Explication of "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" By Adrienne Rich

This poem is about Aunt Jennifer's tapestry which contains tigers that "prance across a screen." The tigers described in this poem are seen as a happy thing and are not fearful like a tiger should be. On the other hand, the picture of Aunt Jennifer the narrator gives us is that of fear and unhappiness. This is shown in lines 7 and 8; "The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand," and in lines 9 and 10; "When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by." This poem indicates an unhappy marriage between the narrators Aunt and Uncle. Even after the Aunt's death, she will still be burdened with the marriage as she will still wear the ring. The tigers are a symbol of her long lost happiness and freedom and through Aunt Jennifer's art, her life that she never lived will live on.