Class -X Poem -3 (First Flight) "A Tiger in the Zoo' - LESLIE NORRIS

1.       A Tiger in the Zoo 

                                                                                              by  LESLIE NORRIS                 

Summary

‘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 terrorised the villagers, displaying his sharp teeth and claws. 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.

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.

Poem and Explanation 

He stalks in his vivid stripes

The few steps of his cage,

On pads of velvet quiet,

In his quiet rage.

He should be lurking in shadow,

Sliding through long grass

Near the water hole

Where plump deer pass.

He should be snarling around houses

At the jungle’s edge,

Baring his white fangs, his claws,

Terrorising the village!

But he’s locked in a concrete cell,

His strength behind bars,

Stalking the length of his cage,

Ignoring visitors.

He hears the last voice at night,

The patrolling cars,

And stares with his brilliant eyes

At the brilliant stars.

EXPLANATION OF THE POEM

Stanza 1

He stalks in his vivid stripes

The few steps of his cage,

On pads of velvet quiet,

In his quiet rage.

WORD MEANINGS

stalks – stride, to move quietly and slowly in a threatening way

vivid – bright

stripes – long narrow bands

pads – the soft part under the foot of the tiger

rage – anger

Exp – The poet sees a tiger locked in a concrete cell in the zoo. It is a very small cage. The tiger can hardly take a few steps along the length of the cage. He looks majestic as he slowly moves up and down in his cage. The sharp and clear stripes on his body are of strong bright colour. His pads are velvet soft. Inspite of all his strength, he now lies imprisoned behind the bars. The caged tiger is angry. He is full of rage, but is quiet because he knows that he is helpless here.

Stanza 2

He should be lurking in shadow,

Sliding through long grass

Near the water hole

Where plump deer pass.

WORD MEANINGS

lurking – hiding

sliding – moving

hole – pool

plump – chubby

Exp – Looking at the imprisoned tiger, the poet is filled with pity. He says that the poor tiger should have been in his natural habitat i.e. the jungle, hunting and resting. Then, at this hour of the night, he would have been lying in the shadows of trees and sliding quietly through the long grass. He would, then, near the water hole, wait for some fat and healthy deer to pass that way. Thus, he would be lying there in expectation of a heavy feast.

Stanza 3

He should be snarling around houses

At the jungle’s edge,

Baring his white fangs, his claws,

Terrorising the village!

WORD MEANINGS

snarling – to make an angry and warning sound

baring – showing

fangs – two long sharp teeth at the front of the mouths of some animals

Terrorising – frightening or threatening

Exp – In these lines, the poet imagines what the tiger would be doing in case he failed to find any prey in his natural habitat. He says that the tiger would be angrily moving around the houses in a nearby village. He would be growling at the edge of the jungle near some village. He would be showing his white fangs and terrible claws while moving here and there. He would, thus, become a cause of terror for the villagers. The poet here gives a hint that if we continue to destroy the forest cover and the natural habitat of the tigers, they will be forced to turn to our towns and villages to find their food.

Stanza 4

But he’s locked in a concrete cell,

His strength behind bars,

Stalking the length of his cage,

Ignoring visitors.

WORD MEANINGS

concrete cell – a very small and unpleasant cage

stalking – moving slowly and quietly in a threatening way

Exp – The poet sees the tiger locked in a concrete cell in the zoo. Inspite of all his strength, he now lies imprisoned behind the bars. Very slowly and silently, the tiger moves up and down along the length of the cage. He moves in an angry and threatening manner. He takes no note of the visitors, who had come to the zoo to have a look at him. He completely ignores them as none of them thinks of releasing him from his prison. Moreover, due to their presence, he hardly gets any rest during the day.

Stanza 5

He hears the last voice at night,

The patrolling cars,

And stares with his brilliant eyes

At the brilliant stars.

