William Blake

William Blake's famous poem "The Tyger" has been given numerous interpretations over the years. I've seen the poem reprinted on posters for zoo exhibits on tigers, seen the poem on t-shirts, and various other places. Yet, many people seem to not realize that one of the most common interpretations of "the tyger" is that the poem itself is about Lucifer. These people who have the posters on their walls or the poem on their t-shirt would not think the poem so nice if they knew this, or so I believe. In the poem, when Blake speaks about "the forests of the night," there is an allusion to Dante's Inferno (Blake 88). The dark forest mazes in the Inferno conduct the passageway to hell in Dante's epic poem. There are other examples to support the belief that the poem is about Lucifer, such as alluding to Icarus's fall which parallel Lucifer's own fall from grace in the quote "on what wings dare he aspire?" (Blake 89). Perhaps most clearly, however, is the quotation which references Jesus Christ (also known as the "Lamb of God") which states: "Did he who made the Lamb make thee?" (Blake 89). Now, if Blake wrote this poem about Lucifer for what reason did he do it? I believe that Blake wrote this poem to describe his musings on Lucifer. Blake was well known for writing a great deal on the nature of heaven and hell and also widely wrote poetry which dealt heavily with Christian mythology. Perhaps also, Blake was merely inspired to write a work that honored Dante and Milton for their works.