A poetry commentary on The Jaguar, by Ted Hughes

The first stanza suggests to me that it is trying to set the tone and describe the setting. One example of describing the setting is when the word 'shriek' appears. As it is onomatopoeia its sound reflects the sense of atmosphere. It describes what it is like at the zoo and what noises are to be heard. Simultaneously there is a simile in the first stanza, which to me emphasises the standard in the zoo. 'Like cheap tarts to attract,' the audience. The animals are being portrayed as being abused and used for entertainment of others.

This negative tone is then further sustained in the second stanza. The two are linked with an enjambment which shows how these two stanzas have similarities and should link into each other. Words such as cage, empty, still, stinks are all strong adjectives which suggest this negative atmosphere. The last line symbolises emptiness and no life, because the whole scene is said to be, '...painted on a nursery wall.'

The third stanza is interrupted with a transmission word. It shows to me a change of story and setting. It also uses very strong words such as mesmerized, followed by a simile which describes how fascinated the audience are at the jaguar and its appearance. As the jaguars eyes drills right through there's. They are penetrating and staring right through the ones of the audience. This sense is in the form of a metaphor. I think this sense gives the audience a feel of power. They can stare and really look into this fascinating but wild beast, knowing that there is no chance of danger or any life threatening causes. As in real life situations, with no protection between the two sides this competition would be approached differently concerning the human being. All the jaguar can do is react in the same way and return this sense of visual power.

The following two stanzas are linked with enjambments, to show on ongoing flow. 'On a short fierce fuse...' This sentence shows the jaguars temper and how It is about to explode. The third line of this particular stanza contains a lot of 'b' consonance and all words in this line are monosyllables. This is obviously supposed to show how strong this line is. I think it strongly reflects on the jaguar's state of mind. It also seems to be a very aggressive approach, but this motivation is then smoothened off with a clear statement: '...but there's no cage to him...' He lives in his own world and does not see his surrounding.

Again the stanza before is very much linked to the following one. The following one suggests what his world with no cage is like. Automatically when the words freedom and horizons appear we the reader think of the wilderness, forests, and deserts and so on. I think this stanza strongly represents freedom and free space. This is his world, compared to ours. Her again we see consonance, since it shows a vital point. Now near the end, the jaguar's horizons are still growing although in reality he is condemned to the same amount of space as before.

The poem it self contains many double meanings, which are connected to real life and a story which is being told in the poem. To me it seems to be a source of motivation, and a message behind it saying: you should believe in your self and overcome difficulties in a smart manner. I think it also shows what is behind the jaguars thought. It shows his impression of the zoo and portrays his feelings. To him the people seem to be a hindrance which the jaguar has to psychologically overcome. For the audience it is no more than a spectacular ten minutes of 'wild life' and this thought soon disappears and is forgotten in the memory.