“The Tyger” Introduction

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“The Tyger” Summary

“The Tyger” Themes

• 

  The Existence of Evil

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• 

  Creativity

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Tyger”

• Lines 1-4

  Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
  In the forests of the night;
  What immortal hand or eye,
  Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  In what distant deeps or skies.
  Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
  On what wings dare he aspire?
  What the hand, dare seize the fire?

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  And what shoulder, & what art,
  Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
  And when thy heart began to beat,
  What dread hand? & what dread feet?

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  What the hammer? what the chain,
  In what furnace was thy brain?
  What the anvil? what dread grasp,
  Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 17-20

  When the stars threw down their spears
  And water'd heaven with their tears:
  Did he smile his work to see?
  Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 21-24

  Tyger Tyger burning bright,
  In the forests of the night:
  What immortal hand or eye,
  Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

  

  

  

  

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“The Tyger” Symbols

• 

  The Tiger

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• 

  Fire

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• 

  Industrial Tools

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“The Tyger” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Apostrophe

  

  

  

  

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• Anaphora

  

  

  

  

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• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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• Epizeuxis

  

  

  

  

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• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

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• Rhetorical Question

  

  

  

  

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• Personification

  

  

  

  

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• Paradox

  

  

  

  

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• Refrain

  

  

  

  

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“The Tyger” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Thy
• Symmetry
• Deeps
• Thine
• Aspire
• Art
• Sinews
• Anvil
• Clasp
• Thee

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Tyger”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Tyger” Speaker

“The Tyger” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Tyger”

More “The Tyger” Resources

• External Resources

  • Blake's Visions — An excerpt from a documentary in which writer Iain Sinclair discusses Blake's religious visions.

  • A Reading by Ian Richardson — A chillingly beautiful rendition of the poem by actor Ian Richardson.

  • Illustrations and Other Poems — A resource from the Tate organization, which holds a large collection of Blake originals.

  • Full Text of Songs of Innocence and Experience — Various formats for the full text in which "The Tyger" is collected.

  • Illustration and Discussion — A resource from the British Library that shows Blake's illustrations for the poem and discusses it in depth.

  • Blake's Radicalism — An excerpt from a documentary in which writer Iain Sinclair discusses Blake's radicalism.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by William Blake

  • A Dream

  • Ah! Sun-flower

  • A Poison Tree

  • Earth's Answer

  • Holy Thursday (Songs of Experience)

  • Holy Thursday (Songs of Innocence)

  • Infant Joy

  • Infant Sorrow

  • Introduction (Songs of Innocence)

  • London

  • Nurse's Song (Songs of Experience)

  • Nurse's Song (Songs of Innocence)

  • The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience)

  • The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence)

  • The Clod and the Pebble

  • The Divine Image

  • The Ecchoing Green

  • The Fly

  • The Garden of Love

  • The Human Abstract

  • The Lamb

  • The Little Black Boy

  • The Little Vagabond

  • The School Boy

  • The Sick Rose

  • To Autumn

  • To the Evening Star