Jeremy Knight
Mrs. Holmes
English 12C
12 April 2011
“The Tyger”
William Blake had a unique way of writing poems, especially in one of his most famous works, “The Tyger.” His life as a writer, themes, literary techniques, and writing style are all what make “The Tyger” so successful. Born in London on November 28, 1757, William Blake was an English writer, poet, and illustrator during the Romantic period. Blake was the second of five children born to James Blake, a hosier, and Catherine. As a child it was said that Blake would have unusual visions of spirits. Blake began seeing these visions at the age of eight (“Overview”). Blake had no formal education, being home schooled until the age of ten. Blake learned to read and write at home. When Blake was ten, he was sent to Henry Par’s drawing school to study art. Later Blake was apprenticed to an engraver, James Basire. During his apprenticeship, Blake was sent to Westminster Abbey where he drew monuments for Basire (“Overview”). According to, “Overview of William Blake,” “the Gothic atmosphere of the church influenced Blake’s imagination and his artistic style.” Blake then began writing poetry. After leaving his apprenticeship in 1779, Blake enrolled at the Royal Academy just before starting his life as an engraver (“Overview”). On August 18, 1782, Blake married Catherine Boucher. Blake taught her to read, write, and make prints of his engravings. Blake was introduced to Harriet Mathew, who encouraged Blake to have some of his poetry published. Fifty copies of the book were printed, containing poems that protested against war, tyranny, and King George III’s treatment of American colonies (“Overview”). After Blake’s father’s death on July 4, 1784, Blake used some of his inheritance to relocate and open a print shop with his friend, James Parker. The business failed, causing Blake and his wife to move once more. In 1787 Blake’s beloved brother, Robert, died. “Blake believed he saw Robert’s spirit ascending through the ceiling, ‘clapping its hands for joy”’ (“Overview”). Blake later had a vision that “Robert visited him and showed him the technique of ‘illuminated writing,’ or relief-etching” (“Overview”).The process included the producing of text and an illustration on a copper plate with an acid-resistant liquid. The plate was afterwards submerged in acid, which caused the untreated surfaces to deteriorate leaving the text and drawing in relief. The design was then reprinted on paper and colored with watercolors. He began using this method on all his books, beginning with There is No Natural Religion, in 1788 (“Overview”). During the 1790’s Blake was receiving large amounts of commissions for doing engravings for books and magazines, making him wealthy (“Overview”). In 1791, he took on to engrave the drawings for a youth book by Mary Wollstonecraft, Original Stories from Real Life. In 1793 he illustrated and engraved his book, For Children: The Gates of Paradise, which derived from on a sketchbook that had been retained by his dead brother, Robert. In spite of the title, the book was not solely intended for children but was meant for adult readers, as well (“Overview”).
In 1794, Blake expanded Songs of Innocence by adding more poems to it. The resulting book was called, Songs of Innocence and of Experience. The title page of the book states that its reason is to reveal “’the two Contrary States of the Human Soul"’ (“Overview”). “The ‘Songs of Innocence’ deal with the state of soul that is possessed by children; they are optimistic and happy and affirm God's love. The ‘Songs of Experience’ are gloomy and deal with evil” (“Overview”).
In 1800 Blake agreed to move to the coast of Felpham, in Sussex, where the poet, William Hayley lived. While there, Hayley helped Blake find engraving jobs. Following 1800 Blake stopped writing children books and decided to enlighten himself with the languages of Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Italian, so that he could study classical works in their original language. In addition, Blake composed his epic poem Milton, about the seventeenth-century poet John Milton.Although Blake and his wife were quite happy in Felpham at first, Blake became displeased with the restrictions Hayley placed on his innovative work. In 1803 the Blakes returned to London, where Blake engraved and printed Milton, as well as Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion (“Overview”).
After returning to London, Blake struggled to find work and he and his wife lived with little. Blake then tried to improve his work by showing off some of his watercolors but the critics were not very impressed with his work. Some critics even thought that the paintings indicated that Blake was mentally ill. It wasn’t until 1818 Blake started receiving commission again, after meeting John Linnell, a young artist who helped him find new interest in his work (“Overview”). In the early 1820s, Blake started to bring together a group of young artists who called themselves "the Ancients" (“Overview”).
