A TIGER IN THE ZOO

LESLIE NORRIS

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•This poem contrasts a tiger in the zoo with the
tiger in its natural habitat. The poem moves
from the zoo to the jungle, and back again to
the zoo.

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POEM:
He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage,
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage.

Stalks: walks with pride

Vivid: bright colored
Pads: paws of tiger
Rage: anger
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He should be lurking in shadow,
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass.

Lurking: To be hidden as to wait for your prey

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He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle’s edge,
Baring his white fangs, his claws,
Terrorising the village!

Snarling: warning sounds made by animals

Baring: uncovered
Fangs: Sharp tooth of animals
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But he’s locked in a concrete cell,
His strength behind bars,
Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.

Concrete: building made of bricks, cement, sand and

water

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He hears the last voice at night,
The patrolling cars,
And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars.

Patrolling: to guard, to vigil

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Literary devices
• Rhyme scheme: abcb
• Metaphor: Tiger’s paws are compared with velvet (pads of velvet)
• Imagery: poet tries to create an image about the tiger (He stalks
in his vivid stripes The few steps of his cage)
• Oxymoron: use of adjectives opposite in meaning (quiet rage)
• Alliteration: use of sound ‘p’ at the start of two words (plump
pass, behind bars, he hears)
• Imagery: The poet has tries to create an image of tiger’s activities
(lurking in shadow).
• Onomatopoeia: using words which denote sound (snarling)
• Repetition:use of quiet and brilliant
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(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.
Movements and actions of the Movements and actions of the
Tiger in the cage Tiger in the wild
Stalking Lurking
(Stepping) On pads of the
velvet quiet Sliding
Ignoring Snarling
Hears (hearing) Baring
Stares (staring) Terrorising
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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.

Places in the Cage Places in the Wild

Cage Through long grass
Concrete cell Near the water hole
Behind bars Around houses
The length of his cage At the jungle's edge
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• 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?
• Ans 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 word 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.
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SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS-
1.How does the tiger stalk in the cage?
Ans. The tiger is not in his natural habitat the jungle. He is
locked in a cage made up of cement and concrete. He
keeps on stalking inside his cage from one side to the
other. He is walking in quiet rage with his heels which are
padded like velvet.

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2.How does the tiger prepare himself for hunting when he is
in his natural habitat — the jungle?
Ans. The mighty tiger roams freely in his natural habitat the
wilds. He knows how to ambush his prey. He waits for his
prey lurking unseen in the shadow of trees. He slides through
the long grass quite unnoticed. He comes to the water hole
where he can find his favourite prey — plump deer.

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3.How does the tiger terrorise the villagers? Does he have
any intention of killing them?
Ans. Sometimes, the tiger roams around freely and comes
near the edge of the jungle. He comes very near to the
houses of the villagers which are situated on the outskirts of
the jungle. Roaming there, he opens out his white sharp
teeth and paws to terrorise the villagers. He has no intention
of killing them as he never attacks till he is provoked to do
so.
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4.How does the tiger feel locked in the concrete cell of the
zoo? Why does he ignore the visitors?
Ans.The tiger is basically an animal of the wilds. He is a
denizen of the forest. Being locked in a concrete cell of the
zoo, he feels quite helpless. His immense strength is of no
use to him as he is put behind the bars. He only stalks the
length of his cage. He ignores the visitors who came to see
him after buying their tickets. He doesn't want to present
himself as an object of entertaining others.

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5.The tiger in the poem ' The Tiger in the Zoo' has some
obvious limitations. Describe them in contrast to its natural
habitat.(CBSE2015,16)
Ans. The tiger in the zoo was confined to a small cage. He
was angry. He could not move freely. The bars of the cage
obstructed his view of the starry night. All this was too much
for him unlike his natural habitat.

6.Describe the movements of the tiger in the cage and in the

wild. (CBSE 2016)
Ans. In the zoo, the tiger is devoid of freedom. He feels
unhappy and restless. But in the forest he enjoys moving
freely. He terrorises the villagers by showing his teeth and
claws. Thus he is happy in the jungle and unhappy in the zoo.
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