poetry essay on aunt jennifer's tigers

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Summary & Analysis by Adrienne Rich

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis
Poetic Devices
Vocabulary & References
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme
Line-by-Line Explanations

"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" is a 1951 poem by American poet Adrienne Rich. It appeared in her first published book of poems, A Change of World . Told from the perspective of an anonymous speaker, the poem describes a woman, Aunt Jennifer, who crafts vibrant tapestry panels (depicting tigers) to escape—mentally, at least—her unhappy marriage. Written at a time when divorce was unacceptable, the poem criticizes the traditional institution of marriage, suggesting that it oppresses women.

Read the full text of “Aunt Jennifer's Tigers”

The Full Text of “Aunt Jennifer's Tigers”

“aunt jennifer's tigers” summary, “aunt jennifer's tigers” themes.

Marriage, Gender, and Power

Creative Expression and Personal Freedom

Line-by-line explanation & analysis of “aunt jennifer's tigers”.

Aunt Jennifer's tigers ... ... world of green.

They do not ... ... sleek chivalric certainty.

Aunt Jennifer's fingers ... ... hard to pull.

The massive weight ... ... Aunt Jennifer's hand.

When Aunt is ... ... was mastered by.

Lines 11-12

The tigers in ... ... proud and unafraid.

“Aunt Jennifer's Tigers” Symbols

Lines 1-4: “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.”
Lines 11-12: “The tigers in the panel that she made / Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.”

Line 3: “They do not fear the men beneath the tree”

The Wedding Band

Lines 7-8: “The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band / Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.”
Lines 9-10: “When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie / Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.”

“Aunt Jennifer's Tigers” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

Personification.

Line 3: “They do not fear the men beneath the tree;”
Line 4: “They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.”
Line 6: “Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.”
Line 1: “Aunt,” “Jennifer's,” “tigers,” “prance,” “across,” “screen”
Line 2: “topaz,” “denizens,” “green”
Line 4: “pace,” “sleek,” “chivalric,” “certainty”
Line 5: “Jennifer's,” “fingers,” “fluttering”
Line 6: “Find,” “even,” “ivory,” “needle,” “hard,” “pull”
Line 7: “weight,” “wedding,” “band”
Line 8: “upon,” “Aunt,” “Jennifer's,” “hand”
Line 9: “dead,” “terrified,” “hands,” “will,” “lie”
Line 10: “Still,” “ringed,” “ordeals,” “mastered”
Line 11: “panel,” “made”
Line 12: “prancing,” “proud,” “and,” “unafraid”
Line 1: “screen”
Line 2: “green”
Line 3: “fear,” “beneath,” “tree”
Line 4: “sleek,” “certainty”
Line 5: “wool”
Line 6: “even,” “needle,” “pull”
Line 7: “band”
Line 8: “hand”
Line 9: “terrified,” “lie”
Line 10: “by”
Line 11: “tigers,” “panel,” “made”
Line 12: “prancing,” “unafraid”

Alliteration

Line 5: “fingers,” “fluttering”
Line 7: “weight,” “wedding”
Line 8: “heavily,” “hand”
Line 11: “panel”
Line 12: “prancing,” “proud”
Lines 5-6: “wool / Find”
Lines 7-8: “band / Sits”
Lines 9-10: “lie / Still”
Lines 11-12: “made / Will”
Line 9: “dead, her”
Line 12: “prancing, proud”
Line 10: “ringed with ordeals”

“Aunt Jennifer's Tigers” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

Prance/Prancing
Wedding band
(Location in poem: Line 1: “prance”; Line 12: “prancing”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Aunt Jennifer's Tigers”

Rhyme scheme, “aunt jennifer's tigers” speaker, “aunt jennifer's tigers” setting, literary and historical context of “aunt jennifer's tigers”, more “aunt jennifer's tigers” resources, external resources.

A Biography of Adrienne Rich — Learn more about the poem's author.

The National Book Award Ceremony — Read the speech given by Adrienne Rich upon her acceptance of the 1974 National Book Award for Poetry. She wrote it with Alice Walker and Audre Lorde, the other two feminist poets nominated that year. The three women wrote had agreed to accept the prize together if any one of them won.

A History of Marriage — Learn about the history of marriage as traditionally configured in societies in which women are dependent on men in the family hierarchy.

A "Feminist Awakening" — Learn about Adrienne Rich’s "feminist awakening," as seen through previously unpublished letters.

Adrienne Rich's Obituary — Adrienne Rich died in 2012 at age 82. Read her obituary, including career highlights.

LitCharts on Other Poems by Adrienne Rich

Diving into the Wreck

Living in Sin

Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law

What Kind of Times Are These

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

A Summary and Analysis of Adrienne Rich’s ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ is a 1951 poem by the American poet Adrienne Rich (1929-2012), published in her first poetry collection, A Change of World , which was published while the precocious Rich was still in her early twenties.

Rich was known for her feminist writings as well as her poetry, and this fact is relevant for an analysis of ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’, in which the speaker describes her aunt’s embroidery featuring tigers who prance proudly and unafraid, in contrast to the aunt’s own meek, oppressive life and marriage.

The poem comprises three stanzas. In the first stanza, the speaker describes the tigers her aunt has created in an embroidery. On the screen of fabric, the tigers appear to ‘prance’ or move in a lively manner against the backdrop, which is green. They are without fear.

The embroidery also contains some men under a tree, but the tigers are apparently unafraid of the men. They walk about the scene, glossy and smooth and sure of themselves; they are majestic, like knights from the medieval days of chivalry.

In the second stanza, the speaker describes the movement of her aunt’s finger as she works on the woollen embroidery with an ivory needle. On the aunt’s finger is her wedding ring, denoting her marriage to the speaker’s uncle. This wedding ring is described as sitting heavily on the aunt’s hand, implying the oppressive weight of marriage as a patriarchal system (of which more below).

The speaker concludes the poem by thinking about the future. When her aunt dies, her hands will lie in her grave and even in death they will bear the mark of all of the suffering and hardship she endured when she was alive. However, the tigers she has created in the embroidered panel will continue to prance proudly forever, unafraid of anything.

If we wished to summarise the meaning of Adrienne Rich’s poem in one sentence, we could do worse than offer: ‘“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” is about a woman using art to triumph over the oppression of patriarchy, which rules her life but cannot rule the art she creates.’ The tigers Aunt Jennifer embroiders represent the kind of creature she wishes she could be: proud and unafraid of the men in her life.

In an early collection of her essays, Lies, Secrets and Silence (1979), Adrienne Rich observed that throughout history, ‘women’s struggle for self-determination’ had been ‘muffled in silence’.

The reference to history is apposite, because ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ may put us in mind of all of those examples from nineteenth-century women’s fiction in which female characters wove or painted their stories or desires because they felt unable to speak them out loud. Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar’s ground-breaking study of this, The Madwoman in the Attic , contains many such examples, and came out in the same year as Rich’s essay collection.

Aunt Jennifer, then, weaves or embroiders an image of woman – symbolically rendered into tigers in her artwork – which does not exist, but which is devoutly to be wished. The tigers are proud, confident, and unafraid: unlike Aunt Jennifer herself, and many other women, they do not go in fear of the men, beneath the tree or elsewhere.

The tigers are a symbol of power but also that ‘self-determination’ Rich identified as women’s struggle throughout the ages. Their ‘topaz’ colours (some varieties of the mineral topaz are indeed orange-brown, with some black) contrast sharply with the green backdrop of the embroidery Aunt Jennifer is working on.

