Theme: Vivid imagery & Religion
Type: Six quatrains of rhyming couplets
Background
- Made of questions
- Addressing the tiger, the speaker questions its creation
- Often interpreted to deal with issues of inspiration, mystical knowledge and God
- Blake contemplates about what kind of God could design and create such an awesome creature
First verse – clearly evokes a powerful sense of the tiger
Language
- Repetition of “Tyger” sets up a compelling rhythm and of the first verse at the end full circle
- Poem has a song like quality to is – Blake intended it to be set to music
- The phrase “burning bright” is alliterative and creates a sense of brilliant colours against the dark night and burning gives the impression of fire which is dangerous and so is the tiger
Religion
- Blake was devout, but hated the Church of England whose leaders, he felt, manipulated the religion and nature of God
- Asks many rhetorical questions about God – these are unanswered because questions as to the nature of God cannot be answered
- Compares God to a blacksmith
- Reference to “Lamb” is capitalised reference to Jesus is often depicted as a lamb
- There is an almost chanting quality to the poem again pointing to the religious overtones
Form
- Six quatrains of rhyming couplets
- AABB rhyme scheme
- Regular meter – refer to the power of the tiger
