The Tyger

2 Pages 420 Words

“The Tyger”, by William Blake, is a compelling piece of literature which is very ambiguous and vague. Many different interpreters have very dissimilar opinions not only of the poem itself, but of its deeper meaning. Algernon Charles Swinburne asks, “Could God bring down his heart to the making of a thing so deadly and strong? Or could any lesser daemonic force of nature take to itself wings and fly high enough to assume power equal to such a creation?” In the poem itself, Blake asks the tiger, “Did he who made the Lamb make thee?” The central question seems to be whether the tiger, a fearful and wrathful creature, was created by the grace of God or the iniquity of Satan. Of course the tiger was created by God, for it was He who created Heaven and Earth. Therefore, as abominable as the tiger may be, it inevitably has to be a production of God. Apparently over time the tiger has been transformed into this malicious creature. Is it not true that people are a product of their environment? The same case applies to the tiger. It has been given the circumstances in which it must take on the role of savage beast to maintain its survival in the environment. The lamb, on the other hand, has been presented a lifestyle in which it must really do nothing to perpetuate its species. Therefore, the tiger appears sinful, whereas the lamb appears passive and innocent. However, both creatures are actually equal. The only difference is the conditions in which they are in as a species. God did not create an abominate creature; he created a creature which developed its own traits. Being a romantic poem, “The Tyger” has a much deeper meaning than just who created the tiger. Blake is trying to enlighten people as to the concept of transformation. Even though these two creatures were essentially created the same, they have transformed into two entirely opposite entities. One has transformed into good, and one evil. People ca...