Topic presentator : Manas Ranjan Baboo
Before starting I must tell all of you that this poem is my personal favorite and really something appealing to the society. Apart from studies, completing syllabus and scoring marks, this poem send really a strong message to the male dominated society.
About the Poet
Before starting I must tell all of you that this poem is my personal favorite and really something appealing to the society. Apart from studies, completing syllabus and scoring marks, this poem send really a strong message to the male dominated society.
About the Poet
- Adrienne Cecile Rich : 16th may, 1929 - 27th march, 2012
- She was an American poet, essayist and feminist.
- One of the most influential poets of the second half of the 20th century.
- She was credited with bringing the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse.
- "Diving into the Wreck" is one of her notable works.
- "A Change of World" is the first collection of her poetry writing.
- Her father inspired her a lot in writing poetry and she was much involved in her fathers library.
- Once she quoted, "The suppressed lesbian i had been carrying in me since adolescence began to stretch her limbs". Thus it is very clear that she had no problem at all declaring herself as Lesbian.
Feminism
Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies and social movements that shares a common goal to define, establish and achieve political, economic personal and social equality of sexes.
Four Waves of Feminism
While talking of Feminism we must discuss about the four waves of Feminism.
First wave : 19th and early 20th century(1900s to 19500s), focusing on women's suffrage, property rights and political candidacy.
Second wave : 1960s to 1980s, focusing on reducing inequalities in sex, family, the work place, reproductive rights, de facto inequalities, and official legal inequalities.
Third wave : 1990 to 2008, focusing on embracing individualism and diversity.
Fourth wave : 2008 to present day, focusing on combating sexual harassment, assault and misogyny.
Poetry/Actual Text
Aunt Jennifers 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 trough her wool
Find even the Ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of uncles wedding band
Sit heavily upon Aunt Jennifers hand.
When aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
Line by Line Explanation
First line of the first quatrain opens with the introduction of aunt jennifer. Here Aunt Jennifer is the symbol of women community.
Aunt Jennifer was needling/knitting/embroidering tigers on the tapestry.
It is mentioned that there were multiple tigers portrayed in aunt jennifers tapestry.
Tigers are fearless, noble, assertive and powerful creatures.
Screen here refers to an imaginary world/fictional world that is imagined by the aunt. She went into the realm of this world(world of fantasy) because she wanted to escape from the world she had been living in for years.
Bright Topaz connotes burning fire, eternal energy of sun. Here tigers are like bright topaz because of the contrasting black stripes on the glowing yellow body of the tigers.
Denizens means tigers are not just creatures or citizen rather they are proud citizens of the place or area they live in.
World of Green simply means forest where the tiger live but greenery also suggests vibrance, vitality of spring, rejuvenation and rebirth.
They do not fear means tigers do not fear.
Men beneath the tree indicates the male dominating society, patriarchal gaze or male chauvinism. It can also be treated as uncle.
Chivalric is a medieval knightly term. Here tigers are Chivalric because they are fearless and noble creatures. Knights were noble, gentle, courageous and powerful men, those who always respected women and such kind of respect was also expected by aunt Jennifer from the male dominated society.
The word Certainty is for Tigers unlike aunt jennifer who was oppressed.
Aunt Jennifers fingers fluttering because of the male dominance and she was shivering/trembling in addition to that she was in a mental trauma. She was haunted and daunted by male chauvinism.
Ivory needle was hard to pull for aunt jennifer because of subjugation. Ivory needle is a luxury material, it means it can be obtained in aristocratic families and this male dominance can be found in all classes of families. Ivory needle also refers indirectly to male dominance because Ivory is acquired from male elephants tusk not from female elephants.
It was hard to pull because she was feeble, enslaved, very weak,meek and subdued and this was all due to obligations of marital life.
The massive weight is because of expectation from the society and that burdens the aunt.
Uncle's wedding band is the symbol of over bearing heaviness of male chauvinism. With a simple wedding a woman becomes the property of males in the society. Although aunt jennifer is wearing the ring, it still belongs to uncle. It means aunt jennifer was the property of the uncle.
