1. Corona Says
Vishnu S. Rai
Summary
Since the title of the poem is clear, here we find Corona saying something to humans. The name Corona needs no introduction. Even a child has heard of it. This pandemic has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world.
This poem is the speaker’s outlook (point of view) of the whole event. The speaker (corona) rejects the blame and says that it is not, but the humans are responsible for such great destruction. It did not come alone but was brought here by humans.In fact, it was invited. Corona, (like other pandemics), is the result of human behaviour and activities that are not responsible for nature.Here the speaker shows a mirror to humans. Humans believe that they are the kings of creation and the rulers of the entire earth. They think that all creation and other aspects of nature are their slaves, which they can use as they please. But that’s not it.Then the poet shows another side of the situation. In the long lockdown period, almost all human activities have stopped. Motherland rested a little. And nature has returned to its original state: blue skies and a pollution-free atmosphere. That is a positive aspect of the corona period. It also shows that if we (humans) don’t abuse nature, it will calm down again.Earth does not belong to only humans. It must be shared equally by all living things.
In the end, the speaker warned humans. Without a doubt, Corona will come back one day if we don’t change our irresponsible attitudes and behaviour towards nature, more pandemics of this type will visit Earth.Not only that, but such behaviour will eventually take us back to prehistoric times when people used to live in caves and had to hunt for food.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions:
Who is the speaker in the poem?
➜ In this poem, the speaker is Corona who has created severe impacts in the lives of human beings.
Who claims that they are superior to all?
➜ The humans claim that they are superior to all.
Why has the speaker come to the Earth?
➜ Actually, the speaker hasn’t come to the earth on his own free will. Instead, he was invited. Speaker “Corona” has been here to take revenge of what human beings have done to the mother nature, to give her a little rest and to make human realize that they are not the almighty and the earth is the common habitat for all living organisms.
What positive changes have occurred on Earth after the speaker’s visit?
➜ After the speaker’s visit, various positive changes occurred on the earth. The positive changes are as follows:
Environment pollution minimised
Nature became dust-free and the air became fresh
Human learnt to use natural resources properly.
Their egos have been transformed into fear.
Reference to the context
What does the speaker mean when he says:
But have you ever counted
How many have died so far
Because of you and your wars?
➜ These beautiful lines have been taken from Vishnu S. Rai’s wonderful poem “Corona Says”. Here, we find corona as the main speaker who is talking to a man of the present world. The speaker is saying to the men about the bad aspects of war. He wants to make the men realise about the impacts of inhumane wars. Here, the speaker is blaming the human for killing many people through their wars. He is asking about the calculation of dead people that have been invited by humans’ war.
Explain the following:
I will depart one day.
But remember
There’re many others like me.
They’ll come too.
If you don’t get rid of your inflated ego,
You’ll be back to your cave time
That you endured
Long, l o n g, l o n g ago …
➜ These beautiful lines have been taken from Vishnu S. Rai’s wonderful poem “Corona Says”. Here, we find corona as the main speaker who is talking to a man of the present world. Here, the speaker is warning the human about future circumstances. He is informing him about his fellows who are similar to him. He says that one day he will depart from the planet but if humans don’t get rid of their inflated egos, they (fellows) will come too. In that critical situation, humans will be back to the caves as before (the stone age). That will be the worst situation for humans.
What does the speaker mean in the following lines? Explain.
The earth is not your property alone –
It’s as much ours as yours.
➜ Here, Corona as a speaker is making the human realise that the mother (Earth) belongs to all the creatures not only the humans. He reminds the human saying that the mother (Earth) isn’t their property alone. He claims that the earth belongs to other creatures also apart from humans.
Reference beyond the text
What human behaviours are responsible for suffering in people’s lives?
➜ The human behaviours are the sole cause behind all these sufferings of the people. Due to human egos and bad deeds, the present world is facing a crisis. Many people have lost their lives during this critical period. Due to their selfish nature, the earth and its people have faced numerous problems of diseases. Their so-called egos and wars have snatched the lives of many peopRos
How does an epidemic differ from a pandemic? Briefly explain the impact of Corona Virus on human life and environment.
