UNIT

02
Poems by William Blake & Ted
Hughes

Names of Sub-Units

Introduction to William Blake’s Biography, Poem: The Tyger by William Blake, Ted Hughes- Biography,
Poem: Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes

Overview
The following content is an in-depth study of the poem Tyger and the Lamb by William Blake and
Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes. It highlights their life events, their work and achievements done with
assessment questions to study.

Learning Objectives

In this unit, you will learn to:

 Know about the life, works and achievement of William Blake and Ted Hughes
 Describe the Poem of Blake - The Tyger
 Analyse the Poem of Ted Hughes - Hawk Roosting

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit, you would:

 Understand the contribution of Blake and Hughes in Literature
 Gain Insight into the Blake’s Mythology
 Know the theme and motives of poem - Hawk Roosting
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Pre-Unit Preparatory Material

 https://mabuty.com/william-blake-and-ted-hughes-essay/

2.1 INTRODUCTION
William Blake and Ted Huges both have contriuted alot in the history of literuatre and are one of the
renovned writers to their time. William Blake was a poet, painter, engraver, and visionary who tried
to reform the social order as well as men’s minds. Though he was widely ignored or rejected during his
lifetime, he is now regarded as one of the main lights of English poetry, and his work has only increased
in popularity. On the other hand, English Poet, Ted Hughes has written most the verse that are without
sentimentality, emphasizing the cunning and savagery of animal life in harsh, sometimes disjunctive
lines.

2.2 WILLIAM BLAKE – BIOGRAPHY

William Blake was known for his English poems, engravings, and paintings. As a man who was a bold
creative individualist in both thought and art, he combined poetic and pictorial genius to explore vital
issues in politics, religion, and psychology.
This talented author was born on November 28, 1757 in London as the second son of a hosier and
haberdashery. Except for a couple of years in Sussex, he spent his entire life in London and the same
streets took on spiritual symbolism in his writings, much as the place names of the Holy Land did in the
writings of the biblical prophets, whom Blake always noted as his spiritual ancestors. He had visions of
trees full with angels from the time he was a child. If they were not true mysterious visions, it is plausibly
best to regard them non hallucinated, but as the artist’s intense spiritual and sensory realisation of the
practical world.
When Blake turned 10 years old, he started to attend drawing school and then later at 14, he began
a 7-year apprenticeship to an engraver, that Blake wished to earn his living for the rest of his life. He
studied at the Royal Academy of Arts when he was 21, where he formed a violent abhorrence for the
academic canons of excellence in art.
A girl named Catherine Boucher had fallen in love with him at first sight and consequently, both ended
up getting married in August 1782. Mrs. Blake became a valuable assistant once he taught her to read
and write. His “sweet shadow of happiness,” as Blake called Catherine, was a devoted and loving wife,
despite their marriage’s typical squabbles. He prepared a description of himself on her behalf: small,
with a large head and shoulders; not attractive, but noble and expressive; his hair yellow-brown,
luxuriant, and curled like flames.
Early Works
Blake composed poems, right from his early teens and often set them into melodies of his own
composition. When Blake was 26, the Reverend and Mrs. Mathew, who ran a cultural salon and were
Blake’s benefactors, guided the printing of a collection called Poetical Sketches. The above-mentioned
book was the only Blake’s poetic works to resemble in conventional printed form.
Blake’s father passed in 1784, he then set up a print shop with a partner next door. In 1787 his beloved
younger brother and pupil Robert departed; thereafter, William claimed that Robert communicated
with him in visions and guided him. Robert and William said that the secret of their inspiration was a
new method of bright engraving, which resulted in a channel for his poems. On a plate covered with

