Write a critical appreciation of The Jaguar by Ted Hughes.
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A poem I have recently read which is strongly linked to a specific location is “The Jaguar” by Ted Hughes. During the poem, Hughes is making his way through a zoo, seeing all the animals such as apes and parrots in their cages, exhausted. Soon he reaches the jaguar’s cage and stops to watch the admirable creature, noticing its apparent determination not to be beaten by the confines of its cage.
Hughes’ attitude towards man in made clear from the first verse of the poem. We are instantly given a startling image, “The apes yawn and adore their fleas in the sun”. This causes me to envision the apes, exhausted with their boredom and with only their fleas to amuse them. The use of the word “adore” makes it very clear that the apes have nothing else to do, and are totally engrossed with their fleas. This undignified, unflattering image of nature portrays the writer’s contempt towards man for his destruction and degradation of nature, and effectively captures the essence of the zoo, as this degradation is what people go to see at the zoo, as much as they claim it is not, as, by going to zoos, they support the caging of animals for their own entertainment.
This unflattering view of the animals is continued when the poet uses the simile “Like cheap tarts to attract the stroller with the nut” to describe the way in which the parrots “strut”. This suggests that the parrots are like prostitutes; selling themselves to gain the attention they have been starved of. I am also inclined to imagine that, due to them being put in cages, the parrots have been psychologically damaged, and now have to “strut” to entertain people, being rewarded for this by receiving food. This makes me feel very sympathetic towards these poor creatures, and guilty for man’s cruelty towards them.
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The writer’s theme of man’s cruelty is made very clear at the end of the second verse when we are told, “It might be painted on a nursery wall”. The tone is indignant, flippant and dismissive, conveying the writer’s belief that these animals aren’t being treated with the dignity they deserve. He is contemptuous of man for doing this, which also strengthens my opinion.
There is a stark contrast between the first two verses of the poem and the last verses, in which the writer sees the majestic jaguar. Long vowel sounds are used throughout the first two verses, such as in the first line, “The apes yawn and adore their fleas in the sun”, whereas when the writer sees the majestic jaguar, short vowel sounds are used to achieve a fast pace, such as when we are told “who runs like the rest past these arrives”, which is very different compared to the slow, bored pace of the first two verses. This change of pace indicates a turning point in the poem; the bored, weary creatures of the first two verses are left behind, and the writer goes to see the magnificent, energetic,