This paper analyzes William Blake's poem "The Tyger" from Songs of Experience, examining how Blake uses the tiger as a symbol to interrogate divine creation and the coexistence of good and evil. The paper traces Blake's questioning of why an omnipotent God would create a fearful creature alongside an innocent one, drawing on parallels with "The Lamb" and references to the War in Heaven. It also considers how the collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience as a whole reflects the biblical transition from innocence to fallen knowledge, ultimately arguing that Blake uses accessible language and imagery to prompt readers to reconsider their understanding of creation, morality, and experience.
William Blake was a respected English painter, poet, and printmaker whose works went largely unrecognized during his lifetime but have since been acknowledged as major contributions 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 he 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 complement 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 and introduces the concept of good and evil.
Songs of Experience was 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 examine the relationship between good and evil. Each poem in the collection shares a similar structure with its complementary counterpart, which additionally reflects both similar and opposing themes. As such, "The Tyger" and its counterpart "The Lamb" appear 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 stated by Blake.
"The Tyger," much like its counterpart, explores Blake's position on creation and the relationship between innocence and experience. In "The Lamb," Blake does not fully examine how the creature came into being, whereas in "The Tyger" that question is one of the central issues. In addition to exploring how the tiger was created, Blake also questions why such a fearful creature would be created at all.
The tiger in the poem is not described in delicate terms like the lamb, which is meek and mild. Rather, Blake contends that the tiger has a "fearful symmetry" (Blake, line 4). With this in mind, Blake continues to deconstruct the tiger's creation. He tries to comprehend the motivating factors behind it 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 thy heart?" (lines 3–4, 8–10). Blake then continues: "What the hammer? what the chain, / In what furnace was thy brain? / What the anvil? what dread grasp, / Dare its deadly terrors clasp?" (lines 13–16).
By attributing characteristics of blacksmithing to the tiger's creation, Blake appears to suggest that the tiger was forged out of hellfire, which may lead him to believe that the tiger has the capacity to commit evil deeds. However, Blake also raises the possibility that the tiger was not created by some devilish maker 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 — representative of these polarizing concepts — were created by the same entity. If both were made by the same God, then the implication is that God is responsible for creating things that are good as well as 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 lamb has turned into something else, indeed into the tiger. Innocence is converted to experience." (Paley 541)
Furthermore, Blake references the War in Heaven in "The Tyger," which further supports the concept that God created both creatures yet cast one from His kingdom, as He did Satan. According to Christian belief, and as depicted in John Milton's Paradise Lost nearly 100 years before, the War in Heaven was a conflict between Satan and his followers and God and His army, during which Satan was subsequently cast out of Heaven and thrust into Hell (Milton). Blake ties this into his poem and wonders, "When the stars threw down their spears / And water'd heaven with their tears: / Did he smile his work to see?" (lines 17–19). If "he who made the lamb" also made the tiger and imbued it with its natural and menacing characteristics, then the argument can be made that everything created by God is a product of divine design — and that neither animal knows what it means to be innocent or evil, but only possesses these characteristics because that is how it was created and it cannot be otherwise.
"God as creator of both innocent and dangerous creatures"
"Eden allegory across Songs of Innocence and Experience"
Sagar, Keith. "Innocence and Experience." Keithsagar.co.uk. 2002. Web. 21 May 2012.
"William Blake." Poets.org. Web. 21 May 2012.
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