It could easily symbolise purest evil (the fires of hell) or just pure strength and force, whose morality is undecidable. What, in the last analysis, does Blake’s Tyger represent, or symbolise?įinally, perhaps, we can only speak in abstractions: whatever else it may symbolise, the Tyger represents a fearsome and dangerous force which has been forged under great pressure and violence (in the artisan’s smithy). Of course, the most powerful symbol in ‘The Tyger’ is the tiger itself: the animal carries meaningful symbolism in its own right.Īs we remarked in the section on fire symbolism, the association between the tiger and its ‘burning’, fiery appearance invites two very different readings. So the fact that these first creations now look upon the newly created tiger with horror, envy, or resignation conveys the idea that the creation of the tiger far outdoes the creation of the stars. The idea is that the beautiful, heavenly stars – themselves sources of colossal heat – were so struck with grief when they first saw the Tyger that they threw down their spears, perhaps in despair, or perhaps in an act of surrender (spears are, after all, weapons).Īccording to the Book of Genesis, the stars were among the first things God created when he made the universe.
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