The wedding band sits heavily upon aunt's hand because of the unequal equation between men and women. Here we can find two voices i.e the inner-self and the voice of the society. Inner-self says that she wants to be free but society says that she must live with that burden.
Terrified hands will lie because it might bring the long awaited freedom for aunt jennifer by leaving the world, and she will lie relaxed but it is not possible in her case.
Aunt jennifer was still ringed with ordeal she was mastered by because she was encircled with the expectations of society. She was mastered by because she was mastered by the expectation of the society even after her demise,also she was submissive and burdened.
ordeals refers to hurdles and difficulties off the bad marriage.
Ultimately even after the death of aunt jennifer the tigers that she made on that tapestry will continue moving proud and unafraid.
SUMMARY(Stanza wise)
1st Stanza
First stanza begins with the introduction of Aunt Jennifer and she is the symbol of Women community here. Poet tells us that Aunt Jennifer was knitting or needling tigers on the tapestry or on the screen. The tiger she made on the tapestry were jumping with great pride. They were not jumping in real life rather on the tapestry which is the alternative imaginary world and there she wanted to live like tigers. The tigers are here compared with Bright Topaz having the brightness and unending power of sun. Tigers are fearless creature having a great strength but aunt Jennifer was complete contrast to that. In addition to that they are the denizens or proud citizen of the world of green or the forest. They live in the forest like kings with a great pride. They do not fear anyone in this world, not even the men beneath the tree. Men beneath the tree symbolizes the Male dominated society/Patriarchal gaze/Male chauvinism. Tigers are not afraid of anyone but Aunt Jennifer is. Tigers roam around the forest fearlessly and with grace. The way they tread, it has chivalric certainty. Chivalric certainty is a medieval knightly term, used for Knight and knights were noble people with great strength and courage but they respected women. Aunt Jennifer also wished for that kind of knightly respect but she never got it because of the dominance by the male of the society including her husband. Here Chivalric Certainty refers to firm conviction or determination that tigers had.
Second Stanza
Aunt Jennifer's fingers were fluttering because she had become weak due to marital obligation and responsibilities. Aunt Jennifer found even light ivory needle hard to pull because she was really oppressed, suppressed, subdued, haunted and daunted. Perhaps knowingly or unknowingly Adriene Rich has mentioned male objects like Tigers and Ivory to show the intensity of male dominance that she was facing. Ivory can generally be obtained by Aristocratic people because it is really costly and the victims of male oppression can be found in any class or any society. With a mere wedding ring now Aunt Jennifer is the property of the uncle and the ring has become massive in weight and also that sits heavily upon aunt hand. Here we can find the conflict between the two voices that is the inner voice of Aunt Jennifer and the voice of the society. Society wants aunt Jennifer to obey all the rules produced and formulated by the uncle or the males of the family but aunt wants completely against that and follow her own thoughts.
Third Stanza
Third stanza starts with a creepy note of aunt Jennifer's death and poets is saying here that her hands and her soul would be still in pain after her death. It suggests the intensity of pain and dominance that she was into. Death couldn't give her freedom from that bondage and she was still surrounded by the burden and the obligation that she was facing previously. Here we can find a stark contrast between the creatures that she made and herself in terms of confidence, courage, vigor and fearlessness. The tigers will continue to thrive even after the death of aunt Jennifer. It also shows the never ending, torturous tradition and rituals of our society that will go on. Many aunt Jennifers will die but this process of torture and dominance will make its way farther and hunt women like aunt Jennifer, those who want themselves to be suppressed.
Finally poet gives here a message to the entire women community that 'you don't need to care for anyone if you are right. Just Be you...'
Difficult words and meanings
PRANCE : move with a high springy step.
SCREEN : tapestry(in this case)
TAPESTRY : a piece of thick textile fabric with pictures or designs formed by weaving colored weft threads or by embroidering on canvas used as a wall hanging or soft furnishing.