We do not know the age of the poem’s speaker – the niece (if we assume she is female) of ‘Aunt Jennifer’. But there is something simple about the rhyming couplets of the poem, with these couplets themselves being arranged into pairs to form quatrains, and the (largely iambic) pentameter metre of the poem.

The poem’s rhythms might even put us in mind of children’s nursery rhymes – ‘ Humpty Dumpty ’, perhaps – and this adds an extra angle to the poem’s depiction of female subjugation.

How innocent is the speaker of Rich’s poem? How old, or how young? The key to the poem’s success as a feminist poem, perhaps, lies in the way Rich’s speaker seems innocent of the import of the things she is revealing to us: for example, the link between those men in the first stanza of the poem and the wedding band weighing down Aunt Jennifer’s finger in the second.

The ivory in Aunt Jennifer’s needle, meanwhile, is another reminder of the violent and predatory nature of men, who will hunt and slaughter elephants for their ivory tusks.

We are left, then, to piece together these disparate details and form a picture of, on the one hand, the quiet, meek, and put-upon Aunt Jennifer, and the proud, fearless, and masterly bravura of the tigers she creates through her art.

There are only subtle hints given about those ‘ordeals’ she suffered, ordeals her hands became ‘ringed’ by: both defined and restricted by, in other words. A key word in that final stanza is ‘mastered’, summoning the masculine dominance over Aunt Jennifer’s life.

In the last analysis, then, ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ is a poem which celebrates women’s ability to create art out of their oppression, but the nature of Aunt Jennifer’s art is at the same time a reminder that she could not speak out or forge a different path for herself: the (silent) world of those tigers on their green screen, and the (safely feminine) practice of needlework was the only outlet for her quiet defiance against marriage and other patriarchal norms.

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“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich: A Critical Analysis

Introduction: “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich

“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich, published in 1951 in a collection titled A Change of World , is a poignant meditation on the constraints of traditional gender roles and the desire for freedom. Rich uses vivid imagery, contrasting the vibrant, fearless tigers of Aunt Jennifer’s needlework with the oppressive weight of her marriage. The poem’s use of symbolism and metaphor highlights the stark difference between the woman’s internal yearning for liberation and the reality of her confined existence. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” remains a powerful testament to the enduring struggle for women’s autonomy.

Text: “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich

Bright topaz denizens of a world of green. They do not fear the men beneath the tree; They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Aunt Jennifer’s finger 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.

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.

Annotations: “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich

Literary and poetic devices : “aunt jennifer’s tigers” by adrienne rich, themes: “aunt jennifer’s tigers” by adrienne rich.

The Oppressive Nature of Traditional Gender Roles: Aunt Jennifer’s life is constrained by the expectations of marriage and womanhood. The “massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band” is a symbol of her entrapment, and her “terrified hands” even in death highlight the lasting trauma of this oppression.
The Desire for Freedom and Self-Expression: The tigers Aunt Jennifer embroiders represent a world she cannot inhabit. Their fearlessness (“They do not fear the men beneath the tree”) and confidence (“sleek chivalric certainty”) contrast with her own timidity, representing her suppressed desire for liberation.
The Enduring Spirit of Rebellion: Despite Aunt Jennifer’s physical and emotional subjugation, the poem ends with a note of defiance. The tigers she creates “will go on prancing, proud and unafraid,” suggesting that the desire for freedom, even if never realized in her own life, is inextinguishable.
Art as a Means of Escape and Expression: The act of creating the tigers offers Aunt Jennifer a momentary outlet for her unfulfilled desires. The vibrant imagery (“bright topaz denizens”) and bold movement of the tigers are a form of rebellion possible within her limited sphere.

Literary Theories and “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich

Critical questions about “aunt jennifer’s tigers” by adrienne rich.

To what extent does the poem act as a critique of patriarchal marriage? Consider how the poem uses symbolism (the wedding band, the tigers), imagery, and the portrayal of Aunt Jennifer’s fear to expose the limitations and oppressions women faced within traditional marriage structures.
How does Aunt Jennifer’s act of needlework function within the poem? Is it simply an escape, a form of rebellion, or a complex mix of both? Explore how the creation of the tigers might allow Aunt Jennifer to express or even partially fulfill her suppressed desires.
What is the significance of the final lines, and how do they change the poem’s meaning? Does the tigers’ continued “prancing” offer a sense of hope for future generations, or does it underscore Aunt Jennifer’s own tragic confinement?
Could the poem be read as a commentary on the restrictions placed upon artistic expression? Analyze how the poem uses Aunt Jennifer’s creative output as a metaphor for the broader struggle of women seeking voice and agency in a world that seeks to silence them.

Literary Works Similar to “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich

“ the yellow wallpaper ” by charlotte perkins gilman:.

Similarity: Both works explore the confinement of women within domestic spaces and the psychological toll of oppression.
Difference: “The Yellow Wallpaper” uses fantastical elements to depict a woman’s descent into madness, while “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” relies on symbolism within a more grounded reality.

“Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith:

Similarity: Both poems deal with misunderstood inner turmoil concealed beneath a surface appearance of normalcy.
Difference: “Not Waving but Drowning” has a more darkly ironic tone, while “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” is primarily sympathetic.

Works by Sylvia Plath (especially “Ariel” and “The Colossus”):

Similarity: Both Plath and Rich explore female rage, frustration, and the desire to break free from confining societal expectations.
Difference: Plath often uses a more confessional style, with intensely personal imagery, while Rich maintains some distance with the persona of Aunt Jennifer.

“Diving into the Wreck” (by Adrienne Rich):

Similarity: Both poems center on the act of exploration—one external (diving), the other internal (creating the tigers). Both seek to uncover hidden truths.
Difference: “Diving into the Wreck” focuses on reclaiming history and understanding the self, while “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” is more concerned with the immediate struggle against oppression.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers | Summary and Analysis

Critical appreciation of aunt jennifer's tigers.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers is an interesting poem which looks at the life of a married woman , the institution of marriage within which she suffers and shows how she uses art as a medium to escape the reality she’s in. Divided into three stanzas of two couplets each , the poem employs a rhyme scheme of aabbccddeeff . The poem uses the figure of Aunt Jennifer and her needlework – a tapestry of magnificent tigers in a forest in order to explore the themes of womanhood , marriage , repression of one’s personality and the importance of artistic expression .

One look at the poem tells us that the first stanza is all about Aunt Jennifer’s tigers, the second about the aunt herself and the third stanza brings the two together where a part of Aunt Jennifer is preserved in the tigers she’s stitched. In three short stanzas, the speaker demonstrates how marriage as an institution has failed to allow Aunt Jennifer the full realization of her self , how the artistic expression through her needlework provides a space where she can project her bottled-up aspirations and how her art will live beyond her death as an expression of her identity. This idea is further explored in the in depth summary and analysis of Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers in the section Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary and Analysis by Litbug.

With its striking color imagery and highly sensory language , Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers gives a glimpse in the life of a woman who finds herself weighed down by the institution of marriage and finds her only escape in the art that she produces.

Got No Time? Check out this Quick Revision by Litbug

Summary and Analysis of AUNT JENNIFER'S TIGERS by Adrienne Rich

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers | Summary and Analysis

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers | Stanza 1

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.

The first stanza of the poem introduces us to the Aunt’s ‘tigers’ that are stitched across a screen (needlework). It is interesting to note that though the first stanza begins in Aunt Jennifer’s name, the entire stanza is really about the tigers that she has created.

