ABOU BEN ADHEM

Leigh Hunt

SIGNPOSTS

 Abou Ben Adhem woke up one night from deep sleep.

 He saw an angel writing in a golden book the names of those who love God.
 Abou asked the angel if his name was one of them, to which the angel replied in negative.
 Abou requested him to write his name as the one who loved his fellowmen.
 The angel wrote and vanished.
 The angel returned the next night with the names of those whom God loved.
 Abou’s name led the rest of the names.

THEMES

1. True Devotion to God

STYLE

 Form and Structure

This poem is a parable in verse. A parable is a short story used to illustrate moral or spiritual
lessons as told by Jesus in the Gospels. The poem gives us the message that God loves
those who love their fellowmen. The poem has eighteen lines, with first fourteen lines
comprising the first stanza and last four lines the second stanza.

 Rhyming Scheme

The poet has used rhyming scheme aabbccto heighten its effect.
Leigh Hunt wrote this poem in couplet form. A couplet is a literary device which can be defined
as having two successive rhyming lines in a verse. If a couplet has the ability to stand apart
from the rest of the poem, it as independent and called a closed couplet. A couplet which
cannot render a proper meaning alone is called an open couplet. This poem consists of many
sets of open couplets.

 Alliteration

 Climax

It refers to the text leading up to an event, phrase, mood or feeling of importance in prose or
poetry. The last four lines of the poem can be seen as the climax. The word ‘lo’ adds to the
climax.
THE REAL ABOU BEN ADHEM

Ibrahim Ibn Adham, also called Ibrahim Balkhi (718-782), is one of the most prominent of the early
ascetic Sufi saints. The story of his conversion is one of the most celebrated in Sufi legend, as
that of a prince renouncing his throne and choosing asceticism. Sufi tradition ascribes to Ibrahim’s
countless acts of righteousness and his humble lifestyle, which contrasted sharply with his early
life as the King of Balkhi. He emphasized the importance of silence and meditation.

MORAL OF THE POEM

This poem reminds us of Christ’s answer to the lawyer who wanted to know the greatest of God’s
commandments. It is based on the commandment ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself’. It brings out this
principle in a humanistic way.

SUPERNATURAL ELEMENT IN THE POEM

The term ‘supernatural’ refers to something above reason which cannot be explained by science
or the laws of nature. It can be seen as relating to God, spirit, guardian angels and other
supernatural beings. The poem also has this eerie quality in it. Waking up in the middle of the
night, moonlight brightening the room, the angel writing in a golden book, the vision with a face full
of kindness is magical and unbelievable. There is also certain level of ambiguity in the poem. It is
difficult to decipher whether Abou actually encountered the angel or the entire episode was a
dream. Thus, the episode is seen beyond earthly life and can be seen as belonging to the realm
of the supernatural.

This is a narrative poem, where Hunt uses the storytelling technique to convey a profound reflection —
Loving one’s fellowmen is perhaps more virtuous, if not at par, with loving the Almighty Himself.
Incidentally, the poem draws from Arabian lore with idealistic and supernatural overtones –

‘Abou Ben Adhem’ is structured into two stanzas of nine couplets. Couplets are two consecutive lines that
rhyme. Here, the couplets are ‘closed’ – i.e. they end with punctuation. While the poem is metrically
flexible, it essentially displays an iambic pentameter style. Here, each line comprises of five iambic
feet where an iamb refers to an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
And SAW |with IN | the MOON | light IN | his ROOM (Line 3)
Apart from the end rhyme scheme, Hunt uses alliteration to enrich the cadence of the poem. Alliteration is
the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Some examples are:
Abou Ben Adhem (Line 1)
Deep dream of peace (Line 2)
Nay, not so (Line 11)
I pray thee then (Line 13)
Another tool we find is assonance– the repetition of similar vowel sounds.
Making it rich (Line 4)
Abou spoke more low (Line 12)
All of these poetic elements contribute to the pleasure of reading the poem.
Abou Ben Adhem:

First Stanza:

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)

The poem opens with the name of the protagonist and a blessing upon him. The use of the parenthesis in
(May his tribe increase!) indicates that this portion is not directly linked to the poem itself. Yet this is a
gesture by the poet to declare that here is a man worth remembering for generations to come.

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, & like a lily in bloom,
An angel, writing in a book of gold.

These lines are full of visual imagery and Metaphors; they describe an Awakening. ‘A deep dream of peace’
refers to a meditative, restful state that Abou Ben Adhem was in. Abou awakens to the presence of the
angel which has already effected a transformation of the room, gilding it, making it look like a ‘lily in
bloom’. The angel is writing something in a golden book.

The simile ‘like a lily in bloom’ conveys the potential of this encounter to bloom into something pure and
noble. The fabled ‘book of gold’ symbolizes its richness and the great value placed on its contents.

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,

And to the Presence in the room he said,
“What writest thou?”—The Vision rais’d its head,
And, in a tone made of all sweet accord,
Answer’d “The names of those who love the Lord.

It is not every day that one has a divine visitor calmly writing away in one’s room. Imagine Abou Ben
Adhem’s astonishment. Then again, feel the tranquil awareness that still comes through. The angel’s
nonchalant actions could have emboldened him to satisfy his curiosity.

Without any preamble, he asks the angel – “What writest thou?” – an old-fashioned way of asking “What
are you writing?”. The angel replies in a ‘tone of sweet accord’ – a voice full of patience and kindness- that
it is writing the names of those who have been honored by heaven for their love of God.

Another feature to consider in this portion are the ways by which the poet refers to the angel – viz. as a
‘Presence’ and as a ‘Vision’.

“And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so;”

Replied the angel. – Abou spoke more low,
But cheerily still, and said “I pray thee then,
Write me, as one that loves his fellow men.”

Eagerly, Abou asks if his love for God has been worthy enough to earn him a place in the angel’s heavenly
book. The angel’s negative answer comes in a kind but matter-of-fact way. But he still perseveres and
humbly but cheerfully makes his iconic request — to write his name as ‘one who loves his fellow men’.
Contemplate on the fact that Abou Ben Adhem is unsure about his love for God, in contrast to the
confidence he has of his love for mankind. “Write me as one that loves his fellow men.” These are the
words that hold the poem’s essence and render this poem immortal.
Second Stanza:

The angel wrote, &vanish’d. The next night

It came again, with a great wakening light,

Our angelic host complies and leaves only to return in the next night. Our poet now speaks of a second
awakening. Here, we see a ‘great wakening light’– so bright that it rouses Abou Ben Adhem awake. On a
metamorphic level, this speaks of an enlightenment. Contrast this with the earlier waking scenario, which
is inherently more gentle and subtle. Our heavenly messenger apparently comes with some important
news.

And showed the names whom love of God had bless’d,

And lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.

This is the moment of truth, the point where most readers either smile or scoff. Whatever your reaction,
this is where the poem bares the priorities of God. The angel now reveals the names whom God has
blessed. To Abou Ben Adhem’s astonishment, it is his name that leads everyone else’s. His love for
mankind proved to be valued greater than the others’ love of God.

Hunt brings charm and idealism to his interpretation of Religion that finds more virtue in acts of
Compassion rather than just Faith. Through this simple and unequivocal plot, the poet presents the theme
of “love of men” in this poem.

This is what makes this poem memorable.

 BANGLE SELLERS

Sarojini Naidu

SIGNPOSTS

 The bangle sellers carry the bangles to the temple fair to sell them.
 A vivid description of different coloured bangles, suitable for women of every age is given.
 Maidens adorn their wrists with colourful bangles; such as silver and blue like the mountain mist, and
shades of pink like glowing buds and flowers.
 The tinkling, luminous, yellow and reddish yellow coloured bangles are perfect for a bride on her bridal
morning.
 Purple and gold flecked grey bangles are suitable for a middle aged woman who has cherished, loved
and blessed her sons.
 This middle aged woman now takes care of her household with pride and sits at her husband’s side
while worshipping.

