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English (Core) · Class 12 Languages

Ch 13Aunt Jennifer's Tigers — Class 12 English (Core), concept-first.

Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) was an American poet and essayist, and one of the most influential feminist writers of her time. Much of her work explores the lives of women -- the pressures placed upon them, the roles forced on them by society, and their struggle for freedom, identity and self-expression.

23

Q&A

1

Concept

40m

Section weightage

Section C · Literature Textbooks (Flamingo & Vistas) · across all 19 lessons

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Key concepts

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Artistic Symbolism

When a poet shows you a caged bird, you sense it means more than a bird. When a red rose appears in a story, you think of love.

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Chapter contents

The NCERT structure, section by section. Open a section to see its questions, then read the concept-first solution.

About the Poet and the Poem

Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) was an American poet and essayist, and one of the most influential feminist writers of her time.

1.1

Central Idea and Summary

The poem contrasts the fearless, free world of art with the fearful, constrained life of its creator. Aunt Jennifer, an oppressed married woman, embroiders bold and confident tigers that are everythin…

1.2

Stanza-wise Explanation

The first stanza paints a vivid picture of Aunt Jennifer's tigers, which are not real animals but figures embroidered on a screen.

1.3

Poetic Devices

Though short and tightly organised, the poem is rich in figurative meaning. The chief devices are explained below with the effect each achieves.

1.4

Theme and Message

'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers' packs several powerful themes into a very short space, all of them centred on the situation of women and the role of art.

Summary

- Central idea: The poem contrasts the fierce, free tigers embroidered by Aunt Jennifer with her own repressed, fearful life under patriarchal control.

Think it out

+Think it outi10 questions
  1. Q1How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tiger’s attitudes?Free
  2. Q2Why 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…Free
  3. Q3What is suggested by the image ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’?Free
  4. Q4Of what or of whom is Aunt Jennifer terrified with in the third stanza?Preview
  5. Q5What are the ‘ordeals’ Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by, why is it significant that the poet uses the word ‘ringed’? What are the meanings of…Preview
  6. Q6Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her own character? What might the poet be suggesting, through this…Preview
  7. Q7Interpret the symbols found in this poem.Preview
  8. Q8Do you sympathise with Aunt Jennifer. What is the attitude of the speaker towards Aunt Jennifer?Preview
  9. Q9Notice the colours suggested in the poem.Preview
  10. Q10Notice the repetitive use of certain sounds in the poem.Preview

Additional Practice

Extra exam-style practice questions written by us on this lesson — beyond the NCERT textbook's own exercises — for more CBSE board-exam preparation.

+Additional Practicei13 questions
  1. Q1Describe the tigers that Aunt Jennifer creates on her embroidery. (Answer in 30–40 words.)Free
  2. Q2What do the tigers stitched by Aunt Jennifer symbolise? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Free
  3. Q3How are Aunt Jennifer's hands described as she works, and what does this suggest about her? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Free
  4. Q4What is the significance of 'the massive weight of Uncle's wedding band' on Aunt Jennifer's hand? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Preview
  5. Q5What does the poet say will happen to Aunt Jennifer's hands when she dies? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Preview
  6. Q6What will happen to the tigers after Aunt Jennifer's death, and what does this suggest? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Preview
  7. Q7What is the central contrast between Aunt Jennifer and the tigers she makes? (Answer in 30–40 words.)Preview
  8. Q8What is the central idea and theme of 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'? (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview
  9. Q9Discuss the theme of gender oppression and the constraints of marriage in the poem. (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview
  10. Q10How does the poem present art as an enduring expression of the freedom denied to Aunt Jennifer? (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview
  11. Q11Comment on the symbolism and other poetic devices used in 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'. (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview
  12. Q12Contrast the fearless tigers with their fearful creator, and explain what this contrast conveys. (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview
  13. Q13What message does Adrienne Rich convey through 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'? (Answer in 120–150 words.)Preview