William Blake, an English writer of anti-authoritative verses that challenged organized religion in the Industrial Revolution, was a notorious figure. The poem, “The Tyger,” is considered by many to be his most famous work. It’s composed of a number of rhetorical inquiries that try to unravel the mystery behind the God who created the ferocious beast. William Blake’s poem, “The Tyger”, criticizes God’s motivations by using symbolism. The poem also supports the notion that all creations are reflections of the creator.
The narrator is fascinated by a terrifying tiger. This represents God’s ability to create evil. It also suggests that God has a dark side. From the very first stanza to the last, the unidentified narrator questions how such an amazing creature could have been created. God’s power is emphasized by describing him as “immortal”. What is notable about this line is that it acknowledges the tiger’s “fearfulsymmetry”, which highlights its dual nature of being both beautiful and bloodthirsty. It seems that God is playing a cruel joke by combining these two characteristics into one creature. A dangerous animal gains power through its attractive appearance. Its very existence indicates that God is not a good designer, and his reasoning for allowing evil exists. When the tiger and lamb are compared, it is further emphasized that the creator of the tiger made him. Lambs are often seen as symbols of innocence and kindness, which makes the tiger a more powerful symbol. This contrast is an example of symmetry, which is discussed in the opening stanza. The reader is asked to consider that without the existence one extreme – the dangerous lamb – the other extreme – the tiger – cannot exist. The poem also suggests that God may have intended this all along, that evil is necessary to prevent goodness from flourishing. It is difficult for people to understand this bold idea because they are prone to desire an endless supply of goodness. They hope that their religious beliefs will lead them to a paradise. The poem asks readers to consider the idea that God has created the universe with opposing force to express His power and Godship.
Blake uses the blacksmith symbol to personify and attribute additional qualities to the pure intentions of the creator. The fourth stanza introduces the blacksmith symbol, as the narrator wonders about the tools used by a blacksmith to create the deadly beast. This theory highlights God’s deliberate intentions and leads the readers to wonder what God was trying to accomplish. God, by creating a tiger, must have felt that the animal was necessary to restore balance to an innocence world.
As with the blacksmith’s symbol, the use of the fire throughout the piece reminds us of God’s dangerous nature and the task of creating a tiger. Blacksmiths use heat and fire to shape metal, which is a dangerous job that requires both skill and courage. The poem shows this in the final line of the 2nd stanza, “What is the hand? Dare seize fire?” The narrator expresses his awe in this line that God is so bold to put his hand metaphorically in the fire in order to reward his evil creation. It reveals God’s more cunning nature. The narrator uses fire to describe the tiger’s eyes and describes it as “burning in the forest of the night”. The narrator uses fire imagery to enhance the appeal of the tiger, much like how God is presented as a welcoming, all-loving being. However, he warns that God’s consequences can be very painful, and that he should not be messed with. Should we fear God’s powerful, yet hateful creatures or should we celebrate all that God has done for humanity? The poem poses a series rhetorical questions that leave the reader with the option of interpreting the debate. However, the poem succeeds in its goal to convince the reader to examine God’s works and question their purpose.
William Blake’s “The Tyger” makes use of symbolism to critique a God’s intentions, whether they are noble or bad. God shows his authority by being compared with a blacksmith playing with fire. The image of a beautiful, violent tiger is in sharp contrast with the symbolism of a gentle lamb. The power of God’s unfathomable actions to create harmony is revealed when both these opposing forces are permitted, and encouraged, to exist. Like a ferocious animal that cannot survive unless it is able to prey upon an innocent lamb, God cannot fully realize his divinity if the more pernicious creatures of his are not able to balance out his benevolent ones.
