Available Answers

1. 1.

   Where is the tiger in the first stanza of the poem? Why is he there?

2. 2.

   The speaker mentions the 'quiet rage' of the tiger. What does he mean by this?

3. 3.

   What should the tiger actually be doing? Where would it have the opportunity to do this?

4. 4.

   What does the tiger do in its cell at night?

5. 5.

   He stalks in his vivid stripes
   The few steps of his cage,
   On pads of velvet quiet,
   In his quiet rage.

   1. Who is 'he'?
   2. Where is he at this moment? Why is this unusual?
   3. What is responsible for the 'quiet rage' of the beast?
   4. Describe the image conveyed through 'velvet quiet'.
6. 6.

   He should be snarling round houses
   At the jungle's edge,
   Baring his white fangs, his claws
   Terrorising the village.

   1. In which way is the picture of the tiger in these lines different from what you have read earlier?
   2. Why should 'he' snarl round the houses at the jungle's edge?
   3. Why are the fangs and claws of the tiger mentioned?