William Blake

The Tyger (1st draft)

'''The Tyger'''
1 Tyger Tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night;

Theological Interrogation

Repeated questions suggest Blake is probing a theological mystery: Who could create something so terrifyingly beautiful?

What immortal hand or eye.
[Could ''del.''] [Dare ''del.''] frame thy fearful symmetry?

Burning Symmetry

Blake uses 'symmetry' to suggest the tiger is a calculated, engineered creature—not random, but deliberately designed.

2 [In what ''del.''] [Burnt in ''del.''] distant deeps or skies.
[Burnt the ''del.''] [The cruel ''del.''] fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare sieze the fire?
3 And what shoulder & what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat
What dread hand & what dread feet
[Could fetch it from the furnace deep
And in [the ''altered to''] thy horrid ribs dare steep
In the well of sanguine woe?
In what clay & in what mould
Were thy eyes of fury roll'd? ''del.'']
4 [What ''del.''] Where the hammer? [What ''del.''] Where the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what [the arm ''del.''] [arm ''del.''] [grasp ''del.''] [clasp ''del.''] dread grasp.
[Could ''del.''] Dare its deadly terrors [clasp ''del.''] [grasp ''del.''] clasp?
Tyger Tyger burning bright.
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand [or ''del.''] & eye.

Burning Symmetry

Blake uses 'symmetry' to suggest the tiger is a calculated, engineered creature—not random, but deliberately designed.

Dare [form ''del.''] frame thy fearful symmetry?
5 <small>3</small> And [did he laugh ''del.''] dare he [smile ''del.''] [laugh ''del.''] his work to see?
[What the (shoulder ''del.'') ankle? What the knee? ''del.'']
<small>4</small> [Did ''del.''] Dare he who made the lamb make thee?

Creator's Moral Challenge

The final lines question the moral implications of creation: Can the same creator make both lamb (innocence) and tiger (violence)?

<small>1</small> When the stars threw down their spears
<small>2</small> And water'd heaven with their tears
Source Wikipedia Poetry Foundation

Reading Notes

Blake's Theological Imagination

The Tyger represents Blake's radical theological questioning. He uses the tiger as a metaphor to interrogate divine creation—specifically, how a supposedly benevolent God could create both gentle and violent forms of existence.

The poem's rhythmic interrogatives (repeated 'What' and 'Where' questions) suggest a profound theological uncertainty. Blake isn't just describing a tiger, but challenging fundamental assumptions about creation, good, and evil.

Craft and Creation

Blake employs industrial metaphors to reimagine divine creation. By describing the tiger's formation using blacksmith terminology (furnace, hammer, anvil), he transforms theological abstraction into a concrete, almost mechanical process.

This technical language suggests creation as a deliberate, skilled act—not mysterious, but craftsman-like. The tiger becomes less a natural creature and more a manufactured weapon, reflecting Blake's complex view of divine intentionality.