contain a significant amount of Christian references that are represented through symbols or are directly referenced by Blake.

"The Tyger," much like its counterpart, explores Blake's position on creation and the relationship between innocence and experience. In "The Lamb," Black does...

In addition to exploring how the tiger was created, Blake also questions why such a fearful creature would be created.
The tiger in the poem is not described in delicate terms like the lamb, which is meek and mild, but rather Blake contends that the tiger has a "fearful symmetry" (Blake line 4). With this in mind, Blake continues to try and deconstruct the tiger's creation. Blake tries to comprehend the motivating factors behind the tiger's creation and asks, "What immortal hand or eye/Could frame thy fearful symmetry...What the hand, dare seize the fire? / And what shoulder, & what art,/Could twist the sinews of they heart?" (lines 3-4, 8-10). Blake then continues to ask, "What the hammer? what the chain,/In what furnace was thy brain?/What the anvil? what dread grasp, / Dare its deadly terrors clasp?" (line 13-16). By attributing characteristics of blacksmithing to the tiger's creation, Blake appears to insinuate that the tiger was created out of hellfire, which may lead him to believe that the tiger has the capacity to commit evil deeds. However, Blake also posits the idea that the tiger was not created by some devilish creator and wonders if "he who made the Lamb" also created the tiger (line 20). The relationship between good and evil is further complicated if both the tiger and the lamb, which are representative of the polarizing concepts, were created by the same entity. If both the lamb and tiger were created by the same God, then the implication is made that God is responsible for the creation of things that are good and things that are evil and that it was his intention to introduce both concepts into the world. Mark Schorer contends,

The juxtaposition of lamb and tiger points not merely to the opposition of innocence and experience, but to the resolution of the paradox they present. The innocent impulses of the lamb have been curbed by restraints, and the…