AUNT JENNIFER’S TIGERS-ADRIENNE RICH

ADRIENNE RICH

•Adrienne Cecile Rich (May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

•She was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century“, and was credited with bringing "the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse.“

•ABOUT THE POET

•Her first collection of poetry, A Change of World, was selected by renowned poet W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award.

•Rich went on to write the introduction to the published volume.

•She famously declined the National Medal of Arts, protesting the vote by House Speaker Newt Gingrich to end funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.

•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 resistance to racism and militarism echoes through her work.

The poem Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers addresses the constraints of married life a woman experiences.

This is a political poem that explores the position that women held in Western Society

Very Structured poem

Each verse contains exactly four lines

Ever second line rhymes with the previous line.

•OVERVIEW OF THE POEM

"Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" sounds like a ball of good times, or at least some big cat-themed excitement. In reality, though, it's about a woman whose life has been restricted by the patriarchal (male-dominated) society in which she lives.

THEME OF THE POEM

In "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" the limitations that bind Aunt Jennifer in life don't bind her in art.

Aunt J's needlework allows her to experience a world of deep green forests and prancing brave tigers.

That is incredibly different from the one that is weighed down by the sadness and strictures of her marriage and her gender. Art in this poem is a kind of freedom, a freedom accessible to everyone, even the disempowered.

The speaker imagines that the tigers will continue prancing after Aunt J's death, and thus Aunt J will be able to live on through her art. 

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.

STANZA -1

The first stanza opens with Aunt Jennifer’s visual tapestry of tigers who are fearless of their environment.

"Bright topaz denizens of a world of green" – evoke an image that these regal tigers are unafraid of other beings in the jungle. Bright here signifies their powerful and radiant persona.

There is a sense of certainty and confidence in the way these tigers move as can be seen in the line – "They pace in sleek chivalric certainty".

SUMMARY OF STANZA -1

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.

STANZA -2

In the second stanza, the reality of Aunt Jennifer is revealed as she is feeble, weak and enslaved, very much the opposite of the tigers she was knitting.

Her physical and mental trauma is depicted in the line – "find even the ivory needle hard to pull".

SUMMARY OF STANZA -2

Even though a wedding ring doesn’t weigh much, "the massive weight of uncle’s wedding band, sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand" signifies the amount of dominance her husband exercised over her.

This also means that her inner free spirit has been jailed by the patriarchal society.

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.

STANZA -3

The last stanza starts on a creepy note about Aunt Jennifer’s death.

Even her death couldn’t free her from the ordeals she went through which can be seen in "When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by".

But her art work which was her escape route or in a way, her inner sense of freedom, will stay forever, proud and unafraid.

SUMMARY OF STANZA -3

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers is a poem by Adrienne Rich illustrating her feminist concerns. In the maledominant world, a women of her time was only supposed to be a dutiful homemaker. This poemthrough the world of Aunty Jennifer, tells us about her inner desire to free herself from the clutchesof abusive marriage and patriarchal society

BACKGROUND OF THE POEM

1. Prance: to spring forward on hind legs / to strut about

2. Topaz: a clear, yellowish-brown gemstone3. Denizens: a person, an animal or a plant that lives,

grows or is often found in a particular place.

4. Chivalric: gallant & respectful (especially to women)

5. Wedding Band: wedding band6. Ordeals: a painful or trying experience7. Sleek: elegant8. Fluttering: to flap or wave quickly but irregularly9. Pace: a step taken with the foot

GLOSSARY

Alliteration-Finger’s fluttering; prancing proud;

chivalric certainty; weight of wedding band

Metaphor- :Ringed with ordeals-- even death would not free her as the wedding band, a symbol of oppression, would yet be on her finger.

Visual imagery- Bright topaz denizens; world of green

POETIC DEVICES &FIGURES OF SPEECH

Irony: It is ironical that Aunt Jennifer’s creations- the tigers will continue to pace and prance freely, while Aunt herself will remain terrified even after death, ringed by the ordeals she was controlled by in her married life. Symbols: 1. Wedding band- symbol of oppression

in an unhappy marriage. Its weight refers to the burden of gender expectations. Ringed means encircled or trapped, losing individuality and freedom. 

2. Aunt Jennifer- a typical victim of male oppression in an unhappy marriage, who suffers loss of individuality, dignity and personal freedom silently. She becomes dependent, fearful and frail.

3. Tigers- symbolize untamed free spirit. Here they stand in contrast to their creator’s personality. The use of colours implies that Aunt Jennifer's tigers and their land are more vital and enjoy a sense of freedom far greater than her. They pace and prance freely, proudly, fearless, confident and majestic, fearless of men. 

4. Yellow (bright topaz) connotes the Sun and fierce energy;5. green reminds one of spring and vitality.

6. Embroidery-  symbol of creative expression. The artwork expresses the Aunt’s suppressed desires and becomes her escape from the oppressive reality of her life.

7. Aunt (last stanza) –  as opposed to Aunt Jennifer. It shows that she has lost her identity completely, thus lost even her name.

Thank You.-~-The End-~-