Page 3 - Module

Explanation of stanza 3
Here 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 growling at the edge of jungle near some village.
He would be showing his white fangs and claws while moving here and there. He would thus
become a cause of terror for the villagers. The poetess 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.

WORDS AT A GLANCE

10. snarling – to make an angry and warning sound
11. baring – showing
12. fangs – two long sharp teeth at the front of the mouths of some animals
13. Terrorising – frightening or threatening

Explanation of stanza 4
The poet sees the tiger logged in a concrete cell in the zoo. In spite of all his strength, he now lies
imprisoned behind the bars. Very slowly and silently, he moves up and down along the length of
the cage. He takes no note of the visitors who come to the zoo to have a look at him.

WORDS AT A GLANCE

14. concrete cell – a very small and unpleasant cage
15. stalking – movingslowly and quietly in a threatening way

Explanation of stanza 5
The tiger knows no rest during the day because of the visitors. Even at night he 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.
16. patrolling – to go around an area at regular times to check that it is safe
17. brilliant – very bright

Poetic Devices Used in the Poem(to be written in CW Notebook)

1. Repetition
velvet quiet quiet rage
brilliant eyes brilliant stars

2. Alliteration
He stalks in his vivid stripes
But he’s locked in a concrete cell

3. Rhyme
The rhyme scheme for first, second and fifth stanza is abcb and for third and fifth stanza
is abed.
Assignment:(to be written in CW Notebook)

Q1: ‘He stalks in his vivid stripes.’How does the tiger look in his cage?