The Tyger: Poet & Context

Blake and his Context

William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker who is now considered a pivotal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age.
His poetry often manifests the inherent contradictions of Romantic thought. His work reflects the dichotomy between darkness and light, innocence and experience, and good and evil.
Blake lived during a time of intense social change in which the Industrial Revolution significantly altered the face of England. His work often critically engages with these social and political changes.

“The Tyger” is part of Blake’s collection “Songs of Innocence and Experience”, serving as a contrasting pair to “The Lamb” from the Innocence collection.
In “The Tyger,” Blake ponders on the creator of the creature, questioning the entity behind the creation of such a fearsome and dangerous animal.
The poem can be seen to take a critical look at traditional Christian views of God, where God is benevolent, kind, and responsible for all things pure and innocent.
Instead, it calls attention to the potential darkness and fearsome power in God’s nature, given the tiger’s violent characteristics.

Blake was never formally trained in a conventional school and largely educated himself. He was highly influenced by the Bible, Neoplatonism and the works of Paracelsus, Jacob Boehme, and Emanuel Swedenborg.
Blake’s radical political views also influenced his art, and he was publicly critical of the Church, monarchy, and societal institutions which he believed perpetuated oppression and inequality.
It was his ability to combine these influences alongside his art that allowed him to explore complex themes like those of “The Tyger”.