Question

The Tyger

by William Blake
Tyger, tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And, when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?
Tyger, tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
The speaker in “The Tyger” questions what great power created the amazing animal that we know as the tiger and how it was done. Read the stanza from the poem:
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

What is the figurative meaning of these lines? How does this meaning contribute to the overall message of the poem? Your response should be one or two complete paragraphs.

Answer 1

The meaning of these lines is to show how Tyger's fierce and aggressive form of creation perfectly matches its beauty and aesthetics.

Step-by-step explanation:

As seen in the question above, the poem "The Tyger" refers to the creation and aesthetics of tigers. In this poem, he uses figurative language to show how the tiger is the perfect example of duality between the beautiful and the violent, between the fierce and the admissible. This is because the author uses words that show an aggressive and heavy creation, which for some people should result in the creation of something fierce and terrifying, however the tiger is a creature of extreme beauty, despite the ferocity that dwells within him.