Class 10 : English – Lesson 13. How to Tell Wild Animals
EXPLANATION & SUMMARY
💠 Explanation
🌟 Introduction to the Poem
How to Tell Wild Animals by Carolyn Wells is a humorous poem that playfully describes how one might identify wild animals if encountered in the forest. Instead of using scientific explanations, the poet uses exaggerated and comical situations, making the poem both entertaining and memorable.
📚 About the Poet
Carolyn Wells (1862–1942) was an American writer and poet known for her light verse, children’s literature, and detective fiction. Her humorous style and witty imagination made her works popular.
💡 Theme and Context
The poem satirises the idea of “identifying” animals by presenting dangerous encounters in a comical way. For instance, you identify a lion if it roars while eating you! Through humour, the poet conveys the majesty and danger of wild animals.
🎭 Key Descriptions / Episodes
The Asiatic Lion: If a creature roars while killing you, it’s the lion.
The Bengal Tiger: Recognised by its yellow body with black stripes and its habit of eating you quickly.
The Leopard: Its spots help identify it, and it will leap and attack repeatedly.
The Bear: Known for its embrace (hug) that can crush you.
The Crocodile / Hyena: The crocodile weeps while swallowing prey, while the hyena grins while eating.
The Chameleon: Harmless, colour-changing, and almost invisible on a tree.
🖋️ Tone, Style, and Devices
Tone: Humorous, playful, satirical.
Devices:
Irony (you identify an animal when it attacks you),
Hyperbole (exaggerated situations),
Imagery (vivid animal pictures),
Rhyme scheme (simple, musical, making it fun for children).
🕊️ Themes and Takeaways
Humour in Danger: The poem makes fearful encounters funny.
Awareness of Nature: It familiarises readers with animals in a playful manner.
Satire: Pokes fun at human attempts to categorise and understand nature.
💠 Summary
Carolyn Wells’ poem How to Tell Wild Animals humorously explains how to identify various wild creatures. A lion can be recognised if it roars while attacking, a tiger by its stripes and violent nature, and a leopard by its spotted skin and repeated leaps. The bear is known for its deadly “embrace,” while the crocodile pretends to weep as it swallows prey and the hyena grins while feasting. Finally, the harmless chameleon is identified by its colour-changing ability and invisibility. Through wit and exaggeration, the poem entertains while portraying the majesty and danger of wild animals.
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PASSAGE
PASSAGE
“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 dying,
You’ll know it is the Asiatic Lion.”
💠 (Short Answer – 30 words)
How does the poet describe the Asiatic Lion?
Answer: The poet describes the Asiatic Lion as a large, tawny (yellowish-brown) beast found in eastern jungles, which can be identified by its loud roar while attacking.
💠 (Multiple Choice)
What does “tawny” mean in the poem?
A. Bright red
B. Yellowish-brown
C. Shiny black
D. Striped grey
Answer: B. Yellowish-brown
💠 (Fill in the blank)
The Asiatic Lion can be found in the __ of the east.
Answer: jungles
💠 (Fill in the blank)
The lion’s roar can be heard when you are __.
Answer: dying
💠 (Assertion and Reason)
Assertion (A): The poet gives a scientific description of the lion.
Reason (R): The poem explains its size, colour, and attack in a humorous way.
A. Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
B. Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
C. A is false, but R is true.
D. Both A and R are false.
Answer: C. A is false, but R is true.
💠 (Short Answer – 30 words)
How does the poet create humour in this passage?
Answer: The humour comes from exaggeration and irony, as the poet suggests you’ll recognise the lion only when it roars at you while killing you.
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OTHER QUESTIONS: –
🔴 Q1. Who is the poet of How to Tell Wild Animals?
🔵 Answer: Carolyn Wells.
🔴 Q2. What colour is the Asiatic Lion described as?
🔵 Answer: Tawny (yellowish-brown).
🔴 Q3. How does the Bengal Tiger behave, according to the poem?
🔵 Answer: It charges and eats its prey fiercely and quickly.
🔴 Q4. Which wild animal is recognised by its spots?
🔵 Answer: The Leopard.
🔴 Q5. What does the Leopard do once it leaps on you?
🔵 Answer: It continues to attack and will not stop.
🔴 Q6. What does the poet humorously call the Bear’s embrace?
🔵 Answer: The “hug,” which is actually deadly.
🔴 Q7. How does the Crocodile behave while eating its prey?
🔵 Answer: It pretends to shed tears, famously called “crocodile tears.”
🔴 Q8. What is the Hyena known for in the poem?
🔵 Answer: Its constant grin while feeding on its prey.
🔴 Q9. How can you identify a Chameleon?
🔵 Answer: It changes its colour to match its surroundings and appears almost invisible on a tree.
🔴 Q10. What poetic device is used in describing the lion and tiger attacks?
🔵 Answer: Irony – the animals are described as identifiable only while killing you.
🔴 Q11. How does the poet make the poem entertaining for children?
🔵 Answer: By using humour, exaggeration, rhyme, and playful descriptions of dangerous animals.
🔴 Q12. What is the central theme of the poem How to Tell Wild Animals?
🔵 Answer: The poem humorously describes dangerous wild animals, teaching recognition of them through exaggerated, comical encounters.
🔴 Q13. What message does the poem convey?
🔵 Answer: It entertains while reminding readers of the beauty, danger, and uniqueness of wild animals, highlighting that humour can be found even in fearsome creatures.
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