The tigers in the needlework are said to ‘ prance ‘, which is a very peculiar word to describe the movement of a predator. Now, prancing is a movement that is more often used to describe kids in the playground rather than tigers in a forest. A tiger normally prowls rather than prances and a dancing and prancing tiger seems like some Winnie the Pooh character rather than a real animal. This is where one must be careful. The tigers stitched on the cloth by Aunt Jennifer isn’t merely a representation of a real tiger. It is rather a representation of Aunt Jennifer’s tigers and is symbolic of the tigers within her as shall be seen in the course of analysis. Aunt Jennifer’s needlework therefore isn’t just imitative but an expressive one. The tigers are a symbol of the free, roaring spirit that moves around the forests, fearing no man or beast. The same spirit lies within Aunt Jennifer. Though marriage had crippled this free spirit in the real life, it bursts forth in the figure of the tigers whenever the aunt stitches the screen. These tigers are colored like topaz, a yellow semi-precious stone and are said to be the proud residents (denizens) of the green forest . Green and topaz are colors often used to represent happiness and prosperity which would mean that the tigers are thriving in the forest stitched by Aunt Jennifer. The tigers in the needlework are free, uninhibited, and unafraid of the men who stand beneath the tree. The literary device of alliteration is used to describe the movement of the tiger: They pace in sleek, c hivalric c ertainty . The tigers therefore are a symbol of liberty which Aunt Jennifer has been denied but longs for.

Also, the words ‘ prancing ‘ and ‘ chivalric ‘ underline the use of anthropomorphism which assigns human attributes to the beast’s movements. This further heightens the symbolic significance of the tigers.

The theme of gender and role-playing arises in the very first stanza of the poem which is highlighted by the presence of men in the domain of the tigers and the ‘chivalric certainty’ with which the tiger moves. Chivalry, a trait dating back the Middle Ages was mostly a code of conduct followed by the knights (consisting of behavioral codes like courtesy, politeness loyalty among others), especially in their relation to women. Essentially, it was a form of role playing by men employed for more reasons than was traditionally claimed. By the time we reach the second stanza, we understand that the ‘code of conduct demanded by marriage has also forced Aunt Jennifer to play the role of the ‘dutiful wife’ which has severely repressed her individuality .

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers | Stanza 2 Analysis

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

The second stanza introduces us to Aunt Jennifer with her “ fingers fluttering ” through the wool. Aunt Jennifer has been busy stitching the needlework. The alliteration may be used to emphasize the repetitive manner in which Aunt Jennifer’s carries on her needlework. The fluttering of fingers brings to one’s mind the free movement of the butterflies and birds . One might expect that Aunt Jennifer enjoys what she’s doing. Alternatively, the fluttering of fingers may also betray signs of anxiety, nervousness and weakness . Aunt Jennifer seems to face some difficulty in pulling the ivory needle across the wool. This is because a massive ” wedding ring weighs her fingers down and prevents her from working on her art.

Her marriage to the uncle doesn’t seem to have been a particularly happy one. A metonymy (a figure of speech which refers to something by using an object closely associated with it) is used to describe the matrimonial disaster that Jennifer’s gotten into: the weight of the wedding ring (band) is used to represent the sad unfortunate married life Aunt Jennifer has been through. The ring that seems to sit heavily on her hand is in sharp contrast to the weightlessness of the fluttering fingers as mentioned in the first line of the second stanza. Though her needlework is the expression of her self, it is the wedding ring which weighs the finger down when she attempts to make this expression. The fact that the symbolic heaviness of her married life constrains her art – her final attempt at self-expression speaks volumes about her marriage.

The use of the ivory needle and wool in this stanza is in many ways symbolic of the exploitation of animals (wool is fleeced from the sheep and ivory from elephant tusks and rhino horns) by men, perhaps the same men of the first stanza who stand under the trees, men like her Uncle. Truly, man has traditionally exploited whoever or whatever that can be exploited, both within and outside his species. The figure of the man stands as a looming presence in the life of Aunt Jennifer, as it does in the needlework featuring the tigers. The juxtaposition of the ivory needle (a sign of exploitation) to the wedding ring in successive lines of the same stanza hints at the restrictive nature of the institution of marriage.

The gloomy, closed and claustrophobic domestic space of the second stanza in which the aunt is trapped is contrasted with the open, spacious and natural atmosphere of the forests in the first stanza. The Aunt is truly unhappy in the ‘man-made’ institution of marriage, clearly unlike the tigers who roam about freely in their ‘natural’ state.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers | Stanza 3 Analysis

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 third stanza is a ghastly one and presents the reader with the sight of Aunt Jennifer’s lifeless body. One noticeable aspect of the poem is the silence of Aunt Jennifer. She doesn’t utter a word throughout the poem. It is always her fingers that do the talking. The panels provide her a space to project her emotions. The actual talking is done by an unnamed speaker who speaks in the first person and seems to be related to the ‘aunt’.

The speaker becomes important in this poem. Not only is the speaker very aware of the condition Aunt Jennifer is in, but is also capable of foreseeing the consequences of the aunt’s marriage.

Whereas the second stanza describes the aunt working on the needlework in the present continuous tense ( fluttering ), the final stanza uses a future tense ( will …) to foretell the aunt’s fate. Because the speaker is clearly of a later generation (she calls Jennifer her ‘aunt’) this foresight on her part could hint at a self-awareness and development in feminist thought in the generations that came after Aunt Jennifer.

An enjambment (the continuation of sentence beyond the end of a line or a stanza) )is used through the word “ still ” :

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.

One might thus infer that even when Aunt Jennifer dies, her hands will lie lifeless ( still ) surrounded ( ringed ) by the great troubles ( ordeals ) she was overpowered by ( mastered by ). Note the pun used in the form of the word “mastered” which not only betrays a certain power equation but a gendered one at that. Even in her death, the ring on her finger will remain as a testament of the unhappy marriage in which she was trapped. By this time she isn’t an active agent stitching the tapestry but a passive object that is acted upon . Similar to the tapestry of the tigers shaped by her fingers, she has become an object shaped by the pressures of the social forces and the institution of marriage . While the tool used was an ivory needle ‘ in the tiger’s case, it is workings of a wedding ring in the case of Aunt Jennifer.

However, even after her death, the tigers in the panel created by her will “ go on prancing, proud and unafraid” . The tiger in Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers are representative as much of the artist as of the art itself. In its representation of a personality repressed by social forces and its expression of the marginalized female voice , Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers, like the tigers stitched on the screen, stands as much a political expression as an artistic one.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers : About the author

Adrienne Rich was one of the most vocal feminist voices to be heard in the late 20th century American poetry. Born in Baltimore Maryland, Rich was exposed to literature at very young age. Rich was very influential in placing lesbian concerns at the forefront of late 20th century feminist debate and was successful in criticizing effects of institutionalized marriage on women’s freedom. Besides providing a strong voice against patriarchy and the exploitative social order which suppresses the full expression of non-masculine identities, Adrienne Rich was also known for her anti-war stance she advocated against the U.S government policies during the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq.

Some of her works include A Change of World , A Human Eye: Essays on Art and Society , Diving Into the Wreck, Arts of the Possible: Essays and Conversations among others. Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers is how much earlier work of hers taken from the collection A Change of World.

Rich passed away in on 27th March, 2012.

Absolutely enjoyed reading this analysis. Much appreciated.

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Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

By Adrienne Rich

Bright topaz denizens of a world of green. They do not fear the men beneath the tree; They pace in sleek chivalric certainty. Aunt Jennifer’s finger 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. 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.