TOPAZ : a precious stone, typically colorless, yellow, or pale blue, consisting of an aluminium silicate that contains fluorine. (a dark yellow color)
DENIZENS : proud citizen(in this case)
PACE : walk, stride, march, tread.
SLEEK : elegant, graceful
CHIVALRIC : knightly, brave and noble
CERTAINTY : firm conviction
FLUTTERING : trembling, shaking
IVORY : tusks of an elephant
MASSIVE : heavy weight, cumbersome
WEDDING BAND : wedding ring
TERRIFIED : scared, afraid of
ORDEAL : hurdles, burdens
RINGED : surrounded by, encircled, amidst
MASTERED BY : affected by, enslaved
PANEL : tapestry, screen,canvas
POETIC/LITERARY DEVICES
Metaphor : Bright Topaz (Comparison with tigers and unending power of sun)
Alliteration : Fingers Fluttering
: Prancing Proud
: Chivalric Certainty
: Weight of wedding band
Symbols : Wedding band(symbol of male oppression, unhappy marriage, weight refers to the burden of gender expectation)
: Aunt Jennifer (typical victim of male oppression, suffers loss of individuality)
: Tigers (symbol of untamed free spirit, they stand in contrast to their creator's personality, they are fearless, confident and majestic, fearless of men)
Diction : Denizens and Chivalric
Hyperbole : massive weight of uncles wedding band
Contrast : Nervous aunt Jennifer and Confident tigers
: Prancing and fluttering
Visual Imagery : Bright Topaz, World of green
Paradox : (Certainty) Fluttering fingers produce something that has certainty. It means Aunt jennifer has no certainty but tigers have.
Tone of the poem : positive and cheerful in the beginning but sad and creepy towards last part.
Irony : Tigers will continue to pace and prance freely but being the creator she remained terrified even after the death.
Repetition : Prance
Rhyme Scheme : aa bb cc dd ee ff
Sibilance : Five 's' sound in the first line create a soft and sober beginning, suggesting confidence on the panel of aunt jennifer.
End Rhyme : Occurs at the end of the line.
Rhyming couplet : Rhymed pair of line
Anaphora : They............
They............
(Repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect is known as anaphora)
Enjabment : Finger fluttering..............hard to pull.(moving over from one line to another without terminating punctuation mark)
Synecdoche : Terrified hands
Transferred Epithets : Terrified hands(Transfer of adjective from one noun to another)
Picture play :
Prance
Topaz
Tapestry
Chivalric
Ivory
Don't forget to add a Comment
First wave : 19th and early 20th century(1900s to 19500s), focusing on women's suffrage, property rights and political candidacy.
Second wave : 1960s to 1980s, focusing on reducing inequalities in sex, family, the work place, reproductive rights, de facto inequalities, and official legal inequalities.
Third wave : 1990 to 2008, focusing on embracing individualism and diversity.
Fourth wave : 2008 to present day, focusing on combating sexual harassment, assault and misogyny.
Poetry/Actual Text
Aunt Jennifers 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 trough her wool
Find even the Ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of uncles wedding band
Sit heavily upon Aunt Jennifers hand.
When aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.
Line by Line Explanation
First line of the first quatrain opens with the introduction of aunt jennifer. Here Aunt Jennifer is the symbol of women community.
Aunt Jennifer was needling/knitting/embroidering tigers on the tapestry.
It is mentioned that there were multiple tigers portrayed in aunt jennifers tapestry.
Tigers are fearless, noble, assertive and powerful creatures.
Screen here refers to an imaginary world/fictional world that is imagined by the aunt. She went into the realm of this world(world of fantasy) because she wanted to escape from the world she had been living in for years.
Bright Topaz connotes burning fire, eternal energy of sun. Here tigers are like bright topaz because of the contrasting black stripes on the glowing yellow body of the tigers.
Denizens means tigers are not just creatures or citizen rather they are proud citizens of the place or area they live in.
