NCERT Solutions Class 10 English Chapter 2 A Tiger in the Zoo Poem

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English for A Tiger in the Zoo Poem 

Thinking about the Poem

(ii) 

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?

Answer

This repetition is a poetic device used by the poet in order to increases the intensity of the tiger’s rage and his helpless silence.‘Velvet quiet’ refers to the quiet velvet pads of the tiger, which cannot run or leap. They can only walk around the limited space in the cage. The use of ‘quiet rage’ symbolises the anger and ferocity that is building up inside the tiger as it wants to run out into the forest and attack a deer, but the rage is quiet because it cannot come out in the open as it is in the cage. This double use of ‘quiet’ has brought immense beauty to the poem. Similarly, the use of ‘brilliant’ for the tiger’s eyes as well as the stars also brings out the magnificence of these lines. The tiger has dreams of being free in its ‘brilliant’ eyes. It sees the stars (that have also been described as brilliant) with the same eyes. It stares at the brilliant stars with its brilliant eyes thinking about how beautiful its life could be in the forest. The repetitiveness of these words gives a wonderful effect to the poem.

Tiger in the Zoo Poem Summary Class 10 English

GIST – Poem at a glance
• The poet has depicted the tiger both in the cage and in its natural habitat.
• The poet conveys that the tiger is best suited to roam the wild rather than be caged in a zoo
• Animals are more majestic when seen in their natural habitat than enclosed in an artificial setting.
• The tiger is aware of the sights and sounds around the him.
• The tiger‘s body and strength are locked up behind the bars of the cage.
• He strides proudly inside the cage suppressing his anger, while ignoring the visitors
• ‘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.
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.