Home

Tyger

The Tyger is the title of a poem by William Blake, first published in 1794 as part of Songs of Experience, a companion to Songs of Innocence. The poem is renowned for its striking imagery, exploration of creation, and its memorable refrain of wonder and awe at a powerful and dangerous being.

Blake’s verse presents the Tyger as a creature whose fearsome beauty raises questions about the nature and

Formally, The Tyger consists of six quatrains with a strong, rhythmic cadence and a rhyme scheme that

The Tyger remains one of Blake’s most studied and cited works, illustrating Romantic-era engagements with questions

origin
of
evil.
The
speaker
asks
what
furnace
or
forge
could
fashion
such
a
creature,
and
whether
the
same
creator
who
formed
the
gentle
Lamb
could
also
have
made
the
Tyger.
The
imagery
of
metalworking,
fire,
and
ironwork
is
paired
with
theological
and
philosophical
inquiry,
inviting
readers
to
consider
the
craftsmanship
behind
strength,
danger,
and
beauty.
The
concluding
line
or
lines
emphasize
a
paradox
of
admiration
and
dread,
underscoring
Blake’s
interest
in
the
complexities
of
creation
and
consciousness.
contributes
to
its
incantatory
feel.
The
poem’s
language
is
vivid,
compact,
and
symbolic,
with
the
phrase
“fearful
symmetry”
often
highlighted
by
readers
and
scholars
as
a
key
image.
of
invention,
divinity,
and
the
coexistence
of
power
and
danger.
It
has
influenced
literary
analysis,
art,
and
popular
culture,
where
it
is
frequently
cited
as
a
quintessential
inquiry
into
the
origins
of
awe
and
the
limits
of
human
understanding.