World of Green simply means forest where the tiger live but greenery also suggests vibrance, vitality of spring, rejuvenation and rebirth.
They do not fear means tigers do not fear.
Men beneath the tree indicates the male dominating society, patriarchal gaze or male chauvinism. It can also be treated as uncle.
Chivalric is a medieval knightly term. Here tigers are Chivalric because they are fearless and noble creatures. Knights were noble, gentle, courageous and powerful men, those who always respected women and such kind of respect was also expected by aunt Jennifer from the male dominated society.
The word Certainty is for Tigers unlike aunt jennifer who was oppressed.
Aunt Jennifers fingers fluttering because of the male dominance and she was shivering/trembling in addition to that she was in a mental trauma. She was haunted and daunted by male chauvinism.
Ivory needle was hard to pull for aunt jennifer because of subjugation. Ivory needle is a luxury material, it means it can be obtained in aristocratic families and this male dominance can be found in all classes of families. Ivory needle also refers indirectly to male dominance because Ivory is acquired from male elephants tusk not from female elephants.
It was hard to pull because she was feeble, enslaved, very weak,meek and subdued and this was all due to obligations of marital life.
The massive weight is because of expectation from the society and that burdens the aunt.
Uncle's wedding band is the symbol of over bearing heaviness of male chauvinism. With a simple wedding a woman becomes the property of males in the society. Although aunt jennifer is wearing the ring, it still belongs to uncle. It means aunt jennifer was the property of the uncle.
The wedding band sits heavily upon aunt's hand because of the unequal equation between men and women. Here we can find two voices i.e the inner-self and the voice of the society. Inner-self says that she wants to be free but society says that she must live with that burden.
Terrified hands will lie because it might bring the long awaited freedom for aunt jennifer by leaving the world, and she will lie relaxed but it is not possible in her case.
Aunt jennifer was still ringed with ordeal she was mastered by because she was encircled with the expectations of society. She was mastered by because she was mastered by the expectation of the society even after her demise,also she was submissive and burdened.
ordeals refers to hurdles and difficulties off the bad marriage.
Ultimately even after the death of aunt jennifer the tigers that she made on that tapestry will continue moving proud and unafraid.
SUMMARY(Stanza wise)
1st Stanza
First stanza begins with the introduction of Aunt Jennifer and she is the symbol of Women community here. Poet tells us that Aunt Jennifer was knitting or needling tigers on the tapestry or on the screen. The tiger she made on the tapestry were jumping with great pride. They were not jumping in real life rather on the tapestry which is the alternative imaginary world and there she wanted to live like tigers. The tigers are here compared with Bright Topaz having the brightness and unending power of sun. Tigers are fearless creature having a great strength but aunt Jennifer was complete contrast to that. In addition to that they are the denizens or proud citizen of the world of green or the forest. They live in the forest like kings with a great pride. They do not fear anyone in this world, not even the men beneath the tree. Men beneath the tree symbolizes the Male dominated society/Patriarchal gaze/Male chauvinism. Tigers are not afraid of anyone but Aunt Jennifer is. Tigers roam around the forest fearlessly and with grace. The way they tread, it has chivalric certainty. Chivalric certainty is a medieval knightly term, used for Knight and knights were noble people with great strength and courage but they respected women. Aunt Jennifer also wished for that kind of knightly respect but she never got it because of the dominance by the male of the society including her husband. Here Chivalric Certainty refers to firm conviction or determination that tigers had.
Second Stanza
Aunt Jennifer's fingers were fluttering because she had become weak due to marital obligation and responsibilities. Aunt Jennifer found even light ivory needle hard to pull because she was really oppressed, suppressed, subdued, haunted and daunted. Perhaps knowingly or unknowingly Adriene Rich has mentioned male objects like Tigers and Ivory to show the intensity of male dominance that she was facing. Ivory can generally be obtained by Aristocratic people because it is really costly and the victims of male oppression can be found in any class or any society. With a mere wedding ring now Aunt Jennifer is the property of the uncle and the ring has become massive in weight and also that sits heavily upon aunt hand. Here we can find the conflict between the two voices that is the inner voice of Aunt Jennifer and the voice of the society. Society wants aunt Jennifer to obey all the rules produced and formulated by the uncle or the males of the family but aunt wants completely against that and follow her own thoughts.
