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Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary, ABOUT THE POET, Adrienne Cecile Rich (1929 – 2012) - American poet, essayist and feminist., One of the most widely read and influenced poets of the second half of the 20th century., She talks about a woman‘s experiences in her married life., She has tried to explore the inner feelings of a woman who is living under the dominance of men., Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary – In the poem a woman expresses her deep feeling through her art. She (Aunt Jennifer) is prey of male dominant society. Also, there is no one with whom she can share her physical pain. So she makes a picture to describe her deep feelings. Moreover, the narrator defines the tigers which her aunt made on the panel. Like their motion and movements and their magnificence and fearlessness. Further, there are men sitting under the tree but the tigers don’t. Besides, now Jennifer finds it difficult to take pictures by using ivory needles. Also, after marriage, she became weary of doing household work. Now she can’t involve herself in artistic work instead she has to do it in leisure time. She is scared of her husband but her art expresses her desire to move fearlessly and proudly like tigers., In this poem, the poet describes a lady whom she addresses as Aunt Jennifer. The poet also says that she is doing embroidery on a piece of cloth that could be a wall hanging or table cloth. Moreover, she has made it with beautiful tigers that are running fiercely in the green forest. Further, she describes their beauty in comparison to a topaz. As in the green background of the forest, they appear bright yellow. Company of men does not affect them as they are fearless. At this point, we can sense the contrast of behaviour between the aunt and tigers. Although tiger made by her is fierce she is afraid of her husband. According to the poet, tigers are the proud and fearless citizens of the forests. These creatures are very elegant and shiny., In this para, the poet defines Aunt Jennifer’s fear of her husband. While doing embroidery she says that her fingers shake with the fear of her husband. As her husband does not approve her hobby of embroidery. Hence, she quivers while she is embroidering the piece of cloth. Also, it becomes difficult for her to pull the needle up and down. After that, she defines her wedding ring which her husband give her on their wedding day. In addition, she sees it as a kind of burden to wear this ring., She feels this because her husband tortures her so much that she sees the wedding ring as a burden instead of a beautiful gift by her husband. Due to the many difficulties, she has faced in her married life that she describes the little wedding ring as a heavy band on her trembling fingers. It also means that the ring is linked with some bad experiences in the form of torture that she has faced. Further, this experience relates to the dominating behaviour of her husband., In the last part, the poet says that though aunt’s design of tigers can easily sense her desire for freedom and fearlessness. However, the poet says that it is not possible for her to achieve this freedom during her lifetime. Only after her death, she will attain freedom. But the irony here is that even then she will be tied with chains in the form of her husband's wedding ring. This ring is the only proof of the pains that she had faced from her husband. On the contrary, the tigers made by Aunt Jennifer will always portray her desire for living a fearless life by jumping boldly and proudly on a piece of cloth., Conclusion of Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary, By Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers summary, the poet wants to represent the life of a woman who has to live under a constant fear from her husband. Also, she will only get freedom when she will die., Vocabulary words, Prance : walk or move around with high springy steps., Topaz : a bright yellow coloured stone., Denizens : here, an animal that lives or is found in a particular place., Sleek : elegant., Chivalric : being courteous esp. to women, an act of a gentleman., Ordeals: extremely severe tests or experiences., Prancing : to move around proudly., Fluttering : to move in quick, irregular motions as if being agitated., Poem Explanation, FIRST STANZA, 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., EXPLANATION, The poet is talking about a lady whom she addresses as aunt, Jennifer., She is embroidering a piece of cloth. It could be a table cloth or a wall hanging., The pattern shows tigers who are moving and jumping around all over the fabric., They are bright yellow in colour like the colour of the topaz stone (use of metaphor)., The dense green forest background is their home., They are the proud and fearless citizens of the forest., Here is a contrast between Aunt Jennifer and her tigers. The tigers are fearless but this lady, who is embroidering them is not so., The tigers look elegant, shining and full of the gentleman’s grace, The poet is describing a lady whom she addresses as Aunt Jennifer. She says that Aunt Jennifer is doing embroidery on a piece of cloth which could be a table cloth or a wall hanging. She has designed it with beautiful tigers which are running fearlessly in the