The Tyger - William Blake
/The Tyger - William Blake/
A Fiery Contemplation of Creation and Power
Original (Line 1): Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
English (Line 1): Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
Original (Line 2): In the forests of the night;
English (Line 2): In the forests of the night;
Original (Line 3): What immortal hand or eye,
English (Line 3): What immortal hand or eye,
Original (Line 4): Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
English (Line 4): Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Original (Line 5): In what distant deeps or skies
English (Line 5): In what distant deeps or skies
Original (Line 6): Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
English (Line 6): Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
Original (Line 7): On what wings dare he aspire?
English (Line 7): On what wings dare he aspire?
Original (Line 8): What the hand, dare seize the fire?
English (Line 8): What the hand, dare seize the fire?
Original (Line 9): And what shoulder, & what art,
English (Line 9): And what shoulder, & what art,
Original (Line 10): Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
English (Line 10): Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
Original (Line 11): And when thy heart began to beat,
English (Line 11): And when thy heart began to beat,
Original (Line 12): What dread hand? & what dread feet?
English (Line 12): What dread hand? & what dread feet?
Original (Line 13): What the hammer? what the chain,
English (Line 13): What the hammer? what the chain,
Original (Line 14): In what furnace was thy brain?
English (Line 14): In what furnace was thy brain?
Original (Line 15): What the anvil? what dread grasp,
English (Line 15): What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Original (Line 16): Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
English (Line 16): Dare its deadly terrors clasp!
Original (Line 17): When the stars threw down their spears,
English (Line 17): When the stars threw down their spears,
Original (Line 18): And water’d heaven with their tears,
English (Line 18): And water’d heaven with their tears,
Original (Line 19): Did he smile his work to see?
English (Line 19): Did he smile his work to see?
Original (Line 20): Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
English (Line 20): Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Original (Line 21): Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
English (Line 21): Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
Original (Line 22): In the forests of the night:
English (Line 22): In the forests of the night:
Original (Line 23): What immortal hand or eye,
English (Line 23): What immortal hand or eye,
Original (Line 24): Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
English (Line 24): Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Excerpt from William Blake’s The Tyger (1794). This poem is in the public domain.
William Blake’s “The Tyger” is one of the most famous poems in his collection, *Songs of Experience* (1794). It poses a series of rhetorical questions around the mysterious genesis of a majestic, fearsome creature: the tiger. Blake contrasts the tiger’s raw power and lethal beauty with the gentle, innocent lamb—both symbolic products of the same Creator.
Blake’s fierce imagery (“burning bright” and “fearful symmetry”) accentuates the tiger’s dual nature as both admirable and terrifying. In asking what sort of “immortal hand or eye” could design such a being, the poet ponders divine intention in the presence of formidable forces. The forging metaphors (“hammer,” “anvil,” “furnace”) conjure a cosmic blacksmith shaping not just the tiger’s physical traits, but also the elemental energies of the world.
Underneath these vivid pictures, the poem grapples with the classic theological dilemma known as the problem of evil: how can a benevolent Creator also be responsible for fear and destruction? By setting the gentle lamb in opposition to the fierce tiger, Blake suggests a universe that holds both innocence and experience, gentleness and dread. The poem’s final rhetorical question, “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” challenges readers to reconcile these opposing aspects of nature and of the divine.
Ultimately, “The Tyger” does not yield a definitive answer. Rather, it urges reflection on the interwoven complexities of creation and a sense of wonder before life’s awe-inspiring, sometimes unsettling, beauty.
Key points
1. The poem underscores the contrast between the fierce tiger and the gentle lamb, both born of the same Creator.
2. Blake employs blacksmith imagery to convey the raw power behind the tiger’s making.
3. The poem raises profound questions about good, evil, and the nature of divine intention.
4. “The Tyger” remains a cornerstone for exploring the balance between innocence and experience.