A Tiger in The Zoo Notes 2022

A TIGER IN THE ZOO by Leslie Norris
Central Idea and message

In this poem, ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’, the poet tries to depict the mental
condition of a caged tiger. He compares the life of a tiger in the narrow
confines of a zoo with his life in his natural habitat where he wanders
freely and strikes terror. The poet conveys an important message that
the wild animals should be left free in their natural habitats. A wild
animal, enslaved and caged is not only deprived of freedom but also
of his natural, essential self. In the poem, he heightens the contrast
between freedom and captivity. He, very impressively, shows us how
love for freedom is the natural instinct of every living being.
EXPLANATION
Stanza 1
He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage,
On pads of velvet quiet,
In his quiet rage.
WORD MEANINGS
stalks – strides, to move quietly and slowly in a threatening way
vivid – bright, rich
stripes – long narrow bands
pads – the soft part under the foot of the tiger
rage – anger
Exp. – The poet sees a tiger locked in a concrete cell in the zoo. It is a
very small cage. The tiger can hardly take a few steps along the length
of the cage. He looks majestic as he slowly moves up and down in his
cage. The sharp and clear stripes on his body are of strong bright
colour. His pads are velvet soft. In spite of all his strength, he now lies
imprisoned behind the bars. The caged tiger is angry. He is full of rage,
but is quiet because he knows that he is helpless here.
Literary devices
• Rhyme scheme: abcb
• Metaphor: Here, the poet compares the pads of the tiger’s feet
to velvet (pads of velvet)
• Enjambment: Sentence is continuing to the next line without any
punctuation mark.
• Imagery (Visual): The poet tries to create an image of the tiger
(He stalks in his vivid stripes The few steps of his cage)
• Alliteration: (stalks, his, stripes)
• Oxymoron: A poetic device where two contradictory ideas or
words are put together (quiet rage)
• Repetition of ‘quiet’
• Transferred Epithet: ‘quiet rage’… here, it is not the rage that is
quiet but the tiger
Stanza 2
He should be lurking in shadow,
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass.
WORD MEANINGS
lurking – hiding
sliding – moving, gliding
hole – pool
plump – chubby, fleshy
Exp. – Looking at the imprisoned tiger, the poet is filled with pity. He
says that the poor tiger should have been in his natural habitat i.e. the
jungle, hunting and resting. He would have been lying in the shadows
of trees and sliding quietly through the long grass. He would, then,
near the water hole, wait for some fat and healthy deer to pass that
way. Thus, he would be lying there in expectation of a heavy feast.
Literary devices
• Rhyme scheme is abcb
• Enjambment: Line continues to next line without punctuation
marks. (Sliding through….deer pass)
• Alliteration: (plump deer pass)
• Imagery (Visual): The poet has tried to create an image of tiger’s
activities (lurking in shadow).
Stanza 3
He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle’s edge,
Baring his white fangs, his claws,
Terrorising the village!
WORD MEANINGS
snarling – roaring, to make an angry warning sound
baring – showing
fangs – two long sharp teeth at the front of the mouths of some
animals
Terrorising – frightening, threatening
Exp. – In these lines, the poet imagines what the tiger would be doing
in case he failed to find any prey in his natural habitat. He says that
the tiger would be angrily moving around the houses in a nearby
village. He would be growling at the edge of the jungle near some
village. He would be showing his white fangs and terrible claws while
moving here and there. He would, thus, become a cause of terror for
the villagers. The poet here gives a hint that if we continue to destroy
the forest cover and the natural habitat of the tigers, they will be
forced to turn to our towns and villages to find their food.
Literary devices
• Rhyme Scheme: abcb
• Enjambment
• Alliteration: (his white fangs, his claws)
Stanza 4
But he’s locked in a concrete cell,
His strength behind bars,
Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.
WORD MEANINGS
concrete cell – cemented cage, a very small and unpleasant cage
stalking – moving slowly and quietly in a threatening way
Exp. – The poet sees the tiger locked in a concrete cell in the zoo. In
spite of all his strength, he now lies imprisoned behind the bars. Very
slowly and silently, the tiger moves up and down along the length of
the cage. He moves in an angry and threatening manner. He takes no
note of the visitors, who come to the zoo to have a look at him. He
completely ignores them as none of them thinks of releasing him from
his prison. Moreover, due to their presence, he hardly gets any rest
during the day.
Literary devices
Rhyme Scheme: abcb
Alliteration: (behind bars)
Stanza 5
He hears the last voice at night,
The patrolling cars,
And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars.
WORD MEANINGS
patrolling – to go around an area at regular times to check that it is
safe
Patrolling car – police van
brilliant – very bright
Exp. – Due to the visitors, the tiger gets no rest during the day. Even
at night, he remains disturbed due to the noise of the patrolling cars.
The tiger has, thus, lost all hope and feels very helpless. He, thus,
stares at the brilliant stars shining brightly in the sky. It seems that he
is looking for some sort of comfort and hope in these stars. His brilliant
eyes show that he still hopes for the day when he would be able to
run free in the forest. The use of ‘brilliant’ for the tiger’s eyes as well
as the stars also brings out the magnificence of these lines. The tiger
has dreams of being free in his ‘brilliant’ eyes. He sees the stars (that
have also been described as brilliant) with the same eyes. He stares at
the brilliant stars with his brilliant eyes thinking about how beautiful
his life could be in the forest.
Literary devices:
• Rhyme Scheme: abcb
• Enjambment: Line three continues to line four without any
punctuation mark. (And stares with his brilliant eyes… At the
brilliant stars.)
• Alliteration: (he hears)
• Repetition of ‘brilliant’
Questions and Answers

