William Blake: "The Tyger"
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
in the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? and what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dead grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaved with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?"
William Blake's work is some of my favorite, and just wanted to include this poem because it reminds me of the Book of Job, in a way. The poem provokes images of two creatures created by God, one fierce and bold, the other soft and innocent. My favorite line 'Did he who made the Lamb make thee?' reminds me of the Book of Job because it seems Job's thought process was this way. Could the same God who created the Heavens and Earth and allow the gift of life also allow such bad things to happen to an innocent man? Could the same God who is responsible for creating the soft and innocent lamb also be responsible for creating the Tiger, in such stark contrast with the lamb? Both the poem and the Book of Job bring to light what God is capable of, and I love Blake's use of these heavenly images in his poetry, especially this poem.
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
in the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder, and what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? and what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dead grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaved with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?"
William Blake's work is some of my favorite, and just wanted to include this poem because it reminds me of the Book of Job, in a way. The poem provokes images of two creatures created by God, one fierce and bold, the other soft and innocent. My favorite line 'Did he who made the Lamb make thee?' reminds me of the Book of Job because it seems Job's thought process was this way. Could the same God who created the Heavens and Earth and allow the gift of life also allow such bad things to happen to an innocent man? Could the same God who is responsible for creating the soft and innocent lamb also be responsible for creating the Tiger, in such stark contrast with the lamb? Both the poem and the Book of Job bring to light what God is capable of, and I love Blake's use of these heavenly images in his poetry, especially this poem.
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