GyanpithHow to Tell Wild Animals is a humorous poem in which Carolyn Wells offers dangerous, tongue-in-cheek ways to identify wild animals such as the lion, tiger, leopard, bear, hyena, crocodile and chameleon. This page gives complete answers to all the questions on the poem.
Key points
- The poem pretends to be a guide for identifying, or telling, wild animals
- Each method is funny because you can identify the animal only when it attacks you
- The poet bends spelling and grammar, as in 'dyin'', 'lept' and 'lep', to keep rhyme and rhythm
- Popular ideas such as the bear hug and crocodile tears are used for comic effect
- Each six-line stanza follows the rhyme scheme ababcc
Thinking about the Poem
1. Does 'dyin' really rhyme with 'lion'? Can you say it in such a way that it does?
No, 'dyin'' does not rhyme perfectly with 'lion'. The first syllables ("dy" and "ly") rhyme, but the endings are different: 'dying' ends in "-ing", while 'lion' ends in a weak "-un" sound. So it is only a near rhyme.
Yes, it can be made to rhyme. If we drop the 'g' and say 'dying' as "dy-un", it sounds just like "ly-un" (lion). Read aloud quickly in the strong, regular rhythm of the poem, the two words sound alike. The poet has written 'dyin'' on purpose to create this rhyme and add to the fun.
2. How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger? When can you do so, according to him?
The poet says that if a "large and tawny beast" advances towards you in the jungles of the east and roars at you "as you're dyin'", you will know it is the Asian Lion. Similarly, if "a noble wild beast" with "black stripes on a yellow ground" greets you, you should "just notice if he eats you"; then you can recognise the Bengal Tiger.
According to the poet, you can identify these animals only when they attack you, that is, when you are being killed or eaten. This is the humour of the poem: the identification comes too late to be of any use.
3. Do you think the words 'lept' and 'lep' in the third stanza are spelt correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?
No, they are not spelt correctly. The correct spellings are 'leapt' (past tense of leap) and 'leap'.
The poet spells them as 'lept' and 'lep' so that they match the sound of the first syllable of 'Leopard', which is pronounced "lep-ard". This creates a pun: the Leopard is the animal that leps on you. The spelling also follows the way the words sound and keeps the rhythm of the stanza. This deliberate misspelling is an example of poetic licence, and the playful spelling suits the playful tone of the poem.
4. Do you know what a 'bearhug' is? It's a friendly and strong hug — such as bears are thought to give, as they attack you! Again, hyenas are thought to laugh, and crocodiles to weep ('crocodile tears') as they swallow their victims. Are there similar expressions and popular ideas about wild animals in your own language(s)?
Yes, Indian languages have many such expressions and beliefs about animals. Some examples are:
- Crocodile tears: Hindi has magarmachh ke aansoo and Bengali has kumirer kanna (a crocodile's weeping) for false sorrow shown by someone who has caused harm.
- Changing colours like a chameleon: Girgit ki tarah rang badalna (Hindi) is said of a person who changes opinions or loyalties to suit the moment.
- The cunning fox: Lomdi ki tarah chalak (Hindi), "as cunning as a fox", is said of a clever, tricky person; in folk tales the fox or jackal is always the sly one.
- To become a wet cat: Bheegi billi banna (Hindi) means to act meek and frightened after being caught or scolded.
- Playing the been before a buffalo: Bhains ke aage been bajana (Hindi), playing the snake-charmer's pipe to a buffalo, means wasting good advice on someone who cannot understand it.
- Making an owl of someone: Ullu banana (Hindi) means to fool somebody, from the popular idea that the owl is foolish.
Many folk beliefs, such as the idea that the elephant never forgets or that the lion is the king of the forest, are also common in our languages.
5. 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 is "A novice might be nonplussed", because 'nonplus' is usually used in the passive and means to be puzzled or confused. The full idea is: "Though a novice might be nonplussed (confused) when trying to distinguish beasts of prey..."
The poet's 'incorrect' line is better in the poem because it fits the metre. "A novice might nonplus" has the same short, regular beat as the other second and fourth lines of the stanzas, and 'nonplus' rhymes with 'thus' in the fourth line. Adding "be" and "-sed" would spoil both the rhythm and the rhyme. The unusual grammar also adds to the light, comic tone.
6. Can you find other examples of poets taking liberties with language, either in English or in your own language(s)? Can you find examples of humorous poems in your own language(s)?
Yes. Poets often bend the rules of language for rhyme, rhythm or fun.
- Lewis Carroll, in "Jabberwocky", invented words such as 'brillig', 'slithy' and 'galumphing'.
- Edward Lear wrote nonsense limericks with made-up words like 'runcible spoon' in "The Owl and the Pussy-cat".
- E.E. Cummings wrote his poems mostly in small letters and broke the usual rules of punctuation and word order.
- Ogden Nash misspelt and stretched words to force funny rhymes, as in his short animal poems.
- In Bengali, Sukumar Ray's Abol Tabol is a famous collection of humorous nonsense verse with invented creatures and words.
In Hindi, the poems of Kaka Hathrasi and Surendra Sharma are well known for their humour. In Assamese, traditional children's rhymes (dhainam) often play with sound and rhythm to amuse young listeners.
You may also mention a humorous poem you have read in your own textbook in Assamese, Bengali, Bodo or Hindi.
7. 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.
The lines I like most are:
"If you have any doubts, I guess / He'll give you just one more caress."
These lines are funny because a bear's deadly hug is described as a "caress", which means a gentle, loving touch. The idea that the bear will kindly hug you once more to clear your doubts is absurd, since one hug is enough to kill you. The polite, calm language makes the danger even more comic.
I also enjoy:
"Hyenas come with merry smiles; / But if they weep they're Crocodiles."
Here the poet uses two popular beliefs, the laughing hyena and the crocodile's false tears, to give a silly "rule" for telling the two apart. The neat rhyme of 'smiles' and 'Crocodiles' makes the line easy to remember.
Finally, the last stanza is clever: "If there is nothing on the tree, / 'Tis the chameleon you see." The chameleon blends so well with its surroundings that you see "nothing" at all, and that is how you know it is there.