In the poem “The Tyger,” William Blake paradoxically uses the tiger as a symbol of many things at the same time. The message of the poem changes depending on which symbol you see in the poem; when the reader is able to see both of the symbols simultaneously, the poem takes on yet another meaning.
Primarily, the tiger in the poem could represent the animal itself. In this interpretation, Blake asks how God could create such an animal as the tiger, a creature that burns with both beauty and terrifying, perhaps evil power. Blake presents the tiger as something fearfully evil.
At the same time, Blake also appears to be asking another question completely unrelated to the one above. The poem seems to describe the production of human made tigers; either stuffed tiger pelts or tiger stuffed animals which try to imitate the likeness of a real tiger. To Blake, all things in nature should be considered holy. The manufacturing of tigers makes a mockery of the majestic creature. To Blake, humans cannot and should not attempt to replicate the tiger’s beauty. In the poem from this perspective, Blake asks how God could allow humans to commit such a crime against nature. Blake’s illustration of the tiger shows the reader what happens when humans turn to industrialism. In its natural setting, the tiger is a majestic and fierce predator. The tiger in the drawing looks rather stupid and stiff; it is a pale representation of a real tiger. Blake uses the words “chain,” “hammer,” and “anvil,” words that are all associated with human industry.
When the two above questions are fused, it appears that Blake asks in “The Tyger” how God could allow something as evil as industrialism to flourish in the world. The tiger is not a victim of industry, but it symbolizes industry itself. Industrialism, like a tiger, is both beautiful and evil to Blake. It represents tremendous opportunity for good, but at the same time, it destroys nature.
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