Literature

The Tiger by William Blake is a sort of contrast to the authors other but equally popular poem The Lamb. The Tiger is a poem that asks readers that How could the powerful and good Creator, who is God, make such a fearsome creature like the Tiger if the same Creator has the ability to create a docile and perfectly harmless creature like the lamb This paper aims to explain the poem through close reading of the lines.

Analysis of Lines
Tiger, tiger burning bright  In the forest of the night. (Lines 1-2).  In the first two lines of the poem, the speaker introduces the subject of the poem which is the Tiger. Blake describes the tiger as a creature that is burning. This allusion to the tiger burning is due to the skin of the tiger which is made of golden brown with black stripes that makes the a tiger look like it is on fire especially during the night. The next two lines on the other hand, the speaker wonders who could possibly have the power or the willingness to create such a creature of paradox. What immortal hand or eye  Could frame thy fearful symmetry (3-4).  The existence of a tiger is a paradox because it is such a beautiful creature, as noted by its symmetrical figure and yet it is feared creature that is capable of tearing most other creatures into shreds.

In stanza two, the speaker continues to wonder on the origin of the creator of the tiger. In the first two lines of stanza two, the speaker ponders on whether the creator of the tiger is from hell or whether the creator of the tiger is from heaven. In what distant deeps or skies  Burnt  the fire of thine eyes (5-6). The distant deeps is pertaining to hell while the sky is of course the heavens. The speakers doubts over the creator of the tiger shows on the 7th and 8th lines of the poem. On what wings dare he aspire  What hand dare seize the fire (7-8). The speaker wonders if the creator have wings, how could he have reached the fire that was used to create the tiger This line shows that the speaker is thinking that the creator of the tiger maybe from hell or at least it is not someone who is from heaven since the fire is located in hell. Even if the supposed creator of the tiger has reached hell for the necessary fire, how could he have ever worked with an element such as a fire

On stanza three, the speaker admires the creator of the tiger because of the combination of both strength and beauty of the tiger. And what shoulder and what art  Could twist the sinews of thy heart (9-10). The speaker likens the creator of the tiger as someone who is like a blacksmith because of his reference to fire being used to make the tiger and the twisting of the tigers person.

On the fifth stanza, the speaker questions the creator of the tiger whether he is happy with his creation of not. Did He smile His work to see (19). The speaker wonders whether God, like a true artist that He is, is pleased with creating such a paradoxical creature of having both beauty and fearsome characteristics. And as a final question, he asks whether the same God has created tiger who also has created the lamb, a harmless creature incapable of doing all the violent things that a tiger could do.

Conclusion
The Tiger is one of those poems that go best with another poem of the same author. In this case, The Tiger is best read and contrasted to Blakess other work which is The Lamb. A close reading of the lines of The Tiger would reveal that the author despite his religious nature still has a lot of questions about his faith.