Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary Class 12 English Poem 6 Explanation about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.successcds.net%2Fcce-cbse...

Tigers Summary, Explanation with Video, Question

Answers from Flamingo Book

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers – Check out for NCERT Class 12 English

Flamingo Book Poem 6 Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers, Question Answers,
and New Words. Aunt Jennifer’s tigers is a poem by Adrienne Rich
illustrating her feminist concerns. In the male dominant world, a
woman of her time was only supposed to be a dutiful homemaker.
This poem through the world of Aunty Jennifer, tells us about her
inner desire to free herself from the clutches of an abusive
marriage and patriarchal society. Also, Take Free Online MCQs
Test for Class 12

ABOUT THE POET

• Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012)

• American poet, essayist and feminist.

• One of the most widely read and influenced poets of the second
half of the 20th century.

• She talks about a woman’s experiences in her married life.

• She has tried to explore the inner feelings of a woman who is living
under the dominance of men.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Class 12 Video Explanation

Top

Click Here to Watch Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary Video

Click Here to Watch Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers MCQs Video

2 of 11 09-Mar-22, 9:19 PM
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary Class 12 English Poem 6 Explanation about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.successcds.net%2Fcce-cbse...

Click Here to Watch Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Question Answers

Video

Click Here to Watch Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Important

Question Answers Video

Click Here for Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers MCQs

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Poem Explanation

FIRST STANZA
Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

EXPLANATION

• The poet is talking about a lady whom she addresses as aunt,

Jennifer.

• She is embroidering a piece of cloth. It could be a table cloth or a

wall hanging.

• The pattern shows tigers who are moving and jumping around all
over the fabric.

• They are bright yellow in colour like the colour of the topaz stone
(use of metaphor).

• The dense green forest background is their home.

• They are the proud and fearless citizens of the forest.

• Here is a contrast between Aunt Jennifer and her tigers. The tigers

3 of 11 09-Mar-22, 9:19 PM
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary Class 12 English Poem 6 Explanation about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.successcds.net%2Fcce-cbse...

are fearless but this lady, who is embroidering them is not so.

• The tigers look elegant, shining and full of the gentleman’s grace.

The poet is describing a lady whom she addresses as Aunt

Jennifer. She says that Aunt Jennifer is doing embroidery on a
piece of cloth which could be a table cloth or a wall hanging. She
has designed it with beautiful tigers which are running fearlessly in
the green forest. She has described their beauty by comparing
them with a precious yellow stone known as topaz. She says that
they appear bright yellow in the green backdrop of the forest. They
are fearless and they are not affected by the presence of men.
Here we can sense the contrast of behavior between the tigers
and aunt, though the tigers designed by her are fearless but she
herself is afraid of her husband. Further, the poet says that the
tigers are proud and fearless citizens of the forests. They are very
shiny and elegant.

Literary Devices

Rhyme scheme: aabb

Anaphora: use of same word in two consecutive lines (they do not

… and they pace in…)

Metaphor: Use of topaz to describe the yellow color of tigers

(Bright topaz)

SECOND STANZA
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.

EXPLANATION

4 of 11 09-Mar-22, 9:19 PM
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary Class 12 English Poem 6 Explanation about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.successcds.net%2Fcce-cbse...

• The lady’s fingers are trembling with the fear of her husband.

• She is pursuing her hobby in her free time but probably, she is still
afraid of her husband who could scold her.

• Her fingers are so tired of working endlessly all her life

• The needle is also heavy for her to pull out of the cloth.

• The words ‘uncle’s wedding band’ as the band was bought by her
husband, it is his till today.

• The lady is dependent on her husband.

• She is still burdened by the weight of the ring. ‘weight’ means the
encirclement or trapping that has fallen upon her by getting
married to him, she has been burdened by the obligations of
married life, has become the man’s property.

• She has been living a demanding life due to which she has worn
out in her old age.

