Prep (1) Tiger Poem Worksheet

1. Prep One
English Poetry Sheet+ Worksheet
"Tiger" Poem + Vocabulary + Sample Questions

"The Tiger" by William Blake
Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright
In the forest 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 water'd heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

2. Prep One English Poetry
Page 2 of 4


New Vocabulary:
1
st
Stanza: 3
rd
Stanza:
Immortal: non-dying Shoulder: strength
Thy: your "old English" Art: skill
Symmetry: perfection Twist: turn
2
nd
Stanza: Sinew: strong piece of tissue in
Thine: yours the body connecting a muscle to a bone
Aspire: hope Thy: your (old English)
Dare: has the courage to risk doing something Dread: frightening, causing fear
Seize: hold
4
th
Stanza:
Furnace: a container that is heated to a very high temperature, so that substances that are put inside it, such
as metal, will melt or burn
Anvil: a heavy block of iron on which heated pieces of metal are made into shapes with a hammer
Grasp: hold
Deadly: causing death
Clasp (v/n): (v): to hold sth firmly (n): a tight hold with your hands
5
th
Stanza:
Threw: past of throw
Thee: you (old English)
Lamb: a cute animal

Sample Questions:
1- Paraphrase the following stanza taken from "The Tiger" poem:
Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright
In the forest of the night
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2- Extract one figure of speech and explain it.
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3- What is the rhyme scheme of the above stanza?
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3. Prep One English Poetry
Page 3 of 4


4- Paraphrase the following lines taken from "The Tiger" poem:
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?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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5- Extract one figure of speech from the above lines and explain it.
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6- Comment on the rhyme scheme of the above stanza.

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7- Paraphrase the following stanza taken from "The Tiger" poem:
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?!

...................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................
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8- What is the rhyme scheme of the above stanza?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

4. Prep One English Poetry
Page 4 of 4


9- Paraphrase the following stanza taken from "The Tiger" poem:
What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

10- Extract one figure of speech from the above stanza.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

11- Comment on the rhyme scheme of the above lines.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


12-Paraphrase the following stanza taken from William Blake's "The Tiger":
When the stars threw down their spears,
And watere'd heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the lamb make thee?

...................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................................

13- Extract one figure of speech of the above stanza.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

14-What is the rhyme scheme of the above lines?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….