Page 281 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes ‘Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright

In the forests of the night…’
However, paying more attention to what comes next, the author talks about Evil, and Good, as I
said above. These two essential ideas are symbolised in the ‘Tyger’ and the ‘Lamb’, respectively
(notice that both words have capital letters).
Immediately after seeing the ‘Tyger’ in the forests, the poet asks it what deity could have created it:

‘What immortal hand and eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?’
The word ‘immortal’ gives the reader a clue that the poet refers to God. Then, in the second stanza,
the author wonders in what far-away places the tiger was made, maybe, referring that these places
cannot be reached by any mortal. In the third stanza, the poet asks again, once the tiger’s heart
began to beat, who could make such a frightening and evil animal. Next, in the forth stanza, William
Blake asks questions about the tools used by God. And he names the hammer, the chain, the furnace,
and anvil. All these elements are used by an ironsmith. Thus, according to the poet, God is a kind of
craftsman. After that, in the fifth stanza, the poet asks two significant questions. The first one refers
to God’s feelings:
‘Did he smile his work to see?’
In other words, was God happy with his creation? The second question is:
‘Did he who made the Lamb make thee?’

William Blake does not understand why or how the deity who is responsible for good and innocence,
is, at he same time, the same who inserts violence and evil in this world. However, the poet does not
make any statement at any moment. He only asks questions which invite the reader to think about.
Finally, the last stanza is the same as the first one which may indicate that the author is not able to
understand the world where we live.
To conclude, William Blake wrote the poem with a simple structure and a perfect rhyme to help the
reader see the images he wanted to transmit. Above all, the description of the tiger is glaringly
graphic due to essentially the contrast between fire and night.

26.3.3 The Sick Rose

Text
O Rose, thou art sick!
The invisible worm
That flies in the night,
In the howling storm,
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
Summary

The speaker, addressing a rose, informs it that it is sick. An “invisible” worm has stolen into its bed in
a “howling storm” and under the cover of night. The “dark secret love” of this worm is destroying the
rose’s life.

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