Creating Blake's Tyger Essay

One of William Blake great poems, The Tyger” is well known as one or perhaps

such a terrifying beast?” and “Who is God who dares to make such a terrifying

William Blake’s 1793 poem “The Tyger” has many interpretations, but its main purpose is to question God as a creator. Its poetic techniques generate a vivid picture that encourages the reader to see the Tyger as a horrifying and terrible being. The speaker addresses the question of whether or not the same God who made the lamb, a gentle creature, could have also formed the Tyger and all its darkness. This issue is addressed through many poetic devices including rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism, all of which show up throughout the poem and are combined to create a strong image of the Tyger and a less than thorough interpretation of its maker.

In the poem “The Tyger” by William Blake, the use of rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism all help the reader understand the theme and what was going through the authors thoughts while writing. William Blake was a mystic poet who channeled his thoughts and questions to write poems. He questioned the creator of both the Tyger and lamb, how could the same God create a destructive creature like the Tyger and on the other hand create a gentle animal, the lamb. This ties into the theme of the poem of how a God could and would create a monster like the Tyger.

William Blake’s illuminated manuscripts were published in multiple editions; all of the editions were etched differently than its predecessor. In these illustrations, one finds meaning and value; an inextricable link between these artistic expressions and the text that Blake wrote exists. These works should not be viewed separately, but rather viewed together, as one single entity. While the text, at times, proves itself to be unstable and potentially confusing for readers, the etchings serve as a way to view the intention of Blake’s words, as well as expressing the underlying feeling attached to the text in a visual way. Understanding both pieces of art is crucial to the apprehension of the implied meaning of the works. Without having to read the words, the viewer already grasps the tone and perhaps even the content or context of the piece. The etchings force reader interaction with the poems, relying on the non-passivity of the audience. Blake intended for the illustrations and the texts to be viewed in correlation with one another, as it allows for a deeper understanding of the intended meaning.

During this time William Blake voiced his opinion against “oppressive institutions like the church or the monarchy, or any and all cultural traditions-sexist, racists, or classist-which stifled imagination or passion” (The Tyger). Many scholars viewed “The Tyger” as a dangerous piece because dances with religious dogma. However, this poem is one of Blake’s many mirroring pieces of work. He wrote this poem in conjunction with his other poem called, “The Lamb.” “The Tyger” was written for Blake’s poetry collection called Songs of Experience.

In order to exist in nature and in human, innocence requires experience. The author, William Blake divided his poems into two volumes which are Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. “The Lamb” is the poem from Songs of Innocence and “The Tyger” is from Songs of Experience. In “The Lamb,” Blake writes in an incomplex, childlike way asking an innocent lamb who made it. In “The Tyger,” Blake asks who could have possibly made something as formidable as the tiger. William Blake uses archetypes in his poems “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.”

Through diction, figurative language and imagery, and syntax, William Blake conveys an intense and curious tone, revealing the doubt of whether or not human power was given by a higher being. The author, William Blake, uses connotation to make his audience understand what the true subject of the poem that he refers to is. For example, the word, “tyger,” in this poem is not specifying an actual tiger, but is used to represent humans. When Blake says, “thy fearful symmetry,” he is giving the tyger the characteristics of strength and power. Humans, as well, are strong and have the potential to create a big impact on the world, just as tigers do in the wild. Overall, the main focus of this poem is who the creator of the tyger is. This is supported with “And what shoulder, & what art/ Could twist the sinews of thy heart” and “On what wings dare he aspire.”

William Blake was one of several transitionary writers between the Age of Reason and the Age of Romanticism. He saw the poverty and suffering that surrounded him and was a supporter of the French Revolution in its early days. He could not accept the neoclassical idea of a stable, orderly hierarchy in the universe, but instead viewed existence as a blending of opposite poles - good and evil, innocence and experience, heaven and hell. His magnum opus Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience is the epitome of how his work embodied his beliefs.

In the poem “The Tyger” by William Blake the tone of baffled contemplation is developed by diction, syntax, figurative language, and imagery. Through these elements, we can conclude that the

It was known that Blake had a pleasant and peaceful childhood. His poems relate to his background because it was said that Blake was once considered mad for his, “idiosyncratic views.” This means that when he was young, he had many visions of extraordinary images. It was rumored that at such a young age Blake would, “see a tree filled with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling every bough like stars.” His parents were not amused of such story and then other people began to realize he wasn’t kidding about his visions and they also realized that Blake had a special talent within

Although many of the Romantic poets displayed a high degree of anxiety concerning the way in which their works were produced and transmitted to an audience, few, if any, fretted quite as much as William Blake did. Being also a highly accomplished engraver and printer, he was certainly the only one of the Romantics to be able to completely move beyond mere fretting. Others may have used their status or wealth to exert their influence upon the production process, but ultimately, they were at the mercy of editors, publishers, and printers and relied on others to turn their visions into published works. Blake, on the other hand, was his own editor, engraver, printer, and publisher. He was able to control to

Blake was both a poet and an artist and he created many Illuminated works which combined the two. These forms, each powerful in their own right are even more so when used together as in "The Divine Image." In analyzing this piece I will be looking at the elements and principles of art, the corresponding ‘elements and principles' of poetry and how they support one another to convey William Blake's idea of Innocence.

Many peer-reviewed sources believe it is “essential” to understand the historical contexts of William Blake’s lifetime in order to accurately interpret Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Blake 23). I present opposing questions to this theory: (1) why is it necessary to try and adopt a perceptional adaptation of Blake’s historical perspective in order to comprehend and interpret his work; (3) is Songs of Innocence and of Experience a timeless work of art that remains relevant two hundred and twenty-one years after its initial publication as a compilation; (4) what remains when all historical contexts are eliminated from the analysis of Songs? If Blake only wants his readers to understand his personal viewpoint of Songs, relative to the historical context in which it was written, perhaps he would have published an analytical companion to Songs. Embracing William Blake’s “non-conformist” ways, I choose to explore the timelessness of Innocence and Experience by excluding the majority of historical and political information from my interpretations (Roberts 4). It is my goal to focus this paper on poems from Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience that share the same title – I believe this will reveal the parallels between the natures of innocence and experience. Additionally, I will explore the basic philosophical concepts Blake infuses into his poetry; as well as extract the general themes, concepts, and imagery of Songs of

William Blake is one of England’s most famous literary figures. He is remembered and admired for his skill as a painter, engraver, and poet. He was born on Nov. 28, 1757 to a poor Hosier’s family living in or around London. Being of a poor family, Blake received little in the way of comfort or education while growing up. Amazingly, he did not attend school for very long and dropped out shortly after learning to read and write so that he could work in his father’s shop. The life of a hosier however was not the right path for Blake as he exhibited early on a skill for reading and drawing. Blake’s skill for reading can be seen in his understanding for and use of works such as the Bible and Greek classic literature.