Here the poet describes the fear of Aunt Jennifer towards her
husband. She says that while she is doing embroidery, her fingers
are quivering (shaking) with fear of her husband. Her husband
doesn’t approve of her hobby of embroidery. Therefore, she
trembles while she is embroidering the piece of cloth. It has
become difficult for her to pull her needle up and down. Then she
describes the wedding ring which was given by uncle to Aunt
Jennifer on their wedding day. She says that it is a kind of burden
for her to wear this ring. She has been tortured by her husband so
much that the wedding ring which could have been a beautiful gift
for her seems like a burden to her. She has faced so many
difficulties in her married life that the little ring is described as a
heavy band on her trembling fingers. This means that the ring is

5 of 11 09-Mar-22, 9:19 PM
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary Class 12 English Poem 6 Explanation about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.successcds.net%2Fcce-cbse...

associated with some bad experiences in the form of torture she

has faced because of her husband’s dominating behaviour.

Literary device:

Rhyme scheme: aabb

Alliteration: ‘f’ sound is repeated in finger fluttering

THIRD STANZA
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

EXPLANATION

• Her wish to live a free, fearless life is indicated by her choice of

design – tigers.

• It shows her innermost desire of being strong, fearless which has

been overpowered by her husband.

• Probably, her ordeal will end upon her death.

• Her frightened, shaking fingers will be put to rest.

• But still, even after death, the ring shall remain on her hand, i.e.
her husband’s rule over her is not yet over!

• After her death, her desire of freedom and fearlessness shall

remain alive in these tigers which she has embroidered.

The poet says that one can easily sense aunt’s desire for freedom
and fearlessness through her design of tigers. Further she says
that it is not possible for aunt to achieve this freedom during her
lifetime. She will attain it only after her death but here also the
irony of her life is that still, she will be tied up with shackles in the

6 of 11 09-Mar-22, 9:19 PM
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary Class 12 English Poem 6 Explanation about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.successcds.net%2Fcce-cbse...

form of her husband’s wedding ring. The ring was the sole proof of
the tortures which she had faced from her husband. On the other
hand, there are the tigers designed by Aunt Jennifer which will
always depict her desire of living a fearless life by jumping proudly
and bravely on the piece of cloth.

Literary devices

Rhyme scheme: aabb

alliteration: ‘p’ is repeated in prancing proud

Class 12 Important Videos Links

New words
Prance : walk or move around with high springy steps.
Topaz : a bright yellow coloured stone.
Denizens : here, an animal that lives or is found in a particular
place.
Sleek : elegant.
Chivalric : being courteous esp. to women, an act of a gentleman.
Ordeals: extremely severe tests or experiences.
Prancing : to move around proudly.
Fluttering : to move in quick, irregular motions as if being agitated.

Top

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary – The poet expresses the inner

feelings of a woman – Aunt Jennifer. The aunt is embroidering a
motif comprising of energetic, fearless tigers moving freely around
the bright greenery. She is living a life of submissiveness to her

7 of 11 09-Mar-22, 9:19 PM
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary Class 12 English Poem 6 Explanation about:reader?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.successcds.net%2Fcce-cbse...

husband’s command. Her acts are dominated by him and she

fears him constantly. This pattern of the free and fearless tigers
reflects her inner desire to live a free and fearless life. The tigers
are graceful, elegant and bright.
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers tremble as she embroiders. She is old but
still fears her husband. She does not enjoy the freedom to do
anything as per her wish. She is scared doing the embroidery too
and fears his wrath. Since the day she got married, she has been
fulfilling the demands of her husband. The wedding ring on her
hand is a constant reminder that she belongs to her husband. The
burden of the demanding marriage has exhausted her. The
torment will not end until her death.
Even after her death, the ring will remain on her hand and she will
never be free. On the other hand, the tigers that she is
embroidering will continue to move around freely forever. Her
desire of freedom and fearlessness will live on through her tigers.

Top

Class 12 English Important Links

Top

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Question Answers

Q. How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding

of the tiger’s attitudes?

Ans. The word ‘denizens’ means that they are proud of their home,
they feel safe there and have a feeling of belonging attached to it.
The word ‘chivalric’ shows that they have a majestic and worthy
position like knights.

8 of 11 09-Mar-22, 9:19 PM