One often wonders about the creation of certain creatures. William Blake, a poet during the 1790's, questions the creation of the tiger, in his poem, The Tyger. He tries to bring the reader to a confused state, as to whether the tiger is a good animal, or a dreadful one. Through certain poetic devices, being imagery, juxtaposition, and allusion, he brings this state of confusion across.
To start off, Blake's usage of imagery helps bring across confusion. In fact, the first two lines of the poem use imagery. "Tyger! Tyger! burning bright/ in the forests of the night (1-2)" is a very in-depth quote. The "forests of the night" part gives one the feeling of panicky fear and being alone, since when hearing of dark forests, one pictures dangers lurking that can't be seen. Contrary to this, though, the "burning bright" part starts off the confusion. Generally, burning is something that is associated with Hell or pain or suffering. But when the bright bit is used, it manages to bring the reader back to one spot, confusion. The reason being for this is that brightness is a wonderful thing, especially when one has been in the forests of the night. The two words in conjunction can mean two things. One of them being that the tiger is a good, lifesaving creature, and the other being that the tiger is a creature that has a passionate hatred for mankind. This is enough to confuse the middle-class worker, which is what Blake was hoping for.
Secondly, Blake's usage of juxtaposition is quite stark to bring across his wanted state of confusion. He places the two images of the tiger, as mentioned in the above quote, right next to each other for comparison, since they are obviously different. The good part of the tiger can be seen as the benevolent and kind savior that has been created for the better of mankind, and to be the one that saves the human race from any ill will. But, the dark interpretation of the tiger is nothing to be laughed at, considering its natural talents as a hunter.
