Poem 03 Class X

2. Leslie Norris was a famous Welsh poet
and short story writer. He was born in
1921, in Wales. Leslie Norris had
decided even at an early age that he
would become a poet. He was very
much interested in the poems of Dylan
Thomas and Vernon Watkins. His first
poem was published in 1938 but his first
book of poetry came out in 1943. In July
1942, Norris married Catherine, better
known as Kitty. They moved to England
and trained themselves to be teachers.
He shot to fame with his first publication
‘Finding Gold’. His works won various
awards including the Cholmondeley
Poetry Prize and the Katherine
Mansfield Memorial award. Leslie died in
2006.

3. Central Idea of the Poem
The tiger is a proud creature. It is a shame that such a
powerful, agile and untamable animal should be caged
in a zoo. In his natural and wild habitat, he doesn’t
need the help of any kind to hunt its own food. His
hunting of deer at the water hole may seem rather
cruel. He hunts not for pleasure but for food. His
presence in the natural habitat is necessary to
maintain the balance of the food chain. Sometimes, the
tiger may stray into human habitation. He only displays
his strength and ferociousness. But he doesn’t harm
anyone till he is provoked. Even in the cage, he
ignores all those who come to the zoo to see him as
entertainment. Like human beings, the tiger too loves
and values his freedom. He shows his anger, hatred
and even defiance by walking about in rage in his
cage. Human progress should not be at the cost of
destroying the natural habitats of untamable and proud
animals like the tiger.

4. Stalk—to walk in an angry or proud way
Vivid—very bright,
Stripes—long lines on the body,
Cage—a box made of bars or wire,
Pads—cushion,
Velvet—a soft silk cloth
Quiet—making very little noise,
Rage—violent anger
Lurking—waiting secretly,
Shadow—(here) darkness,
Sliding through—moving smoothly and quietly,
Water hole—a small pool of water where animals go to
drink
Snarling—making an aggressive growl showing
teeth, Around—in various directions,
At the Jungle’s edge—at the outer area of jungle,
Baring—not covered with,
White fangs—two long sharp teeth,
Claws—nails of animals or birds,
Terrorising—creating fear,

5. Style
The poem consists of 5 stanzas, each is
made up of 4 lines. The rhyme scheme is:
abcb; abcb; abcb; abcb; abcb. The poem
has two distinct settings. The first setting is
that of the zoo where the tiger is put in a
cage. The second setting is that of the
natural wild habitat of the tiger which
should have been his real place. The
personification of the tiger is evident as the
poet calls him ‘he’, and not ‘it’. The
metaphor ‘pads of velvet’ is used
effectively in the third line of the first
stanza. The tense tone represents the
hidden rage of the tiger.

6. SUMMARY
In this poem, Leslie Norris has given an
appropriate description of a tiger. This poem
contrasts a tiger in the zoo in his cage with the
tiger in its natural habitat. The poem moves
from the zoo to the jungle, and back again to
the jungle. The poet sees a tiger full of rage
but quiet, moving in his cage in a starry night.
The poet feels that the tiger should have been
moving freely in the forest and hunting at his
will. But now he is locked in a concrete cell
behind the bars. At night he watches stars with
his brilliant eyes and longs for freedom.

7. Walks in Quiet Rage: The dweller of the forest is
forcefully put in a cage. The tiger is caged in a zoo.
There, in his artificial habitat, he walks in quiet rage.
The stripes on his body are very distinct and can be
easily seen. The stripes are darker in colour than the
rest of his coat. The tiger moves very softly and quietly
with his ‘pads of velvet’. But the range of his movement
is limited. He goes on moving around within the
confines of his cage. The tiger doesn’t relish the stares
of the onlookers in the zoo. His rage or anger is
suppressed.
He Should Have Been in his Natural Habitat:
The poet means that the zoo is not the rightful
place of the tiger. He is a denizen of the jungle.
His real place is in the wild. Had he been in the
wild, he would have been lurking around in
shadow. He must have been sliding quietly
through the long grass to ambush his kill.

8. Terrorising the Village:
Had the tiger been in the forest, sometimes he
would stray into human settlement. He would
stray around the outskirts of the village. These
human settlements are at the jungle’s edge. On
seeing the villagers he would open his long
sharp teeth and claws to terrorise the residents.
The tiger is not in his natural habitat—the
wilds:
Unfortunately, he is locked in a concrete cell of a
zoo. His powerful and strong body is of no use to
him as he is put behind the bars. His movements
have been limited. He is continuously moving
about the length and breadth of his cage.

