‘A Tiger in the Zoo’

‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ is a poem by Leslie Norris. In the poem the poet presents a
contrast between a tiger in zoo and a tiger in its natural habitat. The poet explains a
very important message that the wild animals should be left in their natural
habitats. Through his poem, he depicts that love for freedom is a natural instinct of
every living being.

Summary
As the poem begins, the poet is seeing a tiger caged in a zoo. The cage is very
small and the mighty tiger could only take a few steps in it. His strips are of a
bright vivid colour. His foot pads are velvet soft and despite his strength he is
helplessly imprisoned in the zoo. The tiger is full of rage and anger, but he is quiet
because he knows that he is helpless.
In the next stanza, the poet feels pity at the sight of caged tiger. He further says that
the tiger should be hunting and roaming around in his natural habitat, jungle. He
would be sliding through the long grass. Then he would pass near the water hole,
waiting for a plump deer to come and become his feast.
Next, the poet imagines that if the tiger failed in finding any prey, what would he
do. He further says that the tiger would be very angry and move around the houses
of the nearby village. He would growl and show his white fangs and his claws and
move here and there terrorising the villagers. The poet hints that if we keep on
destroying the jungles, the tigers would be forced to move to villages and cities to
hunt for their food.
Seeing the tiger in the zoo in a cage, the poet sees how, despite his strength he is
imprisoned in a concrete cage, moving here and there in the cage. The tiger ignores
the visitors, who have come to the zoo to see him and because to them, he couldn’t
get any rest throughout the day. Even during the night because of the patrolling
cars, the tiger remains disturbed..
The tiger seems helpless and with his shining eyes, he stares at the glittering stars
during the night. Perhaps he hopes and yearns for the day when he could be free in
his natural habitat to live there forever. He seeks comfort from looking at the
shining bright stars.

POEM OUTLINE
The poem portrays the pain and anguish of a tiger who lives in the confines of a
concrete cell with bars in a zoo. In contrast is the setting of a forest where the tiger
should have been, lurking in the long grass around the water hole in search of a
prey, or terrorising the people living at the jungle’s edge.

SUMMARY: A Tiger in the Zoo

The tiger in the poem is described as helpless and tormented. The wild and fearless
animal is confined to a cage while humans derived pleasure visiting him in the zoo.
By showing the contrast between the tiger behind bars and tiger hunting in the
wild, the poet tries to evoke readers’ sympathy towards the sensitive issue of
animal imprisonment.
The Tiger In his Cell
The Tiger in the Jungle
The Tiger in the Zoo
The Tiger in his Cell
‘He’, that is, the tiger, quietly paces inside his tiny cell.
The tiger is enraged at being captured.
The Tiger in the Jungle
The tiger should be hunting wild and free in the jungle.
He should be hunting deer near the watering hole.
His roars should be striking fear among the people in the villages.
He ought to be terrorising humans with his sharp teeth and claws.
The Tiger in the Zoo
Instead, the tiger is confined to a cell.
He moves round in the cage taking a few steps as the cage is small.
His ignores visitors who have come to see him at the zoo.
After the zoo is closed, he looks at the sky dreaming of his freedom.

THEMES
The major theme of this poem is freedom vs captivity.
Through the symbols of cage (captivity) and sky (freedom), Norris brings out the
helplessness of a tormented caged tiger who longs for freedom while in captivity.
The theme of freedom Is shown through the tiger hunting in the wild.
This theme is also depicted in the strength of the tiger who terrorises the people of
the village.
Finally, it is shown through the sky, ‘brilliant stars’, which evokes the image of
freedom.
This is sharply contrasted with the theme of captivity. Captivity is best shown
through the line ‘few steps in his cage’. This is all the space the tiger now has to
live in.
Another instance is how the strength of the tiger which hunted prey and terrorised
villages is now trapped inside the cage in a zoo.

POETIC DEVICES: A Tiger in the Zoo

A few key literary elements in the poem are:
Symbolism
Oxymoron
Personification
Alliteration
Metaphor
Repetition
Rhyme Scheme
Rhyme Scheme: The rhyme scheme for first, second and fifth stanza is abcb
and for third and fifth stanza is abcd.

Symbolism
Norris symbolises the words ‘cage’ and ‘sky’.
‘Cage’ symbolises the captivity of the tiger by humans.
‘Sky’, on the other hand, symbolises the freedom that the caged tiger longs for.
By symbolising ‘cage’ and ‘sky’, Norris shows the helplessness of the tiger.

Oxymoron
The poet uses the phrase ‘quiet rage’, in which the words ‘quiet’ and ‘rage’ have
contrasting meaning.
This contrasting phrase is used to convey that though the tiger is quiet in the cage,
it is full of rage.

Personification
The tiger is referred to with the use of the pronoun ‘he’, implying that he can feel
like humans do, that is, feeling helpless at being imprisoned and wanting to be free.
Therefore, the tiger has been personified, that is, has been given human-like
qualities in this poem.

Alliteration – Repetition of initial consonant sounds in the same line

Alliteration has been used in phrases
‘should be lurking in shadow’
‘plump deer pass’, ‘in a concrete cell’
By highlighting soft sounds like ‘s’, ‘p’ and ‘c’, Norris draws the readers’ attention
towards the tiger’s condition – what it is and what it should be.

Metaphor – Metaphor is a literary device used to make a comparison without

using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
‘On pads of velvet quiet’ – this phrase compares the paws of the tiger to velvet
because of the quality of softness of velvet

Repetition – Repetition of words/phrases in the same line.

