SUMMARY-THE TYGER

William Blake’s "The Tiger," originally called "The Tyger," is a lyric poem focusing on the nature of God and his creations. It was published in 1794 in a collection entitled Songs of Experience.

The Awe and Mystery of Creation and the Creator:

The poem is more about the creator of the tiger than it is about the tiger itself. In contemplating the terrible ferocity and awesome symmetry of the tiger, the speaker is at a loss to explain how the same God who made the lamb could make the tiger. Hence, this theme: humans are incapable of fully understanding the mind of God and the mystery of his handiwork.  

          What immortal being created this terrifying creature which, with its perfect proportions (symmetry), is an awesome killing machine?  

          Was it created in hell (distant deeps) or in heaven (skies)? If the creator had wings, how could he get so close to the fire in which the tiger was created? How could he work with so blazing a fire? 

          What strength (shoulder) and craftsmanship (art) could make the tiger's heart? What being could then stand before it (feet) and shape it further (hand)? 

          What kind of tool (hammer) did he use to fashion the tiger in the forge fire? What about the chain connected to the pedal which the maker used to pump the bellows? What of the heat in the furnace and the anvil on which the maker hammered out his creation? How did the maker muster the courage to grasp the tiger?  

          When the stars cast their light on the new being and the clouds cried, was the maker pleased with his creation? 

          The poet repeats the central question of the poem, stated in Stanza 1. However, he changes could (line 4) to dare (line 24). This is a significant change, for the poet is no longer asking who had the capability of creating the tiger but who dared to create so frightful a creature.