Read the poem. The Tyger
by William Blake

Tyger, tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

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?

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?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tyger, tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Read these lines from the poem.

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

The "distant deeps or skies" allude to hell or heaven.

How does the allusion affect the meaning of this poem?

The speaker believes that the tiger is a monster sent to destroy him.

The allusion reveals that the speaker admires the tiger’s power and wishes to possess that power as well.

The speaker wonders if the tiger is good or evil.

The allusion demonstrates the speaker’s deeply held religious beliefs.