- The Tyger
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"The Tyger" is a poem by the English poet William Blake. It was published as part of his collection Songs of Experience in 1794 (see 1794 in poetry). It is one of Blake's best-known and most analyzed poems. The Cambridge Companion to William Blake (2003) calls it "the most anthologized poem in English."[1]
Most modern anthologies have kept Blake's choice of the archaic spelling "tyger". It was a common spelling of the word at the time but was already "slightly archaic"[2] when he wrote the poem; he spelled it as "tiger" elsewhere,[1] and many of his poetic effects "depended on subtle differences of punctuation and of spelling."[3] Thus, his choice of "tyger" has usually been interpreted as being for effect, perhaps to render an "exotic or alien quality of the beast",[4] or because it's not really about a "tiger" at all, but a metaphor.[1]
"The Tyger" is the sister poem to "The Lamb" (from "Songs of Innocence"), a reflection of similar ideas from a different perspective, but it focuses more on goodness than evil. The poem also presents a duality between aesthetic beauty and primal ferocity. The speaker wonders whether the hand that created "The Lamb" also created "The Tyger”.
The poem, together with other William Blake poetry, has been set to music by the group Tangerine Dream, and can be found on their album "Tyger" from 1987 (re-released 1992).
References
- ^ a b c Morris Eaves. The Cambridge Companion to William Blake, 2003. ISBN 9780521786775 - pg. 207
- ^ Duncan Wu, David Miall. Romanticism. 2000. ISBN 9780631222699 pg.77 - "Tyger: this spelling was already slightly archaic by Blake's time."
- ^ Edward Jenks (editor). The Independent Review. pg. 217 - "many of his effects depended on subtle differences of punctuation and of spelling.."
- ^ Poems by William Blake - study guide
External links
- The Tyger Bibliography at the Wayback Machine (archived May 9, 2008)
- "The Tyger" set to music From the 1990 concept album “Tyger and Other Tales”
- The Taoing of a Sound – Phonetic Drama in William Blake’s The Tyger Detailed stylistic analysis of the poem by linguist Haj Ross
William Blake Literary works Early writingsPoetical Sketches · An Island in the Moon · All Religions are One · There is No Natural ReligionSongs of InnocenceIntroduction · The Shepherd · The Ecchoing Green · The Lamb · The Little Black Boy · The Blossom · The Chimney Sweeper · The Little Boy lost · The Little Boy Found · Laughing Song · A Cradle Song · The Divine Image · Holy Thursday · Night · Spring · Nurse's Song · Infant Joy · A Dream · On Another's SorrowSongs of ExperienceIntroduction · Earth's Answer · The Clod and the Pebble · Holy Thursday · The Little Girl Lost · The Little Girl Found · The Chimney Sweeper · Nurse's Song · The Sick Rose · The Fly · The Angel · The Tyger · My Pretty Rose Tree · Ah! Sun-Flower · The Lily · The Garden of Love · The Little Vagabond · London · The Human Abstract · Infant Sorrow · A Poison Tree · A Little Boy lost · A Little Girl Lost · To Tirzah · The School Boy · The Voice of the Ancient BardOtherTiriel · The Book of Thel · The Marriage of Heaven and Hell · The French Revolution · Visions of the Daughters of Albion · The Book of Urizen · The Book of Ahania · The Book of Los · The Four Zoas · Milton a Poem · Jerusalem The Emanation of the Giant Albion ·The Auguries of Innocence · The Mental Traveller · The Crystal CabinetMythology Art Paintings and printsRelief etching · Engravings for Original Stories from Real Life · The Ancient of Days · The Night of Enitharmon's Joy · Newton · Nebuchadnezzar · Illustrations for Night Thoughts · The Four and Twenty Elders Casting their Crowns before the Divine Throne · Illustrations of Paradise Lost · A Vision of the Last Judgment · Descriptive Catalogue · The Great Red Dragon Paintings · Pity · The Ghost of a Flea · Illustrations of On the Morning of Christ's Nativity · The Wood of the Self-Murderers: The Harpies and the Suicides · Illustrations of the Book of Job · The AncientsCriticism and scholarship Scholars and criticsScholarly worksLife of William Blake · Fearful Symmetry · A Blake Dictionary: The Ideas and Symbols of William Blake · Blake: Prophet Against Empire · Witness Against the BeastWikimedia Categories:- 1794 poems
- Poetry by William Blake
- Fictional tigers
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