This week I felt very inspired by “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich. The poem is short and sweet yet encompasses so many ideas and feelings within its three stanzas.
I want to start by analyzing the word choices Rich uses. Her word choice draws out contrasting characteristics between the fragile Aunt Jennifer and her mighty tigers. Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are described using strong words that are typically associated with masculinity. They are first described as having a “chivalric” walk (line 4), which is a word almost always associated with male characters and masculinity. But it is also a word associated with bravery and strength. Jumping to the end of the poem, her tigers are also described as “proud and unafraid” (line 12). All of these words illustrate a fierceness attributed to the tigers that is not represented in Rich’s word choices for Aunt Jennifer herself. The powerful description of the tigers contrasts heavily with Rich’s use of “terrified” to describe Aunt Jennifer (line 9). “Terrified” is a word directly in opposition of “unafraid” (line 12). Furthermore, Rich writes “Aunt Jennifer’s finger fluttering through her wool / Find even the ivory needle hard to pull” (line 5-6). To say that she is unable to pull a little needle through wool associates Aunt Jennifer with softness, fragility, and weakness.
Rich brings forth a contrast of, not only strong versus weak, but mortal versus immortal. She chooses to describe Aunt Jennifer as “still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by” (line 10). This can be interpreted to signal that she is controlled by her husband as well as the patriarchy but also that she is subject to mortality and time. However, her tigers “go on prancing” (line 12). They will not be controlled by the patriarchy, nor will they die. They will live on forever in her painting.
Intertwining the use of word choice and the use of punctuation, Rich does something interesting at the very end of the poem with words “proud and unafraid” (line 12). These words are used to describe the tigers but are separated from the rest of the line with a comma to their left and a period on their right. She does not write, “Aunt Jennifer’s tigers are proud and unafraid.” She ends the poem with them as living as their own clause. Isolating “proud and unafraid” makes the words stand out to the reader but also gives these words the ability to possibly be applied elsewhere. Although she does describe Aunt Jennifer as weak, we do know that she created the tigers (line 11). So, there is some strength within her. Therefore, it is my interpretation that Rich chose to end with the isolated phrase of “proud and unafraid” to give these words the ability to also represent Aunt Jennifer in some way.
Lastly, it is important to recognize her choice of form. The AABB rhyme scheme is secure in rhythm and is familiar. It is my interpretation that the rhythm is expressive of the tigers’ “certainty” (line 4). The tigers are very sure of themselves, and the poem itself sounds strong when being read aloud. But I also view the rhyme scheme to be strict and suffocating. I think its stifling nature can allude to the ways in which Uncle and the patriarchy stifle Aunt Jennifer. Additionally, the use of form bounds the author to specific rhythmic timing, unlike free verse that has less rules. This is representative of Aunt Jennifer being bound to humanity and subject to an eventual and inescapable death.
The poem is titled “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” but it is not about having freedom. Instead, this is a poem about Aunt Jennifer’s lack of freedom and the female (and, more broadly, human) desire to be free. Even the free and fierce tigers are confined to a painting. Rich’s contrasting word choice and her distinctive use of punctuation drive home the point that the tigers are what Aunt Jennifer cannot be. Even further, the strict rhyme scheme and form contribute to the lack of autonomy Aunt Jennifer faces. However, I do think it is interesting to look at the use of form and strict rhyme scheme as freeing in a sense. As suggested by Alvarez, using strict form allows female poets to reclaim a subgenre that idealized and isolated them (17). So, I can gather that writing such a strong, feminist poem in a traditional form was freeing for Rich. I would like to hear others takes on this, which I think could make for a great classroom discussion.
You capture the tension in this poem so well–and the connection with Alvarez is really insightful. I think we will discuss this poem in class so I won’t say more about it, but I will note the interesting relationship of this poem to Rich’s broader career. Rich began her career in the post-WWII moment as a formalist / traditional poem, writing in forms that felt allowable for a female author. She married, she had children. But as her career progressed, she became a progressive, outspoken queer feminist with work that spiraled out of its formalist roots in fascinating ways.
I’ve said this in just about every other comment, but in this poem in particular we see how so many poets engage in formalist poetics as a way to critique, question or engage the idea of constraint and art.
Gabby, you’ve done it again! What a wonderful close reading of this poem. I am sorry I missed the class discussion on it. Again, like in my last comment, in your penultimate paragraph, (must be a particular style you’ve ironed out!) your observation on rhyme scheme is so acute. I love how you analyze the possible meaning s from two different, opposing, POVs- each one equally valid. I wonder if it is not designed to further underscore the tone of tension throughout the poem.
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Karya Bintang Abadi