Summary & Question-answers of The Poem:2-A Tiger in the Zoo with the concerned video

A Tiger in the Zoo Summary in English

This poem depicts the pitiful condition of the tiger in the zoo. It shows the poor condition of the tiger in a cage. In a zoo, the tiger walks in the limited space provided to him in the cage. He can take a few steps. There are stripes on his body which are easily noticeable. His paws are soft like velvet. He does not make any noise while walking on his ‘pads of velvet’. Usually, the tiger is silent but in anger. The poet suggests that the cage is not the proper place for the tiger, as it is not its natural habitat. Thus, the tiger in the cage is a victim of human cruelty. Generally, tigers are found sitting under some bushes or long grass near some water bodies so that the tiger can see his prey like deer coming there to drink water, and consequently can slide silently through the grass and kill them. The poet wants to convey to all humankind that the tiger should be there in the forest and not in a cage.

Further, the poet gives a suggestion that the tiger should be sitting at the jungle’s edge near the village. It may terrorize the people passing that way by showing its sharp teeth, baring its claws and producing a roaring sound of anger.

The poet has deep sympathy due to the unpleasant situation of the tiger which is imprisoned in a cell made of concrete. The tiger is unable to come out due to the strong bars fixed at the concrete cell. So, the tiger’s strength is locked behind the bars. All such circumstances make the tiger having no interest in the visitors. And, he keeps on stalking in the limited space of the cage.

The poet is trying to make realize the people about a tiger which is sitting in the cage and feeling unpleasant and restless. The tiger is still showing no interest in the sound created by the patrolling cars of the zoo authorities. The poet shows him staring at the shining stars with his brilliant eyes. The poet is raising a moral issue here and he intends to present a strong case against the cruelty of humans for the animals kept in cages.

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English A Tiger in the Zoo

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 case 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.

Ans: (i)

In the cage In the wild

Stalks Lurking in shadow

Few steps of his cage Sliding through long grass

Quiet rage Snarling around houses

Locked in a concrete cell Baring his white fangs, his claws

Stalking the length of his cage Terrorising the village

Ignoring visitors

Stares at the brilliant stars

(ii)

Cage Wild

Few steps of his cage Shadow

Concrete cell Long grass

Locked Water hole

Behind bars Plump deer

Visitors Houses at the jungle’s edge

Patrolling cars Village

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English A Tiger in the Zoo

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?

Ans: This repetition is a poetic device used by the poet in order to increase the intensity of the tiger’s rage and his helpless silence. ‘Velvet quiet’ refers to the quiet velvet pads of the tiger, which cannot run or leap. They can only walk around the limited space in the cage. The use of ‘quiet rage’ symbolises the anger and ferocity that is building up inside the tiger as it wants to run out into the forest and attack a deer, but the rage is quiet because it cannot come out in the open as it is in the cage.

This double use of ‘quiet’ has brought immense beauty to the poem. Similarly, 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 its ‘brilliant’ eyes. It sees the stars (that have also been described as brilliant) with the same eyes. It stares at the brilliant stars with its brilliant eyes thinking about how beautiful its life could be in the forest. The repetitiveness of these words gives a wonderful effect to the poem.