THE TIGER | Critical Appreciation | Question-Answers

'THE TIGER'
Writer : William Blake

William Blake was a famous romantic poet. He expressed himself in simple language so that the reader could feel the depth of common everyday things. He was also an engraver and a famous painter. He was a philosophical poet and his philosophy was that man must attempt to rise to a state of higher innocence. He wrote The Songs of Innocence and The Songs of Experience, which describes the two contrary states of human soul. "The Tiger" is taken from The Songs of Experience. The tiger is a fierce (भयानक) wild animal which stands for the necessary force to break the bonds of experiences in our soul. It is the supreme power in the forest that is symbolic of divine spirit which is not surpassed (पराजित भएको) by any other forces.
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Question-Answers Of 'The Tiger':

Question No.1. Explain the phrase "forests of the night". (रात्रीको जङ्गल भन्ने वाक्यांशलाई वर्णन गर्नुहोस्।)
Answer: The "forests of the night" simply means forest at night. Forest is the place where tiger lurks (पल्याकपुलुक गरेर हेर्छ). The forest of the night is the symbol of darkness and innocence also.

Question No. 2. What is the tone of the poem ? (कविताको स्वर कस्तो छ ?)
Answer: The tone of the poem means the writer's attitude, manner, mood and moral outlook in his/her work. The poet is describing 'tiger' but not a simple tiger of bone, flesh and blood. In this sense the tone is descriptive (वर्णात्मक). The description of unique thing is amazing. The poem is full of emotional questions without any expectation of answer since it is embedded (निहित) in the questions itself. The rhetorical questions generate an intense (तिब्र) excitement.

The poet is indirectly questioning the unequal creation of God in the poem. As described earlier, the tiger is not an ordinary tiger rather it is the symbol for the fierce forces in the soul that are necessary to break the bonds of experience. The 'lamb' in this poem signifies (जनाउँछ) the state of innocence, the physical feature of it (meek and delicate) is also symbolic of it. In this sense the poet sets the tone of contrast between the super power and the powerless among the creatures created by the same god.

Question No. 3. Why do the stars throw down their spears ? What are these spears ? (किन ताराले आफ्ना भालाहरु उँधोतिर फाल्छन् ? ती भालाहरु के हुन् ?)
Answer: Stars are the symbol of rationality (विवेकशीलता), imposed regularity, law and order. Law and order is always afraid of super power. So, the 'stars' disapproved (असहमत भए) of the god's action to create the tiger as contrary power to lamb. So the stars threw spears as the sign of defeat and watered the heaven with their tears.

Question No. 4. Study the last line of the opening and the closing stanzas. Is there a significant difference between the questions beginning with "Could" and "Dare" ? Explain. (सुरुको र अन्तिम स्लोकको अन्तिम हरफको अध्ययन गर्नुहोस्। "Could" र "Dare" बाट सुरु हुने प्रश्नहरुमा खास त्यस्तो महत्वपूर्ण फरक केही छ ?)
Answer: The last stanza is the repetitive form of the first stanza with slight (थोरै) but significant change in word and their meaning. "Could" used in the last line of the first stanza indicates the ability or knowledge of god to give a definite shape to the tiger. But the "Dare" in the last line of the last stanza means something different. The rhetorical question is related to the challenge to do something dangerous or difficult.

Question No. 5: Explain how the wonderful strength and skill of the maker is brought out through the description of the tiger. From where are the different parts of the tiger brought to the "assembly site" and how are they put together. (बाघको बर्णन गर्दा निर्माताको अचम्मको बल र सीप कसरी स्पस्ट पारिएको छ ? व्याख्या गर्नुहोस्। बाघका अङ्गहरु जोड्ने स्थलमा कहाँबाट ल्याइएको हो र कसरी तिनलाई जोडिन्छ ?)
Answer: The poet is describing the tiger, not the tiger of blood, bone and flesh. The physical feature of tiger is fearful and extra-ordinary. The eyes shine like blazing fire (दन्कँदो आगो) through the thick forests in dark nights. This fearful form must have been made by some immortal hands. The materials needed to create such an extraordinary creature must have been brought from distant sky or sea. The hands to twist the body to give it distinct form must be very strong and powerful. The hammer and the anvil and the furnace in which the brain of the tiger was kept must have been the extra ordinary ones. In this sense the maker of such an extraordinary creature must be divine. No mortal can create such a ferocious (भयंकर) animal into so harmonious (मिलेको) shape.

