×
Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
by William Blake (1757 - 1827)
Translation © by Salvador Pila
Tyger Tyger, burning bright
Language: English
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? 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?
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The tyger", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 12, first published 1794 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by James R. Adler (b. 1950), "The Tiger", 1982 [ men's chorus and piano ], from Songs of Innocence and of Experience, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Samuel Hans Adler (b. 1928), "The Tyger", published 1974 [ mixed chorus and band ], from Serenade, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Antheil (1900 - 1959), "The Tyger", 1948 [ high voice and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Thomas) Athanasios Aronis (b. 1935), "The Tyger", from Blake Song Cycle, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "The Tyger", published 1908 [ vocal octet (SSAATTBB) a cappella ], partsong; Leipzig, NY : Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Melinda Bargreen , "The Tyger" [ SATB chorus a cappella ], Santa Barbara Music Publishing [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ronald A. Beckett , "The Tyger", 2012 [ voice and piano ], from Eight Poems of William Blake, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Tamara Bliss (b. 1925), "The Tyger", 1957 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Bolcom (b. 1938), "The Tyger", 1956-81 [ solo voices, chorus, and orchestra ], from Songs of Experience, Volume One, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rutland Boughton (1878 - 1960), "The Tiger", published 1928 [ mixed chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hayg Boyadjian (b. 1938), "The Tyger", 1978 [ soprano, flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, cello and bass ], from Song Cycle on Poems of William Blake, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The Tyger", op. 74 no. 8, published 1965 [ baritone and piano ], from Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mark Leopold Bucci (b. 1929), "The Tiger", published 1968 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from The Wondrous Kingdom (Flora and Fauna), no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Geoffrey Bush (1920 - 1998), "Tiger", published 1971 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from A Menagerie, partson [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fred (Frederick Henry) Candelaria (b. 1929), "The Tyger", 1978 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Howard Carr (b. 1880), "The Tiger", published c1937 [ mixed chorus ], partson [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rebecca Clarke (1886 - 1979), "Tiger, tiger", 1929-33, published 2001, rev. 1972 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Howell Cope (b. 1941), "Tyger! Tyger!", 1975-6 [ vocal quartet of 2 sopranos and 2 altos, SSSAAA chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Norman Curtis (b. 1933), "The Tyger", c1959 [ voice and piano ], from William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, no. 27 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Katherine Kennicott Davis (1892 - 1980), "The Tyger", published c1969 [ SATB chorus and piano ], NY : Galaxy Music Corp. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nigel St. John Davison (b. 1929), "The Tiger", published 1962 [ SATB chorus ], London : Bosworth & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dorothy Carter Drennan (b. 1929), "The Tyger", 1973, first performed 1973 [ medium voice and keyboard ], from Songs of William Blake, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eric Ewazen (b. 1954), "The Tyger" [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Andross Farquhar (1928 - 2007), "The Tyger", 1949 [ voice and piano ], from Blake Songs, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Farwell (1872 - 1952), "The Tyger", op. 98 (1934), first performed 1976 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Finnur Torfi Stefánsson (b. 1947), "The Tyger", 1986-7? [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], Reykjavik : Islenzk Tónverkamidstód [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sebastian Forbes (b. 1941), "Tiger, Tiger, burning bright", 1978 [ chorus and violoncello ], from Four Poems [sung text not yet checked]
