Short Questions:

Q1: ‘He stalks in his vivid stripes.’How does the tiger look in his cage?

A:  The tiger has sharp, clear stripes on his body.He looks majestic as he
moves slowly and quietly in his cage. He has soft velvety pads.He makes no
noise as he moves.

Q2: ‘On pads of velvet quiet /in his quiet rage, what does the tiger do in his cage?

A:  It is a very small cage. The tiger can hardly take a few steps along the length of the cage.
He cannot express himself fully in this claustrophobic atmosphere. He does not take any
notice of the visitors who come there. He always wishes to be free from this cage.

Q3: ‘He should be lurking in the shadows /sliding through long grass ‘what should the
tiger be doing if he were in the jungle?

A: The tiger would be lurking in the shadows of trees. He would be sliding slowly through
the long grass. He would be sitting by some water hole and waiting for some plump deer to
pass that way. Here, the poet presents the tiger’s hunting process.

Q4: ‘He should be snarling around houses /at the jungle’s edge’ what should the tiger be
doing if he were at the edge of the jungle? Why should the tiger snarl around houses at
the edge of the jungle?

A:  The tiger would be moving around the houses in a nearby village. He

would be growling while moving around the sight of his white fangs and his
terrible claws would fill the villagers with terror. The jungle is the natural
habitat of the wild animals where the tiger can express his power and
strength.

The tiger should snarl around houses at the edge of the jungle because of the following
reasons: – firstly the villagers will not disturb the peace of the forest. Secondly, they will kill
the animals for money or just for fun.

Q5: ‘Stalking the length of his cage /ignoring visitors’ that is the tiger doing? Why is he
ignoring the visitors?

A:  The tiger is imprisoned in the zoo and becomes helpless. He is moving along the length
of the cage slowly and quietly. He sees that he visitors keep coming and going. None of them
thinks of releasing him from his prison. The tiger sees that all of them are fellows of without
feeling. So he stops taking any notice of them.

Q6:  ‘And stares with his brilliant eyes / at the brilliant stars ‘     Why do you think the
tiger looks at the stars?
A: The tiger has lost all hope to be free from the men. However, he looks at
the brilliant stars who are free in their own places and he also wants to mingle
with nature. Again, the tiger is sad and dejected in the concrete cell. When
he hears the last sound of the patrolling cars, he stares at the brilliant stars
and remembering good and pleasant days in the forest

Q7: What is Rhyme scheme of this poem?

A: The poem “A tiger in the Zoo” has five stanzas and each stanza follows the
same simple rhyme scheme – ABCB.

Q8: What types of poetic devices are used by the poet in this poem?

A: In this poem, the poet has used many poetic devices like

1. Personification - The poet personifies the tiger thus, he refers to the tiger
not as “it”, but as “he”
2. metaphor,
3. metonymy
4. oxymoron.

. The poet uses the device of metaphor in the 3rd line of the 1st stanza when
he compares the pads of the tiger’s feet with velvet since both are soft and
smooth to the touch. Again, “quiet rage” is an example of an oxymoron.
The word “strength” in the poem means the body of the tiger and this is an
example of metonymy.

Q10. Explain-“Ignoring visitors”-

A: The tiger is ignoring the visitors because He can fully express his wild
nature in the forest. But in the zoo, he is depressed and hopeless to be free.
Therefore, he ignores the visitors.

Q11: Where the tiger should be lurking?

A: The tiger should be lurking in the shadow of the long grass so that the
plump deer cannot understand his existence.

Q12:. Who passes through the water hole?

A: The plump deer pass through the water hole

Q13. How should the tiger terrorize the village?

A: The tiger should terrosise around houses at the edge of the jungle because
of the following reasons

1. Firstly the villagers will not disturb the peace of the forest.
2. Secondly, they kill the animals for money or just for fun.
3. He expresses his wild existence and warns the villagers at the edge of
the forest.
4. Through the water hole and the tiger would lurk within long grass for
hunting.