THEMES

2. Celebration of Indian Womanhood

STYLE

 Form and Structure

The poem belongs is a lyrical poem written in the style of folk song that glorifies the ideal Indian
women. A folk song originates in traditional popular culture, or that is written in such a style. It is a
part of Naidu’s folk poetry which is simple and contains vocabulary and imagery from everyday life and
sights which showed her sense of integrity with folk life as it is lived. The poem is in the form of four
stanzas and six lines that can be set to music. The rhyme scheme is aabbcc.

 Poetic Devices
 Simile
 Metaphor
 Imagery
 Alliteration

FOLK LIFE OF INDIA

Sarojini Naidu loved the common folk of India and their land. She celebrates their occupations, their joys
and sorrows in a number of lyrics. The pageantry of Indian life fascinated her and she sings of it with zest.
Her lyrics are a portrait gallery of Indian folk-characters.

This poem is an expression of stages in a woman’s life in a traditional Indian society. The entire concept of
making connection between different coloured bangles and their role in imparting happiness to young
maidens, brides, wives, and mothers is rooted in Indian culture. The bangles are of symbolic and religious
importance and their colours represent the various stages in the life of a typical Indian woman.

The poem not only portrays the life of traditional Indian women, it also portrays the life of bangle sellers.
The bangle seller uses a joyful voice and presents his wares (bangles) as tokens of happiness. The
heaviness of the bangles,, i.e. ‘shining loads’, is the only reference made to the hardships of bangle sellers.

Thus, presenting folk life of India is one of the striking features of Naidu’s poetry. In fact, her poetry gained
vitality through the folk inspiration.

The Bangle Sellers

Stanza One:

Bangle sellers are we who bear

Our shining loads to the temple fair…
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,
For happy daughters and happy wives.

The poem begins with the speakers introducing themselves as bangle sellers who sell their articles at the
temple fairat the temple fair. They call out to the people to buy their bangles. These hawkers describe their
bangles as delicate, bright, rainbow-tinted circles of light. They advertise by questioning who will buy these
bangles for their daughters and wives.

It is important to note here that though the speakers of the poem are several, it appears as if there is a
single speaker. This is due to the fact that they all have the same purpose and are thus seen singularly as a
‘class essence’. Also, the Bangles here are called ‘lustrous tokens of radiant lives– whenbangles are bought
on special occasions and are associated with happiness and prosperity.

Stanza two:

Some are meet for a maiden’s wrist,

Silver and blue as the mountain mist,
Some are flushed like the buds that dream
On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream,
Some are aglow with the bloom that cleaves
To the limpid glory of new born leaves

The second stanza onward, the speakers talk of the kinds of bangles they have. Some of these bangles are
suited for a maiden’s, that is, a young unmarried woman’s wrist. They are Silver and Blue in colourlike the
mountain mist. Some of them are ‘flushed’, that is pink and light red in colour like flower buds growing
beside a woodland stream. Still others are green and glowing like the transparent beauty of new born
leaves.

In Indian society, bangles have an important cultural and religious place. Different coloured bangles are
worn by women in different stages of life. ,Silver, and Green are generally worn by young maidens. It is
interesting to note that the poet here uses the words ‘flushed like the buds that dream.’ The word ‘buds’
here is suggestive of chastity. “Buds that dream’ present before us an image of young girls dreaming of
marriage. In this stanza, the poet presents the stage of youth in a woman’s life.

Stanza Three:

Some are like fields of sunlit corn,

Meet for a bride on her bridal morn,
Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,
Or, rich with the hue of her heart’s desire,
Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear,
Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.

In the third stanza, the bangle sellers say that some of their bangles are yellow like ‘fields of sunlit corn’.
Bangles of this colour are perfect for a bride on her bridal morn. Some of the bangles they have are bright
red. They represent the flame of a newly turned bride’s marriage fire, that is, the passion of her newly
made relation. The red bangles also stand for her heart’s desire. The bangles are ‘tinkling, luminous, tender
and clear’. They express both her joy of starting a new life with her husband and the sorrow of leaving her
parents behind.

What we find striking is the use of the words ‘bridal laughter and bridal tears.’ These words convey the
whole of a woman’s transition in life from a maiden to a wife and all the emotions attached with it in a
single line. This stanza marks the transition of life from a maiden to a wife.

Stanza Four:

Some are purple and gold flecked grey

For she who has journeyed through life midway,
Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest,
And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,
And serves her household in fruitful pride,
And worships the gods at her husband’s side.

In the final stanza of the poem The Bangle Sellers, the speakers continue to advertise their bangles. They
shout that some of their bangles are purple and gold flecked grey. These are suited for a middle aged
woman who has ‘journeyed through life’. They are for her who has raised her children well, and has
remained faithful to her husband and family. These bangles are, they say, perfect for she who has
maintained her household with pride .
In this stanza, the poet writes down what she perceives as the qualities of a good wife. Such a woman is
truly deserving of the purple and gold flecked grey bangles in her eyes. Here we should pay attention to
the word ‘sons’ used to mean offspring. While it could be a happy coincidence, it could also suggest the
ingrained attitude of male preference in the society of Sarojini Naidu’s times.

The poem, ‘The bangle Sellers’ is a celebration of the female life. It shows us the various stages of woman’s
life and attempts to represent the Indian culture and the role of bangle sellers in the traditional set up.
 I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

Maya Angelou

SIGNPOSTS

 A free bird flies in the direction of the current.

 It seems to be dipping his wings in the orange sun rays.
 The free bird is confident enough to claim the sky.
 A caged bird consistently tries to look through his cage but he seldom see through.
 The caged bird’s movement is restricted as his wings are clipped and his feet are tied.\
 This bird opens his throat to sing of things unknown.
 The caged bird longs for freedom.
 His song is heard in some faraway place.
 The free bird things of other places with pleasant winds and of fat worms.
 The free bird is not content and is greedy to have more freedom.
 The cage becomes the caged bird’s ‘grave of dreams’ and his cry for freedom is like that of a nightmare.
 But the caged bird’s movement is limited.
 The caged bird cannot fly and hence again sings a song yearning for freedom.

THEMES

3. Freedom versus Enslavement

4. Racism and Slavery
5. Voice against Oppression

STYLE

 Form and Structure

The poem consists of six stanzas. Each stanza of the poem starts with a capital letter, then rest of the
stanza is seen in small letters. The poet has not used any comma, semi colon and full stop so that the
message continues to flow. Besides, there is no break in the sentences.

 Tone and Diction

Tone is the poet’s attitude towards the subject of the poem, whereas diction refers to the poet’s choice
of words. The tone of the poem is calm and direct, yet very powerful. By using words that are
concrete, Angelou gives us a vivid picture of the trapped bird. The vocabulary used is simple and
straightforward which highlights the writer’s poetic style. The adjectives used reflect the social status
of the Whites and the African-Americans.

 Allusion
 It is a reference to other works or cultures in either prose or poetry. The title refers to an image in Paul
Laurence Dunbar’s poem ‘Sympathy’ which was published in Lyrics of the Hearthside in 1899.

 Rhyme

There is no definite rhyme scheme that is followed in the poem but there are a few lines that rhyme
internally.

 Alliteration

 Repetition

 Hyperbole

 Personification

 Metaphor

 Foreshadowing

It is a literary device in which a poet gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the poem.
Angelou’s use of foreshadowing is seen in the plight of the caged bird.

 Imagery

Visual Imagery – bird flying, orange sky, caged bird

Auditory Imagery – bird singing, fearful trill, trees sighing
Kinesthetic Imagery – It is a sense mediated by receptors located in muscles, tendons, and joints and
stimulated by bodily movements and tensions. Float, leap, dip, clipped and sing.

