Question

Based on tone, why is it fitting that "The Tyger" is featured in a volume titled, Songs of Experience?

Answer 1

The tone of 'The Tyger' corresponds with the themes of 'Songs of Experience,' as it examines the complex nature of creation with awe and unease, reflecting a deeper understanding of life's dualities.

Step-by-step explanation:

The poem "The Tyger" by William Blake, which is featured in the volume titled Songs of Experience, aligns perfectly with the volume's thematic focus on the more somber and complex aspects of life. The poem’s tone is reflective of the experienced gaze into the darker side of creation, questioning the nature of the tiger's maker with a mixture of awe and trepidation. This tone, which conveys a sophisticated understanding of good and evil, fits the narrative of experience as opposed to innocence. In Songs of Experience, Blake contrasts simpler, more naive perspectives with those that are informed by the complexities and often harsh realities of the world, as is evident in the tone of solemnity and wonder present in "The Tyger".

Answer 2

The poem is mostly made up of rhetorical questions which describe the tiger's experiences. Each question describes an experience and leaves the reader to think about the answer. One question for example is, "In what distant deeps or skies / Burnt the fire of thine eyes?". In this question the reader can infer that the tiger experienced something which caused a "fire in thine eyes". The poem also includes lots of imagery which helps the reader visualize the described experiences. In the lines, "When the stars threw down their spears, / And watered heaven with their tears," the word choice makes it easier to appeal to the readers sight or imagery.