What I See (The Tyger)

Joshua Phares

Eng. 102, Laura Cline

Fall 2011

What I See

            I chose the poem, “The Tyger”, by William Blake for this essay.  What I didn’t count on was how difficult this poem was to interpret.  For someone like myself, who prefers something to be cut and dry, this was out of my comfort zone.  This poem was very simply written, but included such depth and hopefully my understanding will make sense with what the author had intended.

When I picture someone reading this, I see someone that is angry and confused with life.  When he says, “What immortal hand or eye, could frame thy fearful symmetry”? (The Tyger, lines 3-4)  He is stating how the Tyger is such a feared animal and is wondering who could create such a creature.  When he mentions the word “immortal”, he is referencing the creator as someone who thinks of themselves as fire proof or invincible.  This animal, as big as it may be, doesn’t seem to shed any fear from its creator.  The creator may not see The Tyger the same way the author does.  Perhaps the Tyger is a sign of dominance and power, but not aggressiveness.

I also see the writer/narrator as someone of a bit of a worrier.  He states:

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 the heart began to beat,

What dread hand? & what dread feet?

(The Tyger, lines 5-12)

When I read these lines, my first thought is, they are all questions.  This is why I think of the narrator as someone who worries or appears anxious.  When he asks, “what wings dare he aspire?” (The Tyger, line 7), I see that as someone asking How Dare He?!  What gives this person the right to take something so dangerous into his own hands?  Now I know he is talking about God, as the creator, but I do not think he gets to that point until the end when he reads, “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” (The Tyger, line 20)  Now Lamb can be taken simply as an animal or it can be taken in the biblical term.  I truly believe he meant for it to be biblical, mainly because it’s capitalized and he is referencing to the one who created the Lamb. 

I see the poem as a question to God about why he not only created the Tyger (a big, dangerous animal), but also anything bad in the world.  How is it that someone can create something so beautiful and peaceful, but also have a hand in all things bad in the world?  The author also asks God, “In what furnace was thy brain?” (The Tyger, line 14) He pretty much bluntly asks him, how in your right mind could you have created something so fearful?  Were you in the right state of mind when doing so?  Being a Christian myself, I know what I believe, but I see this narrator as someone who struggles with his own beliefs.  He actually questions God when he writes, “When the stars threw down their spears and water’d heaven with their tears: Did he smile his work to see?” (The Tyger, lines 17-19)  Well of course he doesn’t smile when he sees war, fighting, murder, jealousy, cruelty…  He does however smile when he sees something good come out of bad.  I believe he does smile at a creature like the Tyger.  It, along with all humans, was created by Him, from Him.  There is a piece of good in everyone and everything and what you choose or what nature allows is what we see. 

The Tyger in this poem I think gets a bad rap because of what it is known for; its size, strength and fearful reputation.  He could very well have written this story about a Great White Shark or Grizzly Bear, but the Tyger had significance with the author.  I don’t think we will necessarily know what that is, but someone about this creature brings the onset of questions that he asks.  Something triggers his uneasiness with what God has created.

The last paragraph, even though it is a repeat of the first paragraph holds the most meaning.  It’s like the writer never got the answer that he was searching for.  He repeats it back almost hesitantly, wondering if his questions will ever be answered.  I truly believe this poem actually has nothing to do with a Tyger, but more to do about life.  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why do we have war?  If we were all molded alike, why are we all so different?  I don’t think you know yourself until you ask yourself certain questions, until you know what you believe in.  This poem is simply his question about God.  Does he believe or doesn’t he, that is the question.

WORK CITED:

Blake, William. “The Tyger”.  Printed by The Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org.    

  September 18, 2011.

Poetry

I read all the poems repeatedly and there were only two that I had any relation to,if that’s what you can call it. The one that I could somewhat understand only after reading it several times was “The Tyger” written by William Blake. The lines that stood out the most were

“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?”

To me this is referring to when the tiger came into being, and the poet’s questioning of how he who created the lamb, an animal so peaceful and unassuming; could have also created an animal so awe inspiring but also so frightening. The tiger is the polar opposite of the lamb. A tiger in the wild is definitely something to be feared, the beast could easily dispatch a man or its usual prey with ease. So why was the tiger created and by whom if not him then surely the other? This poem has to be talking about religion and the authors confusion as to why something  as seemingly vicious as the tiger would be dreamt up along with some of the less dangerous “creations”. Then again I suppose I could be way off.

Summary V Analysis

Summary is something we all have done if we have ever done a book report. I know this was said in the

video lecture, repatedly but, it is a good example of summary. Analysis is something I have personally

not done a whole lot of. Analysis is an in depth study and re-reading of the text so one can better produce

their argument. Analysis requires that the reader be objective to whatever they are reading, taking notes

using other materials of research to be able to make their argument the best it can possibly be. If

the person doing the analysis of the text is successful said person will have readers of their analysis

disagree with them, or have them looking at the studied text in a whole new light. A summary in comparison

to analysis would be like carpet bombing as opposed to laser guided missiles. A summary might get the

job done, but a laser guided missile (analysis) is more to the point.