➜ An epidemic is a widespread disease that affects many people in a population whereas pandemic is a disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population.
Corona virus is considered as one of the unforgettable threats of the twenty-first century. This disease has snatched the lives of people at a very high level. People in the world are panic-stricken and living their life in mental fear. Covid 19 has created devastating results in humans’ history. Due to this pandemic. People are seen sanitizing the environment every time.
2. A Red Red Rose
Robert Burns
Summary
“A Red, Red Rose” is a poem written by the national poet of Scotland, Robert Burns. It first appeared in a compilation of popular Scottish songs set to music in 1794. It is written in ballad stanzas. The poem pieces together conventional ideas and images of love.
In the poem, the speaker compares his love first with beautiful, vibrant, and new blooming rose in spring and then with a sweet melody “sweetly play’d in tune” played by skilled musicians.
The beloved is so exquisite that the speaker loves her with a deep and intense passion — so intense, in fact, that the love of the speaker endures until the oceans are dry up and rocks melt with the sun.
The speaker will always love the beloved, even after the oceans have evaporated and the world has decayed. That love will last till the end of their own lives and even when all human life is over.
In end, the speaker says farewell to the beloved — who is, the speaker tells her, the only one the speaker loves. During their temporary break, the speaker wishes her well. The speaker reaffirms his or her faithful love by pledging to return even though the journey is long and hard.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
To which two things does the speaker compare his love in the first stanza?
➜ In the first stanza, the speaker compares his beloved to the young, delicate and lovely red rose of June and a sweet melody that is played sweetly with a fine-tune. Here, these contrasts demonstrate the elegance of the speaker’s beloved.
What does the speaker promise in the second and third stanzas?
➜ In the second and third stanzas he promises that he will love his beloved until “the seas gang dry,” until “the rocks melt wi’ the sun” and until “the sands o’ life shall run.” These kinds of hyperbole, or overstatements are typical in love poetry. He can’t literally love her that long, but he only means that he will love her forever.
What imagery does he use in his promise, and why do you think he uses such language?
➜ He uses the imagery of the dry seas, melted rocks in the second and third stanza, and the end of human life. In the fourth stanza, he uses an illustration of a long journey. I assume he uses such words because his love for his beloved is so profound and genuine.
In the last stanza, what event is about to happen by mentioning the number of miles?
➜ Here, the event of reconciliation is about to happen by mentioning the number of miles. The speaker promises to return to her life after a brief temporary separation with his beloved, though the journey is so long and takes a long time.
Which image in the poem do you find the most memorable or surprising and why?
➜ Here in this poem, I find the most surprising image of the dry seas throughout the world, because the speaker’s promise is managed in a very interesting way. I keep on pondering the state of the earth without water after reading his lovable promises.
Reference to the context
What can you infer about the speaker’s devotion to his beloved from the following lines?
And I will come again, my love,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile!
➜ This beautiful and promising lines are taken from Robert Burns’ love poem ‘A Red, Red Rose. At the end of the fourth stanza, we find this line. This is where the speaker is in deep love with his beloved. He makes a promise with his beloved that he will return to her life after their temporary separation. He promises to be with her, no matter how long the journey takes.
What is the theme of the poem?
➜ The immortality of the bond of love and its feelings is the primary theme of this poem.
This poem demonstrates the idea that the relationship of love never dies. It continues to travel indefinitely.
The poem is concerned mainly with the passion of the speaker for his wife. He adores her elegance and shares her everlasting affection.
Paraphrase the whole poem into simple prose form.
➜ The speaker is intensely in love with his beloved. His feelings are so deep and genuine for his beloved.
Right now, his beloved is not there with him. By making comparisons, promises, wishes, etc., he keeps recalling his beloved. He compares his lovely beloved to a lovely fresh, delicate June rose and a sweet melody. He promises that he will love her forever. He vows to love and live with her until the oceans have dried up, the rocks have melted, and human life is over. For a brief moment, he gives her a fine farewell and wishes for her bright future. He promises to be back in her life again, although the journey is very long.
Literary devices are tools that enable the writers to present their ideas, emotions, and feelings and also help the readers understand those more profound meanings. Analyse the poem in terms of the literary devices such as simile, symbolism, imagery, alliteration, and assonance.
