Agha Shahid Ali’s "The Tiger at 4:00 A.M.": Symbolism in the Writing Process

Jessica L. Barbee
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor

Agha Shahid Ali is a Kashmiri-American poet who commonly receives inspiration for his poems through his interpretation of the concept of home. In Agha Shahid Ali's The Half-Inch Himalayas, a poem describing the inner workings of a writer's mind presents exquisite figurative language such as symbolism and imagery. In "The Tiger at 4:00 A.M" Ali takes a different approach to his poem in terms of topic. Ali paints the picture of inspiration from idea to paper seamlessly by telling the story of a tiger wreaking havoc through a Himalayan village that he is currently residing in. This essay will analyze the themes and symbols Ali uses to identify and interpret his version of the writing process and how it connects to the general unfolding of other writers' paths to published and unpublished literature.

Keywords: Agha Shahid Ali, Poem analysis, Writing, Literature, The Half-Inch Himalayas, Kashmir, The Tiger at 4:00 A.M., Symbolism

Topic(s):English
Creative Writing

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA