2.1 A Tiger in the Zoo
LESLIE
NORRIS
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. Read the poem
silently once, and say which stanzas speak about the tiger in the zoo, and
which ones speak about the tiger in the jungle.
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.
Glossary:
snarls:
makes an angry, warning sound
Thinking about the Poem:
1.
Read the poem again, and work in pairs or groups to do the following tasks.
(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.
(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.
2.
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?
3.
Read the following two poems — one about a tiger and the other about a panther.
Then discuss:
Are
zoos necessary for the protection or conservation of some species of animals?
Are they useful for educating the public? Are there alternatives to zoos?
Q1) How does the tiger feel in the cage?
Ans. The tiger feels uneasy in the cage. It roars
growls and snarls. It always remains in anger and goes on moving the few
steps on the pads of velvet quiet.
Q2) How does a tiger create terror for the villages?
Ans. The villagers become fearful on seeing the
tiger moving around the villages. They are afraid lest it should attack and
kill them. Its bare fangs and cruel paws can pierce the body in no time.
Q3) What does the tiger do at night?
Ans. The tiger does not rest even at night. It
hears the last voice of the patrolling car. It keeps stares at the brilliant
stars.
Q4) After a deep contemplation the tiger does not want
to remain in wild. Why?
Ans. The tiger has thought about the consequences
of remaining in a wild. It has arrived at a conclusion that the hunters might
shoot him. He has the fear of being drowned by water. Or it may be served
with poisoned food.
2.2 The Tiger
PETER
NIBLETT
The tiger behind the bars of his cage growls,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage snarls,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage roars.
Then he thinks.
It would be nice not to be behind bars all
The time
Because they spoil my view
I wish I were wild, not on show.
But if I were wild, hunters might shoot me,
But if I were wild, food might poison me,
But if I were wild, water might drown me.
Then he stops thinking
And...
The tiger behind the bars of his cage growls,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage snarls,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage roars.
2.3 The Panther
RAINER
MARIA RILKE
His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. It seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world.
As he paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a centre
in which a mighty will stands paralysed.
Only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly. An image enters in,
rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart and is gone.
4.
Take a point of view for or against zoos, or even consider both points of view
and write a couple of paragraphs or speak about this topic for a couple of
minutes in class.
2.4 The Greater Cats
VICTORIA SACKVILLE-WEST
The greater cats with golden eyes
Stare out between the bars.
Deserts are there, and different skies,
And night with different stars.
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