William Blake was known to be a mysticpoet who was curious about the unknowns in the world, and strived to find allthe answers. Does God create bothgood-natured and fearful creatures? As aquestion answered in the poem “TheTyger” William Blake pondered onwhy an all-powerful, loving God would create a vicious predator, the Tyger,after he created a sweet, timid, harmless animal, the lamb. The theme of this poem surrounds this idea ofwhy the same creator would create both a destructive and gentle animal.
This issue is brought up and discussedthrough rhyme, repetition, allusion, and symbolism. The poemopens up with the words, “TygerTyger, burning bright,” Blake says”Tyger” twice to make it seem to the reader that he is speaking directly to thetiger and it sets up the theme of the night along with which comes darkness andevil. Used as comparison to the Tyger,the words “Burning bright” compare the Tyger to fire. Both of which are harmful, strong, wild,forceful, and destructive. In a way,they also resemble each other in looks, as a Tyger in the dark, looks like afire because of its orange stripes.
Inthe third and fourth stanza, Blake asks the first unanswered question, whatcreator has the ability to make something with such “fearful symmetry”(4)? The second stanza asks the same questionbut in a completely different way, wondering where Tyger came from. In lines 10 and 20, Blake asks twoquestions. These questions are differentfrom the rest, he asks, “Did he smile his work to see? /Did he who made thelamb make thee?” (19,20) Blake uses these lines to ask if the creator washappy with his work of such a destructive soul, Blake also asks if the creatorof the lamb was also the creator of the Tyger.
Many may look at this last question as if Blake was trying to connectthe evil Tyger with the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. The last lines in the poem ask the samequestion as the first, who could and who would create the Tyger.
