CLASS X

HOW TO TELL WILD ANIMALS

Word Meanings:

Tawny-yellowish brown color

Discern-recognize
Strolling-walking casually
Forth-forward
Hide-skin of an animal
Peppered-spots
Lept(Leapt)-jump towards someone
Cress- a gentle touch
Novice-someone new to the job
Nonplus-be confused

STANZA 1
Enjambment (and if there….tawny beast)
Inversion-change in the format of a sentence- (if there should to you advance)
Assonance (use of ‘o’)-you should go, should to you , roars
Allusion- reference to a famous thing, place, species or animal- (reference of Asian lion)
Poetic license- A literary device in which a poet takes the liberty to change the spellings with the
purpose of rhyme scheme.- Here the spellings of dying have been changed to dyin to make it
rhyme with Lion to make it rhyme with lion.

Here the poet tells us that, if we ever get a chance to go to the jungles of East and come across
an animal with yellowish-brown skin and whose roar is loud enough to scare us to death, we
must recognise the animal as an Asian lion

STANZA 2

Here, the poet talks about an animal that is of a royal chain. He says that if sometime while
roaming about we come across an animal with yellowish skin and black stripes and just in case
he kills and eats us up, we must recognise the wild animal as a Bengal tiger. Dark humour is
used in the stanza because after one is already eaten up by an animal it is of no use to recognise
its type.
Poetic devices used are
Alliteration – roaming round
Inversion- change in the format of the sentence- (the Bengal tiger to discern)
Allusion- reference to a famous thing- (reference of Bengal tiger)
Assonance (use of ‘o’)- or if some time when roaming round.

STANZA 3
In this stanza the poet talks about leopards. He says while casually walking in a jungle, if we
come across an animal who has a skin with spots on it and it goes so fast that it can jump upon
us at once, we must recognise the animal as a leopard. The poet says that crying out in pain will
be of no use because the leopard will only keep on jumping on us.

Poetic devices used are

Alliteration-he has
Repetition- use of lep in the last line
Assonance –strolling forth you, whose spot, do not good to roar.
Consonance- Use of ‘l’ sound- he’ll only lep lep
Poetic license- A liberty to the poet to change the spellings in order to create rhyme.- use of lept
instead of leapt.

STANZA 4
Here, the poet says that if while walking in the yard, we come across an animal that hugs you
tightly, then it is a bear. If we want to make sure of its identity, the easiest way is that the animal
will just keep hugging you and touch you very gently. This act will confirm its identity as a bear.

Poetic devices used are

Enjambment- If you are walking .. creature there
Alliteration- when walking
Assonance- use of ‘e’ sound- meet a creature there
STANZA 5
In this stanza, the poet says that if one is new to the job of identifying wild animals, it will be like
a puzzle to identify animals who hunt other animals for their food. The poet helps the readers
by differentiating between the two animals. He says hyenas will be smiling while crocodiles will
be teary-eyed. Both of these animals are dangerous.

Poetic devices used are

Alliteration –novice, nonplus
Enjambment-though to distinguish.. might nonplus..the

STANZA 6
Here, the poet talks about a little creature - a chameleon. A chameleon looks like a lizard but
without any ears and wings. The poet also tells the readers that the chameleon has the ability
to change its colour based on the surface it sits on. So, if you see a tree and find nothing sitting
on it, it must be a chameleon who has changed its colour into the colour of the tree.

Poetic devices used are

Alliteration (use of ‘h’) – he hasn’t
Consonance (use of ‘g’) –single wing

HUMOUR:
Humour is a literary device in which the poet tries to make the writing witty by provoking
laughter. Examples:
-Just notice if he eats you.
-He’ll give you just one more caress.
- If there is nothing on the tree,
‘Tis the chameleon you see.

IRONY:
It is a difference between the surface meaning of something that is said and the underlying
meaning.
-A noble wild beast greets you
(Here the Bengal Tiger has been called –‘noble’ ironically because actually it is a ferocious beast
who will kill anybody.)
-He’ll give you just one more caress
(This line refers to the strong, fatal stroke of a bear on the victim as “caress” is a term used for
gentle, affectionate stroke.)

PARADOX:
Paradox is a figure of speech in which a statement appears to contradict itself but as we study
deeper, we find that the statement is true and the contradiction is resolved.

-If there is nothing on the tree

‘Tis the chameleon you see.
( Although, having nothing and seeing something seems contradictory, in the case of a
chameleon, it is true as one feels that there is nothing because the chameleon camouflages and
mixes up with the surroundings. It is there on the tree and one cannot easily trace it.)

THEME:
The theme of the poem is description of some distinguishing features of some wild beasts. The
poet presents very briefly but clearly and humorously some physical and behavioural traits of
some animals like Asian Lion, a Bengal Tiger, a leopard, a bear, a hyena, a crocodile and a
chameleon. Although the poet gives accurate details of these beasts, she does not make the
descriptions dull and dry. In a witty manner, she shows how we can identify these animals and
cautions the readers how dangerous these wild animals can be.

MESSAGE:
The poem contains a message that nature has provided all creatures with their distinctive
physical and behavioural traits. Each living being has its own peculiar and unique characteristics.
A person, if aware of these distinct features, may identify the animals though it is very
dangerous to be in close proximity to them.

QUES ANS-

Does ‘Dyin’ really rhyme with ‘lion’ ? Can you say it in such a way that it does?
Answer:
-No, ‘Dyin’ does not rhyme with ‘lion’. If we change the pronunciation of lion by speaking it as ‘lying’ then it may rhyme
with the word ‘dyin’.

Question 2.
How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger? When can you do so according to him?
Answer:
A lion is a large and tawny beast. A Bengal Tiger has black stripes on its yellow coat. A lion roars fiercely when it falls
upon its prey, while a tiger attacks silently. We can identify the two while roaming in the jungle.

Question 3.
Do you think the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ in the third stanza are spelt correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?
Answer:
The words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ are not spelt correctly. The poet has spelt them like this in order to maintain the rhythm of
the poem. The correct spelling of the words, ‘lept’ is leapt and ‘lep’ is leap. The poet has intentionally spelt them
incorrectly to create a sense of humour.

(It is a poetic device known as poetic license which is used by the poet to lay emphasis on the actions of the leopard.)

Question 4.
Do you know what a ‘bearhug’ is? It’s a friendly and strong hug-such as bears are thought to give, as they attack you!
Again, hyenas are thought to laugh and crocodiles to weep (‘crocodile tears’) as they swallow their victims. Are there
similar expressions and popular ideas about wild animals in your own language (s)?
Answer:
A bearhug is when the bear hugs his prey tightly with both hands and presses him to death.
There are indeed similar expressions and popular ideas about wild animals in every language.

Question6.
Can you find other examples of poets taking liberties with language, either in English or in your own language? Can
you find examples of humorous poems in your own language (s)?
Answer:
One can find plenty of examples in poetry where poets take liberties with language. This is called ‘poetic licence’.
Poets take such liberties in order to create proper rhyming and rhythm.

Question7.
Much of the humour in the poem arises from the way language is used. Although the ideas are funny as well. If there
are particular lines in the poem that you especially like, share these lines with the class, speaking briefly about what it
is about the ideas or the language that you like or find funny.
Answer:
The way the poet has used language and ideas in the poem is indeed humourous. The lines from the poem that
appears to be funny are “A noble wild beast greets you”. The idea that a wild beast is going to welcome you is quite
funny. The language in the line, “He’ll only lep and lep again” is also very humorous. The concept of ‘lep’ from the
word ‘leopard’ generates humour.