- by Donato D. Fornuto (b. 1931), "The Tiger", 1962, published 1971 [ SATB chorus with optional piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Donato D. Fornuto (b. 1931), "The Tiger", published c1973 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 6, NY : Harold Branch Music Publishing Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "Tiger, tiger", published 1932 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ], London : W. Rogers (Boosey & Hawkes) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julian Goodwin (b. 1932), "The Tyger", 1968 [ high voice and piano ], from The Lamb and the Tyger, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Gray (1855 - 1935), "Tiger, tiger", published 1909 [ medium voice and piano ], London : Stainer & Bell [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ole Carsten Green (b. 1922), "The Tyger", op. 27a no. 12 (1973) [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Olivier Greif (1950 - 2000), "The Tyger", op. 310 no. 1 (1995) [ voice and piano ], from Les chants de l'âme, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Inglis Gundry (1905 - 2000), "The Tyger", 1950, first performed 1957 [ tenor or soprano and piano ], from Four Songs of Experience [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gary Michael Higginson (b. 1952), "Tyger, tyger", op. 55 no. 6 (1981-2) [ SATB chorus with divisions a cappella ], from Seven Songs of William Blake, Set II, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clarence S. Hill , "The Tiger", published 1913 [ medium voice and piano ], from Three Songs by Blake, no. 2, London : Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by Theodore Hoffman (1925 - 2003), "The Tyger", 1965, first performed 1965 [ soprano, SATB chorus, and orchestra ], from The Lamb and the Tiger, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "Tiger, tiger, burning bright" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Trevor Alan Jones (b. 1932), "Tiger", 1963 [ SATB chorus, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn ], from Cantata Zoologica, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christine (Stadler) Jurasek (b. 1955), "The Tyger", 1985, first performed 1985 [ voice and instrumental ensemble ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sergius Kagen (1909 - 1964), "Tiger", 1949-64 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Kenneth Leighton (1929 - 1988), "The Tyger", op. 61 no. ? [ medium voice and piano ], from Laudes Animantium [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Thomas) Timothy Lenk (b. 1952), "The Tyger", c1977 [ tenor, bass-baritone, flute (piccolo), clarinet, bass clarinet, and violin ], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elizabeth Maconchy (1907 - 1994), "Tiger! Tiger!", published c1980, first performed 1980 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Creatures, no. 4, London : Chester Music [sung text checked 1 time]
- by William James Mathias (1934 - 1992), "The Tiger", op. 82 no. 7 (1979), published c1987, first performed 1979 [ mezzo-soprano, celesta, harp, piano, and strings ], from Songs of William Blake, no. 7, Oxford : Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Mitchell (b. 1941), "The Tyger", op. 25 no. 9 (1977), from Visions from the Flame, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Dary) John Mizelle (b. 1940), "Tiger! Tiger!", first performed 1967 [ electronics, players, projections, actors, lights, and tape ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Glenesk Mortimer (b. 1951), "Tiger, tiger", 1986, first performed 1986 [ SATB chorus and piano ], a bossa nova [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Wayne Pape (b. 1939), "The Tiger", 1970, first performed 1970 [ soprano, piano, wood block, maracas, and gong ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Solomon Pimsleur (1900 - 1962), "Tiger, tiger", op. 11 no. 1 (1922), rev. 1930 [ soprano and piano ], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by E. T. Potter , "The Tyger" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley A. Purdy (b. 1926), "The Tiger", published c1964 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], Cranbury, NJ : Farleigh Dickinson University Press [sung text not yet checked]
- by Geraldine Dorothy Rasmussen (b. 1925?6), "The Tyger", 1985 [ voice, piano, and flute ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louisa Raymond , "The Tyger", published 1961 [ SATB chorus and orchestra ], from A Group of Songs for Seana, no. 11 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Reginald Chauncey Robbins (1871 - 1955), "The Tiger", published 1932 [ baritone or bass and piano ], Paris : Éditions Senart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sarah L. Rodgers (b. 1953), "The Tyger", first performed 1984 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Six Songs of Experience, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Roff (1910 - 1993), "The Tyger", published c1967 [ SSA chorus and piano ], Pittsburgh, Volkwein Bros. