1. What does "denizens" mean; what is "chivalric"? How does this add
to our understanding of the tigers’ attitudes?
2. What action is described by the image of Aunt Jennifer’s hands "fluttering
through her wool" in the second stanza? Why is the needle so hard for her
to pull?
3. Is the "massive weight" of the wedding band a literal or a metaphoric
weight? What is suggested by this image?
4. In the third stanza, what is the difference between the tigers and
Aunt Jennifer? Of what or of whom is Aunt Jennifer terrified?
5. What are the "ordeals" Aunt Jennifer is "ringed" by, and why is it
significant that the poet uses the word "ringed"? What is the double meaning
of that word?
6. Why, perhaps, has Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different
from her own character? What might the poet be suggesting, through this
difference?
7. Who is the speaker of the poem? Even if you’re not sure, what would
you say is the attitude of the speaker towards Aunt Jennifer? What gives
you that idea?
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"From a Survivor" Reading Questions
1. To whom does this poem seem to be addressed? Is the speaker
male or female? How can you tell, or can't you?
2. What is the "ordinary pact" that the speaker refers to in the
first stanza?
3. What is the irony in the foruth stanza, which begins "like
everybody else..."
4. When the speaker says "it is no longer the body of the god..."
to whom do you think the speaker is referring? What is the meaning
of the stanza?
5. How does the speaker live life now?
6. The title of the poem is "from a survivor." What has
been survived, do you think?