The Tyger
William Blake
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 water'd 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?
Of note
The poem's first appearance in ordinary type came in an unlikely place: A Father's Memoirs of His Child (1806), Benjamin Heath Malkin's tribute to his son, who had died in 1802. Malkin's introduction included five of Blake's lyrics, with this one printed as "The Tiger."
Poetry Tale: The Least Terrifying Tiger in Literature
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TEXT PROVENANCE · First published in Songs of Experience (1794). Text reference: Poetry Foundation, which credits the facsimile reproduction in William Blake: The Complete Illuminated Books (William Blake Trust and Tate Gallery, 2009). The web transcription, not a specific original plate or manuscript, is the reference; existing wording is retained.
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