green forest. She has described their beauty by comparing them with a precious yellow stone known as topaz. She says that they appear bright yellow in the green backdrop of the forest. They are fearless and they are not affected by the presence of men. Here we can sense the contrast of behavior between the tigers and aunt, though the tigers designed by her are fearless but she herself is afraid of her husband. Further, the poet says that the tigers are proud and fearless citizens of the forests. They are very shiny and elegant., Literary Devices, Rhyme scheme: aabb, Anaphora: use of 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), Questions, (a) Name the poem and the poet of these lines., (b) What are Aunt Jennifer’s tigers doing? How do they look like?, © Where do they live? Are they fearless? Give an example., (d) How do they pace?, Answers:, (а) The poem is Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers. The poet is Adrienne Rich., (b) They are jumping across a screen or a wall. They look like shining yellow topaz., © They live in green forests. They are fearless. They don’t fear the men under the tree., (d) They run with a well-groomed, honourable confidence., Questions, (a) Why are the tigers called Aunt Jennifer‘s tigers ?, (b) How are they described here ?, © How are they different from Aunt Jennifer ?, (d) What does the word, ‘chivalric’ mean ?, Answers, (a) Aunt Jennifer has embroidered the tigers on a screen, therefore they are called Aunt Jennifer’s tigers., (b) These tigers are of bright yellow colour; they are in-habitants of the forests., © Aunt Jennifer is a very submissive and timid woman. On the other hand the tigers are shown very brave and full of energy., (d) It means ‘confident and brave’., SECOND STANZA, 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., EXPLANATION, The lady’s fingers are trembling with the fear of her husband., She is pursuing her hobby in her free time but probably, she is still afraid of her husband who could scold her., Her fingers are so tired of working endlessly all her life, The needle is also heavy for her to pull out of the cloth., The words ‘uncle’s wedding band' as the band was bought by her husband, it is his till today., The lady is dependent on her husband., ‘She is still burdened by the weight of the ring. ‘weight’ means the encirclement or trapping that has fallen upon her by getting married to him, she has been burdened by the obligations of married life, has become the man’s property., She has been living a demanding life due to which she has worn out in her old age., Here the poet describes the fear of Aunt Jennifer towards her husband. She says that while she is doing embroidery, her fingers are quivering (shaking) with fear of her husband. Her husband doesn’t approve of her hobby of embroidery. Therefore, she trembles while she is embroidering the piece of cloth. It has become difficult for her to pull her needle up and down. Then she describes the wedding ring which was given by uncle to Aunt Jennifer on their wedding day. She says that it is a kind of burden for her to wear this ring. She has been tortured by her husband so much that the wedding ring which could have been a beautiful gift for her seems like a burden to her. She has faced so many difficulties in her married life that the little ring is described as a heavy band on her trembling fingers. This means that the ring is associated with some bad experiences in the form of torture she has faced because of her husband’s dominating behaviour., Literary device:, Rhyme scheme: aabb, Alliteration: ‘f’ sound is repeated in finger fluttering, Questions, (a)What were Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through?, (b)How was she pulling the needle?, ©What was lying heavily? Where?, (d)What was upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand? How did it sit there?, Answers:, (a) Aunt Jennifer’s fingers were fluttering through her wool., (b) She was finding even the ivory needle hard to pull., © The weight of Uncle’s wedding band was lying heavily on her hand., (d) There was uncle’s wedding band upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand. It sat heavily there., Questions, (a) What is Aunt Jennifer doing with her wool ?, (b) Why does she find it difficult to pull the ivory needle ?, © What does ‘wedding band’ stand for ?, (d) Describe the irony in the third line., Answers, (a) She is embroidering beautiful tigers with her wool. Aunt Jennifer is finding hard to pull her needle because her hands have become very weak., (b) Wedding band in these lines stands for the marital duties that every woman has to perform., © They never get any respite and they have to do household chores from early morning till late night., (d) The wedding is generally considered union of two souls and blessed by God Himself. But ironically in this poem, the wedding is considered as a painful experience of Aunt Jennifer., THIRD STANZA, 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., EXPLANATION, Her wish to live a free, fearless life is indicated by her choice of design – tigers., It shows her innermost desire of being strong, fearless which has been overpowered by her husband., Probably, her ordeal will end upon her death., Her frightened, shaking fingers will be put to rest., But still, even after death, the ring