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Question
What does the title of the poem suggest to you? Are you reminded of other poems on tigers?
Solution
The title, “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”, suggests that the poem is about Aunt Jennifer’s knitted tigers that, with their chivalric, ferocious, bright and carefree attitude, become an alternate world of her creation. The tigers are the only means of free expression in her life, which is otherwise burdened by fear and struggles of the married life.
There are many other poems written about tigers, some of which are given below.
“The Tiger” by William Blake
“Tiger” by Alec Derwent Hope
“Tiger Drinking at Forest Pool” by Ruth Padel
(A model answer has been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
(a) Why are the tigers called Aunt Jennifer's tigers?
(b) How are they described here?
(c) How are they different from Aunt Jennifer?
(d) What does the word, 'chivalric' mean?
Why did Aunt Jennifer decide to create animals so different from her own character ?
How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tiger’s attitudes?
Why do you think Aunt Jennifer’s hands are ‘fluttering through her wool’ in the second stanza? Why is she finding the needle so hard to pull?
What is suggested by the image ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’?
Of what or of whom is Aunt Jennifer terrified with in the third stanza?
What are the ‘ordeals’ Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by? Why is it significant that the poet uses the word ‘ringed’? What are the meanings of the word ‘ringed’ in the poem?
Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her own character? What might the poet be suggesting, through this difference?
Interpret the symbols found in this poem.
Do you sympathise with Aunt Jennifer? What is the attitude of the speaker towards Aunt Jennifer?
How can we say that marriage was a compromise for Aunt Jennifer? Support your response with two justifications.
Explain the irony at the end of the poem, 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'.
Explain the significance of the 'denizens pacing in sleek certainty' in the poem 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'.
What is the significance of the image "Massive weight of uncle's wedding band" in the poem 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'?
Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her own character?
Answer the following question in about 40-50 words.
How might the message of the poem, ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ be different, if the following last four lines were omitted?
When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
Answer the following question in about 120-150 words.
The different portrayals of women in the texts 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers', 'Going Places', 'Lost Spring', and 'My Mother at Sixty-six', offer insights into the experiences of women in society.
You have been asked to address your peers and share -
⇒ the ways these portrayals highlight the diversity of the female experience.
⇒ the importance of understanding each individual woman's challenges and experiences.
Compose this draft, with reference to any three of these prescribed texts. listed above.
You may begin this way:
Good morning, everyone.
As I analysed the allotted texts...
You may end this way.
To conclude, I’d like to say that ...
Answer the following in about 120-150 words.
'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers' and 'A Thing of Beauty', can be read together to show the permanence and everlasting impact of art and of thµtgs of beauty. Comment.
