The Tiger
William Blake. 1757–1827
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 5
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On 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? 10
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 dread grasp 15
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? 20
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
William Blake. 1757–1827
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 5
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On 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? 10
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 dread grasp 15
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? 20
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
I hesitate to tell you, but that picture in your heading is so scary! and not doing your blog justice, as those bug eyes stare at you, and is not pleasing at all. It's up to you, but, I would change it.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I think the previous writer has a lot of nerve saying that. I think those eyes are so well done and so amazing. That reflection is amazing.
ReplyDeleteNow I can say how awesome that tiger looks and the poem is perfect! The colors are wonderful.
:-) Thanks, Teri! I tend to ignore writers who post anonymously. They lose credibility when they don't tell me their names! That's from one of my favorite paintings I've done, so it's staying. It's my blog, innit? :-D
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the comment on the tiger - it was fun to do!
Hmmm... I like the eyes in the heading, myself, and I remember the painting of the sweet gorilla very very well! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd THIS TIGER is awesome --well done -- fantastic! And to put the poem with it, well...
Amazing tiger...I love the colors you've used here.
ReplyDeleteAnd the eyes at the top of the page? Wonderful.
Hi Diahn!
ReplyDeleteI love the looseness of the picture - like he can't be contained. :)
I also wanted to send you this -Check out my friend Kevin's take on this poem - he's made the text completely symmetrical!
http://kevinpease.livejournal.com/127949.html