shall remain on her hand, i.e. her husband’s rule over her is not yet over!, After her death, her desire of freedom and fearlessness shall remain alive in these tigers which she has embroidered., The poet says that one can easily sense aunt’s desire for freedom and fearlessness through her design of tigers. Further she says that it is not possible for aunt to achieve this freedom during her lifetime. She will attain it only after her death but here also the irony of her life is that still, she will be tied up with shackles in the form of her husband’s wedding ring. The ring was the sole proof of the tortures which she had faced from her husband. On the other hand, there are the tigers designed by Aunt Jennifer which will always depict her desire of living a fearless life by jumping proudly and bravely on the piece of cloth., Literary devices, Rhyme scheme: aabb, Alliteration: ‘p’ is repeated in prancing proud, Questions, (a) Why are Aunt Jennifer’s hands called ‘terrified’‘?, (b) What are they still ringed with?, © Where did she make the tigers?, (d) What will happen to her tigers after her death?, Answers:, (а) Her hands are called terrified because they passed through very hard and bitter experience of married life., (b) They are still ringed with those hard and testing difficulties which possessed her dining her life., © She made the tigers in the panel., (d) Her tigers will go on jumping ahead, proud and unafraid even after her death., Questions, (a) Name the poem and the poet., (b) What was Aunt mastered by ?, (c) What will her terrified hands be ringed with ?, (d) What will happen to tigers after Aunt Jennifer’s death ?, Answers, (a) The name of the poem is ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ and the name of the.poet is Adrienne Rich., (b) Aunt was mastered by her ordeals., (c) Her terrified hands will be ringed with ordeals., (d) The tigers will keep on prancing on the screen even after Aunt Jennifer’s death., Question and Answers, Q1. How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tiger’s attitudes?Ans. - The word ‘denizens’ means that they are proud of their home, they feel safe there and have a feeling of belonging attached to it., The word ‘chivalric’ shows that they have a majestic and worthy position like knights., Q2. 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?, Ans. Her hands are fluttering probably because she is scared of her husband who could come anytime and scold her for sitting idle and wasting her time doing embroidery. She finds the needle so hard to pull because her fingers are tired of working endlessly all through her life., Q3. What is suggested by the image‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’ ?, Answer. ‘Massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band‘ suggest symbolically, that the bindings and obligations of her marriage are so much that they have put a lot of burden and stress on her., Q4. Of what or of whom is Aunt Jennifer terrified with in the third stanza?, Ans. She is terrified of her husband., Q5. What are the ‘ordeals’ Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by, why is it significant that the poet uses the word ‘ringed’? What are the meanings of the word ‘ringed’ in the poem?, And. The ‘ordeals' are :-, Obeying her husband’s orders., Fear of men., Giving in to his dominance and fulfilling his commands., ‘Ringed’ indicates entrapment. As the ring encircles the finger, similarly, her husband has encircled her in his clutches. Her body and soul are both trapped, struggling for freedom and fearlessness., Q6. Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her own character? What might the poet be suggesting, through this difference?, Ans. - I think that aunt Jennifer’s intense desire for freedom and fearlessness came out through her creativity., This is the time when she is with herself, and then, her innermost feelings are expressed, here her medium of expression is the embroidery., Through this difference, it is shown that the lady is not what she is. Her circumstances have made her so but even she has a desire to live life with respect and pride., Q7. Interpret the symbols found in this poem., Ans. - Denizens of a world of green‘ means inhabitants of the forest., ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band‘ means the burden of marital obligations., ‘Sits heavily upon Aunt’ means has laid a lot of stress on her., ‘ringed with ordeals’ means to get entrapped in hardships and sufferings., Q8. Do you sympathize with Aunt Jennifer. What is the attitude of the speaker towards Aunt Jennifer?, Ans. Yes, I sympathize with Aunt Jennifer. The speaker is also sympathetic towards her and hates dominating men., EXTRA QUESTIONS, SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS, Q1. What do you learn about Aunt Jennifer’s tigers on reading the poem?, Ans: Aunt Jennifer’s tigers were created in the panel by her own hands. They appeared to be prancing (jumping) across a screen. They looked sleek. They were bright like yellow topaz. They were majestic and courageous. They didn’t fear the men beneath the tree. They paced in ‘chivalric certainty’., Q2. How has Aunt Jennifer created her tigers? What traits of tigers do they reveal!, Ans: Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are her own creations. She works with wool and ivory needles. She