William Blake’s renowned poem Tyger Tyger Burning Bright, is still one of the most lasting and enigmatic works in English literature.
The poem was originally published in 1794 as part of Blake’s collection Songs of Experience. It is a profound meditation on creation, duality, and nature’s force. Blake’s work, with its rhythmic intensity and evocative imagery, continues to enchant readers more than two centuries later.
Full Text of The Tyger by William Blake
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 watered 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?
The Symbolism of the Tyger
Tyger Tyger by William Blake is not a straightforward nature poetry. Blake employs the tiger as a metaphor for the darker, more intricate forces that govern reality.
It is both majestic and terrible, a creation of incredible power. In a way that echoes themes found in The Rose That Grew from Concrete, Blake returns to the enigma without providing definitive answers, highlighting the unknowable aspect of creation.
Blake contrasts this with his earlier poem, The Lamb (Songs of Innocence), which evokes delicate innocence and divine tenderness. The statement “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” prompts the reader to question how the same creator could create both innocent beauty and deadly might.
Literary Techniques and Structure
The poem’s regular trochaic meter gives it a chanting, mesmerizing effect. This strong pace symbolizes the tiger’s thumping heart and heightens the poem’s impact. The poem’s symmetry—six quatrains with a rhyming couplet structure—reflects the “fearful symmetry” described by Blake.
Blake’s use of rhetorical questions throughout encourages deep reflection while avoiding conclusive interpretation. This open-ended character is one of the reasons Tyger Tyger is still widely researched and debated.
Legacy and Impact
The Tyger remains one of the most well-known poems in English literature, studied by both students and scholars. Its distinctive opening line—”Tyger Tyger burning bright”—has appeared in several novels, films, and songs.
It is a literary masterwork that still inspires awe and provokes thinking centuries after it was written.
Readers interested in exploring more of English poetry’s timeless influence may enjoy these Shakespeare poems, where existential questions and poetic brilliance similarly take center stage.
Final Thoughts
Blake’s poem Tyger Tyger is more than just Romantic fiction; it is a spiritual and philosophical exploration of the nature of existence itself.
Blake’s art, with its vivid imagery, rhythmic brilliance, and philosophical questions, challenges us to marvel at the intricacies of the universe and to revere the power that drives its most incredible creations. If you’ve ever wondered what causes both beauty and fear in the world, The Tyger puts those concepts into ageless, lyrical language.