➜ Here in this poem, we find different uses of literary devices. Simile is a literary technique used to create comparisons using like or as. Here, in the very first stanza, the speaker uses a simile where he contrasts his beloved with beautiful fresh red rose of June and sweet melody using like.
Next, Symbolism is a literary device that uses symbols, whether words, people, marks, places, or abstract ideas to represent something beyond the literal meaning. For the love of the speaker, the red rose and sweet melody are symbolically portrayed here. Love here symbolizes the immortal relationship in this poem.
Imagery is a literary device used to represent concepts through the use of images. The speaker uses a number of images for his beloved and his promises. Here we find images of red roses, dry seas, melted rocks, the end of human life, farewell, long journeys, etc.
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at short intervals at the beginning of two or more words. We can find alliteration here in this poem in the very first line that my love is like a red, red rose (L&R). We notice alliteration once again in the fourteenth line: well, a while! (W).
Next, assonance is typically the repetition in literature or poetry of similar or identical vowel sounds. These vowel sounds are in a line and even within consonant words in closer words. From the first to the last line, we find assonance in the poem.
Line 1: “O,” “e,” “e,” “o” .Line 2: “ew,” “y,” “u”
What is hyperbole? Explain its purpose citing examples of hyperbole used in the poem.
➜ Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis. In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and creates strong impressions. As a figure of speech, it is usually not meant to be taken literally.
For the sake of emphasis, Hyperbole is a literary technique which is used to exaggerate a sentence. The poet has used this literary device to present the intensity of the speaker’s affection. In the second and third stanza we find the use of hyperbole where the speaker claimed, “ And I will love thee still my dear, Till a’ the seas gang dry” “ And the rocks melt wi’ the sun!”, “While the sands o’ life shall run.” Here, the speaker seems to be exaggerating his emotions in these lines to illustrate his desire to love her forever. The last two lines, “ And I will come again, my love, Tho’ it were ten thousand mile!” The speaker exaggerates the distance to demonstrate his firm love feelings.
What is refrain? Why is it used in the poem? Explain citing an example from the poem.
➜ Refrain is a poetic device in poetry that focuses only on repeated lines at a certain distance. It is used to emphasize something and to produce rhythm in the poem as well. It is used to break up stanzas. We find a refrain here in this poem in the second, third, and fourth stanzas.
The refrain in the poem are as follows:
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
And fare thee weel
Reference beyond the text
What kind of love is expressed in “A Red, Red Rose”?
➜ The poet is expressing romantic love in “A Red, Red Rose.” As the poem’s title indicates, he is at the height of being head-over-heels in love. The red, red rose is a metaphor for his feeling of his love being in the fullest possible bloom. It is at its peak, just as a rose is in the month of June.
Burns captures how love feels when one is most intensely and passionately in love. Not only is it like the most beautiful red rose, it is like a sweet melody. Further, when one is deeply in love, one feels as the speaker does, that the love will last even to point that the seas go dry or the rocks melt.
Do you think that love has power? Why do the poets compose poems addressing their beloved?
➜ Yeah, I agree that love has authority. Love may also lead people to perfection, where harmful consequences can also be achieved. Poets are so enthusiastic about their creations, I think. Most poets in the world tend to write about the bond of love. Many poets write their poems addressing their loved ones because they want to write their own love experiences and share them with others. Their own love experience gives them support to build the best they can.
Poetry is the expression of feeling and emotions. Explain
➜ Poetry is the representation of thoughts and feelings that enables people to express themselves in writing. Poetry is a perfect way to relieve emotions, practice imagination, and exchange ideas and thoughts with others. Writing poetry in just a few words is an art, a way of communicating and seeking meaning. A melody of passion that flows through the pages, words that flow into each other and still convey the innermost feelings and emotions of those who read the words. Via a few lines of verse, poets can readily express their inner thoughts and emotions. The poets’ works have a profound sense of human thoughts and emotions. The poetic lines create incredible definitions of the feeling of man.
Extra Questions and Answers
Q. The poem’s first line is an example of what?
Ans. The line is a simile, comparing the speaker’s love to a rose.
