'on pads of Velvet quiet in his quiet rage' How does the tiger act in the cage?Q2- Notice the use of a word repeated in lines such as these:
(i) On pads of velvet quiet, In his quiet rage.
(ii) And stares with his brilliant eyes At the brilliant stars.
What do you think is the effect of this repetition?
Answers
Answer:
The poet has used repetition to create a greater impact on the reader. ‘Velvet quiet’ refers to the footsteps of the tiger, which are silent and cannot be heard as he walks around his cage. ‘Quiet rage’ shows the extent of the tiger’s fury at being locked up in a cage. He is a majestic beast who should roam freely, but instead, he is confined to a small cage in a zoo. He feels rage or anger at this, but this anger is ‘quiet’ because he cannot do anything about it. The poet also says that the tiger stares at the “brilliant stars” with his “brilliant eyes”. This suggests that the tiger’s eyes also shine brightly like the stars. However, instead of being able to walk proudly beneath these stars, the tiger is forced to look at them from within his cage and just dream about his life in the forest.
Explanation:
This repetition is a poetic device used by the poet in order to show the
intensity of the tiger’s rage and his helpless silence. ‘Velvet quiet’ refers to
the quiet, velvet pads of the tiger which cannot run or leap inside the cage.
He can only walk around the limited space in the cage. The use of ‘quiet
rage’ symbolises the anger and ferocity that is building up inside the tiger as
it wants to run out into the forest and attack a deer. But the rage is quiet
because it cannot come out in the open as it is locked in the cage. This
double use of ‘quiet’ has brought immense beauty to the poem.
Similarly, the use of ‘brilliant’ for the tiger’s eyes as well as the stars also
brings out the magnificence of these lines. The tiger has dreams of being
free in its brilliant eyes. It sees the stars, that have also been described as
‘brilliant’, with the same eyes. It stares at the brilliant stars with its brilliant
eyes thinking about how beautiful its life would be in the forest. The
repetitiveness of these words gives a wonderful effect to the poem.