Summary of Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

Popularity of “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”: Published in 1951, Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers by Adrienne Rich, an American poet, presents the world of embroidery, a specific field of women. The presentation has rather mesmerized the readers, not only about the speakers and the subject matter but also about the presentation itself. The poem has evoked highly controversial responses from a patriarchic and feministic point of view . Therefore, the popularity of the poem rests on its subject matter as well as the debates it has raised.
“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” As a Representative of Patriarchal Oppression vs. Feminine Resistance : Although the speaker presents a simple tale of an aunt, perhaps his own aunt, Jennifer, who is engaged in weaving tigers on the wool of her husband, Uncle. The name of the man does not appear in the poem, but the term, Uncle, points to the mature years of the person. She is wearing the wedding band of her Uncle as it oppresses her more than her physical strength until she is dead. However, in the last verses, the scene of her tigers prancing shows how feminine resistance appears in the shape of perhaps creativity or even the sons of Uncle. This host of critical responses shows the beauty of the poem as well as the speaker.
Major Themes in “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”: Feminine creativity, oppression, and love for nature are three major thematic strands of this poem. The poet beautifully presents the oppression of the female and their creative power that the tigers embroidered by his aunt still haunt him, and they continue to prance around without being afraid of anything or anyone. Interestingly, despite the oppression after which the aunt breathes her last, her love for creativity and nature continues to rule the world in the shape of tigers which are her creations. This creation could be in the shape of offspring, or siblings, or tigers in the green world of embroidery.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

Adrienne Rich used various literary devices to enhance the beauty of his poem. Some of the major literary devices used in this poem are as follows.

Assonance : Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /o/ in “Bright topaz denizens of a world of green” and the sound of /e/ in “When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie.”
Alliteration : Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession, such as the sound of /f/ in “finger fluttering” and /p/ in “prancing, proud.”
Consonance : Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /d/ in “When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie” and the sound of /s/ in “They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.”
Imagery : Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Adrienne Rich used imagery in this poem, such as “They pace in sleek chivalric certainty”, “Find even the ivory needle hard to pull” and “Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.”
Irony : It means to the contradictory meanings of the words used in different contexts . For example, the verse “When Aunt is dead” shows the irony of this creativity and oppression.
Metaphor : It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet has used the extended metaphor of lions for the sons of the aunt.
Symbolism : Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as the green, topaz, finger, and wool to show the world of women undergoing oppression.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Diction : It means the type of language. The poem shows very good use of formal and poetic diction .
End Rhyme : End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Adrienne Rich has used end rhyme in this poem, such as band/hand or made/unafraid.
Irregular Rhyme Scheme : The poem does not follow any fixed rhyme scheme. It is ABCC in two stanzas and none in the first one. Therefore, it is called an irregular rhyme scheme.
Stanza : A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three stanzas in this poem, with the first one having three verses and the last two having four each. They are also quatrains in a sense, as both have four verses.
Tone : It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a creative as well as an ironic tone that is optimistic at the end.

Quotes to be Used

The following lines are useful to quote about the relations of uncles and aunts and their love.

Aunt Jennifer’s finger 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.

Living in Sin
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Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Analysis

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Adrienne Rich’s “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” Poem Analysis Essay

Adrienne Rich’s poem “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” dramatizes the conflict between a woman and social conventions that were prevalent in the 1950s when the poem was published. According to the social norms of that time, women were expected to marry and obey their husbands, and marriage was supposed to be a lifelong commitment. In the poem, Rich shows how these social conventions became a form of oppression of women. The speaker depicts a woman, Aunt Jennifer, whose “tigers prance across a screen, /

Bright topaz denizens of a world of green” (1-2). These lines describe a piece of art made by Aunt Jennifer – a panel with tigers, which appears to be a way of escaping from oppression in marriage as the poem unfolds.

The poem is written using a closed form since it contains three stanzas, each consisting of four lines. It also follows the rhyme pattern of AABB CCDD. Although the form itself does not have a specific meaning, it seems to be not the case for this poem. The author’s choice of a closed form and a traditional rhyme pattern adds to the meaning of the poem, in which the woman is trapped in established social norms. In the first stanza, the speaker illustrates how the woman gives vent to her feelings and her desire for liberation. The tigers on her panel symbolize freedom and represent what she will never be: “They do not fear the men beneath the tree; / They pace in sleek chivalric certainty” (3-4). It seems that Aunt Jennifer would also like not to be afraid of men, but she cannot, so she endows her tigers with this quality. The speaker depicts tigers as “chivalric,” which means related to knighthood. The choice of this word is not arbitrary since it represents many traits, such as bravery, self-confidence, and self-assertion – that is, everything that oppressed women wanted but could not possess.

In the second stanza, the speaker portrays Aunt Jennifer. The reader is struck by a sharp contrast between the boldness of Aunt Jennifer’s tigers and the weakness of the woman herself: “Aunt Jennifer’s finger fluttering through her wool / Find even the ivory needle hard to pull” (5-6). The image described by the speaker changes, and so does the rhythm of the poem. The first stanza consists of end-stopped lines, encouraging the reader to make pauses at the end of each line, which creates a measured rhythm. However, beginning with the second stanza, run-on lines often occur, forcing the reader to pause in the middle of the line or read two lines in a row without a pause. The change in the rhythm adds to the entire impression of the poem, implying that the woman’s life was not as steady and peaceful as she would want it to be.

The conflict of the poem is revealed in the second stanza when the speaker mentions that the woman is married. The speaker asserts that the woman’s marriage is a burden to her by using such words as “massive weight” and “heavily” (7-8). At the beginning of the third stanza, the poem reaches its climax: “When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie / Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by” (9-10). These lines appeal to readers’ emotions and evoke fear and compassion for the woman. The epithet “terrified,” referring to the woman’s hands, implies that she has suffered cruelty in her marriage, which causes her to experience terror. Line 9 is a run-on line, which makes the reader pause only after the word “ordeals” and contributes to the rising emotional tension. The metaphor “ringed” evokes the image of a wedding ring in the reader’s mind and implies that the “ordeals,” which will haunt the woman till her death, are related to her marriage. Finally, the speaker uses the word “mastered,” which reminds the reader of slavery and suggests that, in her marriage, Aunt Jennifer is like a slave to her husband.

The last two lines of the poem represent the denouement and repeat the image described in the beginning. Thus, the poem seems to have a circular structure, which may imply a social trap in which Aunt Jennifer finds herself, being a woman in the 1950s. At the end of the poem, the reader understands what tigers are mentioned in the beginning: “The tigers in the panel that she made” (11). The last line reflects the meaning of the first stanza of the poem, saying that the tigers “[w]ill go on prancing, proud and unafraid” (12). The speaker uses the word “prance” once again and compresses the third line into the word “unafraid” and the fourth line into “proud.” By this repetition, the speaker completes the circular structure of the poem. The final lines leave the reader with a feeling of sadness and hope because, on the one hand, Aunt Jennifer is bound to live an unhappy life with her oppressive husband. On the other hand, she has found a way of realizing her unmet desires in her art that will last even after her death.

Rich, Adrienne. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing , edited by X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, 8 th ed., Pearson, 2016, p. 457.

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1. IvyPanda . "Adrienne Rich’s “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” Poem Analysis." October 17, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/adrienne-richs-aunt-jennifers-tigers-poem-analysis/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Adrienne Rich’s “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” Poem Analysis." October 17, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/adrienne-richs-aunt-jennifers-tigers-poem-analysis/.

