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Rhyme Scheme Of The Tyger By William Blake

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William Blake was more than just a poet. He was an artist, a politician and a theologian. Blake was born in 1757 and died in 1827, He was known for his artistic talent and political involvement. Born in to a middle class family in London, Blake was one of 7 children born to his family, but only 5 of them survived past infancy. Blake did not receive any formal schooling and mostly spent his days wandering the streets of London (Poetry Fdn.). When he was ten he was enrolled in art school for multiple years and when he was 14 he became an apprentice engraver to James Basire (Poetry Fdn.). His work as an engraver allowed him to make money and continue to hone his artistic ability. Blakes artistry is clearly seen in most of his poems, whether its his early political works such as “America” or his classic lyric poems like “The Tyger”. (Poetry Fdn.). In “The Tyger” William Blake unconventionally questions the creation of the world through rhyme scheme, deep imagery, and conflicting ideas. …show more content…

The poem is a trochaic tetrameter meaning it consists of 8 syllables per line starting with a stressed then unstressed syllable. The rhyming pattern of the poem is aabb, ccdd, eeff, gghh, iijj, and then ending with a repeated aabb. The interesting thing about “The Tyger” is that it contains a catalexis, which means that the last foot of every line is missing a syllable. Blake uses the catalexis in “The Tyger” to stress certan images, such as “ In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes?” (Lines 5-6). The readers are left with these vivid details that keep the poem interesting. Another purpose of the catalexis is in keeping the poem abrupt. It gives the poem a harsh almost aggressive tone, one that reflects the speaker’s view of the tiger and the God who made it. Blake uses the structure of the poem to fit the aggressive tone he writes

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