JIM CROW LAWS

Jim Crow Laws that dominated the American-South from 1890s to 1965 represented a formal, codified
system of racial apartheid. It segregated African Americans because of their skin colour. The laws affected
almost every aspect of their daily life: schools, public toilets, public parks, transport and restaurants;
everything was segregated. In legal theory, African Americans received “separate but equal” treatment
but in actuality, the status of African Americans were nearly always inferior to that of Whites.

It is because of this subjugated and inferior treatment that caged bird in the poem feels his wings are
clipped. Maya Angelou becomes the mouthpiece of her entire African American community to portray the
inhuman treatment meted out to them. Under Jim Crow Laws, Angelou felt restricted from enjoying the
freedom that should have been her right as a human being. The African Americans wrote and sang and
cried out for the freedom that they deserved, but they were heard only as a distant voice.

PLAY OF CONTRAST

The poem works on a series of contrasts between the free bird and the caged bird. Contrast is used to
heighten the effects of differences between two or more entities. The injustices done to the African
Americans can be deeply felt and understood only when seen in stark contrast to the Whites. The first
stanza of the poem appreciates the natural beauty of the sky and the bird in his natural habitat, enjoying
his freedom. What follows next is a stanza standing in stark contrast to this, showing a bird who ‘stalks
down his narrow cage’.

The tone changes immediately from peaceful and satisfied to one that is dark, sad and distressing. While
the free bird gets to enjoy the full sky, the caged bird rarely gets a glimpse of the sky. The poem ends on a
reaffirmation that the bird will continue to sing the song of freedom and his desire to express himself will
not be curtailed.

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ELEMENT

The poem can be interpreted on many levels, one being autobiographical. Maya Angelou can be seen as a
metaphorical caged bird with reference to this poem. As an African American woman, she had to face
racism, oppression and physical assault at an early age. It terrorized her so much that she was mute for
five years, which obviously substantiates her comparison to the image of the caged bird. Text from her
autobiography also reveals that Angelou often felt like a bird who is imprisoned and cannot fly. The caged
bird opening its throat to sing can be interpreted as Angelou involving herself in the act of writing to free
herself from the constraints imposed upon her. Thus, the poem is definitely a product of her own personal
experiences.

She refers to nature. She describes the way “a free bird leaps on the back of the wind”. She describes the
bird’s flight against the orange sky. The free bird has the right “to claim the sky”. The way she describes the
“orange sun rays” gives the reader an appreciation for the natural beauty of the sky, and her description of
the way the bird “dips his wing” helps the reader to appreciate the bird in his natural habitat, enjoying his
freedom.
This stanza is in stark contrast with the first. By using the word “but” to begin this stanza, the speaker
prepares the reader for this contrast. Then she describes the “bird that stalks his narrow cage”. The tone is
immediately and drastically changed from peaceful, satisfied, and joyful to one that is dark, unnerving, and
even frustrating. She describes that this caged first “can seldom see through his bars of rage”. While the
free bird gets to enjoy the full sky, the caged bird rarely even gets a glimpse of the sky. She claims that “his
wings are clipped and his feet are tied”. Text from her autobiography reveals that Angelou often felt this
way in life. She felt restricted from enjoying the freedom that should have been her right as a human
being. The speaker then reveals that these are the very reasons that the bird “opens his throat to sing”.
The author felt this way in her own life. She wrote and sang and danced because it was her way of
expressing her longing for freedom.
The third stanza reverts back to the free bird, further cementing the difference between the free bird and
the caged bird in the minds of the readers. She writes that a “free bird thinks of another breeze” that he
can enjoy the “sighing trees” and be free to find his own food. The tone with which she writes the first and
third stanzas so sharply contrasts with the second stanza, that readers can feel the difference. The first and
third stanzas give the reader a sense of ecstasy and thrill, which serve to make the second stanza seem all
the more droll and even oppressive.

The fourth stanza continues the parallel between the free bird and the caged bird. The first line serves to
starkly contrast the last line in the third stanza. It is dark and daunting. The reality of the life of the caged
bird is revealed in this line. That bird, “stands on the grave of dreams”. This reveals the author’s feelings
about her own dreams. She has so many dreams that have died because she was never given the freedom
to achieve all that her white counterparts were able to achieve. Discrimination and Racism made up her
cage, and although she sang, she felt her voice was not heard in the wide world, but only by those nearest
her cage. The second line of this stanza in not only dark, but even frightening. The speaker describes the
bird’s cries as “shouts on a nightmare scream”. At this point, the caged bird is so despondent in his life of
captivity that his screams are like that of someone having a nightmare. The author then repeats these
lines:
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.
Reaffirming the idea that the bird opens his mouth to sing because his desire for freedom and his desire to
express himself cannot be contained.
This last stanza focuses on the caged bird yet again. The author implies that even though the caged bird
may have never experienced true freedom, deep down that bird still knows that it was created to be free.
Although freedom, to the caged bird, is “fearful” because it is “unknown”, he still sings “a fearful trill”
because he still longed for freedom. Here, the speaker reveals that his cry for freedom is “heard on the
distant hill”. This parallels to the author and her cry for freedom in the form of equality. She feels that her
cries are heard, but only as a soft background noise. She still feels that she is caged and that although she
sings, her cries are heard only as a distant noise.
The last line states, “For the caged bird sings of freedom”. With this, the speaker implies that although the
caged bird may never have experienced freedom, he still sings of it because he was created for freedom.
This is paralleled to the African American struggle in Maya Angelou’s time. She feels that black Americans
wrote and sang and danced and cried out for the freedom they deserved, but they were only heard as a
distant voice. Yet, this would not stop them from crying out for freedom and equality because they knew
they were made for freedom, and they would not relent until they were given their rights as human beings
to enjoy the freedom they were created to enjoy.
 AFTER BLENHEIM

Robert Southey

SIGNPOSTS

 It is a summer evening and old Kaspar is sitting before his cottage door.
 His grandchild Peterkin is coming towards him rolling something large and round.
 Kaspar tells him that it is a skull of a man who died in the war.
 Kaspar finds many such skulls while he ploughs the field.
 Both Peterkin and Wilhelmine question their grandfather about the purpose of war.
 Kaspar tells the children that the English defeated the French.
 Kaspar does not know why the English and the French fought but he only knows that it was a famous
victory.
 As a result of the war, Kaspar’s father’s house was also burnt which made them homeless.
 The victory of England led to the death of many pregnant women and newborn babies, as is the case
with every war.
 Kaspar tells the children that thousands of dead bodies lay rotten in the sun.
 The Duke and Prince Eugene are praised but Wilhelmine finds it a wicked thing.
 Peterkin asks what good came of the war, but all Kaspar could tell was that it was a famous victory.

THEMES

6. Man’s cruelty to Man

7. Curiosity and Lack of it
8. Complacency

STYLE

 Form and Structure

It is an anti-war poem in the form of a ballad. It is a long narrative poem that tells a story. It is a
heightened narration that uses different narrative techniques like rhymes and figures of speech. Each
stanza contains six lines, and the meter is iambic tetrameter.

 Refrain
A refrain is a phrase, verse or group of verses repeated at intervals throughout the poem, especially at
the end of each stanza. In this poem, the poet has repeated the phrase ‘the great victory’ and ‘a
famous victory’ with little variations. It has been used to emphasize the ignorance and complacency of
the common man about the purpose of war and the only knowledge that the war was won by their
country and the victory was good.

 Rhyming Scheme
 Except for the second stanza, the scheme is abcbdd.

