The Tyger
The Tyger is a dark and somber poem holding an almost equally dreary meaning. Blake accomplishes this end through carefully chosen diction, harsh rhyme scheme and alliteration. With a closer look at the first two and last stanzas of this poem many of the more subtle points of this work become evident and a much clearer interpretation of this multifaceted poem comes to light. With every word Blake strives towards his main theme, who or what would create an evil. Alliteration plays a big part in the first stanza to establish much of the desired mood. The whole first line of the poem has an almost unholy ritualistic feel to it, shouting the same word twice to start a poem gives it a chant-like feel. The harsh clanging of the syllables creates the aura of drums beating. The rhymes he uses here continue to establish this tone. Rhyming eye with symmetry is harsh sounding and ugly.. The connection
The choice of the words burning and bright describe the tiger as unnatural and almost unholy amidst the dark forest. Also when you dare to do something, you know that you have the prior knowledge that it is wrong. Combined these two lines ask how could a godlike figure with the power of foresight create a being perfect for terror and evil? In the second stanza Blake does much the same in regards to carefully handpicking his diction. Blake replaces the question of what could create the Tyger with what dare create it. The hand stands for the apparatus that did the work, while the eye stands for the foresight that was used. In the next line he uses the words hand and eye as the creator's tools in creating the tiger's image. The word symmetry is used to describe something in perfect balance or harmony, and by describing the tiger as having fearful symmetry means that the tiger has every quality to instill fear and terror perfectly aligned. All of the meaning that has been pulled out through close reading points to the question of why, who, and on what grounds could this terrible, unholy Tyger be created? From the harsh sounding rhyme scheme, to the chant-like alliteration, and finally the carefully constructed diction, Blake has one central theme and pours all his effort into meeting this objective. The last stanza of this poem is intriguing because it is the exact same as the first except for one single word. With the next line the question is asked on what wings did the creator aspire? The meaning of the word wings could mean, on what hope did he act. Many people can create evil in this world but few who have the foresight to see the end would dare to do it. By using the words deeps and skies, in regards to possible places the creator dwelled establishes that the creator is from either the deeps of hell, or the skies in heaven. Or maybe those of God happy that he had created something perfect in its own right. Or what could he possibly have been trying to accomplish with the creation of this monster. The words he chooses in the opening stanza work to achieve his desired meaning in much the same way as the way they sound.
Common topics in this essay:
,
God Devil,
rhyme scheme,
harsh sounding,
question create,
word blake,
create evil,
|
Acceptance Essays
