How to Tell Wild Animals

Carolyn Well

Introduction:

In the poem, the poet explains the characteristics of various wild animals in a humorous manner. She is introduces various kinds of wild animals like Asian lion, Bengal tiger, bear, crocodile, hyena telling their unique qualities in a funny way.

About the Poet:

Carolyn Wells (1862-1942) was an American writer who was famous for books based on mystery. Her famous works are at the sign of the Sphinx, The Jingle book, and the story of Betty.

Summary: 

The poet is describing various wild animals in this poem. These animals are very dangerous and she has introduced them one by one in a funny way.

First of all she tells us about an Asian lion. She says that if you are visiting the jungles of the east and if you happen to see an animal which has tawny skin and he roars so loudly that you will die out of fear, you can be sure that he is an Asian lion.

Secondly, she tells us about the Bengal tiger.  She says that the royal animal attacks and kills a human at once. She humorously says if this beautiful, black striped animal kills you and eats you, then you have surely met a Bengal tiger.

The third animal is a leopard. She says that if the reader meets an animal with black spotted skin and if it at once jumps on the reader him, it means that the reader has met a leopard. Moreover, she says that even if a person cries out in pain, it is of no use as the leopard will not stop attacking the person.

The fourth animal that she tells about is a bear. She says a bear will hug very tightly. This is the way to recognize a bear as it kills a person by hugging very tightly. She tells us the only way to recognize a bear is by the animal’s tight hug.

After this, she asks the readers whether they know how to recognize beasts which hunt their prey. She feels that recognizing these animals is like a puzzle. She goes on telling us about crocodiles, and hyenas and chameleons. She says that crocodiles always shed tears and hyenas make noise resembling human as they hunt.

The last one in her list is the Chameleon. She says that it is a lizard like creature which doesn’t have ears and wings just like a lizard. She further says that the chameleon has a quality of changing its color according to the colour of its surroundings. Only this can help us to differentiate between a lizard and a chameleon.  As she explains this quality of a chameleon, she says that if the reader looks at a tree and if the reader can only see the tree, it means that there is a chameleon sitting on it. The chameleon has already turned its color to brown just like the branch of the tree.

Explanation:

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 dyin’

You’ll know it is the Asian Lion...

Tawny: yellowish brown color

The poet is telling the readers that how they can recognize various animals in the jungles of the east. So, in first stanza she says that if the reader comes across an animal whose skin is yellowish brown in colour and if it roars so strongly that the reader can die out of fear, it means that the reader has encountered an Asian lion. She has humorously explains that an Asian lion can kill a person with its roar.

Literary Devices:

 Enjambment: Continuation of a sentence to the next line (and if there…..tawny beast)

Inversion: Change in the format of a sentence (if there should to you advance)

Assonance: use of vowel sound ’o’ (you should go, should to you, roars,)

Allusion: Reference to a famous thing, place, species of animal, etc (Asian Lion)

Rhyme:

Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (chance-advance, east-beast, dyin-lion)

Or if some time when roaming round,

A noble wild beast greets you,

With black stripes on a yellow ground,         

Just notice if he eats you.

This simple rule may help you learn

The Bengal Tiger to discern.

Noble: high born, aristocratic

Discern: recognize

She explains an animal that roams in the jungle and belongs to a royal clan. The colour of its skin is yellowish with black stripes. She says that if the reader notices the animal and it kills and eats the reader, then the reader has surely seen a Bengal Tiger.

Literary Devices:

 Alliteration: repetition of consonant sound ‘r’ at start of two or more closely connected words (roaming round)

Inversion: Change in the format of a sentence (The Bengal Tiger to discern)

Allusion: Reference to a famous thing, place, species of animal, etc (Bengal Tiger)

Assonance: Use of vowel sound ’o’ (or if some time when roaming round)

Rhyme:

Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (round-ground, you-you learn-discern)

If strolling forth, a beast you view,

Whose hide with spots is peppered,                      

As soon as he has lept on you,

You’ll know it is the Leopard.

’Twill do no good to roar with pain,

He’ll only lep and lep again.

Strolling: walking casually

Forth: forward

Hide: skin of animal

Peppered: Here it means the spots

Lept (Leapt): jump towards someone

The poet says that if the reader is casually walking in a jungle, and meets an animal who has a skin with spots on it. The animal is so fast that it leaps on the reader at once. This leaping or jumping is an indication that the animal is none other than the leopard. Even if the reader cries out in pain, it is of no use as the animal keeps on jumping on the reader. 

Literary Devices:

 Alliteration: use of consonant sound ‘h’ in the beginning of two words (he has)

Poetic license: A liberty to the poet to change the spellings in order to create rhyme or rhythm in a poem (use of lept instead of leapt)

Repetition: use of ‘lep’ word in the last line.

Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ (strolling-forth-you, whose-spot, do no good to roar)

Consonance: use of ‘l’ sound (he’ll only lep lep)

 Rhyme:

Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (view- you, peppered- Leopard, pain-again)

 If when you’re walking round your yard

You meet a creature there,

Who hugs you very, very hard,            

Be sure it is a Bear.

If you have any doubts, I guess

He’ll give you just one more caress.

Yard: backyard or the lawn area of a house

Caress: A gentle touch

If the reader is walking in the lawn area of the reader’s house and the reader meets a creature which hugs the reader tightly, it is a bear. She further adds that if the reader is still in doubt regarding the animal, the easiest way is to make sure is by the continued hugging .

Literary Devices:

 Enjambment: Continuation of a sentence to the next line (if you were walking….creature there)

Alliteration: use of ‘w’ sound (when-walking), use of ‘h’ sound (who- hugs), use of ‘b’ sound (be-bear)

Assonance: use of vowel ‘e’ (meet a creature there)

Rhyme:

Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (yard-hard, there- bear, guess-caress)

Though to distinguish beasts of prey              

A novice might nonplus,

The Crocodile you always may

Tell from the Hyena thus:

Hyenas come with merry smiles;

But if they weep they’re Crocodiles

Distinguish: Differentiate

Beast of Prey: Any animals that hunts other animals for food   

Novice: Someone new to a job

Nonplus: be confused

The poet says that some people may find it a puzzle to recognize the animals that hunt other animals for food. The poet tries to help out the readers by telling the difference between two animals. He says that Hyenas make sounds like human laughter and crocodiles shed tears. Both the animals are dangerous.

Literary Devices:

Alliteration: use of consonant sound ‘n’ (novice-nonplus), use of ‘th’ sound (the-thus)

Enjambment: continuation of sentence to the next line (though to distinguish….might nonplus, The crocodile…..hyena thus)

 Rhyme: 

Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (prey-may, nonplus-thus, smiles-crocodiles)

The true Chameleon is small,

A lizard sort of thing;

He hasn’t any ears at all,

And not a single wing.

If there is nothing on the tree, 

’Tis the chameleon you see.

The poet tells about Chameleon, which is a small creature. It looks like a lizard but the difference between the two is that chameleon does not have ears and wings. Chameleon has the ability to change its color according to the surface on which it is sitting. Therefore, if you see a tree and find nothing else on it, then there must be a chameleon sitting on it.

Literary Devices:

Alliteration: use of ‘h’ sound (he hasn’t)

Consonance: use of ‘g’ sound (single wing)

Rhyme:

Rhyme scheme ababcc is followed (small-all, thing-wing, tree-see)

Textual Question and Answers:

Q1-Does ‘dyin’ really rhyme with ‘lion’? Can you say it in such a way that it does?

The actual word is dying. But the word does not rhyme with lion. In order to maintain rhyme, it is written as ‘dyin’ in the poem. Poets often take liberty to modify words to suit the rhyme.

Q2- How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger? When can you do so, according to him?

The poet differentiates between the two in the following manner-

She says that if the beast is of yellow- brown colour that is tawny colour and it roars out so fiercely that you may die out of fear, the animal is an Asian lion.

If the animal has black stripes on yellow background of the skin and he attacks to kill you, the animal is a Bengal tiger.

Q3- Do you think the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ in the third stanza are spelt correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?

The verb forms of leap are – Leap, Leapt, Leapt. In this poem the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ are misspelled. They are not spelled correctly. The poet did this to emphasize the actions of leopard and to maintain the rhyme with the animal’s name. Poets occasionally do like this. This is a poetic device known as poetic license. 

 Q4- Look at the line “A novice might nonplus”. How would you write this ‘correctly’? Why is the poet’s ‘incorrect’ line better in the poem?

The correct form of the sentence should be ‘a novice might be nonplussed’. The poet wrote it in order to bring rhyme to her poem. We can see that ‘nonplus’ rhymes with ‘thus’. This is a poetic device known as poetic license. 

Q5- Much of the humour in the poem arises from the way language is used, although the ideas are funny as well. If there are particular lines in the poem that you especially like, share these with the class, speaking briefly about what it is about the ideas or the language that you like or find funny?

Yes, I agree. It is true that the poet has used the language in a jocular way. The poet has used many lines that are funny. One such line is ‘If he roars at you as you’re dyin’. You’ll know it is the Asian Lion...’  Another line is ‘A noble wild beast greets you’. So her idea of explaining the characteristics of the wild animals is really humorous.