 Alliteration

 Repetition

 Irony

The poem is an anti-war poem which reflects on the horrors of war, like burned houses, civilian
casualties and rotting corpses. It is, however, ironical that the poem glorifies the outcome of the war in
the form of ‘great victory’ for a nation, at the cost of huge destruction, both of life and property. It is
also ironical that the masses are lured by the leaders into believing the importance of victory in the
war, rather than its purpose or benefits, for the common man. The irony exposes to the readers the
pointlessness of war.

ANTI WAR POEM

This poem has a scathing criticism of the horrors of war. It shows the international diplomacy, politics and
wars are matters which are cut off from the lives of common men. In an outburst of praise for the heroes
who won the war, Old Kaspar reveals the typical inability of an ordinary citizen to grasp the reason why the
war took place.

Kaspar tells his grandchildren that not only his own parents had been rendered homeless by the war but
many mothers had also lost their newborn babies. It is sorrowful that a ‘shocking sight’ of ‘many thousand
bodies’ rotting in the sun becomes a measure of the greatness of a ‘famous victory’. But it is through the
innocence of Peterkin and Wilhelmine that the poet expresses the condemnation of war.

The poem exposes the destruction caused by war. For the common man, war means death, devastation,
hunger and disruption of peace. The poet is unable to point out any benefit from that ‘famous victory’.
What is won and everything is lost? Moreover, the idle boastfulness of heroes who win wars and the
futility of war itself is depicted by innocent children. For them, they were some shadowy figures in the
remote corners of some distant past. Nevertheless, the children were unable to grasp their achievements
from a human angle. Thus, the innocent children become the mouthpiece of the poet, who expresses his
disapproval of war.

BACKGROUND TO THE POEM

This poem centres on the most famous battle in the war of the Spanish Succession. Blenheim is the English
name for the German village of Blindheim, situated on the left bank of the Danube River in Bavaria in
southern Germany.

In November 1700, the grandson of King Louis XIV of France acceded to the throne of Spain as Philip V.
Austria and other European countries saw this development as an unfair plan of the French King to
increase his power and influence. Consequently, war broke out in 1701 between Austria and France.
Furthermore, England and The Netherlands allied themselves with Austria. The German principalities of
Bavaria and Cologne and the Italian principalities of Mantua and Savoy allied themselves with France. As
the war progressed, Portugal and various German dominions, including Prussia and Hanover, entered the
war on the side of Austria.

In addition, Savoy renounced its allegiance to the French and joined the anti-French coalition. In 1704, the
coalition defeated French and Bavarian forces at Blenheim in one of the most important battles of the war.
Among the conquering heroes were England’s Duke of Marlborough and Savoy’s Prince Eugene.

Robert Southey’s poem ‘After Blenheim’ narrates the story of the Battle of Blenheim and the death and destruction
it caused. The poem is in ironical tone where the poet presents the common people’s misconceptions regarding war,
how they fall prey to the propaganda that was indoctrinated in them and how they glorify war and the so-called war-
heroes.

In the poem we see Old Kaspar praise the war calling it a ‘great victory’ and a ‘famous victory’ as he has heard
people say so. He does not know why it was a great victory. He does not know what good war can cause to the
mankind. But still he glorifies war. And what is most ironical in it is the fact that he himself was a victim of the battle
when his father was forced to escape with his family to save their life, losing their house and with no place ‘to rest
his head’. Kaspar even feels the pity of war as we see him “shaking his head and …..sigh” [In Robert Southey’s
poem ‘After Blenheim’, when Peterkin, the little boy, found something ‘large and smooth and round’
beside the rivulet and brought it to show his grandfather Kaspar, he shook his head thoughtfully and had
a natural sigh. Kaspar then said, ”Tis some poor fellow’s skull, who fell in the great victory“.

So, shaking his head and the sigh were seemingly the expression of the pity of war felt by the old man.
Though we see him praise the war as a ‘great victory’, he had a weak spot in his mind regarding the
death and destruction that the Battle of Blenheim had caused.]seeing a skull. But still we see him praise the
war and say

But things like that, you know, must be

At every famous victory.

The repetition of the line ‘it was a great victory’ at the end of every stanza is only to emphasize the irony and to
deliver the poet’s message that war cannot be great; it can do no good. Thus the poet presents the conflict between
the glorious notion of war and the truth of war in the poem.

Death & Destruction

Robert Southey’s ‘After Blenheim‘ is an anti-war poem. The poet has depicted the destruction that war can cause
through a conversation about a past battle — the Battle of Blenheim. Skulls are found here and there in the former
battlefield when people plough the field or the children play there — suggestive of the sheer reality of death of
thousands of people in the war.

Old Kasper in the poem narrates how a lot of people were forced to flee from there as their houses were set to fire.
The speaker Kasper himself experienced that misery when his father fled with him and his mother. And they were
probably wandering on streets as they had no place to stay.
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.

A vast area of the countryside was wasted by the war with fire and swords. Many would-be mothers and children
died in that horrific battle.

And many a childing mother then,

And new-born baby died;

And, when the war ended, it was a shocking sight; thousands of dead bodies lay there ‘rotting in the sun’. That is as
inhuman as it can be.

Though the war caused so much destruction, common people were happy to praise the Duke of Marlbro and Prince
Eugene for securing ‘a famous victory’. Even after many years, people like Kasper, who himself was a victim,
continue to glorify that war. When he is asked to justify, he just has no answer to what good war can do. This is
ironic and indicates the hard reality that people hail war and so called war-heroes though they are ignorant of the
purpose it serves to the mankind. And, to say the truth, there isn’t any to say.

Famous Victory

In Southey’s poem ‘After Blenheim’, Kaspar is a representative of the people who hold the old ideas and who
are conservative about everything. He finds it difficult to believe in something new breaking away from the popular
belief that the battle ended in a famous victory. He heard so many people mention it as a ‘great victory’. So he
believed in it. He did not question it all his life. But now, when his own grandchildren are throwing questions on
it, he is afraid to break free from the stereotypes, to upset the status quo. That is why, he sticks to his stand and
utters:

But everybody said, quoth he,

That ’twas a famous victory.

But things like that, you know, must be

At every famous victory.

Why that I cannot tell, said he,

‘But ’twas a famous victory.’
 DAFFODILS

William Wordsworth

SIGNPOSTS

 The poet was wandering alone in the natural landscape.

 Under the tress, on the bank of the lake, he encountered a large number of golden daffodils.
 The daffodils were fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
 The daffodils were continuously stretched in an endless line along the margin of the bay.
 They were swaying their heads in a way that they appeared to dance.
 The dancing waves in the nearby lake were being overshadowed by the beautiful daffodils.
 The poet was extremely happy in the company of the gleeful daffodils.
 When the poet lies on his couch in a pensive mood, the images of daffodils flash in his mind.
 The bliss of solitude is experienced by the poet.
 His heart, which is filled with pleasure, dances with the daffodils.

THEMES

9. Influence of Nature on Man

10. Impulse of Feelings – poetry defined as the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings arising from
emotions recollected in tranquility.

STYLE

 Form and Structure

Lyric poetry deals with the poet’s feelings, state of mind, and perceptions. The word lyric is derived
from ‘lyre’, and it implies that the poem is meant to be sung to the accompaniment of the lyre. Though
lyric poetry has love as its main theme, many poets have written lyrics on nature, happiness, grief and
loss. Daffodils is a lyric in which the poet appreciates the beauty of natural landscape.

The poem has four stanzas with six lines each. Most of the lines are in the form of complete sentences.
Commas, semicolons and colons are used to give pauses as the whole stanza is in the form of a single
complete sentence having some subordinate clauses. The poet has unified the content of the poem by
focusing the first three stanzas on the experience at the lake amidst a crowd of daffodils and the last
stanza on the memory of that experience.

