Another great way to engage your students is through the creation of storyboards that examine Tone, Word Choice, Imagery, Style, and Theme. This activity is referred to with the acronym “TWIST”. In a TWIST, students demonstrate an understanding of the way poetic devices work together to convey the poem’s message(s). For this TWIST, students should use the full text of “The Tyger.” To add complexity to the assignment, you can also have students compare “The Tyger” to Blake’s poem, “The Lamb.” The sample storyboard illustrates this comparison.
| "The Tyger" | "The Lamb" | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| T | TONE |
Awed and fearful: The speaker finds the tiger and its creator terrifying, but he is also impressed by their power | Cheerful and comforting: The speaker describes the lamb's idyllic life and is confident that God is caring for the lamb |
| W | WORD CHOICE |
fearful, fire, dare, twist, dread, terrors, spears, tears | lamb, delight, softest, bright, tender, rejoice, meek, mild, child, bless |
| I | IMAGERY |
"Tyger Tyger, burning bright, / In the forests of the night..." | "Little Lamb...bid thee feed / By the stream and o'er the mead..." |
| S | STYLE |
The poem is a series of repeated questions posed in six regular stanzas. The questions intensify the emotion of the poem, but remain unanswered at the end of the poem. | The poem contains two stanzas with simple language and short syllables. The first stanza asks a question and the second stanza answers it. |
| T | THEME |
The inability to answer the speaker's question leads to a theme about humanity's inability to understand the origins of evil in our world. | The poem's comforting words send a message that God loves and cares for all his creatures. |
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Perform a TWIST comparison analysis between “The Tyger” and “The Lamb”. Remember that TWIST stands for Tone, Word Choice, Imagery, Style, Theme.
Start by explaining the TWIST acronym—Tone, Word Choice, Imagery, Style, Theme—and ask students what these elements mean in poetry. This helps students activate prior knowledge and sets a purpose for the lesson.
Read a short, accessible poem aloud and guide students through each part of TWIST as a class. Highlight specific words, phrases, and images so students see how to identify and discuss each element.
Divide students into pairs and assign each a poem (or stanza). Instruct them to use a graphic organizer to record their findings for each TWIST category, encouraging collaboration and deeper analysis.
Have student pairs post their completed TWIST charts around the room. Invite everyone to circulate, read, and add sticky notes with questions or compliments to each chart. This builds community and reinforces key concepts.
Bring the class together and discuss how TWIST analysis deepened their understanding of the poems. Encourage students to share surprises, challenges, or new insights from the activity.
A TWIST analysis is a method for examining poems by focusing on five elements: Tone, Word Choice, Imagery, Style, and Theme. It helps students break down and understand how these aspects work together to convey the poem’s message.
To compare 'The Tyger' and 'The Lamb' using TWIST, analyze each poem’s tone, word choice, imagery, style, and theme. Then, create a side-by-side comparison to highlight how Blake uses contrasting language and style to explore themes of creation, innocence, and evil.
Storyboard ideas for a TWIST activity on 'The Tyger' include visual scenes showing the poem’s fiery imagery, contrasting tones of awe and fear, important words like burning and dread, and representations of unanswered questions to reflect the poem’s style and theme.
TWIST helps students break down complex poems into manageable parts, making it easier to understand literary devices, track the poet’s message, and develop critical thinking skills through structured analysis.
The main theme difference is that 'The Tyger' explores humanity’s struggle to understand the origins of evil, while 'The Lamb' focuses on innocence and the comforting belief that God cares for all creatures.