A Tiger in the zoo
A Tiger in the zoo
He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage ,
In his quite rage .
He should be larking in shadow ,
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass .
He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle's edge ,
Baring his white fangs, his claws ,
Terrorising the village !
But he's locked in a concrete call ,
His strength behind bars ,
Stalking the length of his cage
Ignoring visitors.
He hears the last voice at night,
The patrolling cars,
And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars.
A Tiger in the Zoo
This poem contrasts a tiger in the zoo with the tiger in its natural habitat . The poem moves from the zoo to the jungle , and back again to the. Read the poem silently once , and say which stanzas speak about the tiger in the 200 , and which ones speak about the tiger in the jungle . |
He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage ,
On pads of velvet quiet ,
In his quiet rage .
He should be lurking in shadow ,
Sliding through long grass
Near the water hole
Where plump deer pass .
He should be snarling around houses
At the jungle ' s edge ,
Baring his white fangs , his claws ,
Terrorising the village !
But he ' s locked in a concrete cell ,
His strength behind bars ,
Stalking the length of his cage ,
Ignoring visitors .
He hears the last voice at night ,
The patrolling cars ,
And stares with his brilliant eyes
At the brilliant stars .
LESLIE NORRIS
Smarls : makes an angry , warning sound
Thinking about the Poem
1. Read the poem again , and work in pairs or groups to do the following tasks .
( i ) Find the words that describe the movements and actions of the tiger in the cage and in the wild. Arrange them in two columns .
( ii ) Find the words that describe the two places , and arrange them in two columns .
Now try to share ideas about how the poet uses words and images to contrast the two situations .
2 . 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 ?
3 . Read the following two poems - one about a tiger and the other about a panther . Then discuss : Are zoos necessary for the protection or conservation of some species or animals ? Are they useful for educating the public ? Are there alternatives to zoos ?
The Tiger
The tiger behind the bars of his cage growls ,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage snarls ,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage roars .
Then he thinks .
It would be nice not to be behind bars all
The time
Because they spoil my view
I wish I were wild , not on show .
But if I were wild , hunters might shoot me ,
But if I were wild , food might poison me ,
But if I were wild , water might drown me .
Then he stops thinking And . . .
The tiger behind the bars of his cage growls ,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage snarls ,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage roars .
PETER NIBLETT
The Panther
His vision , from the constantly passing bars ,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else . It seems to him there are
a thousand bars ; and behind the bars , no world .
As he paces in cramped circles , over and over ,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a centre
in which a mighty will stands paralysed .
Only at times , the curtain of the pupils
lifts , quietly . An image enters in ,
rushes down through the tensed , arrested muscles ,
plunges into the heart and is gone .
RAINER MARIA RILKE
The Greater Cats
The greater cats with golden eyes
Stare out between the bars .
Deserts are there , and different skies ,
And night with different stars .
VICTORIA SACKVILLE - WEST
