Subjects:
5-8-99
Does god create both gentle and fearful creatures? If he does
what right does he have? Both of these rhetorical questions are
asked by William Blake in his poem “The Tyger.” The poem takes
the reader on a journey of faith, questioning god and his nature. The poem
completes a cycle of questioning the creator of the tyger, discussing how it
could have been created, and then returns to questioning the creator again.
Both questions about the tyger’s creator are left unanswered. William Blake
uses rhythm, rhyme, and poetic devices to create a unique effect and to
parallel his theme in his work “The Tyger.”
William Blake’s choice of rhythm is important to his poem
“The Tyger” because it parallels the theme of the poem, that the
tyger may have been made by god or another harsher creator. Most
of the poem is written in trochaic tetrameter as can be seen in line
three, when Blake says, “What immortal hand or eye.” This rhythm is
very harsh sounding, exemplifying the very nature o
. . .
By beginning and ending his poem with the same quatrain he asks
the question about god creating evil as well as good, again. This can be seen in line twenty when he says “Did he who made the
lamb make thee?” This line sounds soft and pleasing to the ears. William Blake uses euphony, which is a smooth sounding group
of words, to show the gentle nature of god and to wonder if he created the
tyger. By doing this
he leaves his readers wondering, “Is there really an answer?”
. ”
Iambic tetrameter has a much softer sounding beat
than does trochaic tetrameter.
Some of the lines in the poem were written in iambic tetrameter,
such as in line ten, when Blake says, “Could twist the sinews of thy heart? .
William Blake’s choice of poetic devices greatly affect his
work “The Tyger.
William Blake never answers his question about the
unknown nature of god. ” This line sounds unpleasant and harsh
to the ears. He leaves it up to the reader to decide. ” The entire poem is written in couplets. William
Blake uses alliteration and assonance to make his words seem harsh or soft. This helps to create a unique symmetry
and to parallel the “fearful symmetry” of a tyger.
He uses alliteration, which is the repetition of identical consonants to make
his words seem harsh as in “distant deeps” or “dare the deadly.
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