The Tyger by William Blake (IV)

The Tyger by William Blake (IV)

1. Themes

   • Existence of Evil: Who created the Tiger? Was it the kind and loving God who made the lamb? Or was it Satan? ("what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry" (l.3/4) -> "in what distant deeps or skies burn the fire of thy eyes?" -> fire of hell, fire of stars -> old phylosophical question: "Why does evil exist in a universe created andd ruled by a benevolent God?" -> no answer
   • The Awe and Mysery of Creation and the Creator: more about the creator of the tiger than it is about the tiger itself -> humans are incapable of understanding the mind of God and the mysery of his handwork -> another theme

2. Symbols

   • The Tyger: could be an inspiration, the divine/artistic creation, history, the sublime; it could also represent evil (Satan), whereas the lamb represents goodness (God) -> symbol for the fierce forces in the soul that are necessary to break the bonds of experience
   • Wings: Wings are what the creator uses to "aspire" to the creation of the tiger ("on what wings dare he aspire?" (l.7)) -> power/inspiration that allows the creator to "dare" to go about the task of creating the tiger
   • Smith Tools (Hammer, Chain, Furnace, Anvil): extended metaphor of the creator/his creation (Stanza 4) ; a blacksmith uses these tools to make bjects out of super-hot metal, ties into the fiery images associated with the Tyger and heightens the energy/danger of the Tiger -> also contrast between natural world and industrialism of London of Blake's day (creator is still God, means of creation is mechanical -> leads to something dangerous, technology as a benefit to mankind -> but: it holds deadly potential)
   • The Lamb (l.20): Symbol of Jesus Christ? -> God created Jesus (Trinity Catholic) -> Blake asks whether God, who created Jesus also created the Tiger?
   • Body Parts (Hands, Eyes, Shoulders, Feet): synecdoche (part of something is used to refer to the whole thing, "all hands on deck" -> people AND their hands, "immortal hand" (= allusion) references the whole being or person that the hand belongs to -> hands as the means of creation; eye is representative of whole body and person, but also focuses attention on the faculty of sight
   • Fire: extended metaphor, often associated with the Tiger -> ferocity, sublimity; also the source of energy -> Tyger filled with fire/energy; fire of smith's furnace as the fire of creation, how the tiger was formed
   • Apostrophe to the Tiger -> whole poem addressed to it -> helps the poet keep the subject alive and in-your-face rather than talking about generalities
   • God: creative agent (probably king, priest, landlord, eat up the individual's potentials)
   • The forest: corrupted social conventions, tries to suppress good human potentials, night = ignorance = false social institutions are made of it