AUNT JENNIFER'S TIGERS WORKFILE

A poem by Adrienne Rich

ABOUT THE POET

Adrienne Cecile Rich (May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the oppression of women to the forefront of poetic discourse". Rich criticized the rigid forms of feminist identities.

Her first collection of poetry, A Change of World, was selected by renowned poet W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. Auden went on to write the introduction to the published volume. She famously declined the National Medal of Arts, protesting the vote by House Speaker Newt Gingrich to end funding for the National Endowment for the Arts

THEME

Central Theme: The central theme of Adrienne Rich's "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" is how patriarchal dominance dominates but not the minds of women. The poem highlights this by introducing and comparing the wild, exotic, strong tigers browned by Aunt Jennifer to Aunt Jennifer’s.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers prance and jump across a screen. They are bright coloured like the shining yellow topaz. These denizens’ or the dwellers of the green forests are brought in the panel by Aunt Jennifer. She creates them through her own hands. They don’t fear the men standing under the tree. They pace in ‘sleek’ and ‘chivalric’ certainty.

Aunt Jennifer’s hands are moving about her wool. But the movement is not smooth and effortless. Aunt finds it quite hard to pull even the ivory needle. The heavy weight of the marriage band that bonded her with her husband sits heavily upon her hand. She still feels tied down by that weight.

Her terrified hands will tell the whole story of her unhappy life even when aunt is dead. Hardships and sufferings were the parts of her married life. These crushed her. She was in the grip of very tough life. But the tigers she has made in the panel will go on jumping ahead, proud and unafraid.

POETIC DEVICES

1. Imagery – Imaginary means a sensory experience or creating a picture with words only for the readers or Imagination is the literary term that refers to the five senses for language and representation. Imagery includes: fear stricken, depressed wife, magnificent tigers.

2. Metaphor – describes an object or an action in such a way that isn’t literally true or is used to indicate indirect comparison between completely different things. For example: bright topaz.

3. Alliteration – refers to the repetition of the same letter or sound and they consist of closely connected words; used when a series of the words have the same letter or sound. For example: sleek, chivalric certainty or fingers fluttering or prancing proud.

4. Symbolism – shows the ideas and qualities and is a literary device which uses symbols, such as words, people, signs, settings or abstract ideas in other ways. For example: heavy wedding band, tigers as untamed free spirit.

5. Personification – type of figurative language where non-human beings are described as having human characteristics. For example: tigers are being given qualities like pride, confidence, and unafraid of humans/men.

6. Hyperbole – they consist of claiming statements or claims that are not meant to be taken literally. For example: exaggeration of “heavy wedding band”.

READ THE EXTRACT AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1

Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool Find even the ivory needle hard to pull. he massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand

1. What were Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through? Ans. Her fingers were fluttering through her wool.

2. How was she pulling the needle? Ans. She was pulling the needle with a lot of difficulties.

3. What did Aunt Jennifer have on her hand? What was the problem with that object? Ans. Aunt Jennifer had her husband’s wedding band on her finger. The problem was that his band lay heavily on her hand because it was a symbol of the difficulties and hardships that she had borne in her married life.

2

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.

1. Why are the tigers called Aunt Jennifer’s tigers?

2. How are they described here?

3. How are they different from Aunt Jennifer?

4. What does the word’ chivalric’ mean?

ANSWER IN BRIEF:

1. Why did Aunt Jennifer choose to embroider tigers on the panel?

2. Describe the contrast between Aunt Jennifer and her creation, the tigers.

3. What do the symbols, ‘tigers’, ‘fingers’ and ‘ring’ stand for in the poem, ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’?

4. What kind of married life did Aunt Jennifer lead?

5. What will happen to Aunt Jennifer’s tigers when she is dead?

ANSWER IN ABOUT 120-150 WORDS:

1. Steeped in feminism, Rich presents a vivid criticism of a male-dominated societal setup. Comment. (Answer on your own)