Student Question
What sound effects are present in William Blake's "The Tyger"?
Quick answer:
In "The Tyger," Blake uses sound effects such as rhythm, parallelism, and repetition to enhance the poem's energy and urgency. The repeated structure "What the..." quickens the pace, while the consistent rhyme scheme supports the poem's flow. Assonance and consonance are also prominent, with repeated vowel and consonant sounds like the long "i" and "t" sounds, adding to the poem's memorability and intensity.
One of the notable aspects of this incredible poem is the relentless energy of the tiger that is described and how it is matched in the relentless energy and pace of the poem. Sound effects are incredibly important to this poem, as the rhythm helps create the sound effects that make this so memorable. In addition, you would do well to pay attention to the impact of parallelism, which is the repetition of structure, on the poem. Consider the following stanza:
What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was they brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
If you read this stanza out aloud you will see that the parallelism in the repeated structure of “What the…” helps to quicken the pace and lend urgency to the poem as the speaker rushes on to consider the origin of this fascinating and terrifying...
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creature which is so full of energy and life. You might also like to consider the impact of the rhyme scheme on the poem and how it sounds as well.
What are some sound effects in William Blake's poem "The Tyger"?
The most prominent sound device employed as a figure of speech sound scheme is that of repetition in Blake's poem "The Tyger" from Songs of Experience (1794). There is the stanzaic repetition of stanzas one and six. There is the repetition of what-questions in stanzas one through four that give way to when- and did-questions in stanza five before returning to the final repetition in stanza six of the beginning what-question from stanza one.
Blake also employs the repetition of assonance and consonance. Stanza one illustrated use of assonance (the repetition of vowel sounds) in the repetition of the long "i" sound (Tyger, bright, night, thy, eye). More frequent than assonance is Blake's use of consonance (the repetition of consonant sounds). The first stanza repeats "t" for three lines and the "f" in the final line of the 6 stanza quatrain in an aabb rhyme scheme that is varied in stanzas one and six with an aaab rhyme. Stanza two, as another example, repeats "d" while stanza three combines the consonance of "t" and "d" and adds "s."