William Blake is one of the most well-known British poets and artists of the Romantic era, an artistic and literary movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. His poetry, like most Romantic poetry, is inspired by the natural world, viewing nature as an escape from the growing pervasiveness of technology as a reaction to the industrial revolution and the bustle of city life. “The Tyger,” written in 1794, uses the image of a tiger to represent the paradox of evil under an omniscient and loving God, challenging the ethics of a God who could create both divine good (the lamb) and divine evil (the tiger). The speaker is essentially questioning the implications of a God who would invent such a terrifying animal.

Poet Biography

William Blake was born in November of 1757 in London to a family of moderate means. He was a poet, painter, and printmaker largely unrecognized during his lifetime. From a young age, his unique mind and creative spirit got him into trouble on occasion, but it also led him to enroll in a drawing school by the age of 10. Later, at age 14, William became the apprentice of a master engraver and began training for his lifelong career as an engraver himself. At age 21, he left the apprenticeship and began engraving illustrations for novels like Don Quixote. In 1782, he married his beloved wife Catherine Boucher and taught her to read and write. Under his advisement, Catherine became skilled in draftsmanship and later helped him print his illuminated poetry—texts and illustrations printed from copper plates and finished in watercolor by hand—for which he is famous today. Blake spent most of his life in the teeming metropolis of London during a period of social and political upheaval that would profoundly influence his writing.

Although Blake’s work is emotional and creative, his contemporaries considered him outlandish because of his nontraditional views and the mystical undertones within his work. Blake was a committed Christian who actively spoke out against the Church of England and most forms of organized religion. He was also inspired by the ideals and philosophies of the French and American revolutions. Although his work aptly expresses the characteristics of Romanticism, his work is technically “Pre-Romantic” as he was slightly ahead of his time. A nonconformist, Blake defied the neoclassical conventions of the period and placed imagination and creativity over reason in both his art and writing. He asserted his belief that ideal forms should not be constructed from images of nature but from the inner self and mind. In addition to his status as one of Britain’s most visionary poets and a founder of Romanticism, his visual art is also highly regarded and influenced the Romantic and Gothic literary and artistic movements.

Poem Text

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, & what art,

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? & 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 water'd 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?

Blake, William. “The Tyger.” 1794. The Poetry Foundation.

Summary

The speaker addresses a tiger and compares its color and energy to a fire in the forest at night; the speaker wants to know who created this creature, and where. The speaker notes the effort, craftsmanship, and strength required to create the tiger’s powerful muscles and beating heart. In visualizing a hammer, furnace, and anvil, the speaker compares the creator to a blacksmith who has forged the tiger’s body and brain. Describing a mythological event where the stars stopped fighting and flooded heaven with their tears, the speaker grapples with two thoughts: whether the creator was pleased after making the tiger, and whether this same creator made both the fierce tiger and the gentle lamb. The poem ends as it begins, except the word “could” is replaced by the more critical “dare.” The speaker questions what kind of higher being would ever dare to create such a frightening creature.