How to Tell Wild Animals — Class 10 English
First Flight – Poems · Chapter 4
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Chapter summary
Carolyn Wells’s poem is a humorous and witty piece that pretends to teach readers how to identify various wild animals — but in a comically dangerous way. With light, playful rhyme, the speaker describes how you can recognise an Asian Lion if it roars at you while it eats you, a Bengal Tiger by the black stripes on its yellow body as it pounces, a leopard by its spots as it keeps leaping on you, and a bear by the way it hugs you very tightly. The poem also jokes about telling a crocodile from a hyena by whether it weeps while eating, and a chameleon by its ability to change colour and seem to vanish. The humour lies in the absurd idea that one would be identifying these creatures while being attacked. The poem entertains while showing the poet’s clever use of wit, rhyme and exaggeration.
The story in steps
- The poet jokes that an Asian Lion is known when it roars while killing and eating you.
- She says a Bengal Tiger is easy to know by its yellow body with black stripes as it attacks.
- A leopard is recognised by its spotted body and repeated leaps after you if you cry for help.
- A bear is known when it gives a crushing hug, and a hyena and a crocodile are compared humorously.
- At the end, the poet describes the chameleon as a small creature that changes colour and seems to disappear.
Humour and witIdentifying wild animals comicallyRhyme and wordplayExaggerationLight verse
Key ideas & terms
- Humour
- The light, comic tone that runs through the poem.
- Asian Lion
- Identified, comically, by its roar as it eats you.
- Bengal Tiger
- Recognised by black stripes on a yellow body as it pounces.
- Chameleon
- A lizard that changes colour and seems to vanish.
- Wit and rhyme
- The clever wordplay and rhyme that create the comedy.
- Carolyn Wells
- The poet who wrote this humorous poem.
शब्दार्थ · Word meanings
- roaming
- moving around freely
- noble
- grand and majestic
- discern
- recognise or notice clearly
- tawny
- yellowish-brown in colour
- lep and lep again
- jumped again and again
- lep
- old form of leapt
- nonplus
- confuse greatly
- caress
- loving touch or embrace
- novice
- a beginner
- reptile
- cold-blooded crawling animal
- chameleon
- lizard that changes colour
Extra questions & answers
What is the tone of “How to Tell Wild Animals”?
It is humorous, light and comic, using wit and playful rhyme throughout.
How does the poem suggest you identify an Asian Lion?
By the fact that it roars at you loudly as it is about to eat you.
How can a Bengal Tiger be recognised, according to the poem?
By the black stripes on its yellow body, noticed as it pounces on you.
How does the poet jokingly tell a leopard?
By its spots, which you notice as it keeps leaping on you again and again.
What comic way is given to identify a bear?
A bear hugs you very tightly; if you are caught in a very tight hug, it is a bear.
How does the poem distinguish a crocodile from a hyena?
A hyena is said to smile or laugh, while a crocodile sheds tears (weeps) even as it eats you.
What is special about the chameleon in the poem?
It changes colour to match its surroundings and may seem to vanish, so you may feel nothing is there.
Where does the humour of the poem mainly lie?
In the absurd idea that one would calmly identify these dangerous animals while actually being attacked or eaten.
What poetic devices make the poem enjoyable?
Wit, exaggeration, rhyme and a playful, conversational tone.
What is the overall purpose of the poem?
To entertain the reader through humour and clever wordplay rather than to give serious information.