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Critical Analysis of Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers by Adrienne Rich

Critical analysis of aunt jennifer’s tigers.

The formalism of “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” hides the more troubling features of the poem and aides the theme of Aunt Jennifer’s ordeals in marriage to the more poetic subject of the divine existence of art. The first verse of the poem defines the fearless tigers Aunt Jennifer creates in needlepoint. But their freedom and dignity is contrasted in the second verse to the restrictions of marriage, symbolized by the wedding band that weighs down Aunt Jennifer’s fingers as she sews. Another major criticism is that the themes are resolved in the final, third, verse: Even death will not free Aunt Jennifer from her ordeals, but the tigers she has created will continue to appear “proud and unafraid.”

It has been detected that Uncle causes Aunt Jennifer anxiety, and that he is dominating her through his mastery. Therefore, Uncle is unfair. Yet, Uncle is identical with Aunt Jennifer’s wedding ring. It is not clear whether the speaker is trying to make clear that marriage is cruel. The first line of the second stanza states that Aunt Jennifer is occupied with wool. Wool is a material that often comes from sheep. Sheep is a term which is frequently used to describe people who are conventional or traditional. Marriage itself is a resolution and a tradition. Perhaps, Aunt Jennifer is anxiety-ridden, because of her choice to be old-fashioned and get married into a domineeringassociation.

The poem has received wide critical appreciation . Adrienne Rich’s poem “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” is a poem of struggle. The conflict is what takes place within Aunt Jennifer, the craving to break away from the society in which she lives. The poem is convincing because of the struggle between what Jennifer wishes her life to be and what it really is. The narrator occupies the reader with the description: tigers prance across a screen, and sets this image in contrast to the image of Aunt Jennifer’s fingers with the massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band.

There is a direct link between revolt and repression, between the individual and the social, between the personal and the political. This is also the beginning of Rich’s life, long subject of feminism. This poem cries out for a determination for Aunt Jennifer to throw off the destruction of social and political chains which held women in their homes and tied to husbands they no longer wished to serve.

Poetic Devices

The poetic devices used in this poem are mainly Alliteration, Rhyme, End Rhyme and Couplet.

Sound Devices add sparkle and interest to poetry, allowing a rhythm to form about words, making the reading memorable. Alliteration, rhyme in couplets, and end rhyme are the most common forms of poetic devices found in the poem “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”, by Adrienne Rich .

Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words.An example of Alliteration is: “Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool”. The repeated “f” sounds in “fingers fluttering” make the poem pleasant to read aloud as the recurrent consonant sounds allow the worlds to appear perhaps, spirited, continuing the mood from the first stanza.

Rhyme can be defined as the occurrence of similar or identical sounds at the ends of two or more words. An example of Rhyme would be: “ Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen, bright topaz denizens of a world of green.” The rhyme is also set up in the words “screen” and “green” as they share similar sounds “ee”.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers has a non-stop rhyme pattern at the end of each line, also known as end rhyme, adding a rhythm that continues throughout the piece.

An EndRhyme is arhyme that occurs at the ends of lines.

For instance:

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.

Screen, green, tree, and certainty all have the same similar sounds at the end of each line. This end rhyme adds a playful rhythm, continuing the melody of the first stanza.

A couplet isa rhymed pair of lines.

Some examples are: “They do not fear the men beneath the tree, They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.”

Every line in the poem Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers has its place to a couplet. Couplets are more related to the form of the poem. However, they also have a relationship with rhyme. Yet again, the continuous couplets, thus continuous rhyme, add a free and playful rhythm, which praises Adrienne Rich’s theme.

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it was very nice and critical analysis

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Aunt Jennifer's Tigers

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Poem Analysis

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Literary Devices

Literary Context

“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’’ comprises part of Rich’s first collection, published when she was still a college undergraduate. While the poem is sharp, poignant to her poetic goals, and expertly crafted, Rich’s poetic influences shape the poem more than her mastery. The poem shows more influence of mid-century American academia than her radical works in the proceeding decades. Rich admitted after the publication of her second book that her early work felt formulaic to her compared to her ease and confidence with later volumes. Still, the vibrant language and ideas expressed about womanhood and marriage make “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’’ a vivid point of departure and thesis for Rich’s early poetic work. The poem aligns with her burgeoning identity as a feminist, which continued to grow through her writing and personal life.

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Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary Class 12 English

Summary of Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

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.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Summary in English

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.

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7 responses to “Poets and Pancakes Summary Class 12 English”

Contrary to what is mentioned here that “the author is a poet who joins the studio to become an actor, screenwriter, director or lyricist”, it is the office boy of the make-up department who “wasn’t exactly a ‘boy’; he was in his early forties, having entered the studios years ago in the hope of becoming a star actor or a top screen writer, director or lyrics writer. He was a bit of a poet.”

This factual mistake on your part will misguide the students and discourage us, the teachers to either follow your site or to recommend it to our students. In fact, we may become bound to directly stop our students from following it.

Similarly, it is wrongfully mentioned here that “The author thinks that Subbu is the one who troubles him. As Subbu is a Brahmin, the author thinks he has an upper hand.” The fact is that it’s the office boy of the make-up department and not the author who thinks so.

Kindly take proper care before posting anything. Otherwise, it will adversely affect the student-community that too of a Board class like Class-XII.

Bahar me jao bas bakwas band karo samjhe

well okay this place is toxic af lmoa

shit typo lmao

This poem is toxic. This poem may sometimes create a bad impression of men towards women in younger women. The word torchure doesn’t suite good as she is saying like marriage is like going to hell.

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Aunt Jennifer's Tigers

By adrienne rich, aunt jennifer's tigers themes, marriage as loss of freedom for women.

The most important theme in “ Aunt Jennifer ’s Tigers” is the idea that marriage takes away women’s freedom. Through the image of “the massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band,” Rich suggests that marriage, for Aunt Jennifer at least, is a burden. We’re all probably familiar with the “ball and chain” category of marriage complaints, but Rich is saying something different. Her problem isn’t with the obligations we all have towards the people we love, but rather with the ways in which marriage functions to perpetuate male violence against women.

As a system, heterosexual marriage gives men disproportionate power. Men tend to earn more money, while women are often tasked with the day-to-day labor of maintaining the house and raising children. This means that women often lack the financial freedom to leave their husbands. Jennifer’s terror might stem from a particularly violent husband, but it also might be rooted in the knowledge that if her husband became violent, she would have no choice but to stay with him. Similarly, she is unable to pursue her own interests, because she is “ringed by ordeals”—her life is consumed with the often frustrating and tedious work of keeping a house. Through this portrayal, Rich suggests that marriage for women often constitutes a loss of freedom.

Women’s Creativity

In Rich’s own later analysis of this poem, she noted that it reflects a growing discomfort with the split between her desire to be a poet, and her still male-centered life and worldview. In “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” Jennifer lives the embodiment of a male-centered life: she is defined through and constrained by her husband. She is also a creative person. The image of tigers that she embroiders is so beautiful and full of life that it feels almost real. In “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” Rich uses irony to suggest that these two sides of Jennifer—her creativity and her patriarchal marriage—are in conflict with one another. Rich contrasts the freedom of Jennifer’s tigers against the constraint of her marriage. The tigers no longer exist purely within the image, but also function to emphasize Jennifer’s lack of freedom. The art Jennifer makes thus speaks to her lived reality, and, rather than granting Jennifer brief freedom from her daily life, instead end up making it even more obvious how little freedom she has in her own life.

