Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

This is an illustration done
by Blake himself.
Every original copy of his
poetry books were hand drawn,
 and each one was unique.
They are now very rare and
worth a fortune.

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, & what art.
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven 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, 1794

I love this poem. At first glance, it seems fairly simple. I think that many of us are easily deceived by rhyming couplets in this way. There are many interpretations of this poem¹, many of which focus on the spiritual aspect of it. It can be said that “The Tyger” deals particularly with the age-old theological debate of the reason for evil or terror in a world that was supposedly made by a good and loving God. Many have said that the entire collection of poems from which this poem comes, called Songs of Innocence and Experience, is commentary on that sole question. When he mentions the Lamb, that is a reference to one of the poems² in the Songs of Innocence, where “The Tyger” comes from Songs of Experience. The contrast between the two poems, although written in the same form, is striking, to mirror the contrast of the two animals.

What is your interpretation of this poem? What kind of questions does it raise? Does it answer any? What else did you think of it?

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LsMoUtBlDk  <-- An amazing short film based on the poem.

2. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172926  <-- "The Lamb" by William Blake