RYAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL , MAYUR VIHAR

SUBJECT:ENGLISH

TOPIC: A TIGER IN A ZOO

Question 1. How does the tiger feel in the zoo?
Answer: The poet describes the feelings of the tiger in the zoo. He keeps on moving from
one corner of the cage to another restlessly . He is powerless and helpless. He longs for
freedom “He stalks in his vivid stripes moving the few steps of his cage”. He is not happy.
He expresses his silent anger.

Question 2. What message do you get from this poem?

Answer: From this poem, we come to know that animals like to live freely in the forest. The
animals do not want to live in the zoo, to be caged. Their life is pitiable in it. The poet wants
to convey that like human beings, animals also like freedom, and if their habitat is
destroyed by human beings, these animals cannot survive.

Question 3. What would the tiger do in a forest?

Answer:
In the forest, the tiger can enjoy complete freedom. He would walk around freely without
any fear lurking in the shadow of long grass to prey on the deer near the water hole. He
would terrorize the villagers by growling. He would show his teeth and claws.

Question 4. What is the tiger doing in his cage? Why is he ignoring the visitors?
Answer:
The tiger is slowly and quietly moving along the length of the cage in a threatening manner.
He is ignoring the visitors because he considers them devoid of any feelings. None of them
thinks of releasing him from his prison. Thus, he stops taking any notice of them.

Question 5. Is it right to confine wild animals into cages? Why or why not?
Answer:
Wild animals are meant to live in the wild. They are not meant to be caged and displayed in
the zoos. We all know that the majestic species of tiger is on the verge of extinction. There
used to be a time when they used to roam proudly and freely in the jungle. They are not
meant to live a life in confinement. They also have the right to freedom like all other living
beings. Confinement leads to depression and misery. Moreover, their offsprings lose the
hunting capabilities as they are not trained to hunt in the wild. As a result, they would not be
able to feed themselves. Furthermore, confining wild animals disturbs the whole ecological
balance. We should, thus, let the animals run free in the wild. They belong to the forest and
not to the cage.

RTC 1
He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage,
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage.

(i) Name the poem and poet.

(ii) Who does ‘He’ refer to? Where is he kept?
(iii) Is he happy there?
(iv) Pick out the word from the extract that means the same as—‘bright’.
(v) Why could the tiger take only a few steps?
(vi) What are the two qualities of the animal under reference?
(vii)Give the rhyme scheme
(viii) Name the device in ‘ On pads of velvet’
Answer:
(i) These lines have been taken from the poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ composed by Leslie
Norris.
(ii) ‘He’ refers to the Tiger. He is in the cage in the zoo..Personification .
(iii) No, the tiger is not happy in the cage as he is full of anger.
(iv) ‘vivid’
(v). The tiger is restricted to only a few steps as he is in a small cage.
(vi) The tiger has vivid stripes on his body and soft velvet pads.
(vii) abcb
(viii) Metaphor: Tiger’s cushioned paws are compared with velvet (pads of velvet)

RTC-2

He should be lurking in shadow

Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass.

(i)Who does ‘He’ refer to?

(ii) Where is the tiger at present?
(iii) Where should he be lurking?
(iv) Give a word opposite in meaning from these lines to ‘light’.
(v) Pick out the synonym of—“wait in hiding”.
(vi)Who/what has been personified in the above lines?
(vii) ‘Where plump deer pass’ Name the Device?

Answer:
(i) ‘He’ refers to the tiger.
(ii) Tiger is in its natural habitat at present.
(iii) He should be lurking in the shadows in the forest looking for his prey.
(iv) Shadow
(v) ‘Lurk’.
(vi) The tiger is personified because the poet refers him as ‘he’.
(vii) Alliteration: use of sound ‘p’ at the start of two words (plump pass)

RTC 3

He should be snarling around houses

At the jungle’s edge,
Baring his white fangs, his claws,
Terrorising the village!

1.Who is ‘he’ in the stanza?

2.Why does he move around the houses?
3.How should he be terrorising the village?
4.Give noun form of ‘terrorise’.
5.Name the device in ‘ snarl’

Answer:
(i) ‘He’ in the stanza stands for the tiger.
(ii) He moves around the houses in search of his prey.
(iii) He should be terrorising the village people with baring of his white fangs and with his
claws.
(iv) Terror
(v)Onomatopoeia: using words which denote sound (snarling)

RTC 4

But he’s locked in a concrete cell,

His strength behind bars,
Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.

(i) Where is he locked? What does the phrase ‘his strength behind the bar’ suggests?
(ii) Where is he striding.
(iii) Whom does he ignore?
(iv) Pick out the word from the stanza that means the same as – “Walk stiffly’.
Answer:
(i) He is locked in a concrete cell behind the bars. It means that he is helpless as he is locked in a
cage
(ii) He is striding in his concrete cell.
(iii) He ignores the visitors.
(iv) “Stalk”.

RTC 5.
He hears the last voice at night,
The patrolling cars,
And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars.

(i)What does Tiger’ do at night?

(ii) What are the cars doing?
(iii) Pick out the word from the stanza that means the same as—‘gleaming’.
(iv) What is the effect of the repeated use of the word ‘brilliant’?
Answer:.
(i) The tiger watches the stars at night.
(ii) The cars are patrolling the area
(iii) ‘brilliant’
(iv) The repeated use of brilliant shows the contrast. The brilliant stars are free while the
brilliant eyes are inside the cage.

1. Personification: In the poem the poet refers the tiger by the word “he”
which is used for humans. So, the tiger has been personified as a human
with emotions who can understand.
2. Metonymy: Metonymy is the substitution of the name of an attribute for
that of the thing meant. In the poem, the poet calls body of the tiger as
its strength (Stanza 4).
3. Metaphor: i)The poet compares the condition of tiger in the cage and in
the forest. He tells how tiger feels in the cage and how it would have
been feeling if it were free. ii) Tiger’s paws are compared to pads of
velvet. Iii) white fangs
4. Alliteration: It is the the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the
beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. e.g. “should be
lurking in shadow”, “where plump deer pass”, “in a concrete cell” He
hears (stanza 5), concrete cell (stanza 4), behind bars (stanza 4)..
5. Symbolism: it is the use of symbolic images and indirect suggestion to
express mystical ideas. In the poet the poet describes eyes of the tiger
and stars in the sky as brilliant. The eyes are bright either because of
rage or because of its majestic look. On the other hand, the stars are
brilliant because they twinkle in the sky.
6. Oxymoron-quiet rage.(stanza 1)
7. Rhythme Scheme– abcb
8. Onomatopoeia- snarling
9. Imagery- lurking in the shadow, stalks in his vivid stripes

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