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Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Study Guide for Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers study guide contains a biography of Adrienne Rich, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Aunt Jennifer's Tigers
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Summary
Character List

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Stanza wise Summary & Analysis in English Class 12

Back to: CBSE Class 12th English Summary

Table of Contents

Introduction

The poem Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers was written by Adrienne Rich who is one of the significant figures of feminist movement during the 20th century. As the title suggests, the poem is about an old married lady (who is trapped in a male-dominating marriage) and her art which helps her to escape from her unhappy marriage.

The poem has been divided into three stanzas having four lines each. In the first stanza, the poet explains the nature of tigers i.e. bold, fearless and free. In the second stanza, the poet explains the nature of the artist i.e. Aunt Jennifer who is totally opposite of her art i.e. trapped, frightened and pain-bearing. The last stanza, compares the life of the artist i.e. Aunt Jennifer and that of her art.

The poet concludes that though Aunt Jennifer has suffered throughout her life because of her failed marriage and will suffer in her afterlife as well, her art will remain fearless, proud and everlasting.

When we read this poem again and again, we find that the poet is indirectly referring to the power of art. For the poet, women can escape from their unhappy life by using their capabilities. Unlike humans, art has no boundaries or limitations. So, basically, the poet is trying to encourage women to raise voice against their slavery by expressing themselves in art.

According to the poet, Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen . The word prance means to leap forward. Screen refers to the canvas on which Aunt Jennifer is craving the tigers. The very first line gives impression of the art of Aunt Jennifer i.e. it is free, bold and hopeful.

They are bright and vibrant like topaz (a yellow coloured precious stone). In other words, the yellow skin of those tigers is bright and appealing. They seem to be the denizens (inhabitants) of a green world . Green world is symbolic. It either means forest or hope or a utopian place which does not exist on earth.

In the third line, the poet says that those tigers (carved by Aunt Jennifer) do not fear the men beneath the tree . Men probably refer to hunters and tree refers to the forest (which exists in the world). This symbol (men under tree) gives the impression of humans dominating the nature. However, here the situation in different. The tigers do not fear those hunters at all.

The tigers pace (move) in sleek (elegant) and chivalric way. The word chivalric was used for knights in old times. However, here the poet personifies the tigers. According to her, these tigers are fearless, they do not fear humans and move ahead in chivalric way.

In this stanza, the poet describes the art i.e. tigers and their characteristics put by the artist i.e. Aunt Jennifer.

In this stanza, the poet talks about the artist i.e. Aunt Jennifer and her condition which is on contrary to that of her tigers. According to the poet, Aunt Jennifer’s finger flutters through her wool (which she uses for craving the tigers). The word ‘flutter; is used for birds which means flapping the wings quickly. Here, it refers to the inability of Aunt Jennifer to use her fingers.

It is difficult and hard for her to pull the ivory needle. It looks like she is facing problems while carving the tigers. There are probably two reasons for that. Either her husband does not allow her to do that or she has become weak to psychological problems (of her failed marriage).

The next two lines are very important as they depict the reality. According to the poet, the massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band sits heavily upon the hand of Aunt Jennifer. A band is not that heavy. So, the poet is referring to something psychological.

The poet uses “ Uncle’s wedding band ” which means he is dominating the life of Aunt Jennifer. In addition, as the band is heavy, it means she is bearing the weight of her filed marriage which she cannot escape. This depicts the reality of woman’s condition during 20th century. A woman had to bear the problems of marriage because she had nowhere to go. The poet throws light on this aspect of society.

Aunt Jennifer finds difficult to carve the tigers due to the fear of her husband and the psychological problems. Yet, she manages to carve it.

According to the poet, when Aunt will die, her terrified hands will still have the ring of marriage on them. So, though she will die, the ordeals i.e. bad experiences (of her marriage) which mastered her (i.e. dominated her life) will remain with her. However, her art i.e. the tigers in the panel (canvas) will keep moving with high spirits, proudly and fearlessly.

In other words, though she will die, her tiger will remain alive, fearless, proud and bold (unlike her). This line gives the powerful message i.e. art has no boundaries, no obstacles. A woman can feel liberated only with her art.

Analysis of a Poem: Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers by Adrienne Rich

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Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers by Adrienne Rich is a beautifully written poem with an excellent rhyming scheme and stunning imagery. Beyond Rich’s beautiful images and perfect wording, she forthrightly expresses a dark and significant truth – the ordeal that women go through in conventional marriages. Rich skillfully uses her poem to confront the oppression of women and the deep need for the liberation of women from a world dominated by men. She uses third-person narrative to eloquently voice the poem and set herself apart from the main character, Aunt Jennifer. In analyzing the poem, this essay explores how Rich utilizes various literary skills to voice the oppression of Aunt Jennifer through traditional marriage, which is the prevailing theme of her poem. In addition, the essay focuses on how utilization of embroidery allowed the writer to reveal how much the women in the society were craving for freedom from their domineering male counterparts.

The first stanza of the poem begins with a description of Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers, and they are said to “prance across a screen”. The tigers seem to move in a lovely fashion, perhaps in an arrogant manner. The speaker describes the tigers as “topaz denizens of a world of green”, probably to refer to tigers’ strength and impenetrability. Clearly, the tigers are not afraid of “the men beneath the tree” an expression which implies that these tigers are aware of the power they have (SFGate 1). Although the tigers seem not to fear the men under the tree, their movement seems to be confined to the top of the tree by the presence of men below the tree. This is suggested by the pacing of their movement in the last line of the first stanza as opposed the prancing movement in the first line of the same stanza.

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Stanza two of “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” focuses on Aunt Jennifer’s needlework. Her fingers are said to be “fluttering through her wool” as she concentrates on her stitching work. On one hand, the term ‘fluttering’ could refer to the graceful movement of Aunt Jennifer’s fingers as she goes about her work (SFGate 1). On the other hand, the speaker could have used the term to express the agitation that was rising within Aunt Jennifer. The latter thought seems more appropriate in this case because, in her observation, the writer submits that Aunt Jennifer has difficulty pulling the needle as she goes about her work.

Stanza two is structured in such a manner that the reader is likely to believe that Aunt Jennifer’s nervousness is a result of Uncle’s oppressive behavior. The wedding ring Uncle gave Aunt Jennifer ‘sits heavily upon’ her hands (SFGate 1). Literally, the ring is said to be heavy, but this cannot be true to an extent that it hampers Aunt Jennifer’s ability to stitch. Rather, the use of the ring by Rich is symbolic. She uses the heavy weight of the ring to express the violent, oppressive, severe, or demanding nature of Uncle towards Aunt Jennifer. The behavior of Uncle towards Aunt Jennifer affects her emotional state and this is displayed through physical signs of agitation.

The speaker sets apart the third stanza to describe how matters will be following the death of Aunt Jennifer. The speaker notes that the ‘terrified hands’ of Aunt Jennifer will ‘still be ringed with the ordeals she was mastered by’ during her lifetime (SFGate 1). The speaker seems to use the word “ringed” in this stanza to refer back to the Uncle’s wedding band. The speaker is trying to make the reader understand that the master who put Aunt Jennifer through many ordeals is Uncle. He “mastered” Aunt Jennifer and left her “terrified”.

Aunt Jennifer carefully uses the tigers to paint the picture of how a society should be comfortable to live in and the character she wished to have. In the last line of the first stanza, the speaker notes that the tigers “pace in sleek chivalric certainty” (SFGate 1). The poet could have used the phrase to depict that the tigers are attractive, in addition to the fact that they are considerate towards women. The tigers depicted on the screen appear masculine, yet they seem to have qualities of men who are honorable as opposed to the Uncle.