Blake passed away on August 12, 1827. “Gilchrist quotes a letter from ‘a now distinguished painter’— George Richmond—who was present at Blake's death: ‘Just before he died his countenance became fair, his eyes brightened, and he burst out into singing of the things he saw in heaven"’ (“Overview”). During his time, “Blake was known mainly as an artist and an engraver; his original literary works were hand-printed in small editions and were not widely circulated. After his death, and especially after the publication of Gilchrist's biography, Blake became known as an important writer; he influenced many later poets, including William Butler Yeats” (“Overview”).
Published in 1794, William Blake’s “The Tyger” is full of creative themes, literary techniques, and writing style. “The Tyger” is similar to one of his other best-known poems, “The Lamb,” but reveals the darker side of creation. “The Tyger” is meant to be compared to “The Lamb,” revealing the “’the contrary states of the human soul”’ (“The”). It has been expressed numerous times that “Blake believed that a person had to pass through an innocent state of being, like that of the lamb, and also absorb the contrasting conditions of experience, like those of the tiger, in order to reach a higher level of consciousness” (“Criticism”). In addition, “Blake’s vision of a creative force in the universe making a balance of innocence and experience is at the heart of this poem” (“Criticism”).
“The Tyger” has long been known as one of Blake’s best poems. Many critics often expressed their love for the poem. Expressed in, “Criticism: The Tyger,” in Exploring Poetry, “critic Charles Lamb wrote of Blake: ‘I have heard of his poems, but never seen them. There is one to a tiger . . . which is glorious!”’ (“Criticism”). Another critic, Algernon Charles, expresses how the lyric is “a poem beyond praise for its frequent beauty and vigour of music” (“Criticism”).
The symbolism contained in the “The Tyger” has been the main focus for critics. “The Tyger” has been frequently contrasted with the language, images, and questions found in “The Lamb” (“Criticism”). “E. D. Hirsch, Jr., for instance, notes that while "The Tyger" satirizes the lyrics found in "The Lamb" that is not the poem's primary function” (“Criticism”). The critic states in his Innocence and Experience: An Introduction to Blake, “[William Blake] ‘celebrates the divinity and beauty of the creation and its transcendance of human good and evil without relinquishing the Keatsian awareness that 'the miseries of the world Are misery”’ (“Criticism”). Another critic, Hazard Adams, “believes that the poem demonstrates that ‘creation in art is for Blake the renewal of visionary truth’” (“Criticism”). He continues to clarify in his 1963 study William Blake: A Reading of the Shorter Poems “that while the tiger may be terrifying, it presents an intensity of vision that should be welcomed with ‘a gaiety which can find a place in the divine plan for both the tears and spears of the stars, ... and for both the tiger and the lamb”’ (“Criticism”).
William Blake’s "The Tyger" is a poem about the nature of creation, like his other fine poem from the Songs of Innocence, "The Lamb" (“Tyger”). As described in the first two lines of the poem, William Blake's tiger is a "passionate, fiery creature" ("The"). “It is a creature, a beast, who lives in the shadows and dark hours of life" ("The"). The tiger's main purpose is to symbolize the unpleasant part of ourselves that we more willingly keep in our dream while we sleep. Darkness in Blake's poetry time after time seems to give a hint of this sort of dream time. The forests in the poem seem to stand for the "wild landscape of our imagination under the influence of this beast" ("The").
The tiger is born of the "depths of consciousness, and our highest flights of fantasy" ("The"). Blake uses the metaphor of fire to illustrate the way the tiger perceives and is perceived. The tiger has fierceness and motive to believe in its individual strength.
William Blakes works has been circulated since his death, resulting in him to become known as an important writer (“Overview”). His life as a writer, themes, literary technique, and writing style have all share a part in making “The Tyger,” one of his finest works. How does he come up with his unique ways to describe the nature of creation in “The Tyger?” No one knows but after reading “The Tyger,” the question “Did the same God who made the lamb also make the tiger?” (“The”) arise.