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an acid-resisting substance, the words, design, or a fascinating combination of the two were drawn
in reverse and later applied by corrosive material. From the same etched plates, pages were printed
and later hand-colored. Almost all of Blake’s large poems and a representative of his short works were
printed using distinct methods. The French Revolution exists as printer's evidence.
Blake preferred line to chiaroscuro, or masses of light and dark, as an engraver. Rather than “blurs” (as
he called them) of color and mass, Blake’s liking for the line had a philosophical as well as an artistic
dimension. To the poet, the line described the honest clarity of the human day as specified from the
mystery of the night.
As the first major work in his new process in 1787, Blake moved to Poland Street, where he produced
Songs of Innocence (1789) which was later accompanied by Songs of Experience (1794).
Blake produced the disillusioned reaction The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790-1793) after a brief
period of admiration for the religious thinker Emanuel Swedenborg. Some of his other works are The
Book of Thel (1789-1791) and Vision of the Daughters of Albion (1793).
Blake became a political radical and was in consolation with the American and French Revolution during
its early years. Shortly after his move from, Poland street to Lambeth in 1793, Blake wrote “prophetic”
books concerning these events, keeping in mind the religious and political repression. America, Europe,
The Book of Urisen, The Book of Los, The Song of Los and The Book of Ahania are among these works (all
written between 1793 and 1795)
Blake started to flesh out the mythology he developed in these poems. In his first epic-length poem, The
Four Zoas, he described the mythology (ca. 1795-1803). This was a challenging but powerful saga, that
indicates how religious and social evils are rooted in the internal warfare of man’s basic faculties—
reason (Urisen), passion (Luvah), instinct (Tharmas) and inspiration or prophetic imagination.
Felpham Period
Blake spent years in Felpham, Sussex, between 1800 and 1803. He began to collaborate with William
Hayley, a minor poet and man of letters. Hayley had genuine intentions of healing Blake of his profitless
and improper interests and therefore ensured him commissions for refined projects. The day arose
when Blake finally revolted against this favouritism and turned down Hayley’s assistance. Their
quarrel resulted in Blake’s epic poem Milton (about 1800-1810). In this poem, he uses spiritual matters
in a disagreement with Hayley that is allegorized and exaggerates Blake’s themes. The poet Milton
renounces the safety of heaven and return to earth to rectify the errors of the Puritan heritage he had
encouraged.
A disturbing experience was faced by Blake in the year 1803 when a soldier accused him of uttering
rebellious views. Such a charge in the witch-hunting atmosphere of the time was serious indeed.
Blake was later acquitted, but he recognised in the incident further confirmation of his views on the
conflict between a sadistic society and the man of humane genius. The trial experience colors much
of Blake’s monumental final epic, Jerusalem (ca. 1804-1820).

2.2.1 His Major Works and Achievements

Appreciated posthumously, this poet’s creations, ‘Songs of Innocence’ and ‘Songs of Experience’ two
are considered the best works ever produced by Blake. The poems have become so popular that Ralph
Vaughan Williams, Joseph Holbrooke and Jeff Johnson, all these renowned composers have composed
music for the poems.

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2.2.2 Blake’s Mythology

It is closely observed that one can figure out William Blake was a puzzling poet and certainly had
nothing to do with mysticism. The study says the poet possesses mythology in his poems for obvious
reasons that can be temperament and history. Other explanations are the materials that he turned into
a wide variety of documents, some of them are mystical. In comparison to other poets, Blake had his
own artistic contents that he created or reinterpreted in his mythology which was populated by a host
of beings, where the others depicted characters from either Bible, Greek or Roman myth.

2.3 POEM: THE TYGER BY WILLIAM BLAKE

THE TYGER
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, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & 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 water’d 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?

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2.3.1 Summary and Analysis

Summary
The speaker directly addresses a tiger, imagining and appreciating how bright the tiger shines even in
dark times in the night. The speaker questions which immortal beings could have created the unbeatable
tiger’s fearsome beauty?
Wondering about the far-off depths or high skies that brought out the fire in the tiger’s eyes. Speaker is
anxious to know whether the tiger’s creator had wings, and whose hand would dare enough to create
the tiger?
The speaker dramatises the actual effort and skill that must have been utilised in creating the tiger,
wondering who would be so strong to build the tiger’s muscular body and which were those hands and
feet that made the tiger’s heart start to beat?
To the speaker’s amazement, he wonders about the tools the tiger’s creator must have used. Adding
to it he also visualises how can a tiger’s brain happened to be created in a forge. In the second last
stanza, the speaker discusses a moment when the stars surrendered their weapons and rained their
tears on heaven. The speaker once again wonders, did the creator glance at the tiger and smile at his
accomplishment? And was it the same creator who made the lamb and then did the tiger?
The speaker re-creates the tiger in the final verse, pondering not only who could create the terrifying
beast, but also who would dare to do so.
Analysis: Stanza One
The initial verse notes the tiger urging its beauty and creation. As the poem leads on gradually, the poem
makes it to some extent to debate God as an entity against the tiger. The first metaphor in William Blake’s
poem is “burning bright,” which relates to the tiger’s vibrant yellow fur. The central question refers to
existence of God. Blake questions Christian God as ‘He’, the divine entity is capable of making such a
mesmerising creature with perfect definitions and extraordinary beauty. It is left open-ended to the
reader whether he deems God capable of making such a four-legged creature. The “fearful symmetry”
can be characterised by different allusions, one for the tiger and therefore the other pertaining to a
divine deity. Sublimity, as the name implies, refers to a massive, strong, yet mysterious phenomenon. He
then inquires of God as to how it could be when he has created such a terrifying creature roaming free
in the jungle.
Stanza Two
The poet’s interest with the “Tyger” grows as he appears to be fascinated by his fire eyes. He believes the
fire in his eyes came from a heavenly body other than his own, such as hell or heaven. The poet uses the
metaphor of burning from the first poem to add to the tiger’s flaming picture. The reader is led astray
by the third line. William Blake is gradually realising the point of his argument, which is God. The poet
understands the goal of the creation being a reflection of its maker. Using the terms ‘hand,’ ‘wings,’ and
fire,’ the poet also conjures up a more mystical vision of the holy creature. These words have been stated
previously. The word ‘daring’ is used for the first time, and it is repeated in the final verse.
Stanza Three
The poet considers the bodily attributes of the almighty creator while contemplating numerous physical
aspects. The sentences are lost in translation because the poet ponders God’s bodily traits in great detail,
which could be an analogy for the tiger’s characteristics.

