The poem begins with the speaker asking a fearsome tiger what kind of divine being could have created it: “What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame they fearful symmetry?” Each subsequent stanza contains further questions, all of which refine this first one. From what part of the cosmos could the tiger’s fiery eyes have come, and who would have dared to handle that fire? What sort of physical presence, and what kind of dark craftsmanship, would have been required to “twist the sinews” of the tiger’s heart? The speaker wonders how, once that horrible heart “began to beat,” its creator would have had the courage to continue the job. Comparing the creator to a blacksmith, he ponders about the anvil and the furnace that the project would have required and the smith who could have wielded them. And when the job was done, the speaker wonders, how would the creator have felt? “Did he smile his work to see?” Could this possibly be the same being who made the lamb?
The poem begins with the speaker asking a fearsome tiger what kind of divine being could have created it: “What immortal hand or eye/ Could frame they fearful symmetry?” Each subsequent stanza contains further questions, all of which refine this first one. From what part of the cosmos could the tiger’s fiery eyes have come, and who would have dared to handle that fire? What sort of physical presence, and what kind of dark craftsmanship, would have been required to “twist the sinews” of the tiger’s heart? The speaker wonders how, once that horrible heart “began to beat,” its creator would have had the courage to continue the job. Comparing the creator to a blacksmith, he ponders about the anvil and the furnace that the project would have required and the smith who could have wielded them. And when the job was done, the speaker wonders, how would the creator have felt? “Did he smile his work to see?” Could this possibly be the same being who made the lamb?
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 sieze the fire?

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?

Tyger Tyger, burning bright 
In the forests of the night, * These first lines set up to whom the poem is addressed: the "Tyger." * It begins with the repetition of the name ("Tyger, tyger"). The repetition creates a chant-like mood to the whole poem, which contributes to the mysteriousness. Reading it, you can’t help but get the feeling this poem is about way more than the biggest cat in the world. * What is this about "burning bright, / In the forests of the night"? Tigers don’t burn. When you see crazy or unexpected metaphors like this – which always happens with Blake – slow down and chew on them for a minute. * "Burning bright" may describe the appearance of the Tyger (tigers have fiery orange fur), or it may on a deeper level describe a kind of energy or power that this Tyger has.
The Tyger's presence in "the forests of the night" further increases the mystery and power of the creature – it’s elusive, while at the same time burning with some sort of inner force.

What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? * These lines introduce the central question of the poem: what "immortal" being or force is able to contain or produce the Tyger’s sublime form? Big stuff, we know. * The "immortal hand or eye," symbols of sight and creation, immediately conjure references to a creative God (in pretty much all cases with Blake, "God" refers to the Christian God). If this is so, then questioning whether God could do anything is a direct attack on the omnipotence of such a God. * To "frame," here, is probably to contain, kind of like putting a picture in a frame. When you frame something, the boundaries are clear, the object isn’t going anywhere. * "Fearful symmetry," is a very nuanced quality to have. "Fearful" references the scariness of a tiger, but also alludes to the sublime. The sublime is an old notion of really big, powerful, mysterious stuff that terrifies us because it’s big, powerful and mysterious. The first BIG example that should come to mind: God, or the divine (that stuff is big and powerful and mysterious). * Symmetry is a classical quality of the divine, as well as the defining factor of artistic beauty. * So, there are lots of doors open with the first stanza. Just hold on, it’ll be OK. If there is one thing Blake does, it’s open doors, but it can be hard to keep track of where each one might lead as you read through the poem. In what distant deeps or skies 
Burnt the fire of thine eyes? * These lines ask where the Tyger was created, and also add to the growing image the reader has of the Tyger. * The use of "distant deeps or skies" seems to refer to an otherworldly ("distant") place, perhaps a kind of Hell ("deeps") or Heaven ("skies"). * The metaphor of "burning" from line 1 returns with the burning "fire" of the Tyger’s eyes, adding to the power and fearfulness of the image. On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire? * These lines are where a lot of people just totally get knocked off the tracks. * Who the heck is "he"? It may be God, it may be the poet, it may be the artist, it’s unclear – what "he" is for sure, is the creator of this Tyger. The Tyger – that we know is a big, powerful, mysterious thing – must have a pretty big, powerful, mysterious creator. * The "hand" returns from line 3 as well as "fire," and the image of flying on wings is added, alluding to supernatural power, but not necessarily a divine one.
Also, the notion of daring is introduced, which will be echoed in the last stanza.
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? * These lines are the most clearly "Christian" of the poem. * Lines 17 and 18 are a bit ambiguous, and may refer to the casting down of the angels after Satan rebelled against God (see Paradise Lost). * The same "he" reappears here as in line 7, but in a much more Christian setting, more closely referencing God than the other stanza. * The "Lamb" is a traditional Christian symbol for Jesus Christ (who was "made" by God, though that is a big can of worms). It also refers back to Blake’s poem "The Lamb" in Songs of Innocence (see "In a Nutshell" for more on "The Lamb"). Tyger Tyger, burning bright 
In the forests of the night, 
What immortal hand or eye 
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
 * The final stanza echoes the first, but why? * Along with the rhyming and chant-like rhythm, the repetition may be like a refrain, like song’s chorus. * The repetition is also a very clever device to get us to notice the one change that is made to the stanza: "could" is switched to "dare."
Now, instead of questioning the ability of the creator, Blake questions his nerve. Like when you triple-dog dare someone, Blake seems to challenge the courage of whatever/whoever tried or tries to contain ("frame") the big, powerful, mysteriousness of the Tyger.