 Rhyming Scheme

Wordsworth’s poem has a musical eloquence. The rhyming patter followed in this poem is that in each
stanza the first line rhymes with the third; the second with the fourth; and the fifth with the sixth. Each
stanza ends with a rhyming couplet.
 Imagery

The poet has presented a natural scenery that is calm and peaceful yet joyful. For this he has used a
range of images of lakes, fields, trees, stars and clouds. The poet is filled with joy on seeing the golden
daffodils and has compared them to the Milky Way galaxy, praised their dance, and then he dreams to
join the daffodils in their dance. Use of colours has been used to depict the beauty of nature. The
poem starts in pessimism and ends in optimism.

 Alliteration

 Personification

 Simile & Metaphor

 Onomatopoeia

 Hyperbole

BACKGROUND TO ROMANTICISM

For most critics, the Romantic period in English Literature spans from the year 1790 to around 1830. The
period was one of rapid change as the nation was transformed from an agricultural country to an industrial
one. The industrial revolution resulted in unrest and eventually turbulence. The landscape of the country
changed, more people from the countryside moved to the cities for employment, open fields were
converted into industrial areas. The atmosphere in the cities got more polluted due to smoke from the
factory chimneys. These conditions resulted in infusing romanticism in the poets. Romanticism in
literature gives emphasis to strong feelings, imagination and a return to nature, rather than giving more
importance to reason, order and intellectual ideas. Romanticism was a literary movement that celebrated
the freedom of nature and valued individual human experiences.

ROMANTIC ELEMENTS IN THE POEM

Classical Age that preceded the Romantic Age, stressed the importance of reason and order, but strong
feelings, senses and imagination were not given their due importance. Nature permeates this entire poem.
Daffodil, a common flower, has been sketched with extraordinary qualities. The principal object in the
poem is nothing but a flower which is coloured with imagination. Daffodils here are presented to the mind
in an unusual way using the language closer to everyday life.

BACKGROUND OF THE POEM

Wordsworth studied in Cambridge, visited Europe several times and travelled parts of England. He wrote
poems not only out of his experience but sometimes borrowing memories from his sister Dorothy’s diary.
Dorothy, in her diary, described what she and Wordsworth saw while walking near a lake at Grasmere in
England on April 15, 1802, in the woods beyond Gowbarrow Park.
 NINE GOLD MEDALS

David Roth

SIGNPOSTS

 Many athletes gathered together from all over the country to run for gold, silver and bronze medals.
 They had practiced hard, training for weeks and months for the competition.
 It was the final event of the day; the excitement soared up and the spectators gathered to cheer the
participants.
 The nine athletes took their positions for the hundred-yard race and were waiting for the signal to start
the race.
 With the signal given, the runners charged ahead, but the smallest among them lost his balance and
fell.
 He cried, as he felt his dreams and efforts had been wasted.
 The other eight runners stopped right away and turned back to help him stand.
 All the nine runners joined hands then and continued to walk on 100 yards racetrack.
 The banner above that read ‘Special Olympics’ could not be more appropriate.
 All the nine runners crossed the finish line together; the race ended with all of them winning the gold
medal.
 The participants received standing ovation and their faces reflected happiness.

THEMES

11. Celebration of Human Values

12. True Spirit of Sportsmanship

STYLE

 Narrative Technique

The poem is much more like a story that is being narrated. This poem has been narrated and recorded
in a pattern of a song by Roth. The narrator gives us an account of a race organized in Special
Olympics. The poem brings out the compassion, teamwork and sportsmanship through the exemplary
behaviour of the athletes. The narrator of the poem is himself a spectator, a part of the audience.

 Form and Structure

The poem has nine stanzas of four lines each. It has no particular rhyme scheme but follows a rhythm
that heightens its effect.

 Alliteration
 Climax

It refers to the text leading up to an event, phrase, mood or feeling of importance in prose or poetry.
There are two scenes which add to this effect in the poem. Firstly, all the athletes turning back to help
the runner who had fallen down is unexpected. Secondly, the race ending with each runner winning a
gold medal is also not anticipated.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS

As we read the poem, we come to know that the hundred yard race is an event organized in Special Olympics.
Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for people with disabilities. This organization helps these
people to develop self-confidence and social skills. It conducts Special Olympics World Games every two years and
provides children and adults with intellectual disabilities year-round training. As a global movement, Special
Olympics aim at making world a better, healthier and more joyful place.

The runners participating in the race in Special Olympics display friendliness, kindness, team work and cooperation.
They empathized with the one who had fallen down and helped him instantly, at the cost of losing the race. This act
of selflessness, compelled the narrator to say that the banner that read Special Olympics ‘could not have been more
on the mark’.

David Roth’s poem depicts the human compassion and sportsman spirit eight differently abled athletes showed in a
Special Olympics racing event.

Sports is not only about winning medals. They are also about learning the values of cooperation, sharing, competing
and complementing. In this poem ‘Nine Gold Medals’, the poet, David Roth has presented the idea of empathy and
how human values are as important as the spirit of competition. The poem presents the situation of a race, where
the contestants leave aside their desire to win the medal to help a smaller and weaker contestant. They all go hand-
in-hand to the finishing line.
 TELEVISION

Roald Dahl

SIGNPOSTS

 The poet advises the parents to never let their children watch television, or not to install it at all.
 The bad effects of watching television – children loll and slop around, they keep staring at TV screens
and do not indulge in any productive work.
 The television hypnotizes the children and keeps them occupied. This proves convenient to their
parents.
 The television is represented as a monster that kills children’s imagination and rots their senses.
 The poet reminds the parents of children in his days who entertained themselves by reading books.
 The poet appeals to the parents to replace their monstrous TV sets with bookshelves, and filling them
with lots of books.
 The children will object to it but the poet is certain of the fact that sooner or later, they will turn to
book-reading to pass their time.
 This journey of reading books that they will embark upon will be never ending and full of joy.
 The children will finally thank their parents for this deed.

THEMES

13. Television – an Idiot Box

14. Death of Imagination
15. Importance of Reading Books

STYLE

 Form and Structure

Is a continuous ninety-three lines poem. There are no stanzas, but the poem definitely has different
movements. The poet has taken care to use appropriate words to convey his message regarding
watching television. The poem follows a rhythmic pattern.

 Rhyming Scheme

The rhyme scheme of the poem heightens the effect of narration. The poet has very carefully divided a sentence
into different lines, so that each line rhymes with the next line. Scheme is aa, bb, cc and so on.

 Repetition

It is the purposeful use of words and phrases again and again to create a smooth flow and emphasize.

 Synecdoche
 It is a figure of speech in which a part is put for the whole or the whole for a part. The name of Beatrix
Potter is used to represent the whole gamut of her works.

 Personification

 Hyperbole

Uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect

 Typography

Refers to the style, arrangement or appearance of printed letters on a page. The poet has used
hyphens, a number of times in the poem, mostly to join clauses into one single unit of sentence,
although it is written in different lines. The poet has also used variation in font which changes the
focus and emphasis. The poet has capitalized all the words in lines 25-33 to put emphasis on the
negative impact of television on children.

DIDACTIC POEM

The poem can be seen as didactic as it intends to teach people about the negative impact television has on children.
The strength of the poem is its tone. Roald Dahl keeps his audience in mind, and so the tone of the poem is light,
amusing and entertaining; but not sermonizing. The poet uses an angry and sarcastic tone while talking about
television. In contrast, he employs an easy, delightful and cheering tone while talking about books. Thus, the tone
and the choice of words add to the didactic element in the poem.

In the poem "Television" Roald Dahl, the poet warns of the dangers of letting children watch television. He advises
parents to get rid of their televisions and keep their children from watching it, because it dulls the senses and makes
the brain mushy. Instead, children should spend their time reading and using their imaginations.