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Stanza Four
In the fourth verse, the almighty is questioned about all of the steps involved in the tiger’s creation. If a
blacksmith is used as a metaphor, he believes that some intelligent creator is working on his creation in
the same way as a blacksmith cuts and hammers. The stanza is rich in rhythmic poetry, which adds flair
and colour. The poet becomes irritated and embarks after examining religion.
Stanza Five
These are the poem’s ‘Christian’ verses. The first line depicts God’s arch-angel ‘Satan’ being demoted as
a symbol of defiance against God’s will. It’s also shrouded in regards to Milton’s heroic poem ‘Paradise
Lost.’ He alludes to the all-mighty creator with admiration for his completed work. By all accounts,
this stanza is solely Christian. In verse, the lamb can imply either ‘lamb from his poem’ or ‘the lamb of
God.’ The first is a direct reference to Jesus (the Lamb of God), who was sent by God to earth to die for
mankind’s sins.
Stanza Six
The first stanza is repeated as a chorus in the last stanza. The only change being that the word ‘could’
has been replaced by ‘dare’. During this portion, the poet seeks to cast doubt on the creator’s abilities.
The poet sets out to test his creator’s ability to create such a powerful monster.

2.3.2 Theme
In ‘The Tyger,’ William Blake explores the idea that every living thing must resemble its creator in some
way. The poem’s fundamental goal is slowly revealed in the early verses: pondering God in the sky above.
In essence, the tiger is a gorgeous, fascinating creature that is also lethal. This also represents God’s
character, as he considers how a God may be both loving and lethal when necessary.
Religion is one of the first themes of the poem. As a result, what quiet beings are often both violent
and magnificent simultaneously. The poet’s moral issue is mostly focused with the metaphysical being
that this poem investigates. According to the poet, a profoundly destructive living being is frequently
a creation of a purely, artful God. The notion of the tiger’s creation precludes in any way accidental or
haphazard says the poet. This tiger, he believes, is given enormous physical strength so it can wield its
dominance over inferior creatures. The final reference to the lamb could be interpreted as a nod to the
poetry. ‘The Lamb,’ as he compares and contrasts the timid living animal thereto of a tiger. The tiger was
formed as a dominant species, whereas the lamb is a weakling in comparison to the tiger. The poet left
pondering the will of the creator, his limitless power, and adoration of his creation, a three-fold theme,
on the whole, ‘The Tyger’ explains that it has unresolved questions. The poet concludes his poem with
viewpoints on both innocence and experience, a subject that he finds fascinating.

2.4 TED HUGHES - BIOGRAPHY

Ted Hughes, by name of Edward J. Hughes was born on August 17, 1930, in Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire,
England and died on October 28, 1998 in London. Hughes mostly described characters without any
sentiments, brutal life of animals and sometimes lacking consistency. At Pembroke College, Cambridge,
he found folklore and anthropology of particular interest, a priority that was reflected in a number of
his poems. In 1956, he married the American poet Plath His first collection of poetry, The Hawk Within
the Rain, was published in 1957, and the couple relocated to the United States. Other books quickly
followed, including Lupercal (1960) and Selected Poems (1962), which are often associated with Hughes
as heralding a new direction in English poem.

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Following Plath’s suicide in 1963, Hughes almost completely ceased producing poetry for nearly three
years (the couple had separated the previous year). Following that, he wrote a slew of poetry collections,
including Wodwo (1967), Crow (1970), Wolfwatching (1989), and New Selected Poems, 1957–1994 (1995). In
his Birthday Letters, he acknowledged his relationship with Plath after decades of silence (1998). Hughes
was also the executor of her estate’s executor, and he edited and released many volumes. He admitted
that he had burned numerous of her journals after being accused of editing her work before to her
suicide.

