Maxim Real Issues No. 180, 27 OCTOBER 2005
Because of a Maxim Institute staff event, this week's Real Issues differs from the usual format.
The Tiger
Spring Evidence out now
The Tiger
In view of the cartoon below, published in The Press this week, we encourage you to reflect on William Blake's poem, The
Tiger.
The Tiger, William Blake (1757-1827)
Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Cartoon by permission from Garrick Tremain
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt with 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?
This poem, popular with school teachers several generations ago, was frequently taught so that children learnt it by
heart. What children learn influences the coming generations, and of equal importance is their willingness to learn and
respect those who teach them. Blake's poem should convey to us a deep sense of awe for nature. How the child responds to
the poem and its message, is critical. It is difficult to believe that modern television and entertainment have the same
power to inspire the imagination and thus shape character.
Spring Evidence out now
In the Spring edition of Evidence, now available in book stores, Maxim intern Tiffany Scrimshaw reflects on the decline
of friendship. She finds that a generation increasingly devoted to instant gratification is losing the virtues needed to
sustain meaningful friendship.
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