"Television" is rich in poetic devices. The subject matter of the poem is the problem of television. Dahl writes that it
is a terrible thing for children to sit in front of the television set. He admonishes parents to get rid of it at once
because it is making children forget to think. All they do is sit and stare at the screen. He then answers arguments
parents might make in response, about what will the children do if they don't have a television? And how will
parents be free to do the things they need to do? And he answers these concerns by saying children will do what
they did before the television, which is read books. This fosters imagination and creativity and doesn't dull the
senses of children.
 THE COLD WITHIN

James Patrick Kinney

SIGNPOSTS

 Six humans, each possessing a stick of wood, are trapped by chance in biting cold.
 The fire is sinking and is in need of logs to be kept alive.
 The first man on seeing a black man does not give his log.
 The second man, on finding that one of them does not belong to his church, holds back his log.
 The poor man does not put his log to use to prevent the rich man from getting warm.
 The rich man’s concern is his wealth and how to keep it safe from the lazy poor man.
 The black man’s face is filled with revenge and thus to harm the white does not use his stick of wood.
 The last man is ruled by selfishness and gives only to those who give him in return.
 Their logs held tight in their hands invite death.
 These six people die not of the cold outside but of ‘the cold within’.

THEMES

16. Futility of Discrimination

17. Lack of Warmth in Human Relations

STYLE

 Technique

The poem belongs to the category of narrative poems. It tells a story. Each of the ‘six humans’ has a
stanza each to reveal their prejudices. They eighth and the final stanza becomes a testimony to their
selfish souls.

 Poetic Devices
 Rhyming Scheme – Heightens the effect of narration. The scheme is abcb.
 Alliteration
 Personification
 Oxymoron

 Tone

Sad and melancholic.

APTNESS OF THE TITLE

It is an appropriate title. It is symbolic of lack of warmth and compassion in human beings. Six humans are
caught against their will in ‘bleak and bitter cold’, but none of them uses the wooden stick each one has,
due to racism, envy, arrogance, revenge and greed. The cold is bleak and bitter because these humans are
not warm or friendly with one another. The atmosphere is bleak because there is no hope for anyone to
survive. It is ironical that these six people sitting together in a group are ‘forlorn’. Their cold heartedness
invites death in the end and they die with their logs held tight in their hands. Thus the title is appropriate
as they die not from the cold outside but from the ‘cold within’.

The Cold Within:

Six humans trapped by happenstance
In bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood
Or so the story’s told.

We open up to a bleak tableau. The poet recounts a tale he has heard, of six persons caught together in
the grip of a severe winter. Each of them probably had a single stick of wood.
Note the poet’s use of the word ‘humans’; he wants to draw attention to the gathering as specific
individuals, rather than as a collective group. They were ‘trapped by happenstance’ implying no escape
from a situation created by chance. The adjectives ‘dark’ and ‘bitter’ describing the cold add to the
ominous feeling.

Their dying fire in need of logs

The first man held his back
For of the faces round the fire
He noticed one was black.

The second stanza cuts into a key character in this story — the dying fire. The group’s prospects do not
look good. In the heart of winter keeping warm is critical to survival. The fire offers a chance for salvation if
each person would use their respective logs to feed it. The dying fire is a silent appeal to the group to help
themselves by helping each other.

The next verses reveal how the situation unfolds. We find that the first person withheld his log from the
fire only because it would benefit a black person. This is racism, where there is discrimination because of a
person’s race. The man will not even warm himself if someone he looks down upon — simply because of
skin color — will gain.

The next man looking ‘cross the way

Saw one not of his church
And couldn’t bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.

We move on. The second person looked across the fire and saw someone who he knew didn’t share his
religious ideology. And just because of that, he can’t bear to give up his log to the communal fire. This is
bigotry, which speaks of intolerance to a person because they do not share the same opinions or ideas.

The third one sat in tattered clothes.

He gave his coat a hitch.
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?

The focus now shifts. Here is a person who seems poor. His tattered (old and torn) clothes in the cold
weather hint at poverty. He perhaps felt the cold more than the others as we notice that ‘he gave his coat
a hitch’ —adjusting it closer to his body to wry out some warmth from the inadequate clothing. But here
too is a dead end. We see that he is a victim of classism — or discrimination based on social or economic
class — considering those favorably placed than him to be ‘idle’. He is defensive and in his eyes, the rich do
not deserve his meager ration and he will not part with his stick.

The rich man just sat back and thought

Of the wealth he had in store
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy shiftless poor

At cross purposes, we find the next exhibit of apathy — the rich man. Caught up hoarding his riches in his
head, he is oblivious to reality. Greed blinds him as he selfishly connives to keep his wealth. He even
miserly holds onto his stick, keeping it from the poor whom he perceives as aimless and lazy.

The black man’s face bespoke revenge

As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.

Even the victim becomes an abuser here. We know the black person had experienced racism. Revenge for
the atrocities he had faced from the white people was the only thing on his mind. One wonders if he had
already resigned himself to dying — he saw ‘the fire pass from his sight’— he realized that the fire was fast
getting spent. But the spark of human kindness had died in him and literally too, he chose to let the
group’s fire die. He would perish, but he would take the others he hated down with him as well.

The last man of this forlorn group

Did nought except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.

For the first time in the poem ‘The Cold Within’, the poet foreshadows the fate of the group by finally
describing the bunch as ‘forlorn’ or hopeless. Until then, the poet had reserved judgement, allowing the
reader instead to examine each individual in turn and derive his/her own conclusion.

Unfortunately, we find that the last person also perpetuates the vicious circle of inertia. There is a word for
this person’s attitude — and it is not in the English language. ‘Mahmilapinapatai’, is a word in the
indigenous South American language of the Yaghan people. It refers to a look shared between people,
where each hopes that the other will do something that all of them want, but none are willing to initiate. In
giving just to get, the last person played a losing move in the ‘game’ — a metaphor for the game of Life.

Their logs held tight in death’s still hands

Was proof of human sin.
They didn’t die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.

We witness the grim aftermath of the group’s rigidity of spirit. Death comes and it is personified here with
stilled hands. Each individual became their own agent of death — their hands frozen stiff with their refusal
to act. The fact that each of them still possessed their firewood when they died suggests the twisted
motives in retaining their firewood — proof enough of sin. The final lines abound with Irony. We realize it
was not the cold weather outside that really killed the group after all, it was the cold in their hearts, the
lack of warm human spirits — the cold within.
 THE HEART OF THE TREE

Henry Cuyler Bunner

SIGNPOSTS

 The title suggests the most important quality of the tree.

 The poet puts a simple question at the beginning of every stanza and suggests the answer to the
question.
 The poet in a simple way describes the importance of planting trees.
 Plants are our true friends; they provide us with cool breeze.
 Plants are the embodiment of beauty.
 The man who plants trees provides joy to all – birds, animals and human beings.
 Plants cause rain and thus are a source of regeneration.
 They enrich our forests and provide food to man and animals.
 The man who plants a tree serves his neighbourhood in many ways.
 He helps the country in its progress.
 His heart is overjoyed because by planting a tree he helps his country to grow from sea to sea.

THEMES

18. Importance of Trees for our Survival

19. Concern for the Future of the Earth

STYLE

 Form and Structure

The general pattern followed in the poem is that of the raising a question and then immediately
providing the answer to that question. Literally, this technique is known as Hypophora or Antipophora.
The answers given each time delineate the importance of trees in different spheres of human life. The
repetition of the same question at the beginning of each stanza is intentionally done to create curiosity
or anxiety in the readers.

 Rhyming Scheme

The poem does not have a particular rhyme scheme but the poet has used rhyme to add life to the
poem.

 Alliteration

 Metonymy
 It is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is called not by its own name but rather by a
metonym, that is, by the name of something associated in meaning with that thing or concept.
According to the poet, the one who plants a tree plants ‘cool shade’, ‘tender rain’.

