The Tyger

William Blake is regarded as one of the greatest British artists and a key player in the history of poetry. Songs of Innocence and of Experience, his best-known poem, is regarded as one of the greatest literary achievements of the Romantic period. Blake's Songs of Experience contain the poem The Tyger. It acts as a counterpoint to The Lamb, a poem he wrote for Songs of Innocence. In The Tyger, the speaker discusses creation and wonders who could have created a creature as fearsome as the tiger. The speaker discusses the tiger's menacing qualities and asks, "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" before concluding the poem with the same query. “What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”. The Tyger, with its strikingly powerful words, serves as a counter to the innocence and tenderness of The Lamb. It is one of the most analysed poems and Cambridge calls it the “the most anthologized poem in English”. The Tyger is not only the most famous work of William Blake but also one of the best known poems of all time.

This poem considers a query brought up by the notion of intelligent creation. The question is: If there is a loving, compassionate God or gods, as many major religions contend, who created humans and whose immense powers are beyond human knowledge, why would such a powerful entity permit evil to exist in the world? A tiger that might have jumped out and murdered you in the 1700s if you were out for a stroll in the Indian or African wild is used here to symbolize evil. What could have spawned such a terrible and dangerous being? How is it possible that Jesus, also known as the "Lamb of God," was forged by the same almighty blacksmith who fashioned a lovely, innocent, fluffy lamb? (which the devoutly Christian Blake was probably also referring to here).

Poet: William Blake
Published: 1794