William Blake’s “The Tyger” Syntax in William Blake’s “The Tyger”
Sentence forms and types
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? fragments (in context, they are the subject)
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? fragments (and subject) appositives
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? fragments (and subject) appositives compound sentence
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? fragments (and subject) appositives compound sentence interrogative sentence, rhetorical question
In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire? simple sentences
In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare seize the fire? simple sentences interrogative sentences, rhetorical questions
And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? & what dread feet? dependent adverb clause
And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? & what dread feet? dependent adverb clause compound sentences
And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? & what dread feet? dependent adverb clause compound sentences fragments
And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart And what shoulder, & what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? & what dread feet? dependent adverb clause compound sentences fragments interrogative sentences, rhetorical questions
What the hammer. what the chain. In what furnace was thy brain What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
What the hammer. what the chain. In what furnace was thy brain What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp? simple sentences
What the hammer. what the chain. In what furnace was thy brain What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp? simple sentences fragments
What the hammer. what the chain. In what furnace was thy brain What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp? simple sentences fragments interrogative sentences, rhetorical questions
When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? dependent adjective clause
When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? dependent adjective clause dependent adverb clause
When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? dependent adjective clause dependent adverb clause dependent adverb clause
When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? dependent adjective clause dependent adverb clause dependent adverb clause compound-complex sentence
When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? dependent adjective clause dependent adverb clause dependent adverb clause compound-complex sentence simple sentence
When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? dependent adjective clause dependent adverb clause dependent adverb clause compound-complex sentence simple sentence yes/no questions
When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? dependent adjective clause dependent adverb clause dependent adverb clause compound-complex sentence simple sentence yes/no questions interrogative sentences, rhetorical questions
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? appositives
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? appositives compound sentence
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? appositives compound sentence interrogative sentence, rhetorical question
Syntactical structures
Tyger! Tyger! burning bright, In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? Sentence subject repeated and emphasized by exclamation points appositive modifying subject prepositional phrase modifying subject
rhetorical question modal verb to emphasize ironic doubt Tyger! Tyger! burning bright, In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? rhetorical question modal verb to emphasize ironic doubt
In what distant deeps or skies, Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare sieze the fire? question of “where” question of “which” question of “who” rhetorical questions Absence of auxiliary verb “does” emphasizes “dare”
Question marks are used ironically instead of exclamation points In what distant deeps or skies, Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare sieze the fire? Question marks are used ironically instead of exclamation points Modified question form to create parallelism
More rhetorical questions… And what shoulder, and what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? and what dread feet? Repetition of the conjunction “and” emphasizes the quick succession of events More rhetorical questions…
represents separation in nature from what is good And what shoulder, and what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? and what dread feet? caesura represents separation in nature from what is good
More ironic question marks modal verb to emphasize ironic doubt And what shoulder, and what art, Could twist the sinews of thy heart? And when thy heart began to beat, What dread hand? and what dread feet? modal verb to emphasize ironic doubt More ironic question marks lack of verbs create fragments which emphasize emotion
lack of verbs create fragments What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp? caesura lack of verbs create fragments
Absence of auxiliary verb “does” emphasizes “dare” What the hammer? what the chain? In what furnace was thy brain? What the anvil? what dread grasp Dare its deadly terrors clasp? More ironic question marks Absence of auxiliary verb “does” emphasizes “dare”
inversion adjective clause emphasizes the “almost answer” to the When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? inversion adjective clause emphasizes the “almost answer” to the rhetorical questions
When the stars threw down their spears And water'd heaven with their tears, Did he smile his work to see? Did he who made the Lamb make thee? These are honest to goodness question marks!!! Use of the auxiliary verbs here makes these questions stand out from the others.
This is the same as the first stanza except for this one Tyger! Tyger! burning bright, In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? This is the same as the first stanza except for this one word. The modal verb “could” is replaced by the verb “dare” to reinforce the rhetorical nature of the question.