Q. Identify a hyperbole in the second stanza.
Ans. The hyperbole is “And I will love thee still, my dear,/Till a’ the sea gang dry.”
Q. Why has the speaker written this poem?
Ans. The speaker has written the poem as a means of bidding goodbye to his love.
Q. What is the metaphor in a red red rose?
Ans. Time and love are key metaphors in the poem “A Red, Red Rose.” Burns uses a collection of pictures and ideas illustrating the delicacy and fragility of love over time. To put it another way, love and beauty are delicate because they exist in time.
Q. Why is love compared to a red red rose?
Ans. The speaker says his love is like a pure red rose, “newly sprung in June.” In other words, the love of the speaker is like a flower that has just bloomed from the earth. That is why the speaker has compared his love to a red red rose.
Q. What type of poem is A Red Red Rose by Robert Burns?
Ans. A Red Red Rose by Robert Burns is a ballad and is meant to be sung aloud. It alternates between the iambic tetrameter in the odd-numbered lines and the iambic trimeter in the even-numbered lines.
Q. What is the mood of a red red rose?
Ans. The poem is the speaker’s ode to his beloved. Its tone is romantic. While bringing his message of love across, the poet used imagery, simile, hyperbole and other poetic devices. “A Red, Red Rose” is a typical love-themed romantic poem. The speaker explains his always-fresh love for a young lady. The tone is celebratory. In the height of its vibrancy and light, the speaker compares his love to a rose; that’s why “red” is repeated. … Now, the mood is celebratory. But there’s only one slight indication that his love isn’t everlasting.
3. All The World is a Stage
William Shakespeare
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. Why does the poet compare the world with a stage?
Ans.The poet compares the world to a stage because he thought all men and women behave like the actors of a drama.
b. What is the first stage in a human's life? In what sense can it be a troubling stage?
Ans. The first stage of a human’s life is infant. It can be troubling stage because the child often vomits and cries in mother's arms.
c. Describe the second stage of life based on the poem.
> In his second stage, he is a school going student. He slings his bag over his shoulder and creeps to school unwillingly.
d. Why is the last stage called second childhood?
> The last stage of a man is known as his second childhood. A child can not see, hear, smell and taste anything, during childhood. When a man grow old, slowly he loses his senses of sight, hearing, smell and taste like the child. So this stage of his life is considered as second childhood.
e. In what sense are we the players in the world stage?
# In the poem, Shakespeare considers the whole world a stage where men and women are only actors. In a drama, every player enters the stage, acts his/her part and then exits. In the same way, we enter in this world by birth. We lead our life in different characters. We exit from this world at the time of our death.
Reference to the context
a. Explain the following lines.
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
# Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘All the world’s a stage’ written by William Shakespeare.
Context and Explanation: The poet says these words while philosophising and classifying stages of life. The poet compares the world to a stage. All men and women are simply actors playing different roles on the different stages of life.
b. Explain the following lines briefly with reference to the context.
“They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts”
Context : The above lines are taken from the poem “All the world’s a stage”, written by “William Shakespeare”. It is an extract from Shakespeare’s play “As you like it”.
Explanation: In a drama, every player enters the stage, acts his/her part and then exits. In the same way, We enter in this world by birth. We lead our life in different characters. We exit from this world at the time of our death.
Comment : Shakespeare’s comparison of man’s life with a drama stage is very opt
c. Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow.
a) Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
i. Which stage of life is being referred to here by the poet?
#The second stage of life is being referred to here by the poet.
ii. Which figure of speech has been employed in the second line?
# Creeping like snail - simile
iii. Who is compared to the snail?
# The school going boy is compared to the snail.
iv. Does the boy go to the school willingly?
# No, the boy doesn’t go to the school willingly.
d. Simile and metaphor are the major two poetic devices used in this poem. Explain citing examples of each.
# Simile and metaphor literary devices used in speech and writing to make comparisons. Each is used in a different way.
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two dissimilar things using the words 'as' or 'like'. For example
"Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school".
Here the school going boy is compared with a snail.
A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly compares one thing with the other.
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.”
