The poem revolves around aunt Jennifer expressing her inner feelings while she was embroidering a motif compared to the energetic and fearless tiger.
She was living a life subdued to her husband’s command all through her life. Her fingers tremble as she embroiders. She is old but still fears and does not enjoy any kind of liberty. Since the day of freedom, she has been fulfilling her husband’s commands.
The wedding ring reminds her that she belongs to her husband and does not have any choice. The burden has stonkered her and she knows the sufferings will never end not even with her death.
Also after the wedding, she was not allowed to do artistic pieces of work and only fulfilled her husband’s wishes. She is scared but her heart wants to roam like that of a tiger.
About the poet: Aunt Jennifer’s tiger Summary
This beautiful literary piece is written by Adrienne Cecile Rich, an American poet, and feminist who talks about a married woman and her experiences of life living under the dominance of men. She tries to explore her inner feelings who remains submissive throughout life but wants to roam like a tiger fearlessly.
Rhyme scene
Aabb followed in every stanza
Poem’s analysis: Aunt Jennifer’s tiger Summary
Stanza1
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; The pace in sleek chivalric certainty
In the first stanza, the poet mentions a lady who while doing embroidery on a piece of cloth lost in her thought. She has made a beautiful tiger prancing in the green forest. Moreover, she describes him with a bright topaz because in the green background they appear bright yellow
The stanza shows a comparison between aunty Jennifer and her tigers; the tiger are fearless but she is not. The tigers are fearless but the aunt was not. She still remains under uncle’s command but the tigers are proud citizens of the forest; shiny and graceful.
Meanings
- Prance: walk or move around with high springy steps.
- Topaz: a bright yellow-colored stone.
- Denizens: here, an animal that is found in a particular place; dweller
- Sleek: elegant; high-class
- Chivalric: being courteous; decent; refined
Poetic devices
- Anaphora: use of the same word in two consecutive lines (they do not … and they pace in…)
- Metaphor: Use of topaz to describe the yellow color of tigers (Bright topaz)
Stanza2
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool Find even the ivory needle hard to pull. The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand.
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers tremble with fear, fear from her husband. She is pursuing her hobby in her free time but still afraid of being scolded. Her fingers are now so tired and feel the weight of the needle and cloth. After that, she mentions the wedding band brought by her uncle shows she is dependent on him.
She feels a kind of burden to wear that band, the weight of obligations of married life has stolen her charm and happiness now she is worn out of age and living a demanding life. This ring is connected to some bad pasts she has faced from her married life.
Meanings
- Fluttering: to move in quick, irregular motions.
Poetic Devices
- Alliteration: ‘f’ sound is repeated in finger fluttering
Stanza4
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.
The protagonist wishes to live her life like a tiger but still has fear of her husband. The tiger symbolizes her dreams to be free from a troubled life and the poet stresses the fact that women need to acquire such qualities that of a tiger prancing through the motif to face male dominance.
She is crushed down by fulfilling the responsibilities she feels her ordeals will end upon her death and her trembling fingers will come to rest.
After her life, there is still life where she feels she will be burdened by uncle’s wedding band. The band was a testament to the torment she has faced in her married life.
Meanings
- Ordeals: extremely severe tests or experiences.
- Prancing: to move around proudly.
Poetic devices
- Alliteration: ‘p’ is repeated in prancing proudly
Some Important Questions: Aunt Jennifer’s tiger Summary
Q 1 How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tiger’s attitudes?
The word ‘denizens’ means that tigers are proud of their home, they feel safe there and have a feeling of belongingness to it.
Q 2 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?
Her hands are fluttering through her wool probably because she is scared of her husband who could come anytime and scold her for sitting idle and wasting her time following her hobbies. She finds the needle so hard to pull because her fingers are tired of fulfilling the demands of her husband all through her life.
Q 3 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:-
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.
- Name the poem and the poet.
- What was the aunt’s ordeal?
- Why did she ‘make’ tigers?
- How were the tigers different from her?
Answer
- The poem’s name is ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tiger’ by Adrienne Rich.
- The aunt’s ordeal was that she was subdued by her husband throughout her life and was denied freedom.
- Aunt Jennifer made tigers give expression to her desire for liberty.
- Aunt Jennifer was feeble and obeying whereas the tigers she embroidered were strong and courageous.
Q 4 How are Aunt Jennifer’s tigers different from her?
Aunt Jennifer’s tigers possessed all the qualities that Aunt Jennifer did not have. The tigers were free, fearless, and confident whereas Aunt Jennifer was meek and submissive. She was a rather paradoxical woman, unlike the confident tigers she had created.
Sum Up
Through this poem, the summary of Aunt Jennifer’s tiger the poet conveys the message to all women to face male oppressive society fearlessly and with a valiant attitude towards patriarchal society.
They need to break the shackles and be bold like tigers themselves. Aunt Jennifer feels traumatized by facing the responsibilities of married life without enjoying her own dreams and always feeling subjugated.
The poet suggests to her and all women to face such ordeals of life boldly and fearlessly that is why she was embroidering a tiger to feel bold as she was not in her real life.
Related Articles
