ANALYSIS OF THE POEM’S IMAGERY
When it comes to animals, humans are very visual. We don’t want to be told what an animal looks like. We want pictures, videos or maybe even a trip to the zoo. Therefore, William Blake’s attention to imagery in “The Tyger” is not surprising. What is surprising is the way he develops the image of the tiger, blacksmith and lamb. In the opening lines of the poem, Blake describes the Tiger’s infamous striped orange coat by saying, “Tyger, Tyger burning bright, in the forests of the night”. After this, Blake throws external appearances aside. The tiger is not powerful because of its size, weight or coat. The tiger is powerful because of how it was made. Someone had to “twist the sinews of thy heart” and hammer out …show more content…
Some poems have varied stanzas. Some poems have a complex meter. “The Tyger” is not complicated, varied or complex. “The Tyger” is simple and uniform. It is composed of six quatrains. Each quatrain is made up of two-rhymed couplets, creating an “AABBCCDD…” rhyme scheme. The sense of uniformity created by the verse and stanza is only heightened by Blake’s use of alliteration, anaphora and bookending. In the first line “Tyger, Tyger, burning bright” there is alliteration with repeated ‘t’s and ‘b’s. We see the same thing in line 8 “how could he handle”, line 11 “began to beat” and finally line 20 “stars...spears”. Blake doesn’t just use the same letters; he often uses the same words. Of the 143 words in this poem “what” is used 13 times. While no other word appears quite as frequently, many words Blake wanted to draw emphasis to appear in pairs. Obviously “Tyger, Tyger” in line one but after that “eye” is in lines 3 and 5, ”dare” in lines 7 and 8, “heart” in 10 and 11, and then “dread” appears twice in line 12. The second, third and fourth stanza’s also include loose examples of anaphora. The second and fourth lines of each stanza respectively begin with “In What…On What”, “And what…And when”, “What the…What the”. Finally, Blake chose to bookend the poem by opening and closing with the same stanza. In the end, the poem’s simple structure and repetition of letters, words and stanzas take it from uniform to …show more content…
Everything is the same because everything supports the same idea. In the same way, the last nine questions of the poem all refine the first, “What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?” Think back to the image of the blacksmith. With each subsequent pound of the hammer the metal begins to take its shape. With each subsequent question, our concept of the creator begins to take its shape. Furthermore, the poem’s meter adds a whole new dimension to this image. Since the meter is regular and rhythmic throughout, it creates a hammering beat. As you speak you can actually hear the blacksmith pounding metal, or in a metaphorical sense, Blake’s words pounding into
When it comes to animals, humans are very visual. We don’t want to be told what an animal looks like. We want pictures, videos or maybe even a trip to the zoo. Therefore, William Blake’s attention to imagery in “The Tyger” is not surprising. What is surprising is the way he develops the image of the tiger, blacksmith and lamb. In the opening lines of the poem, Blake describes the Tiger’s infamous striped orange coat by saying, “Tyger, Tyger burning bright, in the forests of the night”. After this, Blake throws external appearances aside. The tiger is not powerful because of its size, weight or coat. The tiger is powerful because of how it was made. Someone had to “twist the sinews of thy heart” and hammer out …show more content…
Some poems have varied stanzas. Some poems have a complex meter. “The Tyger” is not complicated, varied or complex. “The Tyger” is simple and uniform. It is composed of six quatrains. Each quatrain is made up of two-rhymed couplets, creating an “AABBCCDD…” rhyme scheme. The sense of uniformity created by the verse and stanza is only heightened by Blake’s use of alliteration, anaphora and bookending. In the first line “Tyger, Tyger, burning bright” there is alliteration with repeated ‘t’s and ‘b’s. We see the same thing in line 8 “how could he handle”, line 11 “began to beat” and finally line 20 “stars...spears”. Blake doesn’t just use the same letters; he often uses the same words. Of the 143 words in this poem “what” is used 13 times. While no other word appears quite as frequently, many words Blake wanted to draw emphasis to appear in pairs. Obviously “Tyger, Tyger” in line one but after that “eye” is in lines 3 and 5, ”dare” in lines 7 and 8, “heart” in 10 and 11, and then “dread” appears twice in line 12. The second, third and fourth stanza’s also include loose examples of anaphora. The second and fourth lines of each stanza respectively begin with “In What…On What”, “And what…And when”, “What the…What the”. Finally, Blake chose to bookend the poem by opening and closing with the same stanza. In the end, the poem’s simple structure and repetition of letters, words and stanzas take it from uniform to …show more content…
Everything is the same because everything supports the same idea. In the same way, the last nine questions of the poem all refine the first, “What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?” Think back to the image of the blacksmith. With each subsequent pound of the hammer the metal begins to take its shape. With each subsequent question, our concept of the creator begins to take its shape. Furthermore, the poem’s meter adds a whole new dimension to this image. Since the meter is regular and rhythmic throughout, it creates a hammering beat. As you speak you can actually hear the blacksmith pounding metal, or in a metaphorical sense, Blake’s words pounding into