This is an example of a metaphor. Shakespeare is comparing the world to a stage by saying one is the other. However, he does not mean this literally. (In other words, he doesn’t literally believe the world is a stage.) The comparison is rhetorical. By comparing the world to a stage, and the people in the world as players on it, he is inviting us to think about the similarities between the two, and by extension, the meaning of human nature and our place in the world.
e. Which style does the poet use to express his emotions about how he thinks that the world is a stage and all the people living in it are mere players?
# The poet uses the figure of speech known as metaphor to express his emotions about how he thinks that the world is a stage and all the people living in it are mere players. Here the poet compares the world with the stage and the people living in it are compared with the players in a drama.
f. What is the theme of this poem?
The theme of the poem is that a man's lifetime undergoes seven distinct stages, through which each individual plays parts in life as actors play upon a stage in a theater.
Reference beyond the text
a) Describe the various stages of a man’s life picturised in the poem “All the World’s a stage.”
According to Shakespeare, the world is a stage and everyone is a player. He says that every man has seven stages during his life time. The first stage of a man is childhood. He plays in the arms of his mother. He often vomits and cries in this stage. In his second stage, the man is an unwilling school going student. He becomes a lover in his third stage. He is very busy composing ballads for his beloved and yearns for her attention. In the fourth stage, he is aggressive and ambitious. He seeks reputation in all what he does. He is ready to guard his country and becomes a soldier. In his fifth stage, he becomes a fair judge with maturity and wisdom. In the sixth stage, he is seen with loose pantaloons and spectacles. His manly voice changes into a childish treble. The last stage of all is his second childhood. Slowly, he loses his faculties of sight, hearing, smell and taste and exits from the roles of his life. Thus Shakespeare pictures the seven stages of a man’s life in the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’.
b) Is Shakespeare's comparison of human life with drama stage apt? How?
Or
Shakespeare has skilfully brought out the parallels between the life of man and actors on stage. Elaborate this statement with reference to the poem.
Shakespeare considers the whole world a stage where men and women are only actors. In a drama, every player enters the stage, acts his/her part and then exits. In the same way, We enter in this world by birth. We lead our life in different characters. We exit from this world at the time of our death. Shakespeare says that every man has seven stages during his life time. In a drama, a player loves his beloved for the sake of the play. At the end, the players say goodbyes and part away. In real life, husband and wife lead their life till death knocks at their door. Like the drama’s end, death parts them. The players in the drama really wants the reputation for their performance. For fame and name, they give their best on the stage. A man in the fourth stage also is an aggressive and ambitious. He seeks reputation in all what he does, like the player in the drama. Thus Shakespeare has skilfully brought out the parallels between the life of man and actors on stage.
Introduction:
William Shakespeare is one of the most important literary figures of the English language. He compares the world to be a stage and life to a play and catalogues the seven stages of a man’s life
Role of a man:According to Shakespeare, the world is a stage and everyone is a player. He says that every man has seven stages during his life time.
Seven Stages:
• The first stage of a man is childhood. He plays in the arms of his mother. He often vomits and cries in this stage.
. In his second stage, he is a school going student. He slings his bag over his shoulder and creeps to school unwillingly.
· He becomes a lover in his third stage. He is very busy composing ballads for his beloved and yearns for her attention.
· In the fourth stage, he is aggressive and ambitious. He is willing to die in a battle to earn ‘the bubble reputation’. He is ready to guard his country and becomes a soldier.
·In his fifth stage, he becomes a fair judge with maturity and wisdom. He has a pot belly. He is firm and serious.
. In the sixth stage, he is seen with loose pantaloons and spectacles. He is a thin old man. His manly voice changes into a childish treble.
· The last stage of all is his second childhood. Slowly, he loses his faculties of sight, hearing, smell and taste and exits from the roles of his life.
Conclusion:
Thus Shakespeare pictures the seven stages of a man’s life in the poem ‘All the World’s a Stage’.
Life is like a drama, and we all are actors in it, playing our individual roles.
4. Who are you little i?
E E Cummings
Summary
In this very little poem the speaker stands near his window one evening, watching sunset outside. Suddenly he goes back to his past, in his childhood days. He recalls how in his childhood days, he used to enjoy such beautiful natural scenes.
