The Tyger

“The Tyger” “The Tyger”, was written by William Blake in 1794. I enjoyed the poem and thought that the rhythmic lines were interesting and easy to understand. The AABB rhyming pattern took the mouth and eyes directly from line to line without struggle. At first I was a bit thrown off by the spelling of the word “tyger”. It is obviously describing what we would call a tiger, but is the spelling just different due to the time period in which it was written? The author used a very different style writing with lots and lots of questions. I think this inquisitive attitude made the poem almost enticing, as each question seemed to build upon the one before. At the end of the poem none of the questions seem to be answered, and the poem provokes more questions running through the reader’s mind as to what else might they want to know about this tiger and its maker. The wording in the poem definitely conveyed the dominance and fierceness of the tiger that we still see today. I really liked the comparison of the Lion to the Lamb used in line 20, which evokes a classic contrast that is an important historical symbol seen throughout time. The poem is the writer asking a fearsome tiger what kind of being might have created it. Each stanza to follow brings up other questions to the lion, comparing his creator to a type of blacksmith clashing and twisting to form the tiger. In the end none of the questions are answered, and the tiger’s origin is once again questioned. The rhythmic scheme of the poem is trochaic, as the feet within the lines are of a stressed – unstressed pattern. Because these lines start with a stressed syllable, it is a type of falling meter pattern. I think this is important in the poem, because it starts out each line with a strong, stressed word. This creates a tone of power, just like that of a tiger. My best guess is that the lines are a masculine tetrameter, as they each contain 3.5-4 feet in the line. One of the most important rhythmic elements that the story utilizes is the end-stopped line. Because there are so many questions in the story, almost all of the lines end with punctuation, creating an obvious pause in the reading. By using these rhythmic schemes, the poem is broken up completely into a series of questions that ponder the origin of the tiger. I think this is important in creating a bold and strong tone, that exemplifies the fierceness that a tiger displays.