Exploring Poetry Throught 'The Tyger' Poem

Introduction to William Blake

William Blake was born in 1757 during a time when Romanticism was on the rise. Born in the town of SoHo located in London, his style of poetry most commonly results in him being identified as an active political poet. A significant factor contributing to the reason many argue his poems are timeless is due to the fact he focuses on human suffering, which is known to be endless. He uses topics and themes such as racism, evilness, and experience, which are all discussed in today’s media and life in general. William Blake has shown his perspective on many topics throughout his poems, often critiquing the social norms and injustices of his time. Blake took an active role in exposing the corruption taking place in his society. The relevance his poems have on the modern world is what I will be discussing throughout this speech.

Exploring Poetry Through 'The Tyger'

Published in 1794, the poem 'The Tyger' uses a wild animal as a symbolic character. The Tyger firstly plays the part of a strikingly intense image. However, as the poem progresses, it comes to embody the spiritual and moral problem that will further be discovered. Beautiful but destructive, the tiger becomes the center for an investigation into the existence of evil in the world. The poem slowly and gradually leads to asking some troubling questions about divine intentions and human suffering.

'The Tyger' in essence is a poem where the poet asks the Tyger about its creator and his traits. Imagery such as ‘burning bright in the forest night’ appears to refer to the Tyger's bright yellow fur as it roams freely in the forest night. Even though the description is clear, the reader slowly realizes this line actually refers to the existence of God and the enigmatic nature of divine creation. Alliteration can be seen throughout the poem, for example, in line 1, the tiger is identified as “burning and bright.” This gives a chant-like mood right from the start; this mood follows throughout the poem, as you can find the same style of “chant” in line 20 “dare its deadly.” An extended metaphor can be found in stanzas 2, 3, and 4, comparing the creator and his creation of the Tyger to a blacksmith and his creations. The connection of the creator being a blacksmith represents an image of artistic creation; in this example, Blake applies it to the godly creation of the natural world.

“The Tyger” is Blake highlighting the horrors he sees happening, asking rhetorically how God could allow those evil actions. The tones he’s given to the poem could best be described as fearful and intriguing. In the 2013 hit movie Life of Pi (Martel, 2001), similar themes are explored, as both question the speaker’s wonder for God. However, this is not awe-inspired, but a question of the cruelty of God, similar to 'The Tyger'. Both stories use a tiger to portray “evilness.” Poetry is an art form that has survived for thousands of years. It gives us information from a completely different viewpoint, offering insights into the human condition. It's 2019, and yes, poetry is still relevant, and many believe it always will be.

The Timelessness of Blake's Work

It's unquestionable that William Blake's poems clearly demonstrate obvious links from the late 1700s to today's time. Before I wrote this speech, I didn’t see the relevance or even importance of poetry. However, I now know poetry can help us understand and learn about different times in history and how we can relate to the topics and themes they were then written about. By exploring Blake's work, we gain insight into the universal truths that transcend time and continue to resonate with contemporary audiences.

References

• Martel, Y. (2001). Life of Pi. Knopf Canada.
• Blake, W. (1794). The Tyger. In Songs of Experience.