“The Tyger”, written by William Blake, poses many paradoxes throughout the poem. Underneath the poem, Blake included his own illustration of what the tiger appears to be. The tiger appears to be an animal that would come from a collection of childhood stories. The poem also has a child-like quality due to the rhythm of the words. Throughout the poem, questions are being asked about the existence of the tyger. The constantly asked questions about the actions, appearance, and construction of the tyger are questions that can be inferred to come from a child.
As a person experiences their childhood, the world seems to have no complications and no evil anywhere. Children are seen as innocent, pure and as a gift from God. However, as the person grows up, they begin to notice life in the real world for the bad and for the good. The child-like atmosphere, that includes the questions and the curiosity of how the tyger came into existence, is from the mindset of Blake as a poet. It can be inferred that Blake opposes the building of the industries and machines around him. Due to Blake living in the world of wishing things to be simple like they are in one’s childhood, he can not see past the need to advance in life with the use of machines.
In stanza five, the narrator asks the question, “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” This question contains a sense of bewilderment and wonder. The narrator is more in awe with the existence of the tyger instead of being impressed that the tyger could have been created by God.
As stated in the poem, God created the Lamb. The Lamb represents purity, innocence, delicacy, and peacefulness. However, the tyger is seen as a ferocious, wild, evil being; opposite of the Lamb. This parallel plays on the co-existence of good and evil. When an unexpected event occurs in a person’s life, that person usually tends to turn to God (or a higher power) for answers. For example, when the Twin Towers fell in September of 2001, questions such as “Why did this happen to me?” or “How could You let this happen?” were asked throughout the nation. The wonderment of how can the tyger exists, as evil as it maybe, proves that good and evil can co-exist in the world. This parallel plays on the coexistence of good and evil. Just because the tyger is created from the industries does not make the tiger evil. Likewise, even though the tyger looks like a harmless robot, as shown in Blake’s illustration, does not make the tyger a beastly animal.
The disbelief about the tyger can be noticed in a comparison of the first and the last stanza. The last stanza is identical to the first stanza except for the word change of “could” to “dare”. The effect that the last stanza has on the poem is to emphasize the existence of the tyger. In the first stanza, the word “could” is said with a tone of questioning and uncerrtainty. However, the word change to “dare” in the last stanza is said with more conviction and fear towards the tyger’s character.
As a person experiences their childhood, the world seems to have no complications and no evil anywhere. Children are seen as innocent, pure and as a gift from God. However, as the person grows up, they begin to notice life in the real world for the bad and for the good. The child-like atmosphere, that includes the questions and the curiosity of how the tyger came into existence, is from the mindset of Blake as a poet. It can be inferred that Blake opposes the building of the industries and machines around him. Due to Blake living in the world of wishing things to be simple like they are in one’s childhood, he can not see past the need to advance in life with the use of machines.
In stanza five, the narrator asks the question, “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” This question contains a sense of bewilderment and wonder. The narrator is more in awe with the existence of the tyger instead of being impressed that the tyger could have been created by God.
As stated in the poem, God created the Lamb. The Lamb represents purity, innocence, delicacy, and peacefulness. However, the tyger is seen as a ferocious, wild, evil being; opposite of the Lamb. This parallel plays on the co-existence of good and evil. When an unexpected event occurs in a person’s life, that person usually tends to turn to God (or a higher power) for answers. For example, when the Twin Towers fell in September of 2001, questions such as “Why did this happen to me?” or “How could You let this happen?” were asked throughout the nation. The wonderment of how can the tyger exists, as evil as it maybe, proves that good and evil can co-exist in the world. This parallel plays on the coexistence of good and evil. Just because the tyger is created from the industries does not make the tiger evil. Likewise, even though the tyger looks like a harmless robot, as shown in Blake’s illustration, does not make the tyger a beastly animal.
The disbelief about the tyger can be noticed in a comparison of the first and the last stanza. The last stanza is identical to the first stanza except for the word change of “could” to “dare”. The effect that the last stanza has on the poem is to emphasize the existence of the tyger. In the first stanza, the word “could” is said with a tone of questioning and uncerrtainty. However, the word change to “dare” in the last stanza is said with more conviction and fear towards the tyger’s character.
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