Mysteries and Manifestations of Tiger in Literature Across the World: Interpretations

Abstract

Since time immemorial, tiger is an inseparable entity from the human world. Apart from mythological, historical, religious and tribal cultural perspectives, tiger is a plaything as well as a protagonist in folktales, fantasies and graphic novels bearing unique personality synonymous to kings and monarchs. Slowly, tiger becomes a metaphor for the humans having bravery and strength. In this context, the present paper critically focuses on the multiperspective interpretations of tiger as a construct for writers across the world. It includes the aesthetics reflected in the poetry of William Blake, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Leslie Norris, Hilaire Belloc and hideous experience of The Lu. While critically deliberating on the zoophilistic sense, it is found that the contents of the poems range from the state of the wonderful and majestic ethereal presence of tiger as the burning beauty to captive and powerless zoo animal that becomes ironical. Similarly, the hunting narratives of Jim Corbett and John Vaillant tends to nostalgic reminiscences of the pastime of wildlife professionals. Moreover, the tiger takes a metaphorical transit from its gloomy wild abode to the modern society where human beings become symbolic and make a satiric presence of tiger connotatively. In this context, The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga is a burning example. Thus, the study of tiger literature makes us interpret it as a cosmopolitan context.