Third Stanza
Third stanza starts with a creepy note of aunt Jennifer's death and poets is saying here that her hands and her soul would be still in pain after her death. It suggests the intensity of pain and dominance that she was into. Death couldn't give her freedom from that bondage and she was still surrounded by the burden and the obligation that she was facing previously. Here we can find a stark contrast between the creatures that she made and herself in terms of confidence, courage, vigor and fearlessness. The tigers will continue to thrive even after the death of aunt Jennifer. It also shows the never ending, torturous tradition and rituals of our society that will go on. Many aunt Jennifers will die but this process of torture and dominance will make its way farther and hunt women like aunt Jennifer, those who want themselves to be suppressed.
Finally poet gives here a message to the entire women community that 'you don't need to care for anyone if you are right. Just Be you...'
Difficult words and meanings
PRANCE : move with a high springy step.
SCREEN : tapestry(in this case)
TAPESTRY : a piece of thick textile fabric with pictures or designs formed by weaving colored weft threads or by embroidering on canvas used as a wall hanging or soft furnishing.
TOPAZ : a precious stone, typically colorless, yellow, or pale blue, consisting of an aluminium silicate that contains fluorine. (a dark yellow color)
DENIZENS : proud citizen(in this case)
PACE : walk, stride, march, tread.
SLEEK : elegant, graceful
CHIVALRIC : knightly, brave and noble
CERTAINTY : firm conviction
FLUTTERING : trembling, shaking
IVORY : tusks of an elephant
MASSIVE : heavy weight, cumbersome
WEDDING BAND : wedding ring
TERRIFIED : scared, afraid of
ORDEAL : hurdles, burdens
RINGED : surrounded by, encircled, amidst
MASTERED BY : affected by, enslaved
PANEL : tapestry, screen,canvas
POETIC/LITERARY DEVICES
Metaphor : Bright Topaz (Comparison with tigers and unending power of sun)
Alliteration : Fingers Fluttering
: Prancing Proud
: Chivalric Certainty
: Weight of wedding band
Symbols : Wedding band(symbol of male oppression, unhappy marriage, weight refers to the burden of gender expectation)
: Aunt Jennifer (typical victim of male oppression, suffers loss of individuality)
: Tigers (symbol of untamed free spirit, they stand in contrast to their creator's personality, they are fearless, confident and majestic, fearless of men)
Diction : Denizens and Chivalric
Hyperbole : massive weight of uncles wedding band
Contrast : Nervous aunt Jennifer and Confident tigers
: Prancing and fluttering
Visual Imagery : Bright Topaz, World of green
Paradox : (Certainty) Fluttering fingers produce something that has certainty. It means Aunt jennifer has no certainty but tigers have.
Tone of the poem : positive and cheerful in the beginning but sad and creepy towards last part.
Irony : Tigers will continue to pace and prance freely but being the creator she remained terrified even after the death.
Repetition : Prance
Rhyme Scheme : aa bb cc dd ee ff
Sibilance : Five 's' sound in the first line create a soft and sober beginning, suggesting confidence on the panel of aunt jennifer.
End Rhyme : Occurs at the end of the line.
Rhyming couplet : Rhymed pair of line
Anaphora : They............
They............
(Repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect is known as anaphora)
Enjabment : Finger fluttering..............hard to pull.(moving over from one line to another without terminating punctuation mark)
Synecdoche : Terrified hands
Transferred Epithets : Terrified hands(Transfer of adjective from one noun to another)
Picture play :
Prance
Tapestry
Chivalric
Ivory
Don't forget to add a Comment
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