Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen, [proud way of walking]
Bright topaz denizens
of a world of green. [Yellow jewel like the tigers in a forest]
They do not fear the men beneath the tree
[The tigers under the trees can see the hunters there but they do not care about them]
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.
[They are walking proudly, and their fur is well groomed. Slick: soft shining. Pacing: walking fast, case they are indifferent]
Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool.
[She has a needle in her
hand and is drawing the tigers in the embroidery]
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull
[Ivory: elephant husk]
The massive weight of uncles’ wedding band
Sits heavy upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand
[It is obvious that the husband is controlling her and she fears him, “the ring being heavy”]
When aunt is dead her terrified
hands will lie [afraid of uncle]
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by [sufferings]
The tigers in the panel that she made [screen]
Will go on prancing proud and unafraid
[The tigers in the screen
are opposite to Aunt Jennifer]
Subject: Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers
Theme: The oppression of Aunt Jennifer
Tone: sympathy,
sorrowful
Speaker: Nephew
or Niece
Poet: Adrienne
Rich
A little Description of the poem: Aunt Jennifer who is married to a very controlling and freaky guy, whom she is much afraid of, is knitting a picture of magnificent looking proud tigers in a forest that don’t even care that hunters are there to kill them. Now this is an opposition to what she feels, since in the picture the tigers look beautiful, and calm, while her hand is terrified and has to bear the heavy weight of the ring, which binds her with ‘uncle.’
Style of poem: 3
versus each being a quatrain. They rhyme, with an [a,a,b,b,c,c,d,d,e,e,f,f]
rhyme scheme. There is no meter.