"Tiger in the Menagerie" by Emma Jones

1. Wild vs. Civilization
Wild: Nature, survival, chaos/freedom, out of control, wild animals, natural environment
Civilization: control, rules/laws, money/wealth, safety, man, menagerie, taming of animals
Both: danger/violence

2. Poem Summary
This seven-stanza poem is about a tiger that escapes from its cage in a menagerie, but none is sure about how that could've happened: "No one could say how the tiger got into the menagerie".

3. Analysis of the first stanza
At the beginning of the first stanza is says that no one
knew or understood how the tiger got into the menagerie,
this is pretty obvious since the poem says: "no one could
 say how the tiger got into the menagerie"
On the next line, there is the poetic device:  "It was too flash, too blue", which represent the tiger as depressive ("blue") and so quick that it dazzles everyone.

4. Analysis of  the third stanza (Relationship between the cage and the tiger)
This stanza is entirely a metaphor. It talks about the "relationship" between the cage and the tiger. They are similar because they both have black stripes. However, in this stanza, it is said that the bars and the tiger's stripes hurt each other. This shows that the relationship between the cage and the tiger was unnatural and violent, the tiger is miserable when he is inside the cage.
5. Analysis of stanzas from the second until the fifth (Enjambement)
This is entirely a 10-line enjambement, which accelerates this part's reading. This happens just when the tiger escapes. Therefore, we can connect the acceleration of the reading with how quickly the tiger got into the menagerie.

6. Structure of the poem

• Seven stanzas
• No more than 3 lines for each stanza
• Enjambment between stanzas 2 and 5
• The length of the lines is irregular, just like a tiger's stripes

7. Justifying the following statement: The main theme in 'Tiger in the Menagerie' is the delusions of mankind as to our true nature

The tiger represents the violent part of each one of us. However, humans don't like admitting their similarities with animals. These similarities are our aggressiveness, violent passions, instincts, among many others.

Done with Sofia Ravenna