Breana Kennedy

10/4/20

EN 233 301

Fall 2020

Something that always stands out to me when it comes to poetry is tone. It

makes sense to be something so prevalent, as without it, the lyricism would be bland,

and have little to know purpose. Poems that convey an intense amount of similar tone

are “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich, and “Not Waving but Drowning”, by

Stevie Smith. These poems definitely take advantage of the use of tone, through their

different storylines and overall themes, creating a somber feeling.

Published in 1951, “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”, uses third person to describe a

woman, Aunt Jennifer, and her needlework that depicts beautiful tigers. As one may

assume, it’s mentioned that these tigers are brave, confident, and smooth as they

prance about. Although knitting may be one’s hobby, the artistry behind it doesn’t go

unnoticed. The second stanza begins to show that Aunt Jennifer is using this

needlework not only as a distraction, but a reminiscent of her wildest dreams. She isn’t

experiencing the freedom and grace that these tigers are, as she’s trapped in an

unhappy marriage. Although she is actually having struggling to physically make the

tapestry, the metaphorical use of “The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band” (Rich),

is alluding to the marriage being something that is weighing her down, as it’s making it

very hard for her to be who she wants to be, and to be free overall. In the third stanza,
the speaker then tells us about how when Aunt Jennifer is dead, her hands will now be

still, yet she will lie with that same ring on her finger, representing the struggles that she

faced when she was alive. Although a tragic and overall sorrowful ending, the tigers that

she once visioned and knitted, will continue to go on prancing with the bravery and

freedom that she had always hoped for.

The themes for “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” can be marriage, gender, and power.

“Published in 1951, a time when women were expected to get married (and divorce was

frowned upon), the poem suggests that the power dynamic of a traditional heterosexual

marriage serves to oppress women,” (Kilian). Though the poem states the imagery that

the tigers are unafraid of “the men beneath the tree” (Rich), Aunt Jennifer is more than

afraid of her husband. She is terrified. Her fingers being described as “fluttering”

suggests an anxiety that only intensifies as the poem gets closer to ending, showing the

physical toll that the marriage has on her. The metaphorical reference to the wedding

band weighing her down is something that gives the reader the psychological context of

the poem, as the extreme fear of the unhappy traditional marriage that she’s in, is

something that she can’t escape.

“Not Waving but Drowning” is a poem written by another woman, that was also

published in the 1950s, made only six years after “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”. Written in

third person as well as first person, the outside speaker begins the first stanza by

stating that no one could hear the dead man, who was lying in agony. Then the poem

switches to first person (the man), and he explains that he was a lot farther away from

them then they thought, and that he wasn’t waving, he was drowning. The second
stanza switches back to third person, talking about how unlucky he was to have died

while playing around in the water, as it was something he loved to do. It’s implied that

the water must’ve been too cold for his heart to handle. The third and final stanza

switches back to the man’s perspective, as he states that the temperature wasn’t the

causing factor, as the water was always this cold. As he’s still lying there crying in pain,

he reveals that in reality, he’s always been too far away from everyone his entire life,

and that he’s never been waving to people… he’s been drowning.

Although the poem talks about something literal, the more broad meaning behind

the poem conveys the idea of the misunderstanding of pain and isolation, and touches

on the differentiation of inner feelings versus outside appearances. The themes present

within the dark poem are mental illness and isolation. “the poem can be taken as an

extended metaphor or allegory for the specific pain and isolation of diseases like

depression—which make the man feel like he is ‘drowning’ yet unable to effectively ask

for help,” (Howard). The fact that people were mistaking the man’s drowning for waving

is something that alludes to the struggle that people with mental illness face everyday;

not being ironic that the man says that this is something he’s dealt with for his entire life.

It may help to note that the author of the poem suffered from depression herself.

“Distressed at her separation from her mother, Stevie began to suffer from depression,

a condition that would afflict her for the rest of her life. She traced her preoccupation

with death—most famously expressed in her poem Not Waving but Drowning—to this

period” (Chapman). Since mental illnesses aren’t something that anyone can see

physically, people who have these illnesses are often treated as if nothing is wrong with
them, almost as if the thing that controls their every move, decision, and thought,

doesn’t exist. People everyday are dealing with mental illness, whether they’re vocal

about it or not. The poem shows the difference between how people think someone is

feeling, versus how they’re actually feeling. In the poem, no one knew how much the

man was struggling internally, how deep and dark his depression was. Him being “much

further out then you thought” (Smith) in terms of the body of water, speaks towards how

close he was to the figurative edge. The man has always felt alone, as he states that

the water has always been cold, and it even shows when the outside crowd of people

say that he’s “always loved larking” (Smith), when in reality, he obviously did not. “Not

Waving but Drowning” has the overall meaning that the feeling of isolation plays a big

part in the pain that people with mental illnesses experience. One can be so distant, that

no one will ever be able to hear their cry for help.

Although both of the poems have different themes and perspectives, both have

present the same somber tone. The way “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers”’s themes, marriage,

gender, and power, coincide with “Not Waving but Drowning”’s themes, being mental

illnesses and isolation are not so easy to see at first read throughs. The connections

that can be made are the ring weighing Aunt Jennifer down, and the man drowning.

Both characters in each poem were being pushed down, and held back by something,

whether it was the despondent marriage, or the mental illness. They both didn’t reach

what could’ve been a better life for themselves, and were trapped in their own different

ways. The way both of the characters didn’t have any hope for a positive outcome

shows that they emotionally related to each other on some level that can’t be denied.
Each poem resulted in death with, despite the tigers’ inevitable future upon the tapestry,

no happy message or closure left behind. Both of them weren’t seen by others. Aunt

Jennifer’s struggles within her marriage weren’t seen by anyone, as the 1950s didn’t

allow divorces, and was a time where the husbands ruled the households; although no

one could really get her out of her marriage, it was evident that no one was trying and

helping out her situation in any shape or form. She was physically alone. The man was

obviously alone as well, as he was constantly misunderstood by others his entire life,

but no matter how many people reached out to him, and no matter how many people

surrounded him, he was mentally all by himself. No one was mentally there to help him

through his struggles. Something that differentiates between the poems, besides the

themes and contexts, is the tiny bit of positivity that Aunt Jennifer left behind. Although

people reading “Not Waving but Drowning” may be impacted in some way, the man in

the poem did not have anything remotely positive that he left behind or said before he

died. If the first poem were to give the second anything, the tigers would be the most

efficient. Something that the second poem has that the first doesn’t clearly state are the

emotions. The feeling conveyed within the story of the man are what Aunt Jennifer may

be feeling, though maybe not to the same exact extent.

These poems spoke to me in ways I couldn’t fully describe in the paper. I was

captivated by not only the storylines of both literatures, but the ways in which they relate

to each other. Through the use of tone, I understood the hardships and the overall

storylines of each poem, and don’t think I could’ve reached the deep level of

connectivity and emotion conveyed within the poems as well as I did without it.
 Works Cited

Chapman, C. (n.d.). Stevie Smith: Not Waving But Drowning. Retrieved October

05, 2020, from [Link]

Howard, J. (n.d.). Not Waving but Drowning Summary & Analysis by Stevie

Smith. Retrieved October 05, 2020, from

[Link]

Kilian, A. (n.d.). Aunt Jennifer's Tigers Summary & Analysis by Adrienne

Rich. Retrieved October 05, 2020, from

[Link]