1. WAGOLL C GRADE ANSWER:
In his poem, Blake conveys a number of ideas about the tiger to his readers. Firstly,
at the beginning of the poem, he suggests that the tiger stands out and is a strong
creature, describing it as “burning bright” even during the night. The phrase “burning
bright” means that it is on fire and is shining for all to see. By implying it is on fire, it
suggests that the animal is very powerful and possibly a destructive force, like a fire.
Blake uses alliteration in this description to emphasise the idea that the tiger stands
out above all other creatures and, as such, is perhaps the most powerful but also the
most destructive. He suggests to the reader through this description that the tiger is
the boldest and strongest in all the animal kingdom.
Blake also suggests that the tiger is dark and twisted when he asks what could “twist
the sinews of thy heart?” The phrase “twist the sinews” means that parts of the
tiger’s heart are not normal. The word “twist” in particular suggests that something
has corrupted the heart of the tiger, presenting a dark and disturbing image of a
heart that has been mangled up and perhaps turned evil. Blake therefore makes the
reader think that the tiger is perhaps quite sinister and evil, not to be trusted, unlike
other animals.
To support this, Blake also suggests the tiger is dangerous through the phrase
“deadly terrors”. The word “deadly” means that it can kill and the word “terrors”
suggests that it scares other animals, possibly to death. The phrase suggests that
the tiger is not a nice creature, linking to the idea of its twisted heart, implying that it
enjoys frightening others and is a lethal animal. This in turn makes the reader think
the animal has been corrupted into enjoying killing other things and is something to
be afraid of.
Finally, Blake suggests that the tiger is not like other animals and perhaps does not
come from the same creator when he asks the rhetorical question “did he who made
the Lamb make thee?” This question suggests that the tiger cannot have been made
by God (who made the lamb), because the lamb is sweet and innocent, but the tiger
seems evil and corrupt. As such, Blake asks this rhetorical question to get his
readers to question whether God did indeed make all creatures or whether there is a
more evil force at work. He may also have asked this question to get his reader’s to
begin to question why God would allow evil, in the form of a tiger, to exist at all.

2. TOP TIPS FOR WRITNG AN A* ANSWER
 Remember the question is about the POET – your answer should be about
him/her (use the phrase ‘the poet’ or ‘the writer’)
 Back up your primary quotes for each paragraph with secondary ones to show
patterns in the language
 Focus on the ‘journey of the poem’ What does the poet set up at the start?
How does this change in the middle? Why might the poet end the poem the
way he/she does? (Use phrases like ‘we can also see this…’ and ‘As the
poem develops…’)
 Identify literary techniques used and explain how and why they have been
used - for what intended effect by the poet?
 When analysing literary techniques, use precise adjectives and adverbs to
evaluate what makes the techniques good (e.g. ‘moving’ and ‘visceral’ not just
‘effective’; ‘subtly’ and ‘powerfully’ not just ‘successfully’)
 Explain how quotes have created imagery that come together to create an
overall idea or impression
 For one or two quotations, try and think of implications of the language that
nobody else has thought of
 Consider how things have been symbolically used to represent a bigger idea -
what comments is the poet trying to provide here?
 Make reference to the poet’s structural choices and why he has done them
A* WAGOLL ANSWER:
In his poem, Blake conveys a number of ideas about the tiger to his readers. Firstly,
at the beginning of the poem, he suggests that the tiger stands out and is a strong
creature, describing it as “burning bright” even during the night. The phrase “burning
bright” means that it is on fire and is shining for all to see. By implying it is on fire, it
suggests that the animal is very powerful and possibly a destructive force, like a fire.
Blake uses alliteration in this description to emphasise the idea that the tiger stands
out above all other creatures and, as such, is perhaps the most powerful but also the
most destructive. This is also suggested by the fact that he calls the tiger “fearful” in
the opening stanza, implying that the tiger is something that we should be afraid of,
possibly because of its sheer strength. He asks what “immortal hand” could “frame”
the creature, suggesting that the tiger cannot be contained or controlled, suggesting
to the reader that the tiger is the boldest and strongest in all the animal kingdom and
cannot be controlled by either man or immortal god.
Blake also suggests that the tiger is dark and twisted when he asks what could “twist
the sinews of thy heart?” The phrase “twist the sinews” means that parts of the
tiger’s heart are not normal. The word “twist” in particular suggests that something
has corrupted the heart of the tiger, presenting a dark and disturbing metaphorical
image of a heart that has been mangled up and perhaps turned evil. This idea of
corruption is also supported when Blake suggests that the tiger was made in a
“furnace”, again creating images of flames (also continued throughout the poem
when Blake mentions the “fire in thine eyes” and again the fact that the tiger is still

3. “burning bright” at the end of the poem), insinuating that perhaps God did not make
the tiger at all, but rather the tiger was made in the flames of hell. Blake therefore
makes the reader think that the tiger is perhaps quite sinister and evil and not to be
trusted.
To support this, Blake also suggests the tiger is dangerous by mentioning the tiger’s
“deadly terrors” that may have been held in a “dread grasp”. The word “deadly”
means that it can kill and the word “terrors” suggests that it scares other animals,
possibly to death, suggesting that the tiger is a lethal, evil creature, linking to the idea
of its twisted heart, implying that it enjoys frightening and terrorising others and
causing death and destruction in its wake. This in turn again makes the reader think
the animal has been corrupted in its very heart and nature into enjoying killing other
things and is something to therefore fear. Only something more fearful – something
that we might “dread” (such as the devil) – would dare to create, confront and control
such a beast.
Finally, Blake suggests that the tiger is not like other animals. He asks the rhetorical
question “did he who made the Lamb make thee?” which highlights the implied doubt
all the way through the poem that God could not have made such an animal. By
using rhetorical questions throughout the poem, Blake creates an atmosphere of
doubt as to the how the tiger even exists and certainly makes the reader question if
God really created the tiger. By comparing the tiger to the Lamb (a name often used
to refer to Jesus Christ), Blake is making us question whether a being that created
the meek and mild and the supposed saviour of mankind could also have made this
sinister and destructive creature. He is casting doubt on the nature of God,
encouraging his readers to question why God would either have created the tiger
himself (bringing into question the kind of God he is) or why he would have let the
devil create such a beast (bringing into question the power God actually has over his
kingdom). As such, Blake is actually using the tiger to symbolically represent all
danger and evil in the world, asking why such evil exists, if God creates and
commands all in the world.