Literature and the Great Commission

Patricia Haskins

Eng 102-B14

C. Givens

27 September 2013

Literature and the Great Commission

Literature is important in fulfilling the purpose of spreading the teachings of Christ to his people. Although the Apostles may have left the world, it is important that Jesus' teachings remain through the literary pieces written by remarkable authors. One of the most notable pieces that relates to the fulfillment of the Great Commission is William Blake's The Tyger. Written in 1794, this poem was included in Blake's Song of Experience collection. The Tyger portrays the fulfillment of the Great Commission as it uses lyrical structure to imply mystical knowledge and God's sublimity. The poem opens with the following lines: "Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright / in the forests of the night, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. [Psalm 119] / what immortal hand or eye / could frame thy fearful symmetry?" Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself. [Isaiah 44.24] It is from these lines that Blake implies the possibility that someone more divine and immortal can only create such immense animal. "Blake's poetry is unique in its wide appeal; its seeming simplicity makes it attractive to children, while its complex religious, political and mythological imagery provokes enduring debate amongst scholars. "The rest of the five stanzas of the poem continue to ask about the Tiger's creator. This furthers the implications to the power and spirituality of the one being that dares to create such fearful Tyger.