Naturally, ivory comes from animals that are normally mastered and even destroyed by men. Probably, this explains why in her creations, Aunt Jennifer chose to utilize ivory needles just to express the oppression women undergo at the hands of men (Hub-Pages, 1). From the writer’s choice of terms, it is clear that Uncle’s dominant behavior causes Aunt Jennifer much anxiety. Of course, the wedding ring is synonymous with the oppressive Uncle, but the use of wool symbolizes another aspect of the marriage between Uncle and Aunt Jennifer. It is from sheep that we obtain wool and the term sheep is normally used to refer to people who are either traditional or conventional. Perhaps Jennifer seems to blame herself for getting into a marriage because it is a tradition rather than a necessity.

Aunt Jennifer uses the tigers to express of her belief of what an ideal marriage as well as an ideal man ought to be (Hub-Pages 1). Despite having found herself in a marriage she did not approve of, Aunt Jennifer seemed to have realized that she cannot free herself and will have to endure the ordeal until her death. Trapped within an oppressive marriage, she resorts to needle work to enable her express her desires. Since she cannot confront her troubles, she uses the art of sewing to escape from them. She escapes to the jungle and creates tigers on the screen. The tigers created by Aunt Jennifer are seen to be glorious; they maintain strength as well as assertiveness. Ironically, Aunt Jennifer herself lacks the qualities that she paints on the tigers; she is fearful and appears to be nervous whenever she feels the presence of Uncle. In the jungle, a world of green, the tigers appear to be demanding something from the men who seem to be interested in conquering their territory.

Even after the death of Aunt Jennifer, the speaker notes that the “prancing” of her tigers will continue. Regrettably, she deeply expresses the strength she wishes she had possessed but will not have till her death (Hub-Pages 1). Despite her regrets and impending death, the fact that her creation continues to exist even after her demise makes the poem quite visionary. The speaker utilizes the prancing of the tigers to symbolize freedom, thereby enabling the reader to have a glimpse of what lies in Aunt Jennifer’s subconscious. Repetition of the prance in the poem enabled the poet to emphasize the freedom of the tigers. The animals she utilizes do not allow themselves to be victimized at any point by anyone. She is foreseeing a time when society would find womankind equal and parallel opportunities to enable them to progress without much hindrance from social male constraints.

Aunt Jennifer’s Tiger is indeed a well constructed literary work. It gives a clear picture of the ideas that Rich was preoccupied with. She appears to have been giving an awakening call to the entire society with the message of women’s liberation. She clearly expressed that the long-gone days of living in a male-dominated society ought to have ended. She strongly felt that women’s freedom was beckoning, and nothing could stop it.

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NCERT Solutions
NCERT Class 12
NCERT Solutions Class 12 English
Flamingo Aunt Jeniffers Tigers

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry Chapter 6 Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

Ncert solutions class 12 english aunt jennifer’s tigers – free pdf download.

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo Poetry Chapter 6 is a poem which discusses the problems faced by a woman in her married life. The NCERT Solutions contains accurate answers which completely stick to the syllabus and guidelines designed by the CBSE Board. The purpose of creating the solutions is to enhance the grammatical and linguistic skills of students, which are necessary to build a strong foundation in the English language. It provides students with a thorough understanding of the various themes which are covered in the chapter.

Chapter 6 of NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo Poetry explains how patriarchy controls what a woman does but cannot control their minds. The wild and powerful tigers embroidered by Aunt Jennifer are in sharp contrast to the image of an oppressed wife. It explains the pitiful condition of married women. It highlights how married women fall prey to the various forms of patriarchal society. Students can understand the themes effectively using the NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English at BYJU’S.

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Access answers to NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry Chapter 6 – Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

Page No. 104

Think It Out

1. How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tiger’s attitudes?

Like the beasts of prey, the denizens of the forest are the tigers. They lead their lives far from the human settlements and are known as ‘chivalric’. This highlights the honourable and majestic position they occupy in the animal world. So, the usage of the words ‘chivalric’ and ‘denizens’ adds to our knowledge of the attitude of the tiger.

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?

Aunt Jennifer is weaving the tigers on a panel. With her hands moving about the wool, she is finding it difficult to pull the needle. The heaviness of years of married life is lying on her hand, which makes it hard to pull the needle.

3. What is suggested by the image ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’?

The image of ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’ suggests the weight of the tough and harsh experience of the married life of Aunt Jennifer. The image is suggestive, and the wedding band is symbolic. It indicates the marriage bond which is unbreakable between the wife and the husband.

4. Of what or of whom is Aunt Jennifer terrified in the third stanza?

The poet refers to the ‘terrified hands’ of Aunt Jennifer in the third stanza. The unhappy memories which are old remain fresh in her mind. During her married life, she has gone through many horrible times and tests. These ordeals suppressed and crushed her, the effect of which is still visible. She is stuck with the ordeals which dominated her life.

5. 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?

The marriage experiences are addressed by the poet in the background of oppression faced by women. The word ‘ringed’ suggests that the vicious grip of her unhappy married life is still holding her tightly. The word ‘ringed’ is used in two ways. The first way is conventional use, where the ring symbolises the sacred bond of marriage. The second way is the figurative use of ‘ringed’, which means surrounded or encircled.

6. 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?

The tigers are ‘prancing’. In ‘sleek chivalric certainty’, they pace and ‘do not fear’ the men under the tree. So, they are the symbols of beauty, fierceness and strength. On the other side, Aunt Jennifer is terrified and weak. Her hands are finding it hard to pull the needle through the wool. The huge weight of her wedding band is heavy on her hands. Her terrified hands are still ringed by the ordeals of her married life. The intensity is heightened by the contrast.

7. Interpret the symbols found in this poem.

‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ by Adrienne Rich is rich in symbolism. ‘The massive weight of the wedding band’ symbolises the worries, hardships and ordeals of married life. ‘Ringed with ordeals’ and ‘terrified hands’ highlight the unpleasant experiences which are still clinging to Aunt Jennifer, both mentally and physically.

8. Do you sympathise with Aunt Jennifer? What is the attitude of the speaker towards Aunt Jennifer?

Yes, we sympathise with Aunt Jennifer as she has gone through ordeals and hardships during her married life. The speaker’s attitude towards Aunt Jennifer is sympathetic. Many suggestive symbols and images are given by the poet to present a lady who has gone through terrifying and unpleasant periods and painful experiences during her married life.

Frequently Asked Questions on NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry Chapter 6

Explain the benefits of using the ncert solutions for class 12 english poetry chapter 6..

The benefits of using the NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry Chapter 6 are listed below: 1. Precise answers are available for the textual questions. 2. Students will be able to get a good grasp of the chapters covered in the textbook. 3. A detailed summary of the chapter is explained in simple language to help the students in their exam preparation. 4. PDFs of solutions are available for free with a download option.

What do ‘chivalric’ and ‘denizens’ refer to in Chapter 6 of NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry?

The animals in nature are inhabitants of their natural habitats. Denizens refer to the fact that they live in a specific region. The tigers are described as ‘denizens of a green world’ by the poet, which means that they rule their territory. The word ‘chivalric’ is used by the poet to explain the heroic confidence and bravery possessed by the tigers. They can face danger with power and strength. NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry Chapter 6 can be referred to by the students from BYJU’S to get their queries solved instantly.

What is the poet trying to explain in the NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry Chapter 6?