WORD MEANINGS

patrolling – to go around an area at regular times to check that it is safe

brilliant – very bright

Exp – Due to the visitors, the tiger gets no rest during the day. Even at night, he remains disturbed due to the noise that comes from the patrolling cars. The tiger has, thus, lost all hope and feels very helpless. He, thus, stares at the brilliant stars shining brightly in the sky. It seems that he is looking for some sort of comfort and hope in these stars. His brilliant eyes show that he still hopes for the day when he would be able to run free in the forest.

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.

Extract Based Questions 

Read the following extracts and answer the question/complete the sentences that follow

Question 1. He stalks in his vivid stripes The few steps of his cage On pads of velvet quiet,

In his quiet rage.

(a)What are the two qualities of the animal under reference ?

(b)Why does he move only a few steps ?

(c)Pick out the word from the stanza that means the same as ‘clear’.

(d)Who has written the above lines ? 

Answer: (a)The two qualities of the animal are : He has stripes and velvet pads.

(b)He moves only a few steps because he is in the cage.

(c)Vivid.

(d)Leslie Norris

Question 2. He stalks in his vivid stripes The few steps of his cage,

On pads of velvet quiet,

In his quiet rage. 

(a)Who is ‘he’ here ?

(b)The two qualities of the animal are …….. .

(c)He is in rage because ………. .

(d)Which word refers to ‘lines’ ?

Answer: (a)’He here is a tiger.

(b)He has ‘vivid’ stripes and velvet pads.

(c)He is in the cage.

(d)Stripes.

Question 3. He should be lurking in shadow, Sliding through long grass Near the water hole Where plump deer pass 

(a)The tiger is moving through ………. .

(b)The tiger lies in wait near the water hole ………. .

(c)The word plump shows that deer is referred to as ……….. .

(d)Name the poet.

Answer: (a) long grass.

(b) for a fat deer.

(c) fat.

(d) Leslie Norris

Question 4. He should be lurking in shadow,

Sliding through long grass

(a) He should be lurking in shadow to

(b) He should be sliding through long grass, but actually he is

(c) He is

(d) Which word refers to ‘fat’ ?

Answer: (a) stalk the deer.

(b) in a cage of the zoo.

(c) Tiger.

(d) Plump.

Question 5. He should be snarling around houses 

At the jungle’s edge,

Baring his white fangs, his claws,

Terrorising the village !

(a) Who is ‘he’ in the above extract ?

(b) ‘White fangs’ shows the …….. of the animal.

(c) Trace a word from the extract that means “showing the teeth and making fearful sound”.

(d) Where is the tiger snarling ?

Answer: (a) ‘He’ here is the tiger.

(b) White pointed teeth of tiger.

(c) ‘Snarling’ means ‘showing the teeth and making fearful sound’.

(d) At the jungle’s edge.

Short Answer Type 

Question 1. Describe some of the activities of the tiger as stated by the poet.

Answer: Some of the activities of the tiger as stated by the poet are – walking along the cage, hearing the patrolling of cars, ignoring visitors and staring at the brilliant stars of the sky.

Question 2. Why does the tiger express his anger quietly?

Answer: The tiger expresses his anger quietly because he is helpless. He can do nothing from behind the bars. He is not free as he was in the forest.

Question 3. What does the poet want to convey through the poem ?

Answer: The poet exhibits the miserable life led by the animals in the zoo. He shows the two different – life i.e., in the zoo and the life at a natural habitat. According to the poet animals should not be caged. They should be let free in the wild.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Do you agree that wild animals should be caged ? comment yes or no giving reasons.

Answer: Wild animals should not be caged. This is a well known fact that tiger is a royal species which is on the verge of extinction. In ancient times tigers moved around freely in the forests. But today they are caged and left in the zoo for the entertainment of people. In fact, they are not meant for confinement. The result is that their off spring also do not learn to hunt, when they are caged. Caging wild animals also leads to disturbance of ecological balance. So, wild animals should be let free. They belong to the forest. Cages are not meant for a wild animal specially a tiger.