Analysis of The Velvet Tiger
He lies in wait amidst the vast,
dense jungle, camouflaged by brown
dirt, twigs, grasses and open plain.
He lies so still with scarce a breath
escapes his lungs, for fear of sound –
he matters not if pouring rain.
He hunts by ponds of shimmering
waters, pools, lakes and muddy ground,
to trap his prey ‘til none remain.
Why does he hunt? Why in this heat?
His scorching breath, the lizards back
he burns, as arching necks they crane.
And swarms of insects flutter bold,
blunder blindly – their vivid stripes
more striking than the parrot’s vane.
Green toads watch and wait in wonder,
eying every stealthy movement –
the unsuspecting predator
too soon becomes the hunter’s gain.
This velvet tiger with its stripes
of flaming orange, brown and gold
lies silent now in grassy grains.
Scheme | XXA XBA XBA XXA CDA EXEA DCX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 1101011 11100101 11111101 01111111 11011101 11111100 10110101 11111101 11111011 11010101 11110111 0111101 10101101 11010101 11101010 11001010 0010100 11010101 11010111 11010101 11010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 798 |
Words | 154 |
Sentences | 9 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 3 |
Lines Amount | 22 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 88 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 20 |
About this poem
We are all hunters!
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"The Velvet Tiger" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/185417/the-velvet-tiger>.
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