I am going to analyse the text by examining its form, language, audience and purpose as well as looking at how Blake's use of specific literary features assists him to communicate his message through the poem in reference to the guiding questions.
- Blake's selection of poetry as his medium of choice could be due to: Poems being a short and more digestible means of strong emotional communication or poems being more popular than other mediums at the time. PURPOSE: - The purpose of the poem is likely to communicate to this audience the nature of the abhorrent living conditions of Londoners during Blake's time. AUDIENCE: Now for the audience. - The likely target audience of the poem can be split up into two groups of Londoners (due to title). - The upper class of London due to the nature of the poem's criticism being aimed at them. - The lower class as they would most closely relate to the poem.
LANGUAGE: I will now discuss language features. - Repetition "every" - Alliteration "weakness, woe" - Oxymoron "marriage hearse" - Symbolism "youthful harlot" - Double-entendre "black'ning" (soot and morals) - Imagery "hear, cry curse" - "chartered" Symbolism: map - restricted Repetition: repeated to convey nature of streets - "Mind-forged manacles" Metaphor Symbolism - "runs in blood down palace walls" Irony: (English soldiers dying for French monarchy) Juxtaposition: (soldier's fate and palace dwellers)
- Blake's selection of poetry as his medium of choice could be due to: Poems being a short and more digestible means of strong emotional communication or poems being more popular than other mediums at the time. PURPOSE: - The purpose of the poem is likely to highlight the unhappiness and mistreatment of children by parents and the church during the industrial revolution in England. AUDIENCE: Now for the audience. - The likely target audience of the poem can be split up into two groups: parents and religious people LANGUAGE: I will now discuss language features.
- Symbolism "thing" - Oxymoron "heaven of our misery" - Alliteration "weep, weep, woe" - Allusion "god, church, priest" - Irony "done me no injury" - Juxtaposition in 2nd stanza "I was happy, smiled" vs "clothes of death, notes of woe" - "black, snow" Juxtaposition: shows contrast between innocence + experience Metaphor: black thing = sweep, snow = innocence
PURPOSE: - The purpose of the poem is to criticise the slavery of black people evident in England during the industrial revolution. AUDIENCE: Now for the audience. - The likely target audience of the poem can be split up into three groups: Slaves because they are the ones affected. People in positions of power because they can do something about it.
General population to raise awareness about the issue. (slave trade accounted for 5% of national British income) LANGUAGE: I will now discuss language features. - Juxtaposition "I am black, but oh my soul is white" (contrast of opposites - appearance is superficial) - Symbolism "black, white", "golden tent", "learn'd the heat to bear" (soul to be freed at death OR end of slavery) - Irony "bereaved of light" (he is a slave but - Metaphor "gives his heat away", "beams of love" - Repetition "gives" - Allusion "god", "His" - Inclusive language "we" (black and white equal), "our" - Simile "like a shady grove", "like lambs we joy" - Setting (second stanza)
Beginning and ending are repeated which shows there is no answer to the rhetorical questions regarding who created the tiger (reader decides) This also frames the poem. - Blake's selection of poetry as his medium of choice could be due to: Poems being a short and more digestible means of strong emotional communication. Poems being more popular than other mediums at the time. PURPOSE: - The purpose of the poem is likely to challenge readers to question the existence of the tiger and how god could create animals with such contrasting features. "Did he who made the lamb make thee?" Blake writing poems on each conveys the idea of balance.
"Showing the two contrary states of the human soul" - Secondarily, the poem could be seen as being written to promote the belief of god because what else could have create such a thing as the tiger? AUDIENCE: Now for the audience. - The likely target audience of the poem can be seen as primarily adults due to the deep nature of the subject being discussed. - Younger children may not understand the ideas within the text and thus by elimination the target audience could be people of age/adults. LANGUAGE: I will now discuss language features.
- Repetition "Tyger", "dare" - Symbolism "shoulder", "lamb" - Alliteration "burning bright" - Rhetorical questions "what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?" - Personification "did he smile his work to see?" - Imagery "hammer, chain, furnace, anvil"
repetition of second person) Various reader responses (modern vs old?) and own perspective Consider author's intention Explain points in context (add detail to context when relevant) Conclusion: - Brief summary - Author's purpose - Overall effect - End with impact
- PEE STRUCTURE. - Minimalise GENERALISATIONS.