Class X English

First Flight
A Tiger in the Zoo
Notes

INTRODUCTION:
The poem explains the agony and helplessness of a caged tiger that lives in a zoo. The poet
explains what his life would have been if he had been a free animal. He has tried to explain about
the condition of animals that are caged by human beings for their own fun.

THEME:
The poem is a beautiful representation of the plight of animals. It is a shame that such a
powerful, agile and untamable animal like tiger should be caged in a zoo. In his natural and wild
habitat, he doesn’t need the help of any kind to hunt its own food. His hunting of deer at the
water hole may seem rather cruel. He hunts not for pleasure but for food. His presence in the
natural habitat is necessary to maintain the balance of food chain. Sometimes, the tiger may stray
into human habitation. He only displays his strength and ferociousness. But he doesn’t harm
anyone till he is provoked. Even in the cage, he ignores all those who come to the zoo to see him
as entertainment. Like human beings, the tiger too loves and values his freedom. He shows his
anger, hatred and even defiance by walking about in rage in his cage. Human progress should not
be at the cost of destroying the natural habitats of untamable and proud animals like the tiger.

SUMMARY:
The poem contrasts a tiger when it is in its natural habitat and when it is imprisoned in a zoo.
The poem moves from the zoo to the jungle and back again to the zoo. On a starry night, the poet
sees a tiger in a zoo. The tiger moves slowly up and down in his cage. In the zoo, he has no
freedom. He is kept in a cemented cell behind the bars. He feels angry, frustrated and helpless.
This reminds him of his natural habitat, his hiding and sliding in the long grass near the water
hole and pouncing upon the plump deer, the way he terrorized the villagers, displaying his sharp
teeth and claws. At night in the zoo he hears the sounds of patrolling cars. The tiger in the zoo
appears helpless as to be a mere showpiece and source of entertainment for people. The poet
wants to convey that it is cruel to keep wild animals in small enclosures of the zoo, away from
their natural habitat. They feel angry, helpless and unhappy in the cage. He pays no attention to
the visitors who come to watch him. In the silence of the night, he stares at the brilliant stars with
his bright eyes.

VOCABULARY:
stalks – to walk angrily
vivid – bright coloured
pads – paws of tiger
rage – anger
lurking – waiting secretly
snarling – making an aggressive growl showing teeth
baring – uncovered
fangs – sharp teeth of animals
concrete – building made of bricks, cement, sand and water
patrolling – to guard

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

In this stanza, the poet describes the appearance of the tiger in the zoo and its daily movements.
He says that the tiger moves up and down in his cage. The stripes on his body can be
distinguished even from far as they are darker in colour than the rest of his body. The tiger walks
quietly without making a sound because of his smooth velvet pads. The tiger is able to walk only
few steps because of the length of the cage. He covers that distance in a few steps only. The tiger
is full of anger but it is suppressed because he knows that he is helpless here.

Stanza 2:
He should be lurking in shadow,
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass.

The poet is filled with pity while looking at the imprisoned tiger. The poet imagines another life
for the tiger other than the zoo. He says that the poor tiger should have been in his natural habitat
that is in the wild forest. He says that under normal conditions, this tiger would have been
moving in the darkness not in the clear daylight. It would have been lying in the shadows of trees
or hiding itself behind long grass so that its prey would not be able to detect its movement. In
this way, the tiger would have moved near the water hole where all the animals of the forest
come to drink on sunny afternoons. There, near the water hole, he would be waiting for some
plump deer to pass that way. Thus, he would be lying there in expectation of a heavy feast.

Stanza 3:
He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle’s edge,
Baring his white fangs, his claws,
Terrorizing the village!

The poet says that even though he would prefer the tiger to live in the wild, it is not as if it would
lose all touch with human civilization. He imagines what the tiger will do in case he failed to
find any prey in his natural habitat. He says that the tiger would be growling at the edge of the
jungle near some village. He would be showing his white fangs and claws while moving here
and there with the intention of scaring all the inhabitants of that village. He would thus become a
cause of terror for the villagers. The poet here gives a hint that if we destroy the natural habitat of
tigers, they will be forced to turn to our towns and villages to find their food.

Stanza 4:
But he’s locked in a concrete cell,
His strength behind bars,
Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.

Here, the poet stops imagining the tiger’s alternate life and returns to its real one. The poet sees
the tiger caged in a small concrete cell in the zoo like a prisoner in the jail. Despite all his
strength, it now lies imprisoned behind the bars. The tiger pays no attention to the visitors who
come to see him every day at the zoo. Instead of this, the tiger very slowly and silently moves up
and down along the length of the cage without any disturbance in the form of human
intervention.

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

In this stanza, the poet describes the daily routine of the tiger. The tiger does not rest during the
day because of the visitors. Even at night, it stays awake till the very last voice of the zookeeper
locking up and going home can be heard. After that too, it does not go to sleep. All night, it
remains disturbed due to the noise of the patrolling cars. He keeps staring at the brilliant stars
with his brilliant eyes. Perhaps he is asking heaven why he has been imprisoned there.

POETIC DEVICES:
 Personification – the tiger is personified, e.g. ‘he stalks’
 Enjambment – line continues to next line without any punctuation mark, e.g. sliding
through long grass………..deer pass
 Oxymoron – use of adjectives opposite in meaning (quiet rage)
 Alliteration – use of sound ‘p’ in ‘plump pass’
 Imagery – the poet has tried to create an image of tiger’s activities (lurking in shadow)
 Onomatopoeia – use of sound words e.g. snarling