It has been long since then. Now all such joys and pleasures have been suppressed by his maturity and adulthood worries. But he appreciates if the days of life pass on like this, it’s not bad. Here he indicates the gradual passage of life nearing to it’s end.
Summary/Analysis :
This poem opens with the speaker standing near a window and looking out of it, at the end of a day. He goes to a nostalgic mood, recalling his childhood, when he used to watch a sunset thoughtfully.
(The speaker looking out through window at the end of the day)
He remembers how he used to enjoy such a beauty when he used to be a little boy of five or six years. It is a wonder that he still has youthful presence in himself. This presence can recognize the beauty of the evening. Perhaps in his inner heart he wants to come out, but his maturity and adulthood doesn’t allow him, to do so.
“This suggests that we never leave behind the magic of childhood. We carry it buried beneath the responsibilities and pressures of adulthood”. Here he puts such adult worries aside, and takes a moment to enjoy the beautiful dusk (growing darkness).
Based on meaning we can divide this poem into two parts: first part is from the first line to the fifth line, and second part is from the sixth to the last line of the poem.In the first part, we find the speaker’s state of mind recalling the past pleasing moments of his childhood. He is in a nostalgic mood here.In the second part, there comes a transition to both in his mood theme. Now he is in a doleful (wistful/sad) mood. This part describes his liberation from his mood.
As he starts talking about the “feeling”, till the end, he talks about death. Here the main point is that the speaker welcomes the advent of death in relief better than the sufferings of life.
Answer these questions.
Have you ever looked out through a window and taken pleasure in what you saw? If so, what did you look at?
Answer : Whenever I am free, or feeling lonely in vacant days, I stand by my window, looking out through it. The different activities outside give me pleasure.
I live on the second floor of a building near a bus stop. So my window overlooks the bus stop. Naturally it is full of activities like buses coming or going. Passengers mostly making a lot of noise. The hawkers selling things like apples, peanuts or biscuits etc.
(The scene of a typical bus station)
Which beautiful scenes do you think would make you want to look out through the window ?
Answer : Well, this depends on which mood I am in . But, mostly I like natural scenes. I like the clear blue sky, with little pieces of white clouds. Mostly I enjoy scenes of sunrise. I feel happy and full of positivity with the rising sun.
Do you write pronoun ‘I’ capital or small in writing ?
Answer : Yes, I always write the pronoun ‘I’ in capital. We capitalize it because it refers to an individual. If it is written in lower case, people will think it to be a typographical error.
Understanding the text
Who can be the speaker of this poem ?
Answer : Mostly poets use a literary element called ‘Speaker’. Speaker is the person voicing the words. Here the speaker is an adult person who recalls his childhood. Perhaps the speaker is the poet himself.
What is “little I” doing ?
Answer : The “little I” is looking out a window at the end of the day. He is enjoying the beautiful scene of sunset.
What can be the relationship between the “little I” and the speaker of the poem ?
Answer : The “little I” is the childhood of the speaker himself, and the speaker is the child grown-up. So we can say that the “little I” is the child version of the speaker.
What is the speaker remembering from his childhood days in the poem ?
Answer : The speaker is remembering how he used to enjoy natural scenes like sunset. He used to get pleasure from such sights.
What attitude does the speaker seem to have toward the child in the poem ?
Answer : The speaker seems to have a positive, nostalgic attitude towards the child. He feels a youthful presence in himself still now, who inspires him now to look out and enjoy the nature outside.
Reference to the context
: Why do you think Cummings has placed a semicolon between the words window and at ?
Answer : The poet has used the semicolon (;) between the two words to provide a break in the long sentence while keeping the thought flowing. In such situations a semicolon works stronger than a comma as in the present sentence structure.
If the speaker is the child grown up, why does he ask, “who are you” ?
Answer : There is no doubt that the speaker is the child grown up. Still he puts the question. It may be because he is struggling to recall the wonderment of his youthful days.
Or may be, it is his incredulity that there is still a youthful presence in himself enjoying the nature.
In this poem, an adult reflects on the childhood experience. Based on that, what might be the theme of the lines: “(and feeling: that if day / has to become night /this is a beautiful way)” ?
