A detailed explanation , figurative device with question and answers based on CBSE syllabus

1. A Tiger in the Zoo
By George Leslie Norris

2. Day 1 - Agenda
❖ Entry Ticket
- Discussion - 3 mins
- Think Pair Share - 5 mins
❖ Silent reading & first impressions - 5 mins
❖ Stanza wise explanation - 25 mins
❖ Video - Extinction of tigers - 2 mins
❖ Message - 5 mins
❖ Exit Ticket - 3 mins

3. Enduring Understanding
Students will be able to understand the importance
of freedom for all living beings including animals.
They also understand the need to preserve and
conserve animals in their natural habitat.

4. Learning Targets:
• I can determine the central theme and identify the
various literary devices of the poem.
• I can interpret the poem and give my perspective
on it.
• I can formulate relevant answers with structure and
provide evidence from the poem.

5. Day 1 - Entry Ticket -Discussion
• What do you feel about animals being used for
commercial purposes?
• Are zoos necessary for conservation/protection of wildlife?
Are there any alternatives to zoos?

6. Entry Ticket - Think Pair Share
• Observe the pictures in the upcoming slides carefully.
• Discuss within your crews each of your views.
• Share your thoughts with the entire class.

11. Silent reading and sharing first impressions of the
poem.
Reading of the poem

12. A Tiger In the Zoo - Stanza 1
He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage,
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage.
The tiger is locked in a concrete cell in the zoo. Since the size of
the cage is small, the tiger can hardly take a few steps along the
length of the cage. His pads are velvet soft. In spite of all his
strength, the tiger is imprisoned. The tiger is angry, full of rage
but is quiet because he is helpless.

13. A Tiger In the Zoo - Stanza 2
He should be lurking in shadow,
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass.
The tiger should have been in his natural habitat i.e. in the
jungle or a forest - hunting, and resting. He is supposed to
be lying in the shadows of the tree and sliding quietly
through long grass.He is supposed to wait near the hole for
some fat and healthy deer to pass that way.

14. A Tiger In the Zoo - Stanza 3
He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle’s edge,
Baring his white fangs, his claws,
Terrorising the village!
According to the poet, if the tiger had been free, he
would have angrily moved around the houses on the
outskirts of the forest. Exposing his razor-sharp teeth and
claws, he would terrorise the villagers.

15. A Tiger In the Zoo - Stanza 4
But he’s locked in a concrete cell,
His strength behind bars,
Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.
The poet sees that the tiger is locked in a concrete cell in the
zoo. In spite of his strength, he is imprisoned behind the bars.
Very slowly the tiger moves up and down along the length of
the cage as he has nothing else to do. He completely ignores
the visitors who have come to watch him. His power is limited
to the cage which makes it almost impossible for him to
terrorize the visitors.

16. A Tiger In the Zoo - Stanza 5
He hears the last voice at night,
The patrolling cars,
And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars.
The tiger hears the sounds of the patrolling cars at night. He
looks up at the stars with his shining eyes. All that he can do
is to just stare at the stars as he has lost all hope and feels
helpless. He is looking for some sort of hope and comfort in
these stars. He hopes for a day where he would be set free
in his natural habitat and live in the natural surroundings.

17. Why are tigers going extinct?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrp0boIH9mA

18. Message
• This poem is a representation of the plight of animals. People trap animals
and keep them in cages in a zoo, but they do not realise that a wild animal is
better off in its natural habitat. The poem shows a stark contrast in the living
style of a tiger in a zoo and a tiger in a forest. It tries to depict the mental
condition of the caged tiger. The tiger moves to and fro in the cage as if
trying to pass away the time.
• The tiger belongs in the forest. There it can hunt as and when required. It
hunts not out of envy or out of hatred, as human beings do, but only as a
survival strategy. Humans believe that the tiger is dangerous, but in fact it is
humans who are a danger to each other, and the tiger is relatively benign.
• In the wild, the tiger can roam freely. Yet we do not hesitate to cage up such
an independent creature. We do not think it is degrading to pay to watch
such a creature in a jail cell, or even worse, in a circus or a movie set.
• The poet feels that it is unjust to remove animals from their natural habitat
and that we must strive to conserve that habitat for them at all costs. Instead
of taking forest lands away for agriculture or industrialisation, we should give
these lands back to their original inhabitants.

19. Exit Ticket - Pick out words from the poem which describes the
appearance and movement of the tiger.
Appearance Movement

20. Day 2 - Agenda
❖ Entry Ticket - CFU - 3 mins
❖ Themes - 5 mins
❖ Literary devices - 10 mins
❖ RTC, Short & Long Q/As discussion - 30 mins
❖ Exit Ticket - 2 mins

21. Day 2: Entry Ticket - CFU
• What is the significance of the title, “A
Tiger in the Zoo”?
• How does the poem challenge traditional
views of wild animals and their place in
the world?

22. Themes
• Freedom vs captivity - The most important theme of the
poem is freedom vs captivity. In this poem, Norris describes
how the tiger longs for its freedom. It somehow wants to
break its imposed captivity to become the same wild spirit
again.
• Tamed vs wild - the poet talks about how men try to tame
the wild. It not only destroys the beauty of the wild but it also
tries to kill one’s basic instincts.
• Natural Beauty - The tiger is a part of nature that stands for
the beauty of nature as a whole. It represents the wild side of
nature still it has its beauty.

23. Literary Devices
Rhyme Scheme - abcb - Stanza 1, 2 and 5
abcd - Stanza 3 and 4
Metaphor - ‘pads of velvet’ - pads are compared with velvet
because of the quality of softness.
Oxymoron - ‘quiet rage’
Imagery - ‘he stalks in vivid stripes’, ‘lurking in the shadow’
Enjambment - ‘sliding through… deer pass’, ‘he should be
snarling around houses… jungle’s edge’
Alliteration - ‘behind bars’, ‘he hears’

24. Reference to Context
He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle’s edge,
Baring his white fangs, his claws,
Terrorising the village!
(a) What does the poet try to suggest through these lines?
(b) How does the tiger scare the people? [CBSE 2015]
(c) Why does ‘he’ snarl?
(d) How does ‘he’ show his presence? [CBSE 2011]

25. Short Answer Questions (40-50 words)
Q1. How does the tiger walk about in the cage? What are
his emotions?
Q2. What do you understand by `His strength behind bars’?
What kind of a cage is he locked in?
Q3. What difference do you find in the mood of a tiger when
he is in a zoo and when he is in a forest?
Q4. How does the tiger make his presence felt in the
village?

26. Long Question (100-120 words)
Q Love for freedom is a natural instinct of
every living being. Comment with reference
to the poem A Tiger in the Zoo.

27. Exit Ticket - MCQ
Q 1 How do the eyes of tiger look?
a) sad b) brilliant c) dark d) light
Q 2 The poem draws a contrast between ___ and ___.
a) animals and human beings
b) tiger in a zoo and tiger in a forest
c) tiger in a zoo and humans
d) Humans and tiger in a forest
Q 3 Name the poetic device used in “In his quiet rage”
a) metaphor b) assonance c) oxymoron d) simile

28. Exit Ticket - MCQ
Q 4 Why should the tiger be lurking in shadow?
a) out of fear
b) out of anger
c) to catch the deer
d) all of the above
Q 5 Name the poetic device used in the line “On pads of
velvet quiet”
a) metaphor b) assonance c) consonance d) oxymoron