Explication of Adrienne Rich's "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers"

Adrienne Rich did a wonderful job portraying the trials of abused and battered women in this poem. These trials could possibly be explained by Rich being the niece of Aunt Jennifer; therefore, personal feelings are exposed throughout the piece. The speaker speaks in an admiring, sincere, tone and her sympathy is apparent because she herself is a female. Rich's poem, "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" is about the trials of an older woman in distress because her …

…women who are treated with disrespect. Adrienne Rich uses many different devices to draw out her poem just as she wants it. The vivid word choice used in every line is symbolic throughout the entire poem. Line by line, Rich explains how a certain woman uses her hobby to create a character used to block out her trials with her husband. The story contrasts the tigers with the men and how anything can be defeated.