"Aunt Jennifer's Tiger" genre: Poetry
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	Adrienne Rich wrote this rather ponderable poem. We thought it would sound nice against Kalimbas. "Stop Listening to Laurie Anderson," said Mark Yen, a famous designer.
	CD: Sally Credits: The Nimoys
	Story Behind the Song Adrienne Rich wrote this rather ponderable poem. We thought it would sound nice against Kalimbas. "Stop Listening to Laurie Anderson," said Mark Yen, a famous designer. The following is a copy of the poem by Adrienne Rich. Afterwards, there is a brief discussion by Trina E. Koppang from Coe College. Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen, Bright topaz denizens of a world of green. They do not fear the men beneath the tree; They pace in sleek chivalric certainty. Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool Find even the ivory needle hard to pull. The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand. When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by. The tigers in the panel that she made Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid. -- Adrienne Rich (1929 --) Yes, that's me singing.Subject: Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Posted by: Trina E Koppang on 18:49:29 9/02/99: Adrienne Rich uses many words to describe Aunt Jennifer. However, the words he uses all have to do with her hands. There are her fluttering fingers, making her seem afraid of something. In the next line we discover that it is Uncle she is afraid of. There is the "massive weight of Uncle's wedding band," which shows that Aunt Jennifer is oppressed by Uncle, as does the way the wedding band sits "heavily" on her hand. Uncle is described only by the wedding ring he gave to Aunt Jennifer. This wedding ring, however, is very effective in describing the type of man he must be. The wedding band has massive weight, which means that Uncle has probably created a heavy heart for Aunt Jennifer. The ninth and tenth lines of this poem state that Aunt Jennifer's hands will still be "ringed with ordeals she was mastered by." One thing that people are usually buried with are their wedding rings. This sentence allows us to see that Uncle who mastered Aunt Jennifer through marrying her. Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance and are proud. They are unafraid. The tigers are sleek and certain of themselves. They know they are where they are supposed to be. If they did not know this then Rich would not have used the word "denizens" to describe them. Rich uses the word topaz to show just how brightly the fur of the tiger gleams. The tigers do not care about the men that are in the jungle. Rich's description of the tigers contrasts enough with his description of Aunt Jennifer to make the poem meaningful. This poem is effective in showing Aunt Jennifer's oppression because of how Adrienne Rich describes Aunt Jennifer in comparison to how he describes the tigers. If the tigers were described in any other way, Aunt Jennifer's plight would not be as noticeable. Lyrics Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen, Bright topaz denizens of a world of green. They do not fear the men beneath the tree; They pace in sleek chivalric certainty. Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool Find even the ivory needle hard to pull. The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand. When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by. The tigers in the panel that she made Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid. -- Adrienne Rich (1929 --)

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