English Literature

The poem starts off by directly addressing the tiger itself, "Tiger Tiger," this shows Blake seemingly talking to the tiger. The poet describes the tiger as "burning bright," this is a reference to the tiger's bright orange coat which appears to be a flame (burning) in the forest at night. The poet then asks a rhetorical question, possibly also questioning the power of God. He asks what powerful immortal could have been brave enough to create such a beautiful but dangerous creature.

In the second stanza, William Blake goes on to continue questioning God's existence and his power. Again, he asks who would dare to create such a perfect but fearful animal, "What the hand, dare seize the fire," the poet seems to be asking who would even dare to create such an animal, let alone actually create it.

In the third stanza, the poet continues to ask who would be bold enough to not only create this fearful animal, but also let it live freely, "could twist the sinews of thy heart," Furthermore, he is amazed at how whoever created him had the ability to make the tiger beautiful but dangerous.

In the fourth stanza, the poet compares God/the creator to a blacksmith by mentioning things which he would use to create any other object, "hammer," "chain," "furnace," "anvil," William Blake goes on to say that the creator who is being compared to a blacksmith must have been brave but perhaps also angry to create the tiger.

In the fifth stanza, the poet questions the creator's feelings after he had created the tiger, "Did he smile his work to see?" Blake is unsure whether the creator was pleased to see the tiger that he has created or perhaps afraid of the majestic animal or otherwise remorseful that he had created such a powerful beast. Moreover, the poet asks if it is possible that the same creator who made the lamb also made the tiger, "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" this shows the power of the creator who was able to create both the lamb (meek, innocent, calm) and the tiger (dangerous, powerful, wild). The contrast between both animals is clear as the lamb is seen as a small and innocent animal while the tiger is the opposite.

The final stanza is a repetition of the first stanza, however the final line is changed from  "Could frame thy fearful symmetry," to "Dare frame thy fearful symmetry," This shows that after the poet has thought about the tiger's power, he has realized that the creator of the tiger was even more powerful. He still questions the creator's braveness but this time, he asks if the creator dares to make such an animal. This is because he has seen that the creator can in fact create such a creature, but if he dares to do that is still unsure.