story

1. A Tiger in the Zoo
By Leslie Norris
THEME
The poem explains the agony and helplessness of a caged tiger that lives in a zoo. The poet has tried to
depict the mental condition of a caged tiger. He compares the life of a tiger in the zoo with its life in its
natural habitat. The animals are forced into a life of captivity by man. Man’s whims and fancies are
endless, so he seeks to cage wild animals and display them in a zoo for visitors. But man fails to see that
in the process the animals are being deprived of their natural environment. This is morally wrong as man
has no right to harm and destroy other lives.
MESSAGE
Wild animals should be left in their natural environment. The poet has heightened the contrast between
freedom and captivity. Love for freedom is the natural instinct of every living being. We should value the
freedom of wild animals. No animal can be happy in captivity. The caged tiger is deprived of expressing
his natural instincts and behavior. A tiger in the zoo has to suffer because of the insensitivity and
selfishness of man.
POETIC DEVICES
1ST
Stanza-
Rhyme scheme- abcb
Personification- the tiger is referred to as ‘He’
Metaphor-pads of velvet
Enjambment- The first line is continuing into the second without any punctuation
Imagery-first two lines ( He stalks in his vivid stripes
Te few steps of his cage,)
Consonance - use of ‘s’ sound ….. stalks, his, stripes
Assonance- use of vowel sound ‘I’ ….. in his vivid stripes
Oxymoron- quiet rage …. Use of adjectives opposite in meaning
2nd
stanza-
Rhyme scheme- abcb
Enjambment- sliding through…….. deer pass
Alliteration- plump pass use of sound ‘ p’ at the start of two words
Imagery- lurking in shadow
3rd
stanza
Rhyme scheme- abcb
Enjambment-he should be snarling…….jungle’s edge
Onomatopoeia -snarling (denote sound)
Assonance- use of vowel sound ‘o’ (should, around, houses) use of vowel sound ‘I’(baring ,his, white
,his)
Consonance- use of consonant sound ‘s’ (his, fangs, his, claws)
4th
stanza
Rhyme scheme- abcb
Assonance-use of vowel sound ‘e’ (he, locked, concrete, cell)
Consonance-use of consonant sound ‘s’ (his, strength, bars)
Alliteration- sound of ‘b’ at the start of two words ( behind bars)