Chapter 10

The Tyger


►► Very Short Type Questions & Answers:

1. Who is the poet of 'The Tyger'?

Ans: William Blake

2. Which creature is contrasted with the tiger in the poem?

Ans: The Lamb

3. What does the poet compare the creator of the tiger to?

Ans: A blacksmith

4. What is the meaning of 'fearful symmetry' in the poem?

Ans: The tiger's terrifying yet perfect design

5. Which celestial event is mentioned in the poem?

Ans: The stars throwing down their spears

► Short Type Questions & Answers:

1. Compare and contrast the themes of 'The Tyger' and 'The Lamb'. How do these poems reflect Blake's exploration of innocence and experience?

Ans: William Blake's 'The Tyger' and 'The Lamb' serve as companion poems in Songs of Experience and Songs of Innocence, respectively, exploring the contrast between innocence and experience. The Lamb presents a gentle, nurturing view of creation, symbolizing innocence, purity, and divine kindness. The speaker asks the lamb who created it and answers with a reassuring depiction of a loving, benevolent God: "He is called by thy name, / For he calls himself a Lamb." This reflects a childlike faith in a world of goodness and harmony.

In contrast, 'The Tyger' portrays a more complex and fearsome side of creation. The tiger, described as "burning bright" with "fearful symmetry," symbolizes power, danger, and the awe-inspiring aspects of nature. The poem questions the nature of the creator: "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" suggesting that the same divine force responsible for innocence also created terror and strength. Unlike 'The Lamb', this poem offers no comforting answers, instead leaving readers to ponder the mysteries of existence.

Together, these poems highlight Blake's vision of a dualistic world, where innocence and experience coexist, and shaping human perception. 'The Lamb' embodies trust and simplicity, while 'The Tyger' challenges that innocence with deeper existential questions.

2. Discuss the significance of the line "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" in understanding Blake's philosophical inquiry into the nature of God and creation.

Ans: The line "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" in 'The Tyger' is central to William Blake's philosophical exploration of the nature of God and creation. By directly referencing 'The Lamb', a poem from 'Songs of Innocence', Blake contrasts two aspects of creation: the gentle, innocent lamb and the powerful, fearsome tiger. This juxtaposition raises a profound question-how can the same divine force create both a symbol of purity and a creature of terror?

This inquiry reflects Blake's vision of a dualistic world, where innocence and experience coexist as essential aspects of existence. The line challenges traditional notions of a wholly benevolent God, suggesting instead a creator capable of producing both beauty and destruction. It forces readers to consider whether God is both loving and fearsome, or whether creation itself is beyond human moral judgment.

Furthermore, the unanswered nature of the question adds to the poem's sense of mystery and awe. Blake does not offer a clear resolution, leaving readers to grapple with the complexities of divine will. Ultimately, this line encapsulates the poem's central theme-the paradox of creation-where the same force that nurtures innocence also forges power and danger.

► Long Type Questions & Answers:

1. Discuss the theme of divine creation in 'The Tyger'. How does Blake explore the nature of the creator through imagery and symbolism?

Ans: In 'The Tyger', William Blake explores the theme of divine creation by questioning the nature of the creator and the process of bringing such a fearsome creature into existence. The poem portrays the tiger as a powerful, awe-inspiring, and terrifying being, which leads to the central inquiry: how could a benevolent God, who also created the innocent lamb, have created such a dangerous creature?

Blake uses vivid imagery and symbolism to explore this theme. The repeated phrase 'Tyger Tyger, burning bright' immediately suggests a creature of intense power and danger, with the word 'burning' evoking the image of fire. Fire, throughout the poem, symbolizes both creation and destruction, suggesting that the tiger is a product of intense, possibly violent, divine will. This fire also hints at the forceful and dangerous nature of the creator, reinforcing the tension between beauty and terror. The tiger's "fearful symmetry" further symbolizes the paradox of divine creation: the tiger is both beautiful in its form and terrifying in its nature, challenging the reader to reconcile these opposites.

Blake further explores the process of creation through blacksmith imagery. The creator is depicted as a divine craftsman, shaping the tiger with tools like a hammer, chain, anvil, and furnace. These images suggest a laborious, forceful process, akin to the work of a blacksmith forging a weapon or a machine. The use of this imagery conveys that the creation of the tiger is not an act of gentle artistry, but one of immense power and danger, indicating that the creator is both nurturing and destructive.

The line "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" raises questions about the nature of God, suggesting that the same divine force capable of creating innocence and purity could also create fear and strength. Through this juxtaposition, Blake presents the creator as complex, one who encompasses both the tender and the terrifying aspects of existence, thus offering a view of divinity that transcends human understanding.

2. Analyze Blake's use of rhetorical questions in 'The Tyger'. What do these questions reveal about the poet's view on creation and the nature of the divine?