APTNESS OF THE TITLE

It is an appropriate title. The heart is one of the most important organs in the entire human body. The
human heart pumps the blood, which carries all the vital materials and nutrients. Only when the heart
pumps the blood, it is able to transport oxygen from one part of the body to another. Similarly, a tree has
certain qualities which are as essential as the human heart for survival. Heart maintains human life; so
does the tree maintain plant and animal life in the universe. The ‘heart’ her thus signifies the most
important quality of the tree.

he Heart of the Tree by the American poet and novelist Henry Cuyler Bunner is a fine piece of poetry with a
simple theme and a simpler structure. The poem was originally published in 1912.
Planting a tree is always a great work for the mankind. But, the poet has found out new ways to look at the
plants and plantation. In his poem The Heart of the Tree he glorifies the act further, shows how a tree
helps life on earth and says that it has a direct connection to a nation’s growth.

All the three stanzas of the poem The Heart of the Tree starts with a refrain with the poet asking what the
man actually plants who plants a tree. Then he chooses to reply it by himself and shows what a tree means
to the humankind and to the nature, thus proving how great that man is.

The rhythm is amazing. The rhyme scheme is ABABBCCAA for each stanza. This is a deviation from the
celebrated Spenserian stanza, a nine line stanza with the scheme ABABBCBCC. Though the language is
simple, careful wordings makes the poem more expressive and obviously musical and attractive.

The Heart of the Tree:

What does he plant who plants a tree?

He plants a friend of sun and sky;

The poem opens with the refrain which asks “What does he plant who plants a tree?” and that sets the tone for the
entire poem. We instantly realize that the poet is going to explain the usefulness of planting a tree. However, the
poet himself answers by stating that the man plants a friend of sun and sky by planting a tree.

A plant grows upwards and aims to reach the sun and the sky. So it is as if the sun and the sky get a new friend in a
tree. Secondly, the tree needs sunlight and air to survive. And finally, the trees seem to absorb the heat and save the
earth from the scorching sun, giving an implication that the sun becomes friendly in the presence of the trees.

He plants the flag of breezes free;

The shaft of beauty towering high;

The speaker now adds that the man plants a flag that flies freely in the mild breeze. The poet here compares the
leafy branches of the tree to a flag and the stem to the beautiful shaft (pole) of the flag that stands tall.
He plants a home to heaven anigh;
For song and mother-croon of bird

By planting a tree the man plants a home for the sweet singing birds high in the sky, near the heaven. So, he keeps
the earth habitable for birds and helps in maintaining the eco-system.

In hushed and happy twilight heard—

The treble of heaven’s harmony—
These things he plants who plants a tree.

In quiet and happy twilight we can hear those birds chirping which is harmonious to heaven’s own tunes.

In the entire first stanza of The Heart of the Tree, the poet accentuates the importance of trees in maintaining the
holistic beauty of nature. Moreover, the use of words like ‘heaven anigh’, ‘heaven’s harmony’ and ‘towering high’ is
aimed at giving an impression that the work of planting a tree is indeed a heavenly and glorious deed.

The finishing line of the stanza forms a logical whole with the opening line, one asking a question and the other
completing the answer.

What does he plant who plants a tree?

He plants cool shade and tender rain,

So, the poet repeats the question to begin a new stanza and attempts to answer again in the subsequent lines. The
tree he plants provides us with cool shade and helps in bringing rain.

And seed and bud of days to be,

And years that fade and flush again;

A tree will produce seed and bud in future. Years will pass silently but the tree will remain there through its seeds
producing new trees.

He plants the glory of the plain;

He plants the forest’s heritage;

Trees are the main elements that make a plain area green and beautiful. So the poet describes trees as ‘the glory of
the plain’. Moreover, today’s single tree may turn into a forest someday. So by planting a tree now the man plants a
‘forest’s heritage’.

The harvest of a coming age;

The joy that unborn eyes shall see—
These things he plants who plants a tree.

The speaker mentions that planting a tree today would give fruits in coming days. Our next generations would be
delighted seeing so much vegetation and reap its benefits. So all the credit goes to the man who plants a tree.

In this stanza of the poem The Heart of the Tree the poet stresses on the importance of planting a tree for making
this earth a better living place for future generations.

What does he plant who plants a tree?

He plants in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
And far-cast thought of civic good—
His blessings on the neighbourhood,
By planting a tree the man shows his love and loyalty for this earth (his home), his sense of civic duty and his
blessings on the neighbourhood. All these are reflected in the ‘sap and leaf and wood’, in every cell of the tree.

Who in the hollow of His hand

Holds all the growth of all our land—
A nation’s growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.

By planting a tree the man directly or indirectly contributes to the nation’s growth. When a tree is planted, it sets in
motion the progress of a nation from sea to sea. And all these start from the progressive thought in the man’s heart
who plants a tree.

The capitalization in ‘His’ indicates that the man who plants a tree is all-powerful and the destiny-maker of a nation.

This last line is very important as it talks about the man’s heart, his feelings, dreams and wishes behind planting the
tree. This also leads to the poem’s title ‘The Heart of the Tree’.

Thus the poet Henry Cuyler Bunner ends up composing an uncommon piece of poetry in ‘The Heart of the Tree’ out
of a common and cliché topic – the usefulness of planting a tree.
 THE PATRIOT

Robert Browning

SIGNPOSTS

 The speaker of the poem, a patriot, received a grand reception from the public a year ago.
 His path was filled with roses and myrtle; the house-roofs were crowded and the church spires were
decorated with flags.
 The old walls of the buildings rocked with the crowd.
 The public admired and honoured him to such an extent that if he asked for the sun, they would have
agreed.
 The tone changes; the speaker regrets that it was he who did every possible thing for the public.
 In the present, things have changed; he is being taken for his execution.
 There is nobody at the house tops now; he walks in the rain towards the Shambles’ Gate with his wrists
tied behind.
 Stones are being thrown at him; his forehead bleeds.
 The speaker accepts his fate; he feels safer in the hands of God now.

THEMES

20. Public’s Fickleness

21. Rise and Fall of Glory
22. Faith in God

STYLE

 Dramatic Monologue

This poem is a dramatic monologue, which is where a single person utters the speech in a specific
situation that makes up the whole of the poem. The poet speaks through the medium of an imagined
character and achieves the same objectivity that characterizes a drama.

 Form and Structure

The poem has six five-line stanzas. The stanzas can be seen as a reflection of different stages in the
patriot’s life. The first three stanzas narrate the story of his heroic past, while the last three reflect his
present unheroic state. The poem follows an asymmetrical pattern ababa to bring out the contrast
between the rise and fall of the patriot.

 Alliteration
 Hyperbole

 Personification

 Metaphor

 Pathetic Fallacy

This is a literary term for attributing human emotions and conduct to all aspects within nature. It is a
kind of personification that is found in poetic writing when, for example, cloud seems sullen, or rocks
seem indifferent. The ‘rain’ in the poem adds to the depressed mood, bringing out the speaker’s inner
crisis and sadness. It also symbolizes ‘losing his dignity’. Also, it can be viewed as the rain washing him
clean, representing his innocence. The rain also works to create a tense atmosphere.

 Irony

 Contrasting Imagery

The poem uses a series of contrasting images to dwell on the speaker’s majestic past and the unheroic
present.

AMBIGUITY IN THE POEM

The poem has certain levels of ambiguity. The readers are not told what the patriot had done to be so
popular so as to be receiving a grand reception. The readers are not aware of the place and time of the
setting of the action. The reason for his execution remains unknown. The poem never tells us if the
patriot is innocent or if his execution is fair.

INNOCENT DEPICTION OF THE SPEAKER

Though the poem does not tell us the reason for the patriot’s execution, the readers tend to sympathize
with him. Even if he committed a treacherous act, it is never made explicit. The narrative gaps within the
poem suggest that the narrator is hiding something sinister. But Browning has very skillfully depicted him
innocent. His innocence is justified with his sense of resignation in the end.

