This poem is from a collection of minor poems by T. S. Eliot. It depicts how an aged person may react to certain aspects of life. Emotions may be spurred on the subject of patients or sharing knowledge. Also, this poem uses metaphor to represent specific aspects of behavior that an old person may personify. This is shown in lines one through four. The writer uses a trapped tiger as a metaphor to represent how furious an older person may be if treated without respect. There is neither rhyme scheme nor rhyming in this poem. However, the poet includes descriptive language to stimulate the senses. An example of this is, "Reflected from my golden eye the dullard knows that he is mad."
Thomas Eliot compares the crankiness of an old person to that of a tiger trapped in a tiger-pit. The tiger has no place to go and is irritated because someone else has constricted him, much like how an older person may react when they are confined due to their age. The poem goes on to talk about how old people like to share knowledge. But the advice is "more affectionate then hate, but more bitter then love." This means that the older person is sharing his wisdom neither out of love nor hate. He is merely doing what he feels is his duty. This helps de-personalize the aged man from the person he is speaking to.
This poem exhibits a stereotypical attitude towards the older generation. The notion that all older people are grouchy is obviously not true. However, this stereotypical view may partially be due to the time in which this poem was written. However, the poem makes some true statements about the elderly. Such as the point in which the elderly cherish the idea of sharing their wisdom. Only if this poem is literally about older people? If it is not then I probably missed the whole point.<\P>