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The Tyger Analysis

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The Tyger Analysis
An Incomprehensible Mystery William Blake’s The Tyger, in my opinion, is an intriguing poem that looks at the idea of how God is a mystery and how humanity is at a loss to fully understand his creations by contemplating the forging of a beautiful yet ferocious tiger. Blake begins the poem by beginning a conversation with the tiger and almost immediately begins his questions of who could make such a fierce creature. He wonders if God could really create such a creature or maybe it is a creature produced from a darker source. Blake also refers to the tiger as a form of art, almost as if the creator made the tiger perfectly. The image of a blacksmith is also given through the poem as Blake refers to a blacksmith’s common tools and consistently refers to fire, giving the idea of a strong creator. Later in the poem Blake refers to another one of his poems, The Lamb, and he asks the tiger if God made it since God made the lamb. Blake questions as to how can a creature be so beautiful yet so terrifying. “What immortal hand or eye Dare frame they fearful symmetry”, he wonders how God (“immortal”) could make such an animal that’s so graceful and so prone to violence. Blake’s question is then: how a benevolent God can create a world with horror. He is at a loss to explain the creation for this creature, “on what wings dare he aspire?” Maybe the “wings” could be the inspiration for the creator to form such a magnificent creature. “Dare” is a strong word in the poem; Blake is astonished that God would make the tiger, which makes the argument of him being confused to the tiger’s creation even more strong. In my opinion the main theme of the poem is that we are only human, and we will never understand the mysteries of God and his works of the universe. Blake also adds to the mystery of the creator by giving glimpses of the creator’s body parts. Blake mentions the “hand or eye”, “What dread hand? & what dread feet”, and “what shoulder”; these body parts give the


Cited: Blake, William. “The Tyger.” 1794: no page. Web. 28 Jun 2011.
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