Poem 4 :- How to Tell Wild Animals

 FIRST FLIGHT 

POEM- HOW TO TELL WILD ANIMALS 

 CAROLYN WELLS

Poem and Explanation:-

If ever you should go by chance
To jungles in the east;
And if there should to you advance
A large and tawny beast,
If he roars at you as you’re dyin’
You’ll know it is the Asian Lion...

The poet is telling the readers that how they can recognize various animals in the jungles of the east. So, in first stanza she says that if the reader comes across an animal whose skin is yellowish brown in colour and if it roars at him so strongly that he can die out of fear, it means that he has encountered an Asian Lion. She has humorously explained the Asian Lion which could kill a person with its roar.

Or if some time when roaming round,
A noble wild beast greets you,
With black stripes on a yellow ground,
Just notice if he eats you.
This simple rule may help you learn
The Bengal Tiger to discern.

She explains an animal that roams in the jungle and belongs to a royal clan. The colour of its skin is yellowish with black stripes. She says that if you notice that he kills you and eats you up, then this means that you have surely seen a Bengal Tiger. This time also she has used dark humour to explain how a tiger looks like because once a person has been eaten up by a wild animal; there is no use in determining which wild animal it is.

If strolling forth, a beast you view,
Whose hide with spots is peppered,
As soon as he has lept on you,
You’ll know it is the Leopard.
’Twill do no good to roar with pain,
He’ll only lept and lep again.

The poet says that if you are casually walking in a jungle, you will meet an animal who has a skin with spots on it. This animal is so fast that it will leap on you at once which means that it will jump on you. This jumping is an indication that it is none other than the Leopard. Moreover, she adds that if you will cry out in pain, it is not going to be of any use as it will keep on jumping on you. So, in this stanza the poet has explained the characteristic of a leopard.

If when you’re walking round your yard
You meet a creature there,
Who hugs you very, very hard,
Be sure it is a Bear.
If you have any doubts, I guess
He’ll give you just one more caress.

If you are walking in the lawn area of your house and you meet a creature which hugs you tightly, it is a bear. She further adds that if you are still in doubt regarding the animal, the easiest way is that he will keep hugging and touching you very gently. This act of his will make you sure about its identity. You will come to know that it is a bear.

Though to distinguish beasts of prey
A novice might nonplus,
The Crocodile you always may
Tell from the Hyena thus:
Hyenas come with merry smiles;
But if they weep they’re Crocodiles

The poet says that for someone who is new to the job of recognizing animals, it will be like a puzzle to recognize animals that hunt other animals for their food. So here the poet tries to help out the readers by telling the difference between two animals. He says that Hyenas will be smiling whereas if it is a crocodile, it is always in tears. Both of these animals are dangerous.

The true Chameleon is small,
A lizard sort of thing;
He hasn’t any ears at all,
And not a single wing.
If there is nothing on the tree,
’Tis the chameleon you see.

The poet says that the next is Chameleon which is a small creature. It looks like a lizard but the difference between the two is that chameleon does not have ears and wings. Moreover she says that chameleon has the ability to change its colour according to the surface on which it is sitting. Therefore, if you see a tree and find nothing else on it, then it must be a chameleon sitting on it. It has changed its colour into the colour of tree.

Literary Devices:-

Stanza-1
Rhyme: Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (chance-advance, east-beast, dyin-lion)
Enjambment: Continuation of a sentence to the next line (and if there…..tawny beast)
Inversion: Inversion is a term used to refer to the inverting of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase. Basically, change in the format of a sentence (if there should to you advance)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ’o’ (you should go, should to you, roars,)
Allusion: Reference to a famous thing, place, species of animal, etc. (Asian Lion)

Stanza-2
Rhyme: Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (round-ground, you-you learn-discern)
Alliteration: repetition of consonant sound ‘r’ at start of two or more closely connected words (roaming round)
Inversion: Change in the format of a sentence (The Bengal Tiger to discern)
Allusion: Reference to a famous thing, place, species of animal, etc. (Bengal Tiger)
Assonance: Use of vowel sound ’o’ (or if some time when roaming round)

Stanza-3
Rhyme: Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (view-you, peppered-Leopard, pain-again)
Alliteration: use of consonant sound ‘h’ in the beginning of two words (he has)
Poetic licence: the freedom to depart from the facts of a matter or from the conventional rules of language when speaking or writing in order to create an effect. A liberty to the poet to change the spellings in order to create rhyme or rhythm in a poem (use of lept instead of leapt)
Repetition: use of ‘lep’ word in the last line.
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ (strolling-forth-you, whose-spot, do no good to roar)
Consonance: repetition of consonant sound ‘L’ (he’ll only lep lep)

Stanza-4
Rhyme: Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (yard-hard, there-bear, guess-caress)
Enjambment: Continuation of a sentence to the next line (if you were walking….creature there)
Alliteration: use of ‘w’ sound (when-walking), use of ‘h’ sound (who-hugs), use of ‘b’ sound (be-bear)
Assonance: use of vowel ‘e’ (meet a creature there)

Stanza-5
Rhyme: Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (prey-may, nonplus-thus, smiles-crocodiles)
Alliteration: use of consonant sound ‘n’ (novice-nonplus), use of ‘th’ sound (the-thus)
Enjambment: continuation of sentence to the next line (though to distinguish….might nonplus, The crocodile…..hyena thus)

Stanza-6
Rhyme: Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (small-all, thing-wing, tree-see)
Alliteration: use of ‘h’ sound (he hasn’t)
Consonance: use of ‘g’ sound (single wing)

Question 1:

Does dyin’ really rhyme with lion ? Can you say it in such a way that it does ?

Answer:
The word dyin can rhyme with lion if we pronounce it as di-en.

Question 2:
How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger ? When can you do so, according to her ?

Answer:
A lion is a large and tawny beast while a tiger has black stripes on its yellow coat. According to the poet, we can notice this fact while we are being eaten by these beasts.

Question 3:
Do you think the words lept and lep in the third stanza are spelt correctly ? Why does the poet spell them like this ?

Answer:
The correct spellings are ‘leapt’ and ‘leap’. The poet spells them as ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ to go with the quick and sudden attack of the leopard.

Question 4:
Do you know what a ‘bearhug’ is ? Is it a friendly and strong hug — such as bears are thought to give, as they attack you ?

Answer:
A ‘bearhug’ is the act of holding somebody strongly and tightly in one’s arm. But it is not a friendly hug when a bear attacks you. A bear immobilizes its victim by its strong hug and then kills him/her.

Question 5:
Look at the line ‘A novice might nonplus’. How would you write this ‘correctly’ ? Why is the poet’s ‘incorrect’ line better in the poem ?

Answer:
The correct form should be : ‘A novice might be nonplussed.’ The poet’s line sounds better because he makes it rhyme with ‘Tell from the Hyena thus’.