William Blake's "The Tyger"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses William Blake's poem "The Tyger", explaining how he structures his poem upon a series of questions that similarly compel the reader to ask penetrating theological questions and to enter a state of uncertainty about the goodness of the world that is never resolved.

From the Paper:

"How can the world be good, if there is evil in the world? How can the creator of the world, God, be good, if evil beings and evil actions exist in the world? The existence of evil animals, in William Blake's "The Tyger" motivates the poet to ask potentially sacrilegious questions about the natural goodness of the earth's creation, and, by extension, the goodness of the world's creator. The poet Blake structures his poem upon a series of question that similarly compel the reader to ask penetrating theological questions, and to enter a state of uncertainty about the goodness of the world that is never resolved.
"Blake suggests at times that Lucifer is responsible for the tiger, and for evil in the world. But by refusing to say definitively that the devil is responsible for evil and God and Christ are responsible for the nature of the lamb and the holy parts of the world, Blake implies the possibility that all of the world may not be good. The nursery-rhyme-like tone of the poem posits a certain level of comfort that is continually undercut by the powerful images of the central image and animal. There is no answer to who is the tiger's creator, unlike the creator of the lamb."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Blake, William. "The Tyger." 1794. Text available 6 Nov 2007 at http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~keith/poems/tyger.html

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