2.4.1 His Major Works

Several books for youngsters were published by Hughes, notably The Iron Man (1968; also published
because of the Iron Giant; film 1999). One of the many projects he collaborated on with photographers
and painters was Remains of Elmet (1979), in which he recounted the world of his youth.
Georges Schehadé’s play was also translated by Hughes. In 1974, a significant portion of his text was cut,
premiered as a resulting opera. A play in 2009 was staged to supported Hughes’s original libretto. His
work included adaptations of Seneca’s Oedipus (1968), nonfiction (Winter Pollen, 1994) and translations.
He edited many collections of poetry, like The Rattle Bag (1982, with Seamus Heaney). In 2007 a collection
of his correspondence, edited by Christopher Reid as Letters of Hughes was released. Concerning animal
life, a selection of his poems was published as A Hughes Bestiary (2014). Hughes was appointed as
Britain’s Poet Laureate in the year 1984.

2.4.2 Ted Hughes’s Awards and Achievements

Alongside Carol Ann Duffy’s tenure was a 10-year project running was Ted Hughes Award for New Work
in Poetry. As Poet Laureate, one is responsible for promoting the significant contributions of poets to
our cultural life. Carol Ann Duffy’s honorarium as Laureate from HM The Queen helped pay the £5000
annual prise. Alice Oswald, Kaite O’Reilly, Lavinia Greenlaw, Kae Tempest, Maggie Sawkins, Sir Andrew
Motion, David Morley, Hollie McNish, Jay Bernard and Raymond Antrobus were winners throughout
the Award’s lifetime. Winning works included radio performances, poetry in concert, poetic memoir and
more, in addition to new collections of poetry.

2.5 POEM: HAWK ROOSTING BY TED HUGHES

HAWK ROOSTING
I sit in the top of the wood, my eyes closed.
Inaction, no falsifying dream
Between my hooked head and hooked feet:
Or in sleep rehearse perfect kills and eat.
The convenience of the high trees!
The air’s buoyancy and the sub’s ray
Are of advantage to me;
And the earth’s face upward for my inspection.
My feet are locked upon the rough bark.

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It took the whole of Creation

To produce my foot, my each feather:
Now I hold Creation in my foot.
Or fly up, and revolve it all slowly—
I kill where I please because it is all mine.
There is no sophistry in my body:
My manners are tearing off heads.
The allotment of death.
For the one path of my flight is direct
Through the bones of the living.
No arguments assert my right.
The sun is behind me.
Nothing has changed since I began,
My eye has permitted no change.
I am going to keep things like this.

2.5.1 Summary
A hawk is imagined chatting and sharing his opinions in the poem, where “roosting” refers to “resting”
or “lost in one’s thoughts right before falling asleep.” This hawk is seated securely in his nest on a high
tree, displaying his joy and complete pleasure with his existence. He says that keeping his eyes shut he is
sitting on the top of the wood. In his imagination, he thinks of the various birds whom he had killed and
eaten, and of the various birds whom he would kill and dine in the longer term.
He feels that there is nothing false about this view of his activities. Later, he starts thinking of the
comfort of his nest where the air is light and on which the rays of the sun fall to warm him situated on
a high tree. The whole earth below lies welcoming his inspection, he further says. Thinking of his feet
and feathers and the molding of the same was no easy matter says hawk. Great pains had to be taken to
offer him the form which he possesses, particularly his feet and his feathers. He can now fly up from his
nest and go round all Creation just because he’s so important that he holds all Creation in his foot. The
hawk can kill any prey that he likes because the entire of Creation now belongs to him. He says about
his shape and his body that there is nothing illusory or deceptive. He flies directly towards his prey, and
pierces his prey with his beak or his claws. He doesn’t need to argue his case or his authority that has got
to be taken without any consideration. Finally, the hawk says that the sun is shining behind him, which
nothing has changed since he came into this universe because he never allowed any change to take
place. He would like to keep things as they are even in future hence permits no change in the universe.

Analysis
The form of the above poem is called a monologue or a soliloquy. The speaker here may be a hawk
(which may be a bird of prey, attacking smaller birds and eating them to feed himself). The universe of

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which the hawk has admired a denizen because it imagines as speaking and expressing his ideas about
himself. The hawk speaks with a way of authority, and with the fullest possible confidence in himself.
Indeed, we are astounded by his boundless and infinite egocentrism and self-centeredness.

