A Tiger in the Zoo Explanation Stanza Wise in Hindi and English Class 10 Poems CBSE

‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ Class 10 Poem stanza wise explanation and analysis is given here. The explanations include literal as well as the figurative and literary aspects of the poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’. Click here for more study materials on class 10 English.

A Tiger in the Zoo Explanation in English

Central Idea – ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’

The poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ is written by Leslie Norris. In this poem, the poet tries to depict the mental condition of a caged tiger. He compares the life of a tiger in the zoo with tits life in its natural habitat. The poet conveys an important message that the wild animals should be left in their natural habitat. 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.

Theme – ‘A tiger in the Zoo’

The poet shows his readers that a tiger is better suited to live in the wild, rather than living in a zoo. In the wild, it can roam freely and hunt as and when it requires food. It can approach human habitation and intimidate its inhabitants, but will not harm them unless it is provoked. On the other hand, in the zoo, its radius of movement is very small, it feels like a prisoner in a jail cell, it is fed by the zoo authorities and so, it unlearns how to live by itself and becomes lazy. It does not appreciate humans coming to look at it. It cannot even sleep at night because it is angry at being caged. All in all, a tiger lives an unnatural and unhappy life in the zoo.

Explanation with Meanings

Stanza 1

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

Stalks – to move silently in a threatening way. follow, chase; Vivid – deep or bright and clear; Stripes – long narrow bands differing in colour; Pad – cushion quiet – soft and making no noise; Rage – anger.

Explanation: 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. Inspite 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.

कवि चिड़ियाघर में एक कंक्रीट (ईंट-पत्थर का बना) सेल में बंद एक बाघ को देखता है। यह एक बहुत छोटा पिंजरा है। बाघ पिंजरे की लंबाई के साथ मुश्किल से कुछ कदम उठा सकता है। उसकी चाल राजसी है पर वो उस छोटे से पिंजरे में कुछ ही कदम चल सकता है । उसके शरीर पर तेज और स्पष्ट धारियां मजबूत चमकीले रंग की होती हैं। उसके पैड मखमल मुलायम हैं। अपनी पूरी ताकत के बावजूद, वह अब सलाखों के पीछे कैद हो गया है। पिंजरे में बंद बाघ गुस्से में है। वह क्रोध से भरा है, लेकिन चुप है क्योंकि वह जानता है कि वह यहां असहाय है।‎

Stanza 2

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

Lurking – lie hidden and wait, sneak; Sliding – gliding; Plump – fat and fleshy, chubby; Pas – move.

Explanation: 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. in the jungle, hunting and resting. Then, at this hour of the night, 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.

कैद बाघ को देखकर कवि दया से भर जाता है। उनका कहना है कि बेचारे बाघ को अपने प्राकृतिक आवास यानी जंगल, शिकार करते हुए और आराम में होना चाहिए था। फिर, रात के इस घंटे में, वह पेड़ों की छाया में झूठ बोल रहा होगा और लंबी घास के माध्यम से चुपचाप फिसल रहा होगा। वह, फिर, पानी के छेद के पास, कुछ वसा और स्वस्थ हिरण के लिए उस तरह से गुजरने के लिए इंतजार करेगा। इस प्रकार, वह एक भारी दावत की उम्मीद में वहां झूठ बोल रहा होगा।‎

Stanza 3

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

Snarl – to growl with bared teeth; Edge – boundary; Baring – showing, revealing, uncovering; Fangs – canine teeth; Claws – pointed horny nails on an animal’s foot; Terrorising – frightening, creating terror and fear in the village people.

Explanation: 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 showing his white fangs and terrible claws while moving here and there. He would, thus, become a cause of error 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.

इन पंक्तियों में, कवि कल्पना करता है कि बाघ अपने प्राकृतिक निवास स्थान में किसी भी शिकार को खोजने में विफल रहने पर क्या कर रहा होगा। उनका कहना है कि बाघ गुस्से में पास के गांव में घरों के चारों ओर घूम रहा होगा। वह किसी गांव के पास जंगल के किनारे पर गुर्रा रहा होगा। वह यहां और वहां चलते हुए अपने सफेद फेंग्स और भयानक पंजे दिखाता था। इस प्रकार, वह ग्रामीणों के लिए त्रुटि का कारण बन जाएगा।‎

‎यहां कवि एक संकेत देते हैं कि अगर हम जंगल के आवरण और बाघों के प्राकृतिक आवास को नष्ट करना जारी रखते हैं, तो वे अपने भोजन को खोजने के लिए हमारे शहरों और गांवों की ओर रुख करने के लिए मजबूर हो जाएंगे।‎

Stanza 4

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

Locked – caught or kept inside or behind; Concrete – made of cement and concrete; Cell – very small room or cage; Bars – rods, long pieces of iron or rigid material to confine or restrict both in and outside; Stalks – to move silently in a threatening way; Ignoring – avoiding, taking no notice knowingly;

Explanation: The poet sees the tiger is locked in a concrete cell in the zoo. Inspite 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 had 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.

कवि देखता है कि बाघ चिड़ियाघर में एक कंक्रीट सेल में बंद है। अपनी पूरी ताकत के बावजूद, वह अब सलाखों के पीछे कैद हो गया है। बहुत धीरे-धीरे और चुपचाप, बाघ पिंजरे की लंबाई के साथ ऊपर और नीचे चला जाता है। वह गुस्से और धमकी भरे अंदाज में चलता है। वह आगंतुकों का कोई ध्यान नहीं देता है, जो उस पर एक नज़र डालने के लिए चिड़ियाघर में आए थे। वह उन्हें पूरी तरह से अनदेखा करता है क्योंकि उनमें से कोई भी उसे अपनी जेल से रिहा करने के बारे में नहीं सोचता है। इसके अलावा, उनकी उपस्थिति के कारण, उन्हें दिन के दौरान शायद ही कोई आराम मिलता है।‎

Stanza 5

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

Voice – sound; Patrol – act of walking or roaming around a specific area in order to protect it; Stare – look fixedly at something with open eyes; Brilliant – beautifully shining.

Explanation: Due to the visitors, the tiger gets no rest during the day. Even at night, he remains disturbed due to the noise that comes from the patrolling cars. The tiger has, thus, lost all hope and feels very helpless. He, thus, stares at the brilliant stars shining bright 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 and live in natural surroundings.

आगंतुकों के कारण, बाघ को दिन के दौरान कोई आराम नहीं मिलता है। रात में भी गश्ती गाड़ियों से आने वाले शोर के कारण वह परेशान रहता है। इस प्रकार, बाघ ने सभी आशाओं को खो दिया है और बहुत असहाय महसूस करता है। इस प्रकार, वह आकाश में उज्ज्वल चमकते हुए शानदार सितारों को घूरता है। ऐसा लगता है कि वह इन सितारों में किसी तरह के आराम और आशा की तलाश में है। उनकी शानदार आंखों से पता चलता है कि वह अभी भी उस दिन की उम्मीद करता है जब वह जंगल में मुक्त होने और प्राकृतिक परिवेश में रहने में सक्षम होगा।

Poetic Devices – A Tiger in the Zoo

1. Rhyme Scheme: The rhyme scheme for first, second and fifth stanza is abcb and for third and fifth stanza is abcd.

2. Repetition: Repetition of words/phrases in the same line.

• velvet quiet quiet rage
• brilliant eyes brilliant stars

3. Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds in the same line

• He stalks in his vivid stripes
• His strength behind bars

4. Metaphor: Metaphor is a literary device used to make a comparison without using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.

• Pads of velvet – here ‘pads’ are compared with the ‘velvet’ because of the quality of softness of velvet.