Themes

The central themes of the poem “The Tyger” by William Blake are religion, the antagonism between good and evil, and awe and wonder.

Religion

“The Tyger” is clearly a poem that goes into some deep religious questions. The speaker’s main concern is not with the tiger’s actions, but with who created the tiger and how.

Observe the way he does not take a certain faith for granted, but refers to both ancient Greek and Scandinavian myths along with Christian religion. He associates the creator with Greek hero, Prometheus, who stole the fire from the gods or with Thor and his forging hammer and anvil:

“What the hand, dare seize the fire?” (l. 8)

“What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?” (ll. 13-14)

Only towards the end of the poem, the poet refers to Christian stories and symbols: the fall of Lucifer, and Jesus Christ:

“When the stars threw down their spears,
And ...