In the NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry Chapter 6, the poet explains the contrast between the characteristics of Aunt Jennifer and the tigers. The confident, brave, proud and free tigers highlight her desire for strength and freedom. The variations indicate the unfairness faced by married women in a patriarchal society. To get more deep knowledge about these topics, students can access the NCERT Solutions in PDF, which are available at BYJU’S for free.

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Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Poem Summary and Analysis
Learn More. "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" is a 1951 poem by American poet Adrienne Rich. It appeared in her first published book of poems, A Change of World. Told from the perspective of an anonymous speaker, the poem describes a woman, Aunt Jennifer, who crafts vibrant tapestry panels (depicting tigers) to escape—mentally, at least—her unhappy ...
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich
64. 89. 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers' is one of Rich's best-known poems. It was part of her first poetry collection, 'A Change of World,' which was selected by W.H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets Prize. The poem's exploration of the gendered power dynamics within a traditional marriage resonates with Rich's broader feminist stance and ...
A Summary and Analysis of Adrienne Rich's 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers' is a 1951 poem by the American poet Adrienne Rich (1929-2012), published in her first poetry collection, A Change of World, which was published while the precocious Rich was still in her early twenties. Rich was known for her feminist writings as well as her poetry, and this fact is relevant for an analysis of 'Aunt ...
"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich: A Critical Analysis
Introduction: "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich. "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich, published in 1951 in a collection titled A Change of World, is a poignant meditation on the constraints of traditional gender roles and the desire for freedom. Rich uses vivid imagery, contrasting the vibrant, fearless tigers of Aunt ...
An Analysis of Adrienne Rich's "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers"
Aunt Jennifer's "ordeals" are a warning to women against the oppression of marriage. Rich's poem, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers", is beautifully written. It provides stunning imagery with an excellent rhyming scheme. Yet, beyond the perfect wording of her poem and the beautiful images it provides lies a dark and significant truth.
Poem Analysis: "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Rich and "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers". "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" is a poem about an oppressed woman who escapes into an alternative world of embroidery and sewing despite a heavy marriage to a terrifying man. It's a formal rhyming poem, an early example of Adrienne Rich's work. In three verses, the reader is left with no doubt that Aunt ...
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers. 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. Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool. Find even the ivory needle hard to pull. The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band.
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers is an interesting poem which looks at the life of a married woman, the institution of marriage within which she suffers and shows how she uses art as a medium to escape the reality she's in. Divided into three stanzas of two couplets each, the poem employs a rhyme scheme of aabbccddeeff.The poem uses the figure of Aunt Jennifer and her needlework - a tapestry of ...
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers
Popularity of "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers": Published in 1951, Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich, an American poet, presents the world of embroidery, a specific field of women. The presentation has rather mesmerized the readers, not only about the speakers and the subject matter but also about the presentation itself. The poem has evoked highly controversial responses from a ...
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Analysis
Technical analysis of Aunt Jennifer's Tigers literary devices and the technique of Adrienne Rich. More on Aunt Jennifer's Tigers ... "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" is a poem about Aunt Jennifer and the tiger-ific tapestry that she creates. The poem's central question is: what's Aunt J's relationship with the tigers? ...
Adrienne Rich's "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" Poem Analysis Essay
Adrienne Rich's poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" dramatizes the conflict between a woman and social conventions that were prevalent in the 1950s when the poem was published. According to the social norms of that time, women were expected to marry and obey their husbands, and marriage was supposed to be a lifelong commitment.
Critical Analysis of Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich
The poem has received wide critical appreciation. Adrienne Rich's poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" is a poem of struggle. The conflict is what takes place within Aunt Jennifer, the craving to break away from the society in which she lives. The poem is convincing because of the struggle between what Jennifer wishes her life to be and what ...
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Analysis
Expert Answers. "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" is a poem by the poet Adrienne Rich. The poem consists of three stanzas, which contain four lines each. The poem is a rhyming poem and the rhyme scheme is ...
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Background
Literary Context. "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'' comprises part of Rich's first collection, published when she was still a college undergraduate. While the poem is sharp, poignant to her poetic goals, and expertly crafted, Rich's poetic influences shape the poem more than her mastery. The poem shows more influence of mid-century American ...
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Summary Class 12 English
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Summary in English. 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.
PDF 6 Aunt Jenniferís Tigers About the poet not to be republished
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers/103 Aunt Jenniferís Tigers About the poet Adrienne Rich (1929) was born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She is widely known for her involvement in contemporary women's movement as a poet and theorist. She has published nineteen volumes of poetry, three collections of essays and other writings. A strong
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Themes
The most important theme in " Aunt Jennifer 's Tigers" is the idea that marriage takes away women's freedom. Through the image of "the massive weight of Uncle's wedding band," Rich suggests that marriage, for Aunt Jennifer at least, is a burden. We're all probably familiar with the "ball and chain" category of marriage ...
Aunt jennifer's tigers
Tigers represent strength and sneakiness and tigers can hide from various things. Tiger's are very strong and can overcome anything. Knowing this, Aunt Jennifer likes to hope that she can have the strength and fearlessness like a tiger. Even though Aunt Jennifer is weighed down so much by her marriage, she likes to sew the tigers to appear ...
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Stanza wise Summary ...
Introduction. The poem Aunt Jennifer's Tigers was written by Adrienne Rich who is one of the significant figures of feminist movement during the 20th century. As the title suggests, the poem is about an old married lady (who is trapped in a male-dominating marriage) and her art which helps her to escape from her unhappy marriage.
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers: Unveiling Women's Oppression
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich is a beautifully written poem with an excellent rhyming scheme and stunning imagery. Beyond Rich's beautiful images and perfect wording, she forthrightly expresses a dark and significant truth - the ordeal that women go through in conventional marriages. Rich skillfully uses her poem to confront the ...
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry Chapter 6 Aunt Jennifer's
NCERT Solutions Class 12 English Aunt Jennifer's Tigers - Free PDF Download. NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Flamingo Poetry Chapter 6 is a poem which discusses the problems faced by a woman in her married life.The NCERT Solutions contains accurate answers which completely stick to the syllabus and guidelines designed by the CBSE Board. The purpose of creating the solutions is to ...
Aunt Jennifers Tigers Essay Example (600 Words)
Essay on Aunt Jennifers Tigers Adrienne Rich was an amazing poet who expressed certain matters and women's needs through her writings. Her poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" was used to ... Her poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" was used to express male and female relationships or maybe one in particular. Although many critics argue the ...
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers
Aunt Jennifer's Tigers . Home - ... The Modern American Poetry Site is a comprehensive learning environment and scholarly forum for the study of modern and contemporary American poetry. MAPS welcomes submissions of original essays and teaching materials related to MAPS poets. We are also happy to take questions and suggestions for future materials.

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Summary & Analysis by Adrienne Rich

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Marriage, Gender, and Power

Creative Expression and Personal Freedom

Lines 11-12

“Aunt Jennifer's Tigers” Symbols

The Wedding Band

“Aunt Jennifer's Tigers” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Aunt Jennifer's Tigers”

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“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich: A Critical Analysis

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Literary Works Similar to “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich

“Not Waving but Drowning” by Stevie Smith:

Works by Sylvia Plath (especially “Ariel” and “The Colossus”):

“Diving into the Wreck” (by Adrienne Rich):

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NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry Chapter 6 Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

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What do ‘chivalric’ and ‘denizens’ refer to in Chapter 6 of NCERT Solutions for Class 12 English Poetry?

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