NOTES

Grade X English
A Tiger in the Zoo

Q1) Draw a contrast between the life of the tiger in the zoo and his life in the wild.

The poet says that when the tiger is in the zoo, he can easily move inside his cage. He ignores
the visitors, suppressing his anger. At night, he stares at the huge sky with the brilliant stars
in the hope of being free one day.
Whereas, if the tiger was in his natural habitat, he could have enjoyed roaming around
anywhere without the fear of being caught or getting captured. He could hunt for his prey. At
night, he could have scared the villagers away on the jungle's edge.

Q2) Based on your reading of the poem, what can you say about the tiger’s strength? How
does he treat the visitors and why?

Ans. A tiger has a lot of physical strength but in the poem, his strength is locked behind the

By:
cage, his freedom is denied to him due to which he is angry and frustrated. He Is locked in a
cage and doesn’t have enough space to run or walk around. Therefore, he ignores the visitors
because he feels that the humans are responsible for his plight.

Q3) Explain the line ‘And stares with his brilliant eyes at the brilliant stars’.

In the night, the tiger stares at the shiny stars with his shining eyes. The poet implies that the
tiger is sad and he is confined to the cage, therefore, he is helpless and cannot do anything.
Hence, the tiger stares at the stars at night and attempts to divert his thoughts towards
them. He is staring at the stars with the hope of being as free as them some day.

Q4) What is the message of the poem?

Ans. Just like humans, animals too long for freedom and do not like being caged. For
instance, the tiger in the poem longs to be in the jungle and he looks longingly at the shining
stars in the sky. By looking at the stars, the tiger hopes to be back in his natural home one
day.