The Tiger by William Blake

The Tiger
by William Blake

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burned the fire of thine eyes?
Oh what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

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

What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dead 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?

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?


Modern Poetry is weak and pathetic before this 18th Century Man doing his thing with honour, fear, and respect: Wild nature unconquerable, what kind of man are you afore it, are you in chains and futily chaining wildness that will destroy you for your presumption? Bow before the tiger of your fears, for some things seem to be beyond the terror of God.

Read by Adam Sandell 2008

[post note, yes I did do this one very late under heavy inebriation after the pub, rather quickly, and posted it, but frankly it is still has character, so it stays up in spite of the dismal imaging and perhaps I can do a remake - to be fair I have been working up this poem for a couple of months, obviously not as long as Nobby (which is why his is more entertaining), but I think you need to know what assonance and onomatopoeia means in practice to read this one as I have tried to]

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[GirHelloKitty]

When Blake wrote the word symmetry that follows the line of eye he portrayed it to be said like "symmitri" with the intent that the word eye and the word symmetry rhymed.

[AdamSandell]

@GirHelloKitty

Blake was from London - "symmitri" would be most unnatural round here - he would more likely have a softened t and swallowed short ee like tree

I think it sounds good as a poem as is - so why would he not have used a normal pronunciation. He certain did not feel obliged to do strict full rhyme in his other poems in the songs of... series. So I think you are incorrect on this point, but am not basing this on anything scholarly.

[tony77345]

The guy sounds like he's reading it on the toilet.

[alanbstard4]

the best reading is by Kenneth More, the actor, as part of a documentary, the name of which, escapes me

[wolfpup3311]

Reader tried too hard to make this poem sound scary. *shakes head* He sounds like a pirate...

[YAMANvlogs]

i just made a project on this poem! i love it! I posted my vid on youtube :)

[LoveBitesz]

This is great! The consonance of the "r" sound was exaggerated to a point where it sounds like a tiger is reading the poem. That leaves a great impression however I'm not exactly sure if that was the right approach since the poem is addressed TO the tyger.

[TheBlindPig1]

So Blake, im impotent. What an age. Could you father a people? Man finds his worth in his industry and destruciton. Paradise is something they refuse to believe in. Hitler fathered israel. remember the seeds. bye.

[Rowan07001484]

@Gisburne2000

i always assumed it would be, the other way around. i have never thought the word eye, would be prenounced i,e. vene then then it would not ryme.

[Gisburne2000]

@GirHelloKitty It was the word 'eye' which would then have been pronounced differently, as 'ee' rather than 'i'. However, to pronounce the word today as it would have been spoken by Blake is more jarring to the ear than is the fact that 'eye' and 'symmetry' do not today rhyme closely, so it's probably better to stick with modern pronunciations... unless the whole poem is read with 18th-century accent of course!

[xxsmexxibbzxx]

LOL

[ZagoOlina]

He says it in a very strange way!!