William Blake was one of my first poets I read as a child and his poetry captured my imagination and interested in Poetry as much as Edgar Allen Poe did at the time.  My favorite poem by William Blake was “The Tiger” which was only reinforced when Tangerine Dream released a song that paired that poems lyrics to music which just sounded incredible to me.
William Blake was born November 28th 1757 and died August 12 1827 and was not widely recognized for his poetry during his lifetime.  He had very different viewpoints that put him at odds with the rest of society many of which considered him mad.  Historian Peter Marshal considers Blake as a forerunner to modern anarchism.

Blake has done paintings, etchings, illustrations as well as poetry throughout his lifetime including The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with Sun below.

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with Sun

Here is my favorite poem by William Blake.

The Tiger

TIGER, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies             5
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?      10
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      15
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?      20

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

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Written by dragonblogger (801 Published posts)

I am a dedicated father and husband who works an IT job during the day and has as passion for blogging and poetry. I have been writing poems for more than twenty years and I write at least 1 new poem or haiku per day and publish it on this blog since it started in September 2008.

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