The Jaguar By Ted Hughes

This poem 'The Jaguar' was written by Ted Hughes, he tries to capture the mood of a post war, 1950's zoo. He depicts the animals as hot, lazy and lethargic. This is because they have been captive for a long stretch of time. The animals are not lively but are dull and lifeless. He uses the expression 'stinks of sleepers from the breathing straw' to show this. He then unveils the jaguar as being live and vivid. 'At a jaguar hurrying enraged.' 'The Jaguar' longs for freedom physically but is free mentally. Hughes has a few main themes in this poem. The obvious one is how the animals in zoos f…