Answer : The clear theme of these lines is ‘death’. It is a touchy way to describe an unwelcome transition from the joyful youth to the end of life.
What is the rhyme scheme used in the poem ?
Answer : Rhyme scheme is the pattern of sounds that repeat at the end of a line or stanza. The rhyme scheme of this poem is : AB AB CD EF
e. : Explain the pun in “little I” that is related to what he is doing ?
Answer : Pun is a type of word play which exploits multiple meanings (more than one meanings). Pun sometimes suggests different meanings.
It is the writing style of the poet to uncapitalize the first person pronoun ‘I’. By adding ‘little’ in ‘little I’ he expresses the boy to be very little.
One meaning of it is the boy is a little child in comparison to his present adulthood. Another meaning might be that he lowers the importance of self in regards to his experience.
How does Cumming’s use of lower case letters affect your understanding of the poem? Explain.
Answer : His use of lower case letters gives us a smaller feel. It gives the feeling of being smaller in comparison to time. It deemphasizes the self and promotes the time.
Reference beyond the text.
How does nature inspire the speaker in “who are you, little I”? Explain.
Answer : It inspires him by going back to his youthhood and enjoying such a beautiful natural scene. He had almost forgotten it in the long pressure of adulthood.
Recall a childhood moment when you felt closely connected with nature. Describe the time and place as well as the feelings and thoughts about it.
Answer : I was born and raised in the busy city of Kathmandu. My father works there. I grew up in the midst of the city, with little connection to nature. As I was about to take my school graduation exams my father announced that we would go to our native village in the long vacation. My happiness knew no bound. It like a dream coming true. Finally I was in my native village. It was so different. Opposite to the hustle and bustle of the busy city, it was so calm and tranquil. It was first time I saw a milking cow. Otherwise I used to think that all produce come from super markets or dairies. The next morning my grand pa took me to our paddy field. I was surprised to see the vast stretch of greenery. It was so different from the concrete jungle of the place where I live.
5. The Gift in Wartime
Tran Mong Tu
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
Who is the speaker addressing and why can that person not hear or understand what she is saying?
➜ The speaker is addressing an absent person (a lovable person). The person cannot hear or understand what she is saying because the person is no more.
What can you infer about the speaker’s feelings for the person addressed as “you”?
➜ I can infer that the speaker’s feelings for the person addressed as ‘you’ are so deep. She thinks him as her life. She misses him a lot. She remembers him every moment in her life. She feels her life incomplete without him. Her deep feelings can easily be seen in the first stanza where she offers roses and her wedding gown for her lovable person’s tomb.
What is the speaker’s attitude toward war?
➜ The speaker’s attitude toward war is quite negative. She has experienced the terrible war between America and Vietnam. She has lost the most lovable person of her life due to war. Due to the lack of him, she has been experiencing pitiable lonely life. She has presented various negative aspects of the war in her poem.
In what ways do you think this person’s fate has affected the speaker?
➜ I think this person’s fate has affected the speaker. The absent person who is mentioned here in this poem was a brave soldier who had got medals and a badge for his bravery in the war. In the war of America and Vietnam, he got killed in the bomb explosion. After his death, the speaker is experiencing his lack. She is quite sad in her lonely life. She keeps on remembering her lovable person all the time. The ill-fate of the person has made her helpless, loveless and miserable.
What does the speaker promise at the end of the poem? Why do you think the speaker does this?
➜ At the end of the poem, the speaker promises to meet her lovable person in their next life. She wants to hold shrapnel as proof to show him the reason behind his death and their separation. According to her, it will help them to recognize each other. I think the speaker does this because her love for the absent person is so deep. She wants to love with him again and again.
Reference to the context
What is the theme of the poem?
➜ The theme of the poem is the inhumanity and cruelty of the war and its negative impacts over humans. War never brings happiness for others but only snatches the happiness of others. It only invites disparity and dark future for others. Humans get extremely affected by war. War only provides gifts as death, blood, pains, loss, sorrows, destruction, downfall etc.
What imagery from the poem made the greatest impression on you? Why?