9. Remains Awake till Late at Night:
The poet describes how the day ends for the
tiger. He doesn’t go to sleep until the late hours
of the night. He hears the sound of the cars of
the zoo official patrolling at night. The stars shine
brightly in the sky and so do his brilliant eyes at
night.

10. 1. The tiger is not in his natural habitat i.e. the
jungle.
2. Unfortunately, the resident of the forest has been
confined to a zoo.
3. He is no more -free to roam about in the forest
but walks within the length and breadth of his
cage.
4. He has dark spots on his skin which are clearly
visible even from a distance.
5. Forced to live in his cage, he walks around
quietly with his velvety soft feet.
6. He is angry but has to suppress it.
7. In his quiet rage, he continues walking up and
down his caged habitat.
8. The poet imagines how the tiger should behave
if he is in his natural habitat — the wild jungle.

11. 1. There, he should be silently hiding in the shadow
remains unnoticed.
2. Sliding through the long grass he should move
stealthily to ambush his prey.
3. He knows where he can find his kill in the wild.
4. His favourite hunt is the plump deer which he can
find near the water-hole.
5. Sometimes, he comes out of the forest and strays
in the human settlement at the edge of the jungle.
6. There he terrorises the villagers by opening out
his white fangs or the long teeth and the claws.
7. His ferocious looks frighten the villagers.
8. However, he has no intention of entering the
village and killing anybody until he is highly
provoked.

12. 1. Unfortunately, the mighty tiger is cursed to live
in a concrete cell in the zoo.
2. Many visitors come to see him in the zoo but
he doesn’t like the stares of the visitors.
3. He simply ignores their presence.
4. Now, he is made to limit his movements only
to the length and breadth of his caged habitat.
5. The tiger keeps awake till late in the night.
6. He hears the noise of the patrolling cars
moving around in the zoo.
7. The brilliant stars shine in the sky and his
brilliant eyes shine in the night.
8. He can’t free himself but he keeps on
watching the brilliant stars standing behind the
bars of his caged habitat.

13. 1. What does a tiger have on his body?
(A) spots (B) stripes
(C) stars (D) all of the
above
2. How does a tiger feel in a cage?
(A) happy (B) contented
(C) free (D) angry
3. How are the pads of a tiger?
(A) velvet (B) rough
(C) hard (D) all of the
above
4. What does the tiger hunt near the water hole?
(A) lions (B) elephants
(C) deer (D) all of the
above
5. Where do the tigers hunt the deer?
(A) in the cage (B) near the
water hole
(C) near the cage (D) all of the
above.

14. 6. Where should the tiger be snarling?
(A) at the jungle’s edge (B) at the
cage’s edge
(C) in the cage (D) all of the
above
7. A tiger Is happy when……………..
(A) he is in the cage (B) he is near
the cage
(C) he frightens the visitors (D) he is free in
the forest
8. What is the tiger’s attitude towards visitors?
(A) loving (B) hating
(C) ignoring (D) threatening
9. What is patrolling at night?
(A) can (B) tigers
(C) deer (D) all of the
above
10. How are the eves of the tiger?
(A) dull (B) brilliant
(C) sleepy (D) sad

15. Rhyme scheme: abcb (cage-rage)
Personification: The tiger is personified
because the poet refers him as ‘he’.
Metaphor: Tiger’s paws are compared with
velvet (pads of velvet)
Imagery: poet tries to create an image
about the tiger (He stalks in his vivid
stripes The few steps of his cage)
Oxymoron: use of adjectives opposite in
meaning (quiet rage)

16. Rhyme: rhyme scheme is abcb
(grass-pass)
Alliteration: use of sound ‘p’ at the
start of two words (plump pass)
Imagery: The poet has tries to
create an image of tiger’s activities
(lurking in shadow).

17. Rhyme Scheme: abcb rhyme scheme is
followed (edge, village)
Onomatopoeia: using words which denote
sound (snarling)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ and ‘I’
(should, around, houses), (Baring, his,
white, his)
Consonance: use of consonant sound ‘s’
(his, fangs, his, claws)

18. Rhyme Scheme: abcb rhyme scheme
is followed (bars-visitors)
Personification: The tiger is personified
because the poet refers him as ‘he’.
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘e’ (he,
locked, concrete, cell)
Consonance: use of consonant sound
‘s’ (his, strength, bars)
Alliteration: use of sound ‘b’ at the start
of two words (behind bars)

19. Rhyme Scheme: abcb rhyme scheme
is followed (cars-stars)
Enjambment: Line three continues to
line four without any punctuation mark.
(And stares with his brilliant eyes At the
brilliant stars.)
Alliteration: use of sound ‘h’ in the
starting of two words (he hears)
Assonance: use of ‘I’ sound (with, his,
brilliant)