A Tiger in the Zoo

By Leslie Norris

Presentation by Aaditya Pratap

 The Presentation Contains
❖ About the Author
❖ Summary of the Poem
❖ Theme of the Poem
❖ Literary Devices used in the Poem

2
 About the Author : Leslie Norris
George Leslie Norris (21 May 1921 – 6 April 2006), was a prize-winning Welsh
poet and short story writer. He taught at academic institutions in Britain and the
United States, including Brigham Young University. Norris is considered one of
the most important Welsh writers of the post-war period, and his literary
publications have won many prize.

3
 Summary of the Poem
▫ 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.
▫ The poem provides a contrast in the mood and environment of a tiger when
he is in the zoo and a tiger when he is in the forest.
▫ In the zoo, he has no freedom. He is kept in a cemented cell behind the
bars. He feels angry, frustrated and helpless.
▫ This reminds him of his natural habitat, his hiding and sliding in the long
grass near the water hole and pouncing upon the fat deer, the way he
terrorized the villagers, displaying his sharp teeth and claws.

4
 Summary of the Poem - Continued
▫ At night in the zoo he hears the sounds of patrolling cars.
▫ The tiger in the zoo appears helpless as to be a mere showpiece and source
of entertainment to people.
▫ The poet wants to convey that it is cruel to keep wild animals in small
enclosures of the zoo, away from their natural habitat.
▫ They feel angry, helpless and unhappy in the cage.
▫ He pays no attention to the visitors who came to watch him.
▫ In the silence of the night, he stares at the brilliant stars with his bright
eyes.

5
 Theme of the Poem
▫ The poem presents several themes such as freedom vs captivity, tamed vs
wild, wilderness, and natural beauty.
▫ The most important theme of the poem is freedom vs captivity.
▫ In this poem, Norris describes how the tiger longs for its freedom.
▫ The poet, through this poem, wants to convey that animals should be in
their natural habitat. No one likes to be trapped and caged.
▫ We all want to be free, so why the animals should be treated differently.
after all, they are also living beings.

6
 Literary Devices used in the Poem
Rhyme scheme Personification Metaphor
Tiger’s paws are compared with
The tiger is personified because
abcb (cage-rage). velvet (pads of velvet).
the poet refers him as ‘he’.

Enjambment Imagery Oxymoron

Sentence is continuing to next
line without any punctuation
mark.
use of adjectives opposite in
poet tries to create an image
meaning (quiet rage).
about the tiger (He stalks in his
vivid stripes, The few steps of his
cage).