Feared, perhaps, because of the supernatural perfection of its physical form, given to it by that particular "immortal hand or eye-. .
In the next stanza, Blake continues to have his Tyger adopt a wickedness in its features. He does this by asking "In what distant deeps or skies burnt the fire of thine eyes?- (5-6). By giving the Tyger a "fire- in its eyes, the reader is, yet again, lead to believe the Tyger is a minion of Hell. This is further fortified in the reader's mind by suggesting that this "fire- "burnt- in "distant deeps-. These "deeps- would, of course, be the pits of Hell. The strange suggestion that this "fire- could have "burnt- in the sky is a different matter, altogether. Here, Blake surprises the reader by insinuating that, perhaps, God in Heaven could actually have created this awesome and fearful creature. Referring directly to the Bible and, in particular, to Milton's Paradise Lost, Blake goes on to ask "On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire?- (7-8). In Christian mythology, it is well known how Satan was once an angel serving God in Heaven. However, Satan grew jealous of God's power and longed to share in His glory. Thus, Blake makes mention of this story by taking the "fire- in the Tyger's eyes, attributing this with the images of Hell and it's ruler - Satan - then giving Satan his "wings- again, and leading him to "aspire- to God's level of power. Blake then goes on to mention the "hand- again, but, this time, it is to represent the greedy hand of Satan, yearning to "seize the fire- of Heaven. This particular "fire- that exists in Blake's heaven could trace back to Greek mythology at this point, if the reader were to adopt the idea of God as, in fact, being Zeus, the wielder of fire bolts. From here on in, assuming the reader's understanding of Satan's fall from grace to becoming the lord of Hell, and also with the agreement that every mention of "fire- is that belonging to the heavenly fire of God, the reader begins to discover how God, indeed, created both evil and good.