2.5.2 Theme
The hawk may be a cunning and silent death from above, a bird of prey often portrayed because of the
noble killer who perches on top of the organic phenomenon. The poem begins with a majestic image
of a hawk perched “on top of the wood, so the earth’s face upward for my inspection,” according to
the poetry. Many religions believe our lives on this earth are ephemeral, therefore the idea of death in
“Hawk Roosting” could be strongly linked to its themes of creation. The hawk’s lofty diction, verging on
arrogance, along with the bird’s physical position overlooking the entire globe, gives the impression
that it is in complete control of life and death.
Even the “Creation” that gave it claws and “each feather” is now prey, securely grasped in its talons.
While the topic of death is usually heavy with grief and remorse, the hawk is emotionless in its discussion,
about it as an “allotment,” as if it were to be rationed out. Because the bird’s path to survival is “straight,”
there is no capacity for guilt in that small skull. When Hughes defended the hawk against accusations
of brutality and even fascism, he stated that the bird was meant to represent “Simply Nature.” Perhaps
the poem’s topic is that, while a person’s act of violence against another human is generally seen
unlawful, nature follows its own set of rules. Hughes claims that Christian morality and judgement
have “corrupted” our ability to observe nature.

Conclusion 2.6 CONCLUSION

In his poem “The Tyger,” William Blake suggests that God should be quick to chastise the animals he
creates. God created the Lamb, but he also made the Tyger, and he is personally accountable for the
suffering of that same lamb, the Tyger who would prey on it. William Blake’s “The Tyger” is an interesting
theological critique since it depicts the Protestant God, the creator of the Tyger as well as the Lamb,
crafting a monster in the depths of hell to be unleashed upon mankind.
On a literal level, Ted Hughes’ poem ‘Hawk Roosting’ is an expression of a bird of prey, the hawk, resting
on a tree contemplating its power of devastation, ability to inhibit change, and egotistical hubris and
superiority. However, because the bird is clearly projected with human characteristics, we can easily
deduce that the poem is an implied satire on the dictator that the bird represents.
In general, the hawk is a symbol of human evils such as arrogance, destructiveness, conceited and
egotistical attitude, obsession with power, and tyranny; in short, the hawk is a symbol of inhumanity.
Ted Hughes paints an image of a ruthless and self-involved creature in “Hawk Roosting,” demonstrating
how a lust for power can take over a being and end in brutality.

2.7 GLOSSARY

 Mysticism: It is the concept that by contemplation and self-surrender, one can achieve unity with or
absorption into the Deity or the absolute, or the spiritual understanding of knowledge inaccessible
to the intellect.
 Poetical Sketches: The first collection of poetry and prose by William Blake, written between 1769
and 1777.

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2.8 SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

A. Essay Type Questions

1. Explain the theme of the poem in your own words ‘The Tyger’ by William Blake.
2. In ‘The Tyger,’ determine what the speaker means by ‘fearful symmetry.’
3. Summarise what kinds of questions is the poet asking in “Hawk Roosting”? Which of them did you
find to be the most eye-catching or successful at grabbing your attention?
4. Prove why the poet thinks that the hawk has an attitude?

2.9 ANSWERS AND HINTS FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS

A. Hints for Essay Type Questions

1. In ‘The Tyger,’ William Blake explores the idea that every living thing must resemble its creator in
some way. The poem’s fundamental goal is slowly revealed in the early verses: pondering God in the
sky above. In essence, the tiger is a gorgeous, fascinating creature that is also lethal. Refer to Section
Poem: The Tyger by William Blake.
2. The “fearful symmetry” can be characterised by different allusions, one for the tiger and therefore
the other pertaining to a divine deity. Refer to Section Poem: The Tyger by William Blake.
3. A hawk is imagined chatting and sharing his opinions in the poem, where “roosting” refers to
“resting” or “lost in one’s thoughts right before falling asleep. Refer to Section Poem: Hawk Roosting
by Ted Hughes
4. In “Hawk Roosting,” the hawk has a proud attitude toward himself. He has a domineering attitude
toward the rest of the world. The human upper class, arrogance’s blindness, and nature’s brute,
unreflective nature are three conceivable things he represents. Refer to Section Poem: Hawk
Roosting by Ted Hughes

@ 2.10 POST-UNIT READING MATERIAL

 https://interestingliterature.com/2017/03/a-short-analysis-of-william-blakes-the-tyger/
 https://poemanalysis.com/ted-hughes/hawk-roosting/

2.11 TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION FORUMS

 If not the tiger, then which animal do you think is the most powerful creature? Explain Why.
 Do you think that Hawk Roosting is a poem of violence?

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