An Explication of "The Tyger" by William Blake

From the very beginning of the poem "The Tyger" by William Blake, its first lines instill a sense of wonder and awe in the reader. I, as a reader, sense that the Tyger has more to it than its physical description. Could William Blake be using his rhetoric to be telling us about the human spirit? William Blake himself seems to be questioning the Tyger, as I am: "What are you, Tyger?" The fifth and sixth lines ask what could have put the fire in the eyes of the Tyger. The fifth line answers round-aboutly by questioning what "deeps and skies" put the fire in the Tyger's eyes. The poem goes on asking what kind of person made the Tyger. The poem gives an elusive answer to those that are looking by asking about characteristics of specific tools. Another elusive answer to a question the poem poses to the Tyger lies in the question itself: "In what furnace was thy brain?" A furnace is something used to heat or melt metal; something to remove impurities.
Although the poem is filled with questions about the Tyger, the questions are formed in such a way to seem to say that the Tyger has come to its present state through its experiences. The "deeps and skies" described can be thought of as low points and high points in life, as a "deep" is something low, and "skies" are always above. William Blake asks the Tyger: What did you experience to get like this? He doesn't specify whether "this" is good or bad, but just asks out of seemingly general curiosity.
So where did the "fire" come from to light the Tyger's eyes? When I see a "fire" in someone's eyes, I tend to see a strong will-power and determination. How many times have you heard of someone having a fire in their eyes when they get excited and motivated about doing something? And where did the Tyger get this burning from? The "deeps and skies," the poem answers.
The poems asks questions about he tools that were used in creating the Tyger. Because of the tools that the poem asks about, you can get a general sense of what type of person created the Tyger. From the furnace that contained the Tyger's brain, to the hammer that the poem asks about. A black smith works metal into the shapes that he wants, whether it be a sword, a shield, or, in this case, a Tyger. A black smith can usually get metal that was hard and brittle to become soft and pliable his hands. No matter what the previous shape of the metal, the blacksmith can always get the metal to become what he intends it to be.
If one considers this in the terms presented here, then the blacksmith has formed the Tyger to best deal with the "deeps and skies," or the experiences. "On what wings/ Dare he aspire?" On the wings given him by the blacksmith. Birds have wings to fly. Usually they fly to get somewhere or to get over or away from something: to fly over "deeps and skies." The wings of the Tyger can be used to overcome, quite literally, the experiences. To join the skies, or to fly over the deeps.
The poem "The Tyger" may, at first, appear to merely be about the physique of the Tyger, but, as I have evaluated it, I have found that the Tyger can represent so much more. If the Tyger goes through the "deeps and skies," or experiences, has been created just so, and has been given wings to overcome, the Tyger is truly a gifted one. Many similarities can be drawn from everyday life that relate to this poem. I know that I have come across many "deeps and skies" in my life, and that I had the ability to overcome and learn from each of them. I have found, upon analysis, that the Tyger is a metaphor for people. People with their gifts and strengths, made just so so that they "can on wings aspire."