Question

Read the poem.

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?

Which lines best develop the theme that the world contains both beauty and terror?

"What immortal hand or eye / Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?"

"And what shoulder and what art / Could twist the sinews of thy heart?"

"Did He smile His work to see? / Did He who made the lamb make thee?"

"What the anvil? what dread grasp / Dare its deadly terrors clasp?"

Answer 1

The correct answer is "What immortal hand or eye/Dare frame thy fearful symmetry." The first part, "what immortal hand or eye," is showing the beauty of the tiger. He was made by a higher power and the poem later states if the same creator also created the lamb. However, the tiger is also full of terror, which is shown in the next passage, "Dare frame thy fearful symmetry." The tiger is strong and kills his prey. He is powerful and should be feared. He killed the lamb that the author wonders if was created by the same higher power.