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The Tyger - William Blake - Coggle Diagram
The Tyger - William Blake
Summary: the speaker questions how such a fearsome creature as a tiger could have been created
The speaker marvels at the fearsome beauty of the tiger and questions what kind of creator could forge such a powerful and terrifying creature. The poem is both a celebration of awe-inspiring natural forces and a meditation on divine creation, duality, and evil.
Key Themes:
creation
duality
good vs evil
Creation and the Divine: What kind of god or force created such a dangerous yet beautiful creature?
Innocence vs Experience: Paired with Blake’s poem "The Lamb" – contrasts the gentle and the terrifying.
Good and Evil: The tiger represents raw power that can be used for destruction or inspiration.
Power and Fear: The speaker is overwhelmed by the tiger’s physical and symbolic might.
Structure:
6 quartrains
rhymed couplets
repetiotn use of questions
trochaic and tetrameter - some use of iambic pentameter
lack of narrative - ineffable nature god
Six quatrains with a regular AABB rhyme scheme.
Rhythmic trochaic meter adds chant-like, hypnotic quality.
Repetition of questions adds to the sense of mystery and wonder.
Techniques:
rhetorical questions
metaphor
imagery of fire
Epizeuxis - "Tyger, Tyger"
Rhetorical Questions: Dominant feature. e.g., “What immortal hand or eye / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”
Alliteration: “burning bright” – contributes to vivid, dramatic imagery.
Symbolism: The tiger is a symbol of divine wrath, energy, and mystery.
Contrast: Implied comparison with “The Lamb” (innocence vs experience).
Compare with:
La Belle Dame - (mystery)
War Photographer - (evil)
Sonnet 116 - (unchanging vs questioning)
Prayer Before Birth (fear of powerful forces beyond control).
War Photographer (forces of destruction and awe in the world).
La Belle Dame Sans Merci (mysterious and dangerous beauty)
Key Ideas:
Mystery of Creation: The poem wonders at how beauty and terror can come from the same source.
Duality of Existence: Both light and darkness, innocence and ferocity are part of creation.
Questioning Religion: Blake probes the morality and intentions of a creator who could make both lamb and tiger.
Power Beyond Understanding: The creator, like the tiger, is sublime and unknowable.