tiger in the zoo

 Tiger in the Zoo Question and Answers

Q1- Read the poem again, and work in pairs or groups to do the following tasks.

(i) Find the words that describe the movements and actions of the tiger in the cage and in the wild. Arrange them in two columns.

(ii) Find the words that describe the two places, and arrange them in two columns.

Now try to share ideas about how the poet uses words and images to contrast the two situations.

A1- (1)

In the cage	In the wild
Stalks, quiet rage, ignoring visitors, hears the sound of patrolling cars, stares at stars	Lurking in shadow, sliding through the long grass, snarling around houses, baring his white fangs, terrorizing the village

(2)

CAGE	WILD
Few steps of his cage	Shadow, long grass
Locked in concrete cell	Snarling around houses
His Strength behind bars	Baring his white fangs, his claws
Terrorising the village	Ignoring visitors

Q2- Notice the use of a word repeated in lines such as these:

(i) On pads of velvet quiet, In his quiet rage.

(ii) And stares with his brilliant eyes At the brilliant stars.

What do you think is the effect of this repetition?

A2- The poet has repeated the words to give a nice impact to his poem. Like the use of quiet with velvet pads describes that the tiger has to walk in the limited area of his cage. He cannot run as he would have done had it been in the forest. Whereas ‘quiet rage’ shows the hidden anger inside him which has grown stronger because of his confinement in the cage. The next word he used is ‘brilliant’. The word brilliant in the first line means the twinkling bright stars and the brilliant words used for the tiger’s eyes shows the sadness of the tiger who would have led a free and fearless life if it were in the jungle.

Central Idea of the Poem
The poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ by Leslie Norris. In this poem, the poet tries to depict the mental condition of a caged tiger. He compares the life of a tiger in the zoo with its life in its natural habitat. The poet conveys an important message that the wild animals should be in their natural habitat. In the poem, he heightens the contrast between freedom and captivity. He, very impressively, shows us how love for freedom is the natural instinct of every living being.

Poetic Devices Used in the Poem
Repetition
velvet quiet quiet rage
brilliant eyes brilliant stars
Alliteration
He stalks in his vivid stripes
But he’s locked in a concrete cell
Rhyme
The rhyme scheme for first, second and fifth stanza is abcb and for third and fifth stanza is abed.