The words ‘stalk’, ‘quiet’ and ‘brilliant’ are repeated throughout the poem.
The word ‘stalk’ and ‘quiet’ refer to the strength of the tiger and how it has been
trapped inside the cage.
The word ‘brilliant’, on the other hand, refers to both the sky and the tiger’s eyes.
It represents the tiger’s yearning to be free.
Q.1 It Is said that an animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.
Explain with reference to the tiger. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]
Ans. We have heard that eyes speak and they speak the truth…It is visible in this
poem also. The tiger in the zoo conveyed both his anger and helplessness through
his eyes. He shows his anger hatred and even defiance by walking about in rage in
his cage. The tiger in the cage ignores all those who come to the zoo to see him as
entertainment. At night, he showed his helplessness by staring at the stars in the
sky.
Q.2 . How does the poem point to the cruelty of animals in captivity? [CBSE
QB, 2020-21]
Ans. No doubt that the poet wants to convey that it is cruel to keep the wild
animals in small enclosures of the zoo, away from their natural habitat. They feel
anger, helpless and unhappy and remember their life and environment in the forest.
Here, the tiger changed his natural self by controlling his
natural instinctive fierce behaviour inside the zoo. His freedom to growl, hunt and
terrorize were snatched away from him. It touches heart and makes us empathise
with the tiger when he is shown helpless watching stars at night and not even being
able to sleep due to blaring of sirens of patrolling cars. This shows the cruelty of
man on the animals by keeping them in captivity like animals in the zoo
Q. The poet celebrates the strength of the tiger in this poem. Counter the
statement. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]
Ans. The tiger mentions about the strength of the tiger but also counters by
showing that the is caged and not free. His strength is frustrated and becomes a
funny stock as the mighty animal feels helpless in the confinement. The tiger,
unlike his forest life, has no freedom to move around and hunt in the small cell of
zoo. On the other hand, the real natural life of the majestic tigers involves walking
in the tall grass and hunting the deer that pass near the water hole.
Q. Do you think the tiger in the poem had lost its natural instinct due to
captivity? Support your response with evidence from the poem. [CBSE QB,
2020-21]
Note: Two scenarios are given here. Students can opt for one or can write their own
version.
As a Yes: I think the tiger in the poem had lost its natural instinct due to captivity.
Although the tiger was in terrific rage as he had been taken away from his natural
habitat, he didn’t roar as he would have done in the forest. Instead, he walked
silently about the length of the cage. The zoo had controlled the tiger’s natural
display of emotions.
As a No: I don’t think so. The caged tiger walks in a proud manner. He walks
quietly. But his eyes show that he is very angry at having been imprisoned in a
cage. All his activities prove that the tiger in the poem had not lost its natural
instinct due to captivity. He is still chivalric, confident and graceful.
Q. What do you think the tiger would say to you, as a visitor?
You may begin like this: Please stop staring. You have no
idea……………………… (continue)…………………. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]
Ans. Are you here also here just to entertain yourself at my helplessness due to
captivity? If so, please stop staring as if I am any object on display. You have no
idea how suppressed and dejected I am feeling at the moment and day and night.
I’m trying to ignore each one of you as I consider you humans to be devoid of
feelings.
You humans have cruelly snatched away my freedom and thrown me up here in the
cage just for your entertainment and joy of watching which is at the coast of
natural freedom. None had ever tried to help me out to make me free from this
cage which is too small for me to even stretch somewhat longer for comfort. I’m
just fed up of this situation and the visitors like you. If you are not one of them
then please do some favour by making me free of this captivity and leave me in
jungle which is may real home.
Q. Imagine the tiger writes a diary entry conveying how he feels helpless,
angry and frustrated in the concrete cell. He writes about his desire to be free.
Write that diary entry.
You may begin like this:
15 October 2020, Thursday 9:00 pm
I feel so vulnerable and annoyed at my state. I don’t know if I can ever be a
free denizen of the forest. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]
Q. Imagine that Man has been accused by the tiger of cruelty in an animal
court. What would be the tiger’s two major accusations and how would Man
defend them? Present your answer in two paragraphs. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]
Q. The tiger in the poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ presents a contrasting image
with the tiger in the poem ‘How to Tell Wild Animals’. Compare and contrast
the two tigers with reference to the manner in which they have been presented
in both poems. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]
Q. Freedom is such an essential virtue that is valued not only by human beings
but also by animals alike. Justify the statement with reference to the poem ‘A
Tiger in the Zoo’.

Previous Years’ Questions

Q. How does a tiger create terror for the villagers? [CBSE 2015]
Ans. The tiger terrorizes the villagers by barring his big white fangs and revealing
his sharp claws. He makes terrifying low snarls moving around the houses of the
villagers that are situated at the edge of the forest. His mighty presence and roars
scare the villagers.
Q. How does the tiger make his presence felt in the village? (CBSE 2015)
Ans. The tiger makes his presence felt in the village by snarling around the houses
which are at the edge of the forest. He tries to terrorise people by showing his
white fangs and claws.
Q. Why should the tiger snarl around the houses at the edge of the forest?
[CBSE 2012]
Ans. The tiger should snarl around the houses at the edge of the forest in order to
scare the villagers so that they won’t disturb the peace of the mighty animal. Also,
snarling is a natural characteristic of tiger
Q. Where should the tiger have been according to the poet? [CBSE 2014]
Ans. According to the poet, the tiger should have been in his natural habitat, i.e., a
forest. He is a mighty predator who survive by hunting his prey. He belongs to a
place where he can freely move about, frightening people by deadly growls.