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Blake’s Tyger

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
sorry if I’m impolite:
What immortal put a hand
to verse we’ll never understand?

Face it, face it, Mister Blake,
‘Tyger’ was a big mistake.
What good reason could there be
for rhyming ‘eye’ with ‘symmetry’?

Can a poet e’er endure
by changing his tetrameter
from trochees to iambic feet
before a stanza is complete?

What the ‘hammer,’ furthermore,
has shaped your awkward metaphor?
Furnace, anvil, hammer, chain?
Whatever ale house soaked thy brain?

Masterful, in your defense,
your other Songs of Innocence;
but Tyger should respect my plea:
Did he who wrote The Lamb write thee?

Truly, truly, Mister Blake,
face the facts, for heaven’s sake.
For no one else’s work of art
could twist the sinews of my heart.

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First published in The Road Not Taken: A Journal of Formal Poetry, Summer 2022

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Paul Buchheit is an author of books, poems, progressive essays, and scientific journal articles. He recently completed his first historical novel, 1871: Rivers on Fire.  His poetry has appeared in The Lyric, Illinois State Poetry Society, Poets & Patrons of Chicagoland, Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest, Society of Classical Poets, and other publications.

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18 Responses

  1. Paul Freeman

    He could always have used ‘apple pie’ instead, I suppose.

    Very amusing and well-written. Gallops along, apace.

    Thanks for the read, Paul.

    Reply
  2. Margaret Coats

    Paul, this is delightful. And I speak as someone with a natural distaste for one poet trying to answer another. This, though, is beautifully done for a reader who knows “The Tyger,” and it includes with light-hearted cheer some real points of criticism about the most-anthologized poem in English.

    Reply
    • paul buchheit

      Thanks, Margaret! Yes, it felt a bit inappropriate to criticize a master….that’s why I was sure to mention his other works. Your viewing my spoof as “light-hearted cheer” is much appreciated.

      Reply
  3. jd

    Enjoyed very much, Paul. Clever and includes other
    poems to explore if one has not already done so.

    Reply
  4. C.B. Anderson

    Heh-heh. Can we say that Blake was better at engraving than at writing poetry?

    Reply
  5. Brian Yapko

    This is quite fun, Paul. I’ve always loved “The Tyger”. For some reason I’m particularly delighted by the lines “What the ‘hammer,’ furthermore,/has shaped your awkward metaphor?”

    Reply
  6. Cynthia Erlandson

    Thank you, Paul! I laughed all the way through — even though I’ve always loved Blake’s poem — I think for its musicality as much as anything else. You’ve kept the musicality, while turning the perhaps-too-serious (?) tone into excellent humor.

    Reply
    • Paul Buchheit

      Thanks for your kind words, Cynthia. I was chiding Mr Blake even tho I loved his poem!

      Reply
  7. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Paul, I thoroughly enjoyed this cleverly crafted poem that made me grin. I especially like the nod of respect in the closing couplet: “For no one else’s work of art / could twist the sinews of my heart… what a beautiful note to end on.

    Reply
  11. Joshua C. Frank

    I love the poem “Tyger,” but this one really made me laugh. Thanks for that.

    Reply

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