CLASS-X SUBJECT-ENGLISH

POEM- A TIGER IN THE ZOO

NCERT
Q1- Notice the use of a word repeated in lines such as these:

(i) On pads of velvet quiet, In his quiet rage.

(ii) And stares with his brilliant eyes At the brilliant stars.

What do you think is the effect of this repetition?

Ans- The poet has repeated the words to give a nice impact to his poem. Like the use of quiet
with velvet pads describes that the tiger has to walk in the limited area of his cage. He cannot run
as he would have done had it been in the forest. Whereas ‘quiet rage’ shows the hidden anger
inside him which has grown stronger because of his confinement in the cage. The next word he
used is ‘brilliant’. The word brilliant in the first line means the twinkling bright stars and the
brilliant words used for the tiger’s eyes shows the sadness of the tiger who would have led a free
and fearless life if it were in the jungle.

Extra Questions
Q.1 What is the central idea of the poem?
Ans. The poem compares and contrasts between the tiger in the jungle and the tiger in the zoo.
A tiger in the zoo is caged and has no freedom. It can walk only few steps inside the cage. It
can’t roar or frighten people. He is loses all his pride and freedom . He doesn’t like to be the
source of entertainment. He longs for his freedom .It conveys the message to stop the cruelty
to animals. Animals should be left to live in their natural habitat.
Q.2. Why does the poet repeat the term ‘brilliant’ in the last stanza?
Ans. The term brilliant is used twice in the last stanza to bring out the similarity between the
stars and the tiger’s eyes. It also highlights the tragedy that the tiger who is born free, is
encaged unlike the ever-free stars and shows his helplessness and desire to be free again .It
also reflects the magnificence of the caged tiger by comparing his eyes with the stars.

Question 3.The natural instinct of every living being is , Love for Freedom.. Comment.
Answer: Freedom is the natural instinct of every living being. Everyone loves freedom and does
not want to live in confinement. Similarly, the tiger also longed for freedom. He was so fed up
being caged that he even ignored the visitors. He took to and fro steps in the cage as if trying to
while away the time. The tiger wanted to escape this captivity. God has made all living beings
equally and thus, the animals too have the right to freedom. They should not be caged. It is
their right to enjoy their natural habitat i.e. the forest and run freely in the wild. We should,
thus, respect their freedom and should not put them in the zoo.
Question 4. 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 offspring 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.
Q.5.Are zoo necessary for the protection or conservation of some species of animals? Are
they useful for educating public ? Are there alternatives to the zoo?
Ans. Do yourself RASHMI V.