What is the tone of Aunt Jennifer's Tigers by Adrienne Rich?

Answer 1

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers," which appeared in Rich's first collection of poems, is typical of her early work, illustrating the modest poetic ambitions for which she was praised by Auden. Technically, the work displays flawless craftsmanship, with a carefully regulated meter and rhyming couplets. Only later did Rich recognize how formalism functioned as she writes, "asbestos gloves," enabling her to grasp potentially dangerous materials without putting herself at risk, as in this poem.

The formalism of "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" hides the more disturbing aspects of the poem and subordinates the theme of Aunt Jennifer's "ordeals" in marriage to the more "poetic" theme of the transcendence of art. The first verse of the poem describes the fearless tigers Aunt Jennifer creates in needlepoint. Their freedom and dignity is contrasted in the second verse to the restrictions of marriage, symbolized by the wedding band that weighs down Aunt Jennifer's fingers as she sews. The themes are resolved in the final, third, verse: Even death will not free Aunt Jennifer from her "ordeals," but the tigers she has created will continue to appear "proud and unafraid."

While the poem is technically brilliant, the themes that art endures beyond human life and that suffering may be redeemed through art are hardly original. Rich, however, uses an inventive image to recast these conventional themes in a new way and even hints, in the image of Aunt Jennifer weighed down by an oppressive marriage, at the feminism that would permeate her later work. Yet the poem remains quite impersonal; the reader sees Aunt Jennifer but is scarcely aware of the voice of the poem's narrator. For the reader, it is as though the picture is framed by an invisible hand, in contrast to Rich's later work, where the reader cannot help being aware of the poet's personal presence.
An Analysis of Aunt Jennifers Tigers
An Analysis of "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers"
It is difficult to depict a primary poetic technique within this poem. The reason being that, many devices are used to bring forth the message that Rich has embedded within it. However, symbolism is the most prominent. The poem is set in a traditional format, using simple rhyme and meter to give the reader a sense of formality. Adrienne Rich's "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers", depicts an audacious woman trapped within a timid and suppressed life. Marriage and the culture that supports it have effected the character in this poem greatly. Reality seems inescapable because of the ring that "sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand". The tapestry that Aunt Jennifer is creating in the poem, is very symbolic of her potential. When you picture a tiger, the words power, fluidity, nobility, and strength may accompany that image. Those same words accompany the hidden life of Aunt Jennifer.

The first stanza opens the poem with a truly bold image of tigers as "They pace in sleek chivalric certainty". The tigers obviously have a very significant symbolic purpose in this poem. They portray the fearlessness, assertion and power, that Aunt Jennifer displaces in order to lead her conventional life

Adrienne Rich expresses some feminist concern in this poem. The poem was written in the 1950's, and in this era, the expectations and gender roles were much different than in the present. Aunt Jennifer is suppressed by the life she leads and more so by the conventional marriage she is trapped in. She is pinned down by the "massive weight of Uncle's wedding band". The feminist concern in this piece is symbolized in a number of ways. The oppressing gender expectations in the 50's have a connection with the domineering actions of men in this time. The reference to animals being hunted and driven up trees ties into this as well. The tigers themselves are even masculine figures, with their "chivalric certainty". The "ivory needle" is characteristic of the hunting of elephants for their tusks. This is all symbolic of the male dominance that has such a deep impact within the meaning of this poem. Just as the tigers are a projection of Aunt Jennifer, it seems the men beneath the tree are a projection of Uncle. As long as power can be envisioned only in terms that are culturaly depicted as masculine, the revolutionary vision of Aunt Jennifer, which is all confined to a highly mediated and symbolic plane, will remain insufficient.

An Analysis of Aunt Jennifers Tigers

An Analysis of "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" It is difficult to depict a primary poetic technique within this poem. The reason being that, many devices are used to bring forth the message that Rich has embedded within it. However, symbolism is the most prominent. The poem is set in a traditional format, using simple rhyme and meter to give the reader a sense of formality. Adrienne Rich's "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers", depicts an audacious woman trapped within a timid and suppressed life. Marriage and the culture that supports it have effected the character in this poem greatly. Reality seems inescapable because of the ring that "sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand". The tapestry that Aunt Jennifer is creating in the poem, is very symbolic of her potential. When you picture a tiger, the words power, fluidity, nobility, and strength may accompany that image. Those same words accompany the hidden life of Aunt Jennifer. The first stanza opens the poem with a truly bold image of tigers as "They pace in sleek chivalric certainty". The tigers obviously have a very significant symbolic purpose in this poem. They portray the fearlessness, assertion and power, that Aunt Jennifer displaces in order to lead her conventional life

Answer 2

The tone of "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" by Adrienne Rich is one of quiet determination and subtle rebellion. The poem portrays Aunt Jennifer's desire for freedom and self-expression through her creation of the powerful, fearless tigers in her tapestry, in contrast to her own sense of oppression and constraint in her marriage.