English Class 10 - X CBSE Poem 4 How to tell Wild Animals Material

Introduction

In the poem How to Tell Wild Animals, the poet, Carolyn Wells, is describing the characters of wild animals funnily. The poet has used humorous language and has used rhyme as a literary device. This poem consists of the brute nature of wild animals.

Summary

The poem ‘How to Tell Wild Animals” has been composed by Carolyn Wells. In this poem, the poetess gives certain humorous tips to identify wild animals. If by chance you go to any forest in the eastern part of the globe and you are in sight of a huge, terrible, and tawny animal coming towards you, and if it roars loudly and you are dying out of fear even by listening to its horrible roar, you can very well identify it to be an Asian Lion. Moving forth, a noble wild animal with black stripes on yellow hide welcomes you. If it comes and makes you its welcome food, this simple rule will help you identify it as a Bengal tiger. When strolling if you see an animal whose skin is covered with black spots and it jumps on you, you can understand that it is a leopard. If you cry in pain, it will not help you in any way to save yourself from this horrible situation, as it will only make the leopard intensify its attack.
While you are just walking around your yard and an animal meets you and it hugs you tightly, you can believe that it is a bear. If you have any doubts about the strength of the animal or whether it is a bear or not, your doubts will be cleared the moment it gives you a caress with its deadly sharp claws. A beginner may be confused to distinguish beasts of prey. The poetess suggests a simple way to differentiate between a crocodile and a hyena. A Hyena always comes with a merry smile but if the animal in sight sheds tears you can identify it as a crocodile. An original chameleon is like a lizard. It does not have ears or wings. When you look at a tree that appears to be empty a second time very carefully and find a creature there, it will definitely be a Chameleon.

Rhyme Scheme

The rhyme scheme of the poem is ‘ababcc’.

“If strolling forth, a beast you view. a

Whose hide with spots is peppered. b

As soon as he has lept on you. a

You’ll know it is the Leopard. b

‘Twill do no good to roar with pain. c

He’ll only lep and lep again.” c

Tone

The poet narrates the poem in a humorous tone.

Her descriptions of animals like tigers, lions, and leopards killing are intended to make us laugh.

Her statement about a bear hug is also an example of a humorous tone employed in the poem.

Imagery

The use of descriptive language by a poet or an author helps the reader to visualize the pictures in one’s mind.

example: The image of the Bengal tiger is created when we read the lines ‘A noble beast greets you, with black stripes with a yellow background.

Oxymoron

An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory or opposite terms to create a new phrase that expresses a paradoxical idea.

The oxymoron is used in “noble wild beast”. The word “noble” implies a sense of honor, dignity, and grace, while “wild beast” suggests an untamed, savage animal. These two terms are contradictory and create a paradoxical expression, making it an oxymoron.

The same can be found in the phrase ‘true Chameleon‘.

Metaphor

This poetic device is used when a covert comparison is made between two different things or ideas.

In the poem, the metaphors have been used in an ironic way.

roar with pain – the painful voice compared ironically with the roar of a leopard.

A noble wild beast – Ironically leopard is shown here as a noble one

the term ‘caress’ is used ironically for a bear’s claw attack.

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound that is used at the beginning of the closely placed words.

The phrases ‘lep and lep again’, ‘roaming round’, ‘very, very hard’, and ‘novice might nonplus’ are examples of alliteration in the poem.

Repetition:

Repetition is a poetic device that is used to repeat single words, phrases, or even stanzas at intervals.

He’ll only lep and lep again.

Who hugs you very, very hard

Personification

This poetic device is used to bestow human qualities on something that is not human.

The poet refers to the tiger not as ‘it’ but as ‘he’.

In the poem, the ‘hyena’ and ‘crocodile’ have been personified.

The human qualities of ‘smiling’ and ‘weeping’ have been given to the hyena and crocodile respectively.

Irony

Irony is a poetic device that is used by poets to bring humor or satire to somebody or something. It is done by giving two meanings to a word or a phrase, i.e., surface meaning and underlying meaning.

A noble wild beast greets you.

He’ll give you just one more caress.