A Tiger in the Zoo — Class 10 English
First Flight – Poems · Chapter 3
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Chapter summary
Leslie Norris’s poem contrasts a tiger’s helpless, frustrated life in a zoo cage with the wild freedom it would enjoy in its natural habitat. In the cage the tiger paces silently in a few quiet steps, full of suppressed rage, ignoring the visitors who come to stare. The poet imagines how, if it were free, the tiger would lurk in the shadows near a water hole to hunt deer, or terrorise the village by snarling at its edge. Instead it is locked behind concrete bars, hearing the patrolling cars at night and staring at the brilliant stars with longing. The poem highlights the cruelty of confining wild animals and the loss of their natural freedom, contrasting the dignity of the tiger in the wild with its helpless misery in captivity. It awakens sympathy and the value of freedom.
The story in steps
- The tiger walks in his small cage on velvet soft paws, angry but silent.
- He should be hiding near long grass and water, waiting to catch deer.
- He should be snarling around village houses and frightening people at the jungle edge.
- Instead, he stays locked in a concrete cell and ignores the visitors.
- At night he hears patrolling cars and looks sadly at the shining stars.
Freedom versus captivityCruelty of caging animalsThe tiger in the wildSuppressed angerSympathy for animals
Key ideas & terms
- The caged tiger
- A wild animal trapped and frustrated in a zoo.
- Freedom vs captivity
- The central contrast of the poem.
- Suppressed rage
- The tiger’s silent anger behind the bars.
- Natural habitat
- The forest and water hole where the tiger belongs.
- Concrete cell
- The man-made cage that confines the tiger.
- Leslie Norris
- The poet who wrote “A Tiger in the Zoo”.
शब्दार्थ · Word meanings
- stalks
- walks proudly and slowly
- few steps
- small distance in the cage
- pads
- soft feet of animals
- quiet rage
- silent but strong anger
- lurking
- hiding and waiting secretly
- sliding
- moving smoothly and quietly
- snarling
- growling with bared teeth
- baring his white fangs
- showing his long sharp teeth
- concrete cell
- small cage made of cement
- patrolling cars
- cars moving around for guard duty
- brilliant stars
- very bright stars
Extra questions & answers
What contrast does the poem draw?
It contrasts the tiger’s helpless, frustrated life in a zoo cage with the free, dignified life it would lead in the wild.
How does the tiger behave in the cage?
It paces quietly in a few steps, full of suppressed rage, ignoring the visitors who come to stare at it.
What would the tiger do if it were free?
It would lurk in the shadows near a water hole to hunt deer, or snarl at the edge of the village to terrorise the people.
How does the tiger spend the night in the zoo?
It hears the patrolling cars and stares at the brilliant stars with longing, locked behind concrete bars.
What is the central message of the poem?
That caging wild animals is cruel and robs them of their natural freedom and dignity.
Why does the tiger ignore the visitors?
Because it is full of anger and helplessness at being caged and has no interest in the people who stare at it.
What feelings does the poem arouse in the reader?
Sympathy for the caged tiger and an appreciation of the value of freedom.
How is the tiger’s strength shown to be wasted in the zoo?
Its power to hunt and roam is locked behind bars, so its natural strength and instincts have no outlet.
What do the “brilliant eyes” and the stars suggest?
They suggest the tiger’s longing for freedom and its connection to the vast, open natural world it has lost.
What is the poet’s attitude towards keeping animals in zoos?
The poet is critical of it, showing it as cruel and unnatural through the tiger’s misery.