➜ The imagery is a literary device to represent things through the use of images. The speaker has used various images here in this poem to put forward her feelings against war. Here, we find images as roses on grave, wedding gown as a cover, a tomb with green grass, medals, badge, youth days, wardress with blood, clouds, winters, lips without a smile, arms without tenderness, eye without sight, the body without motion, shrapnel as a token etc. Here, the imagery from the sixth stanza made a great impression on me because here in the sixth stanza, the speaker relates to all those things which she has got from her missing lovable person. Due to the bad impacts of war, her lovable person has left her providing lips without a smile, arms without tenderness, eyes without sight and the body without motion. This stanza has shown the pitiable condition of the speaker’s lonely life without her lovable person.
Which figurative language is used in the poem? Explain with examples.
➜ Figurative language is phrasing that the goes beyond the literal meaning of words to get a message. We find the use of irony, apostrophe, anaphora, and metaphor as the figurative language here in this poem. The post has used imageries and metaphors much.
The title of this poem itself is ironic which refers to the gifts of war as pains, sorrows, losses, blood etc. to humans.
Next, the poet has also used the literary device of the apostrophe, which refers to a sudden exclamatory piece of dialogue addressed to someone or something, especially absent. Here in this poem, the speaker addresses an absent person and says him about the inhuman picture of war. Anaphora refers to the repetition of the same words at the beginning of a line. Here, the poet has used the same words at the beginning of the line as “You give me” in the second, fourth and sixth stanza. These words have been repeated thrice in the sixth stanza. Here, the poet has presented an irony relating with the gifts which the war, as well as her lovable person (a soldier), has provided her.
What does the speaker “offer” in this poem? What does the person addressed as “you” give in return?
➜ The speaker offers various things in this poem to her lovable person. She offers roses, her wedding gown, her youth, clouds, cold winters etc. The person addressed as “you” gives her the medals with shining stars, badge with yellow pips, the smell of blood from wardress, lips without a smile, arms without tenderness, eyes without sight, body without motion etc.
An apostrophe is a literary device in which a writer or speaker addresses an absent person or an abstract idea in such a way as if it were present and can understand. Discuss the poem in relation to apostrophe.
➜ This poem “The Gifts in Wartime” is about the inhuman picture of war and its effects on humans. Here, the speaker has perfectly made use of apostrophe where she is seen addressing an absent person. Here, she is using her convincing lines for the person who is no more. She tries her best to make him realise about her deep lovable feelings for him. From the first stanza to the last, she keeps on making the absent person realise about her presents, sacrifices, Ionely feelings, helplessness, the gifts of war as medals, badge, army dress with painful feelings, death, etc. She relates to him about her lonely life where she has experienced a lot of pains without him. She has even made him realise the main reason behind his death and their separation. This poem has presented the speaker and her dialogues for the absent person in such a way if the person is listening and understanding all her words. This poem has shown the bitter reality of war on humans through the speaker’s dialogues for her absent lovable person using the apostrophe.
Reference beyond the text
One way to get relief from grief is to write or talk about it. In your opinion, how might the speaker in this poem have benefitted from saying what she did? Explain.
➜ The speaker here in this poem has become successful to convey a serious message about the inhumanity of war to all her readers. War always invites a dark future for all. The victim in the battlefield isnt only the sufferer but also all those people who are closely connected with him/her. The speaker of this poem has also become the victim of the war along with her lovable person’s death. Here, the saying of the speaker related with her acts and her sacrifices in her lonely life might have benefited her to forward her experience of war as a sufferer to all her readers. The readers have got ideas about the bad impacts of war and its long term effects on humans through her painful feelings.
Write an essay on the effects of war.
➜ War is a situation or a period of fighting between countries or groups of people. War generally involves the use of weapons, a military organization and soldiers. War is a situation in which a nation enforces its rights by using force. War is the bitter reality through which the downfall of humans is created. It is good for nothing. War and its effects on humans are seen in both aspects: physical and psychological. War creates long term effects on humans. War invites a dark future for all. War never provides happiness to others but snatches the happiness of others. The victims of war always remain in fear. It snatches thousands of lives. Death, injury, sexual violence, malnutrition, illness, and disability etc are some of the most threatening physical consequences of war, while post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), depression, and anxiety are some of the psychological effects.
Hope this will help you a lot.
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