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?

— William Blake

Tiger in a dark forest rendered with watercolor, pastels, and colored pencils.

 

 


Calvin & Hobbs cartoon: 
Aparently the Tiger was on fire. Maybe his tail got struck by lightning or something. Flammable felines - what a weird subject for poetry." "This is why I try to sleep through most of the day."

  I did lots of little online jigsaw puzzles of The New Yorker covers this year. I was inspired by some of them to try mixing watercolors with pastels.

Actually, I was inspired by The New Yorker covers to try a lot of different illustration styles. One of the reasons I never became a great illustrator
is that I didn't settle on a personal style. I like trying new things too much.

(I manipulated this painting digitally, too. That's why God made computers.)






 

 

Back to the calendar
   
  HannahJennings.com
Previous advent calendars
 
   
© 2020 Hannah Jennings