In our species’ long history, we have endlessly searched the answers to understanding the universe. For a very long time in Europe, Christianity put an end to this by claiming its dogmas held the answers we craved. Published in 1794 in Songs of Experience, William Blake’s “The Tyger” uses a critical and questioning speaker to reject the church’s teaching and revive our quest. This being his most popular poem, everything about it invites the readers to reconsider their stance on what they’ve been taught about the world. The speaker invites his audience to take a more critical stance on the Church’s teachings.
From the very first line, the reader knows the “Tyger” is the focal point of this poem. The speaker marvels in the creature and, even though he appear terrified, praise it in a way. The “Tyger” is first seen as deadly and dangerous; it’s a “fearful” (l.4) beast with “deadly terrors” (l.16) that appears to have been forged in the “distant deeps” (l.5) of Hell. Undoubtedly created by an “immortal hand” (l.3), the speaker wonders whether Satan himself could be behind the Tyger. This deadly aspect is reinforced by the …show more content…
In contrast to any of his other works and his general style, the poems in Songs of innocence and experience all contain a regular meter and rhythm. In “The Tyger” Blake chose to use a regular trochaic tetrameter modified by catalexis as the guiding thread of the poem. The use of the trochee mirrors the pounding sounding of a blacksmith hard at work. This fact is emphasised by the alliterations on “t” (l.1 and l.21) and “f” (l.4 and l.24) which echo various tools in a forge as well as the repeated use of words with a “wh” sound (l.5, l.9, l.12, etc…) which replicates the whooshing of a hammer before it strikes. In addition, the regularity of this rhythm reflects the one found in religious chants; the fact that it never strays lulls the mind into unwittingly focusing on this
From the very first line, the reader knows the “Tyger” is the focal point of this poem. The speaker marvels in the creature and, even though he appear terrified, praise it in a way. The “Tyger” is first seen as deadly and dangerous; it’s a “fearful” (l.4) beast with “deadly terrors” (l.16) that appears to have been forged in the “distant deeps” (l.5) of Hell. Undoubtedly created by an “immortal hand” (l.3), the speaker wonders whether Satan himself could be behind the Tyger. This deadly aspect is reinforced by the …show more content…
In contrast to any of his other works and his general style, the poems in Songs of innocence and experience all contain a regular meter and rhythm. In “The Tyger” Blake chose to use a regular trochaic tetrameter modified by catalexis as the guiding thread of the poem. The use of the trochee mirrors the pounding sounding of a blacksmith hard at work. This fact is emphasised by the alliterations on “t” (l.1 and l.21) and “f” (l.4 and l.24) which echo various tools in a forge as well as the repeated use of words with a “wh” sound (l.5, l.9, l.12, etc…) which replicates the whooshing of a hammer before it strikes. In addition, the regularity of this rhythm reflects the one found in religious chants; the fact that it never strays lulls the mind into unwittingly focusing on this