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ThetygerSummaryThepoembeginswiththespeakeraskingafearsometigerwhatkindofdivinebeingcouldhavecreatedit:“Whatimmortalhandoreye/Couldframetheyfearfulsymmetry?”Eachsubsequentstanzacontainsfurtherquestions,allofwhichrefinethisfirstone.Fromwhatpartofthecosmoscouldthetiger’sfieryeyeshavecome,andwhowouldhavedaredtohandlethatfire?Whatsortofphysicalpresence,andwhatkindofdarkcraftsmanship,wouldhavebeenrequiredto“twistthesinews”ofthetiger’sheart?Thespeakerwondershow,oncethathorribleheart“begantobeat,”itscreatorwouldhavehadthecouragetocontinuethejob.Comparingthecreatortoablacksmith,hepondersabouttheanvilandthefurnacethattheprojectwouldhaverequiredandthesmithwhocouldhavewieldedthem.Andwhenthejobwasdone,thespeakerwonders,howwouldthecreatorhavefelt?“Didhesmilehisworktosee?”Couldthispossiblybethesamebeingwhomadethelamb?CommentaryTheopeningquestionenactswhatwillbethesingledramaticgestureofthepoem,andeachsubsequentstanzaelaboratesonthisconception.Blakeisbuildingontheconventionalideathatnature,likeaworkofart,mustinsomewaycontainareflectionofitscreator.Thetigerisstrikinglybeautifulyetalsohorrificinitscapacityforviolence.WhatkindofaGod,then,couldorwoulddesignsuchaterrifyingbeastasthetiger?Inmoregeneralterms,whatdoestheundeniableexistenceofevilandviolenceintheworldtellusaboutthenatureofGod,andwhatdoesitmeantoliveinaworldwhereabeingcanatoncecontainbothbeautyandhorror?Thetigerinitiallyappearsasastrikinglysensuousimage.However,asthepoemprogresses,ittakesonasymboliccharacter,andcomestoembodythespiritualandmoralproblemthepoemexplores:perfectlybeautifulandyetperfectlydestructive,Blake’stigerbecomesthesymboliccenterforaninvestigationintothepresenceofevilintheworld.Sincethetiger’sremarkablenatureexistsbothinphysicalandmoralterms,thespeaker’squestionsaboutitsoriginmustalsoencompassbothphysicalandmoraldimensions.Thepoem’sseriesofquestionsrepeatedlyaskwhatsortofphysicalcreativecapacitythe“fearfulsymmetry”ofthetigerbespeaks;assumedlyonlyaverystrongandpowerfulbeingcouldbecapableofsuchacreation.Thesmithyrepresentsatraditionalimageofartisticcreation;hereBlakeappliesittothedivinecreationofthenaturalworld.The“forging”ofthetigersuggestsaveryphysical,laborious,anddeliberatekindofmaking;itemphasizestheawesomephysicalpresenceofthetigerandprecludestheideathatsuchacreationcouldhavebeeninanywayaccidentallyorhaphazardlyproduced.Italsocontinuesfromthefirstdescriptionofthetigertheimageryoffirewithitssimultaneousconnotationsofcreation,purification,anddestruction.Thespeakerstandsinaweofthetigerasasheerphysicalandaestheticachievement,evenasherecoilsinhorrorfromthemoralimplicationsofsuchacreation;forthepoemaddressesnotonlythequestionofwhocouldmakesuchacreatureasthetiger,butwhowouldperformthisact.Thisisaquestionofcreativeresponsibilityandofwill,andthepoetcarefullyincludesthismoralquestionwiththeconsiderationofphysicalpower.Note,inthethirdstanza,theparallelismof“shoulder”and“art,”aswellasthefactthatitisnotjustthebodybutalsothe“heart”ofthetigerthatisbeingforged.Therepeateduseofwordthe“dare”toreplacethe“could”ofthefirststanzaintroducesadimensionofaspirationandwillfulnessintothesheermightofthecreativeact.ThereferencetothelambinthepenultimatestanzaremindsthereaderthatatigerandalambhavebeencreatedbythesameGod,andraisesquestionsabouttheimplicationsofthis.Italsoinvitesacontrastbetweentheperspectivesof“experience”and“innocence”representedhereandinthepoem“TheLamb.”“TheTyger”consistsentirelyofunansweredquestions,andthepoetleavesustoaweatthecomplexityofcreation,thesheermagnitudeofGod’spower,andtheinscrutabilityofdivinewill.Theperspectiveofexperienceinthispoeminvolvesasophisticatedacknowledgmentofwhatisunexplainableintheuniverse,presentingevilastheprimeexampleofsomethingthatcannotbedenied,butwillnotwithstandfacileexplanation,either.Theopenaweof“TheTyger”contrastswiththeeasyconfidence,in“TheLamb,”ofachild’sinnocentfaithinabenevolentuniverse.