He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle’s edge,
Baring his white fangs, his claws,
Terrorising the village!
(a) What does the poet try to suggest through these lines?
(b) How does the tiger scare the people?
(c) Why does ‘he’ snarl?
(d) How does ‘he’ show his presence?
Answer:
(a) The poet is trying to suggest that the tiger should be allowed to live
in his natural habitat, and that caging of tigers is inhumane.
(b) The tiger scares the people by growling at them and showing his
white fangs and claws.
(c) ‘He’ snarls to display his anger and to strike terror.
(d) ‘He’ shows his presence by roaring and baring his white teeth and
claws.
But he’s locked in a concrete cell,

His strength behind bars,
Stalking the length of his cage,
Ignoring visitors.
(a) What does the phrase ‘his strength behind the bar’ suggest?
(b) Why does the tiger ignore the visitors?
(c) What is the tiger doing in the cage?
(d) What does the expression ‘stalking the length of the cage’ imply?
Answer:
(a) It means that the tiger is helpless as he is locked in a cage.
(b) The tiger ignores the visitors because he considers them devoid of
feelings as none of them tries to help him out of the prison.
(c) The tiger is moving slowly and quietly along the length of the cage.
(d) It implies walking back and forth in helplessness.
Answer the following questions in 30–40 words each.

1. Give a brief description of the tiger as he was in the jungle.
Ans. The tiger was an animal to be feared in the jungle. The vivid
stripes on his body, his brilliant eyes and stealthy movements made
him a fearful and unpredictable creature. He lurked in the shadows,
waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting deer. He terrorized the village
at the jungle’s edge, snarling around the houses, baring his fangs and
claws.
2. Why would the tiger ‘lurk’ in the shadows near the water hole?
Ans. The tiger would lurk in the shadows near the water hole to lay in
wait for the plump deer to pass. The tiger would ‘lurk’ because he does
not want the deer to be aware of his presence. He wants to spring on
the deer and take him by surprise.
3. Mention four phrases from the poem that describe the physical
appearance of the tiger.
Ans. The four phrases that describe the physical appearance of the
tiger are ‘vivid stripes’, ‘white fangs’, ‘pads of velvet’ and ‘brilliant
eyes’.
4. The tiger ‘slides’ through the long grass. What does this word signify
about the movement of the tiger? Write one other word from the
poem which suggests the movement of the tiger.
Ans. The tiger ‘slides’ through the long grass suggests the noiseless
and smooth movement of the tiger. The other word from the poem
which suggests the movement of the tiger is ‘stalks’.
Answer the following in about 80-100 words.

How does the tiger feel inside the cage? Quote phrases or lines from
the poem to support your answer.
Ans. The tiger feels angry at being imprisoned; he feels a ‘quiet rage’.
He feels restless in the cramped cage. He keeps walking around the
cell, ‘Stalking the length of his cage’. He treats the visitors of the zoo
with contempt and ignores them. Perhaps he feels nostalgic about his
life in the jungle too. At night, when the last visitors have left and he
hears the patrolling cars, he stares at the brilliant stars in the sky.
Maybe he reminisces his night life in the jungle.
2. What are the things that a tiger cannot do imprisoned in a cage that
he could do in the jungle?
Ans. Imprisoned in the cage, the tiger can only pace his cramped
quarters in quiet rage. In the jungle, he would terrorize the village. He
would snarl around the houses and bare his white fangs and claws at
humans. But in the cage, he ignores them. The tiger knows he is
powerless to frighten them now. He would lay in wait in the shadows
or slide through the long grass near the water hole for the plump deer
to pass to pounce on him and make him his meal. But in the zoo, there
are no animals to hunt as there are in the jungle. The tiger remains
locked up in a concrete cell.
3. Write a ‘character sketch’ of the tiger. Base your description on how

the tiger behaves inside the cage and outside in the jungle.
Ans. The tiger is caged in a zoo. He paces the cramped cage restlessly.
He is enraged at being captured, no doubt through trickery, and kept
in a small cage. But he does not give vent to his anger. Perhaps he
knows that he is powerless now, and his anger will not release him
from captivity. When he was in the jungle, the tiger was an altogether
different animal. He would prowl at the jungle’s edge and terrorize the
village. He would prey on the plump deer near the water hole. In the
cage, however, the tiger can only ignore the humans. He is disdainful
of them. They have trapped him for their recreation. Had the tiger
been out of the cage, the situation would have been quite different.
At night, the tiger gazes at the stars in the sky. Perhaps he remembers
the starlit sky under which he used to roam the jungle, his eyes alight
in the darkness just like the light of the stars.
Answer the following questions.

(to be done in the fair notebook) (be precise and creative)
1. What happens to the strength of the tiger when he is
thrown behind the bars? (30-40 words)
2. 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)………. (50-60 words)
Also, attempt the MCQs from KV Question Bank.

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A TIGER IN THE ZOO by Leslie Norris

Central Idea and message

Questions and Answers

But he’s locked in a concrete cell,

Answer the following questions in 30–40 words each.

Answer the following in about 80-100 words.

3. Write a ‘character sketch’ of the tiger. Base your description on how

Answer the following questions.

Also, attempt the MCQs from KV Question Bank.

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