A Tiger in The Zoo

1.0About The Poet

George Leslie Norris was a prize-winning Welsh poet and short story writer. He is considered as most important Welsh writer of the post war period and his literary works have won many prizes.

In this poem the poet explains the agony and helplessness of a caged tiger that lives in a zoo. The poet explains what his life would have been if he had been a free animal. He tried to explain about the condition of animals that are caged by human beings for their own fun.

2.0Central Idea

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 again back to the zoo. 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. At night in the zoo, he hears the sounds of patrolling cars. The tiger in the zoo appears helpless as 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 come to watch him. In the silence of the night, he stares at the brilliant stars with his bright eyes.

3.0Natural Vs Man made

This poem contrasts a tiger in the zoo with the tiger in its natural habitat. This poem has two distinct settings. The first setting is that of the zoo and it is the setting that the tiger inhabits in reality. The second setting is that of the forest and it is the setting that the tiger has been taken out of and no longer has access to, and also the setting that the poet would like the tiger to inhabit once again. These two settings are contrasted against each other. In doing so, the poet's motive is to show how much better the tiger is suited to the second setting than the first. The tiger belongs to the wild and that is where it should remain, feels the poet. 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.

4.0Poetic devices used in this poem

(1) Personification: It is a literary device where animals, plants or even inanimate objects are given human qualities. Example - The poet refers to the tiger as he and not it. Thus, the tiger has been personified.

(2) Metaphor : It is a literary device that makes a comparison between two non- similar things. Example - The paws of tiger have been compared with velvet.

(3) Enjambment: It is a literary term for the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next. Example - The sentences are being continued to the next line.

(4) Imagery : This poetic device refers to usage of verbal images to describe a concept. Example - The poet has given detailed visual description about the tiger - He stalks in his vivid stripes.

(5) Assonance: This is a literary device in which the repetition of similar vowel sounds takes place in two or more words in proximity to each other within a line. Examples - There is a prominent sound of the vowel ' i ' - (1) He stalks in his vivid stripes (2) In his quiet rage.

(6) Consonance : The repetition of the same consonant sounds in a line of text. Example - There is a prominent sound of the consonant 's' - 'stalks in his vivid stripes'.

(7) Oxymoron : This figure of speech combines two seemingly contradictory or opposite ideas to create poetic effect. Example - The poet has used two words which are opposite in meaning - quiet and rage.

(8) Synecdoche : It refers to a literary device in which a part of something is substituted for the whole. Example - Here, the poet has used the phrase vivid stripes for the whole body of the tiger.

5.0Recall

• This poem contrasts a tiger when it is in its natural habitat and when it is imprisoned in a zoo.
• On a starry night, the poet sees a tiger in a zoo.
• The tiger moves slowly up and down in his cage.
• The tiger is full of rage but is quiet in his helplessness.
• The poet says that the tiger should have been in the jungle.
• But sadly the tiger is locked behind bars in a concrete cell
• The tiger does not take any notice of the visitors.
• The tiger is no longer free to move in his natural habitat.