The Jaguar By Ted Hughes Ted Hughes This

The Jaguar By Ted Hughes

Ted Hughes This poem was included in Ted Hughes' prizewinning, first collection The Hawk in the Rain (1957). In a letter to Ben Sonnerberg (Undated 1990) Hughes wrote: “During the autumn of 1954 I’d worked in Regent’s park Zoo, and got to know a particular Jaguar. It lived in a ‘transit’ cage near the kitchen window at which I stood for most of the day washing up. “ -from The Letters of Ted Hughes (edited by Christopher Reid).

The Jaguar The apes yawn and adore their fleas in the sun. The parrots shriek as if they were on fire, or strut Like cheap tarts to attract the stroller with the nut. Fatigued with indolence, tiger and lion Lie still as the sun. The boa-constrictor’s coil Is a fossil. Cage after cage seems empty, or Stinks of sleepers from the breathing straw. It might be painted on a nursery wall.

But who runs like the rest past these arrives At a cage where the crowd stands, stares, mesmerized, As a child at a dream, at a jaguar hurrying enraged Through prison darkness after the drills of his eyes On a short fierce fuse. Not in boredom— The eye satisfied to be blind in fire, By the bang of blood in the brain deaf the ear— He spins from the bars, but there’s no cage to him More than to the visionary his cell: His stride is wildernesses of freedom: The world rolls under the long thrust of his heel. Over the cage floor the horizons come.

• Spiritless condition created by encaged lifestyle • Diction is tangible throughout poem. The apes yawn and adore their fleas in the sun. The parrots shriek as if they were on fire, or strut Like cheap tarts to attract the stroller with the nut. Fatigued with indolence, tiger and lion Animals deprived of natural habitat Simile shows how desperate the birds are to attract attention as they have no real character; rather, they act on instinct.

Enjambment continues state of caged animals without energy Simile reveals emptiness of caged life. Animals are reduced to a purely uninspiring biological condition. Lie still as the sun. The boa-constrictor’s coil Is a fossil. Cage after cage seems empty, or Stinks of sleepers from the breathing straw. It might be painted on a nursery wall. Animals are so listless that they could be a painting that holds no threat.

Note change in rhythm and diction as crowd approaches the jaguar’s cage. But who runs like the rest past these arrives At a cage where the crowd stands, stares, mesmerized, As a child at a dream, at a jaguar hurrying enraged Through prison darkness after the drills of his eyes On a short fierce fuse. Not in boredom— The eye satisfied to be blind in fire, By the bang of blood in the brain deaf the ear— He spins from the bars, but there’s no cage to him Jaguar possesses energy and restlessness The jaguar’s spirit cannot be contained in a cage. Jaguar contrasts with rest of animals.

Superlative expression elevates jaguar’s status More than to the visionary his cell: His stride is wildernesses of freedom: Jaguar’s power indicates that he has dominion over the entire world. The world rolls under the long thrust of his heel. Over the cage floor the horizons come.

Setting Poet uses zoo, cages and anonymous human cages to reinforce individuality of the jaguar. Speaker interacts with jaguar’s physical and metaphysical presence.

Structure Four-line stanzas Poem moves from one cage to the next by following the crowd to the jaguar’s cage. Some lines are endstopped while others employ enjambment to create fluidity

Figurative Language and Devices Identify examples of the following and explain each example’s purpose. Imagery Simile Metaphor Alliteration (Sibilance) Consonance Diction Tone

2015 Prompt Comment closely on ways in which the language and imagery of “The Jaguar” presents the jaguar and its situation. (Poem included. )

Works Cited Williams, Steve. "Commentary Notes: "Jaguar" by Ted Hughes. " 3 September 2014. IBcando. 14 March 2016.