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sven-David Sandström (b. 1942), "The Tyger", 1978, published c1980 [ double mixed chorus a cappella ], Stockholm : Nordiska Musikförlaget (Edition Wilhelm Hansen) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hilda May Sarson (1901? - 1958), "Tiger! Tiger!", published c1934 [ 2-part chorus of equal voices and piano ], partsong; London : J. Curwen [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Schubert (b. 1961), "The Tyger" [ 2 female voices and instrumental ensemble (variable) ], from The Divine Image -- A William Blake Cantata, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Elie Siegmeister (1909 - 1991), "The Tyger", 1966, published 1978 [ mezzo-soprano or bass-baritone, viola, and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 6, NY : C. Fischer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "The Tyger", op. 132 no. 10 (2001) [ speaker and tape ], from The Innocence of Experience, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "The Tyger", op. 32 no. 6, published 1981, rev. 2003, first performed 1986 [ voice and organ ], from Fearful symmetry, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "The Tyger", op. 32a no. 6, published 1981, rev. 2003, first performed 1986 [ voice and piano ], from Fearful symmetry, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Max Sofsky , "The Tiger", c1956, 1957 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Øistein Sommerfeldt (1919 - 1994), "The Tiger", 1967, published c1970 [ SSAATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Songs from Wiliam Blake, no. 3, NY : Walton Music Corp. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alphonse Stallaert (1920 - 1995), "The Tyger", 1977, published c1980 [ soprano and piano ], from Internationale dierentuin, no. 2, Amsterdam: Donemus [sung text not yet checked]
- by Christopher Steel (b. 1939), "The Tiger", op. 9 no. 3, published c1967 [ unison chorus and piano ], from Three Songs of William Blake, no. 3, London : Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by Byron Franklin Stone, Jr. , "The Tiger", 1930 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Austin Sykes (1909 - 1962), "The Tyger", c1931, first performed 1975 [ baritone and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Austin Sykes (1909 - 1962), "The Tyger" [ duet for tenor and bass with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Kenneth Tavener (1944 - 2013), "The Tyger", 1987 [ chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Albert Tepper (b. 1921), "The Tiger", 1968, first performed 1969 [ piano solo with narrator or pianist reciting the poem before performance ], from Meditations on Blake Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Virgil Garnett Thomson (1896 - 1989), "Tiger! Tiger!", published c1953 [ medium voice, piano ], from Five Songs from William Blake, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Virgil Garnett Thomson (1896 - 1989), "The Tiger", 1926, published 1967 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Greta Tomlins (1912 - 1972), "The Tiger", published 1967 [ SA chorus and piano ], London : Edwin Ashdown [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Thomas) Gerard Victory (1921 - 1995), "The Tyger", 1977/8, first performed 1978 [ soprano, tenor, and SATB chorus a cappella ], from Seven Songs of Experience, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John David White (b. 1931), "The Tyger", first performed 1957 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernst Widmer (1927 - 1990), "The Tyger", op. 15 no. 4 (1957), first performed 1958 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Letztes, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Philip George Wilkinson (b. 1929), "The Tiger", published c1956 [ unison chorus and piano ], London : J. Curwen; NY : G. Schirmer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Robert Wood (1915 - ?), "The Tiger", 1952 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maurice Lawton Wostenholm (1887 - 1959), "Tiger song", published 1916 [ unison chorus and piano ], London : J. Curwen [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El tigre", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Le tigre", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , "Der Tiger", copyright © 2006, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Thomas Schubert) , "Der Tiger", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "Тигр", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 24
Word count: 143
El tigre
Language: Catalan (Català) after the English
Tigre, tigre, flama llampant, a les selves de la nit, quina mà o ulls immortals, han pogut concebre la teva temible simetria? A quins mars o cels llunyans crema el foc dels teus ulls? Damunt quines ales gosa aspirar? Quina mà gosa agafar el foc? I quin muscle o quina faiçó han pogut tòrcer els tendons del teu cor? I quan el teu cor començà a bategar, quina mà temorosa? I quins peus temorosos? Quin martell? Quina cadena, en quin forn estava el teu cervell? Quina enclusa? Quin aferrament temorós gosa prendre llurs terrors mortals! Quan les estrelles llançaren llurs llances i el cel regà amb les seves llàgrimes: somrigué al veure la seva obra? El qui creà l’anyell, t’ha creat a tu? Tigre, tigre, flama llampant, a les selves de la nit, quina mà o ulls immortals, han pogut concebre la teva temible simetria?
Authorship:
- Translation from English to Catalan (Català) copyright © 2014 by Salvador Pila, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact:
Based on:
- a text in English by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The tyger", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 12, first published 1794
This text was added to the website: 2014-03-12
Line count: 24
Word count: 145