Ans: In 'The Tyger', William Blake's use of rhetorical questions serves as a powerful tool to probe the mystery of creation, the nature of the divine, and the paradoxes inherent in existence. These questions are central to the poem's structure, guiding the reader through a journey of awe and perplexity.

The opening line, "Tyger Tyger, burning bright, / In the forests of the night", immediately sets a tone of wonder and fear. The speaker's use of 'burning bright' evokes both the tiger's beauty and its dangerous, destructive potential, setting up a tension that Blake explores throughout the poem. The repeated rhetorical question, "What immortal hand or eye, / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?" invites reflection on the Creator's power. The word 'immortal' suggests a divine being capable of such awe-inspiring creation, but the word 'fearful' introduces ambiguity, suggesting that the creation is not entirely benevolent or comforting. This tension between beauty and terror becomes a recurring theme in the poem, emphasizing the complexity of creation.

As the poem progresses, the speaker asks more questions: 'In what distant deeps or skies. / Burnt the fire of thine eyes?" These lines expand the scope of the poem, moving from the immediate image of the tiger to a cosmic scale. The reference to "distant deeps or skies" evokes the image of a creator whose reach is beyond human understanding. By asking where the fire of the tiger's eyes was 'burnt', Blake introduces a sense of the divine as both distant and unknowable.

Blake's final rhetorical question, 'Did he who made the Lamb make thee?' brings the poem to its culmination. This question starkly contrasts the tiger with the Lamb, which represents innocence and goodness, as seen in Blake's earlier poem, 'The Lamb'. Here, the rhetorical question underscores the paradox of creation: if the same God made both the gentle lamb and the fierce tiger, what does this say about the nature of divine creation? It suggests that the divine encompasses beauty and destruction, innocence and terror, challenging the reader to reconsider simplistic notions of good and evil.

Through these rhetorical questions, Blake reveals his view of the divine as a complex, inscrutable force that is capable of both creation and destruction. The poet's awe is mixed with fear, suggesting that the divine order cannot be fully understood by human reason, and that creation itself is full of contradictions.

3. Edmund Burke, in his work 'A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful', states that "Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain and danger... is a source of the sublime." How does 'The Tyger' embody the concept of the sublime, and in what ways does Blake's imagery create both awe and fear?

Ans: Edmund Burke's definition of the sublime-"Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain and danger... is a source of the sublime" provides a useful lens to analyze 'The Tyger'. Blake's portrayal of the tiger embodies the concept of the sublime by combining awe-inspiring beauty with an undercurrent of fear and danger, invoking the complex emotional response that Burke associates with the sublime.

The awe in 'The Tyger' is evident in the powerful, almost otherworldly imagery Blake uses to describe the creature. The phrase 'burning bright' conjures a vision of the tiger as radiant and majestic, its presence as overwhelming as a flame in the dark. The 'fearful symmetry' of the tiger further emphasizes its grandeur and perfection, suggesting a creature of both physical and spiritual significance. These images evoke awe because the tiger, as a symbol of immense power, is seen as something beyond the ordinary-something transcendent and divine in its nature. The tiger's form, so perfectly structured yet so wild, evokes wonder, as it seems to embody the divine creative force itself.

However, Blake's imagery also stirs fear, another key component of Burke's definition of the sublime. The tiger is described as a creature of the 'forests of the night', a symbol of mystery and danger. The 'burning' of its eyes and the 'fearful symmetry' suggest not just beauty, but also a terrifying, untamable force. The tiger's very existence is unsettling, causing the speaker to ask, "What immortal hand or eye, /Could frame thy fearful symmetry?" The word 'fearful' here connotes both awe and dread, emphasizing the dangerous potential of the creature and, by extension, the creator. The tiger's power is not just a source of wonder but a source of terror, reminding the observer of their own vulnerability in the face of such primal forces.

The sublime in 'The Tyger' is further emphasized by the cosmic scale of Blake's questions, which suggest a creator beyond human comprehension. The speaker grapples with the mystery of the tiger's creation, asking whether the same divine hand that made the Lamb-an image of innocence and gentleness-could also be responsible for such a fearsome creature. This tension between beauty and terror, innocence and danger, is central to the sublime experience, as it challenges the boundaries of human understanding and evokes both admiration and fear in equal measure.

In conclusion, 'The Tyger' fully embodies Burke's concept of the sublime through its powerful imagery, which combines awe and terror. Blake's depiction of the tiger as a creature both beautiful and fearsome generates an emotional response that transcends simple admiration, instead invoking a sense of wonder that is inseparable from fear. This duality reflects the sublime's capacity to excite both admiration and dread, inviting readers to contemplate the complex, often contradictory nature of creation and the divine.