Question No. 6: In the original version of "The Tiger", the poet's intention was to let the last line of the third stanza run into the next stanza as a single sentence. However, dissatisfied with the lines he wrote, he deleted them all. The deleted stanza is printed below in italics. What do you think would have been gained or lost by adding this stanza to the poem ? ("The Tiger" भन्ने कविताको सुरुको खण्डमा तेस्रो स्लोकको अन्तिम पङ्क्तिलाई अर्को स्लोक सँग मिलाएर एउटै वाक्यको लेख्ने कविको चाहना थियो। तर आफैँले लेखेका हरफहरु सँग असन्तुष्ट भइ कविले सबै हटाइ दिए। हटाइएको स्लोक तल इटालीक अक्षरमा छापिएको छ। हटाइएको स्लोक कवितामा समावेश गरे के फाईदा वा बेफाइदा होला भन्ने सोच्नुहुन्छ ?)
What dread hand and what dread feet
Could fetch it form the furnace deep
And in thy horrid ribs dare steep
In the well of sanguine woe
In what clay and in what mould
Were thy eyes of fury rolled.
Answer: Run on lines in the poem show something on process or the continuation of something. The poet is describing the process about how such ferocious (डरलाग्दो) creature was created. The poet's intention to let the last line of the third stanza run into the next stanza as a single sentence would have lost the sharpness and precision of the poem. The poem is enough to convey the poet's message without adding the above stanza to the poem.

Question No. 7: Attempt a scansion of stanza two. (दोस्रो स्लोकको scansion गरेर विश्लेषण गर्नुहोस्।)

Answer: The scansion of stanza two is as follows:

/         U          /       U       /           U         /
In        What    dist   ant     deeps    or        skies
       /         U          /       U       /           U         /
       Burnt  the       fi       re     of          thine   eyes ?
       /         U         /        U       /           U        /
       On       what    wings dare   he         as       pire ?
       /         U         /        U       /           U        /
       what   the      hand   dare   seize     the     fire ?

Word Meanings in Nepali of 'The Tiger'
'The Tiger' Nepali Word Meanings
Nepali Meanings 'The Tiger'

Word	Meaning
immortal	that will not die (अमर)
symmetry	beauty of form arising from balanced proportions (सम्पूर्ण कुरा मिलेको सुन्दर आकृति)
deeps	oceans (समुन्द्र - गहिरो भन्ने अर्थमा)
thine	your (तिम्रो)
aspire	to have a strong desire to gain something (प्रवल इच्छा प्रकट हुनु या गर्नु)
seize	catch (समाउनु)
twist	to revolve, turn around (बटार्नु)
sinews	nerves (स्नायु)
dread	inspiring awe (डर लाग्दो, भयंकर)
furnace	large tank to heat something (भट्टी, आगो लगाएर तताउने ठाउँ)
anvil	a steel faced iron block on which to hammer something (कामीको आरनमा हुने लि, जसमाथि फलाम पिटिन्छ)
terrors	extreme fears (डर)
stars	twinkling mass in the sky (तारा), (Blake ले नियमित र सहजता एवम समझदारीको लागि प्रयोग गर्ने symbol.)

Critical Appreciation Of 'The Tiger':


William Blake presents the tiger as the symbol of fierce force in the soul that is necessary to break the bonds of experience. It also stands for a divine spirit that will not be subdued (पराजित भएको) by restrictions, but will arise against established rules and conventions. Fallen from a state of innocence to a state of experience, man must attempt to rise to the state of higher innocence. This is the philosophy of the poet. According to him, to rise to the state of higher innocence the bonds of experience should be broken down. So the tiger, not an ordinary tiger of blood and flesh, is the symbol of that force necessary to break down the bonds of experience.

Nepali Translation Of 'The Tiger' Is Provided Below In Comment Box. Thanks!

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