has created them in the panel. They have all the traits of the beasts of prey who are denizens of green forests. They are well-built and well-groomed. They are chivalric and full of confidence., Q3. What difficulty does Aunt Jennifer face while making her tigers and why ?, Ans: Aunt Jennifer is making her tigers in the panels. She is using ivory needles. Her fingers are fluttering through the wool. She finds it difficult (hard) to pull even the ivory needles. The reason is obvious. The weight of unhappy and unfortunate experiences of her married life sits heavily on her hands., Q4. What is the weight that lies heavy on Aunt Jennifer’s hand? How is it associated with her husband?, Ans: Aunt Jennifer is working with ivory needles and wool. But she can’t move her fingers freely in the wool. She finds it hard to pull even the ivory needles easily. The experiences of her past married life are quite bitter. She has unpleasant memories of her married life with her husband. The heavy weight of the wedding band sits heavily upon her hand., Q5. How will Aunt Jennifer’s hands look when she is dead?, Ans: When Aunt Jennifer dies, her hands will still look terrified. Perhaps she has experienced a lot of hardships and troubles in the past. Their effect has left its print on her hands. The ordeals that crushed her married life had surrounded and cramped her fingers and hands too., Q6. What will happen to Aunt Jennifer‘s tigers when she is dead?, Ans: Aunt Jennifer’s tigers will survive her. She has created the tigers in a panel. They are made of wool. These objects of art will survive their creator. The tigers will go on jumping, proud and unafraid., Q7. Describe the poetic devices used in the poem Aunt Jennifer‘s Tigers’., Ans: Adrienne Rich‘s Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers‘ a beautiful short poem rich in symbolism and imagery. The mataphor ‘bright topaz’ depicts the shining yellow complexion of her tigers. The effective use of alliteration in ‘sleek, chivalric certainty’ describes the pace of the tigers effectively. ‘The massive weight of wedding band’ symbolises ordeals and hardships of Aunt Jennifer‘s married fife. The images ‘terrified hands’ and ‘ringed with ordeal’ create the effect of oppression and terror as well as captivity., Q8. How are Aunt Jennifer‘s tigers different from her? Or How are the tigers different from her? How are the tigers different from her?, Ans: Aunt Jennifer‘s tigers are a picture of strength, beauty and certainty. They seem to be jumping across a screen. They “pace in sleek chivalric certainty”. They are confident and impressive. Aunt Jennifer is a weak, depressed and terrified person. Life has been a cup of woes for her. She is still in the grip of those ordeals and terrors that she faced and suffered from dining her married life. Her fingers are so ‘terrified’ that they find it hard to pull even the ivory needle. Thus, the contrast is amply highlighted., Q9. What are the difficulties that Aunt Jennifer faced in her life? Or What are the ordeals that Aunt Jennifer faced in her life?, Ans: The fife of Aunt Jennifer was overburdened by the duties of her married life. Hardships and sufferings were the parts bf her married fife. She had to face oppression by her husband even though she was old and weak., Q10. How does Aunt Jennifer express her bitterness and anger against male dominance?, Ans: Aunt Jennifer is too terrified to openly resist the oppression that she is victim of. She expresses her bitterness and anger against male dominance silently through her art. She creates tigers on her tapestry; animals that are symbolic of bravery, fearlessness and strength. Besides, she portrays these tigers as creatures unafraid of the men around them. The tigers she creates are wild and free from any kind of bondage., Long Answer Type Questions, Q1. Write in brief the summary of the poem., Answer: The poet refers to an old woman, Aunt Jennifer. She has embroidered some tigers on a screen. These tigers are jumping across the screen. The poet says that these tigers appear so real as if they were actually the inhabitants of the jungle. Some men are shown beneath the tree. But these tigers are fearless. They are not afraid of these men. Aunt Jennifer has become so old that it appears that her fingers are trembling through wool. She has become so weak that she even finds the needle hard to pull., The poet says that the uncle wedding band lies very heavily on Aunt Jennifer’s hand. The poet means to say here that Aunt Jennifer has to slavishly follow all the orders of uncle. Aunt Jennifer is terrified of endless household chores and Uncle. She thinks that even after her death she will not be free from these household chores., Q2. Write in brief the central idea of the poem., Answer: In this poem the poet narrates the tale of an old woman Aunt Jennifer. She is a typical housewife. She is embroidering tigers on a frame. Aunt Jennifer has suffered all her life because of male-dominance. The tigers she is embroidering are in fact symbol of her husband. They can also be seen as a symbol of a woman’s creative energy. The women give birth to men and the same men tyrannize women when they grow up. The poet says that Aunt is crushed due to male chauvinism and it appears she won’t be free from the bondage of her household chores even after her death.