The Tyger
by William Blake

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

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?

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

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

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

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

The archetypal image of the lamb is used in this poem. This archetype represents innocence and is often used in Christianity to also represent Jesus.

Comprehension:
What are the poems about?

Interpretation:
In “The Tyger,” the speaker describes the animal as “fearful” and “deadly.” Do the negative connotations of this language suggest that the tiger should never have been created?

Analysis of Author’s Craft:
In “The Tyger,” Blake uses words such as art, hammer, furnace, and anvil to describe the tiger’s creation, as if the animal were a metal sculpture. What does this symbolic meaning of the tiger suggest about Blake’s view of art?