The Patriot: About the poem

The Patriot is a dramatic monologue written by the renowned English poet and playwright Robert
Browning. He is well known for his dramatic monologues and is widely celebrated as one of the foremost
poets of the Victorian era. In this poem, Browning talks about Politics, Patriotism, Religious faith, and the
harsh reality of the leaders who are true to their sense of patriotism. It speaks about the sacrifice of such
leaders who are misunderstood by the people.
The speaker of the poem is a patriot. The poem is a monologue of this ‘patriot speaker’ who narrates his
tale to us as he has been taken to the scaffold to be executed publicly for his ‘misdeeds’. He tells us of his
situation: how he was once well loved by everyone, and how he is now despised by the same people. The
patriot is innocent of having done any misdeeds, and it is only out of the misunderstanding of the people
that he is being put to death. His death sentence is for the wrong reason, and although he’s tried to
persuade the people to listen to him, it has done him no good.

‘The Patriot’ is a harsh critique on public sentiment and morality. It stresses on the point that not all
decisions made or supported by the people are the right decisions, or even in their own interest. The poem
has a sense of universality to it as history has witnessed the rise and fall of many such ‘patriots’
throughout its course — a grim reminder that life is uncertain!.

Form and structure of the poem

The Patriot has a curious structure of six stanzas of five lines each. A quick scansion reveals that the poem
in not based on a strict metre. The length of a majority of lines is nine syllables, with a few going a syllable
or two beyond that mark. Instead of the metre the musical quality is achieved by the careful placement of
words.

The poem has a clear rhyme scheme of ababa which is carried and maintained throughout all the stanzas
of the poem. As with any good poem with a definitive rhyme, this one too seems to have made a prodigal
use of assonance and consonance.
In the first two stanzas the poem introduces the conditions of the past. The third stanza is the poet’s
revelation on how and why the conditions changed, and that too against him. The fourth and the fifth
stanza contrasts the past with the present. The last stanza is the poet’s acceptance of his condition and an
expression of his hope. It can be seen that the poem follows an orderly sequence of a story where the
conditions of the past are told, the impetus for the change is discussed, the present state is shown and a
final conclusion is drawn on all things as a whole. This makes the sub-title of the poem ‘An old story’ all the
more relevant.

The poem starts with the patriot describing an event – a grand public welcome – that took place a year ago
on that very same day. He is reminiscing the past, and he builds a picture for us as he remembers that day.
His walking path was covered with lots and lots of rose petals, with myrtle mixed in them. The path was
festooned with these flower for him.

People standing on the roofs of their houses cheered for him as he passed by. They were overjoyed to see
him. The spires of the church – pointed tapering roofs we generally see on old cathedrals and similar
buildings – were covered with flaming flags that the people had put up for a celebration. People were
overwhelmingly delighted to greet their hero and were enthusiastic to see him as he passed by.

It is only logical to assume that this grand celebration must be as a result of some achievement on the
speaker’s part. Perhaps it was a victory in war or the assemblage for fighting one, or winning a popular
election to an office, or being nominated as a ruler, or maybe something else. It can be assumed at this
point in the poem that it concerned the common people highly, and they were happy on the occasion. The
patriot is seen as a public hero in this stanza who is greeted with much love and affection by the
commoners.
The air broke into a mist with bells,
The old walls rocked with the crowd and cries.
Had I said, “Good folk, mere noise repels —
But give me your sun from yonder skies!”
They had answered, “And afterward, what else?”

In the second stanza of the poem, the speaker continues narrating the old story from the same day a year
ago. He describes the event to the readers. People were rejoicing by ringing bells and the entire
atmosphere was thick with its noise. They were standing on some kind of old structure and cheering for
the patriot with their cries rocking the walls.

Now the patriot says, had he asked the public for anything – even the dearest things on which their
sustenance depends – they would have readily given it to him; such great was his image. They would then
ask him what else he wanted.

We can see the exuberance of the people at the sight of the patriot. The poet is trying to establish the kind
of popularity the speaker had through this stanza.

Alack, it was I who leaped at the sun

To give it my loving friends to keep!
Nought man could do, have I left undone:
And you see my harvest, what I reap
This very day, now a year is run.

The third stanza of the poem is the speaker’s discourse on what all he did for his country. It begins with the
poet giving a subtle reference to the old Greek mythological tale of Icarus and Daedalus. Icarus was the son
of the great Inventor Daedalus and the story revolves around the escape of these two men from a high
tower where they were held prisoners by making wings out of bird feathers and wax. Icarus, taken aback
with the ability of flight, flies too close to the sun, which causes the wax in his wings melt and his eventual
fall which kills him.

Just like Icarus, the speaker admits that he too was overly ambitious and ‘leaped at the sun’. Giving the sun
his “loving friends to keep” may suggest that his actions somehow caused the death of his close friends.
Here again, we can hypothesize that the patriot is talking about some battle that claimed the lives of his
dear ones.

He did everything a man could have done to make things right. Despite this he is facing his undeserved
end. He calls to attention the miserable state he is in. The terms ‘harvest’ and ‘reap’ are closely seen as
common metaphors for karma, and the poet uses this to convey that what he is facing is not what he truly
deserves. He says it has been a year since that day. Here, the poet ends the speaker’s flashback.

There’s nobody on the house-tops now—

Just a palsied few at the window set
For the best of the sight is, all allow,
At the shambles’ gate— or, better yet
By the scaffold’s very foot, I trow.

The speaker returns to the present and talks about what he sees. He describes the present setting and in a
way contrasts it with the one on the same day a year ago. Now he has been convicted and is being led to
the gallows to be put to death.
As opposed to the setting in the first stanza, now the place is all empty. Now there’s nobody on the roof-
tops cheering him. Only old men who are taken down by palsy (a disease) and unable to cross the
threshold of their houses are watching the patriot as he marches towards his death.

The reason why no one is there to see the speaker is because people have gathered at the Shambles’ gate,
the gate of the gallows, to see him die. The people want to be where the action is. The speaker further
makes the heart-touching comment that the best sight is at the gate of the slaughterhouse, or at the very
foot of the scaffold.

I go in the rain, and, more than needs,

A rope cuts my wrists behind;
And I think, by the feel, of my forehead bleeds
For they fling, whoever has a mind,
Stones at me for my year’s misdeeds.

The fifth stanza is the continuation of the previous one and further describes the speaker’s humiliation at
the hands of the people. The poet starts with filling up the setting even more. It is raining as the speaker is
walking towards the scaffold. His hands are tied behind by a tight rope – so tight that it cuts his wrists. He
has now arrived closer to the ‘Shambles’ Gate’ where all the people are gathered. The patriot is in his own
mind, knowing the steadfast certainty of death ahead of him.

As he is walking, he thinks he is bleeding from his forehead. He can only feel the trickling of blood. People
throwing stones at him are causing the injuries. So stones have replaced the petals of roses! He says that
the people who are throwing stones are the ones who have an active mind, and are aware of his
‘misdeeds’. The speaker doesn’t seem to be angry with these people for throwing stones at him. It
suggests, that despite the treatment he is receiving, he doesn’t blame the people; he knows that they have
misunderstood him.

Thus I entered, and thus I go!

In triumphs, people have dropped down dead.
“Paid by the world, what dost thou owe
Me?”—God might question; now instead,
’Tis God shall repay: I am safer so.

The last stanza of the poem reflects on the patriot’s death. It is full of philosophical and religious
ideas. “Thus I entered and thus I go” – his entry and exit from life, position and people’s minds in the
presence of so many others – sums up the speaker’s life well.
He says that in (his) triumphs, people have dropped (him) down dead. This suggests that he looks at his
predicament as a triumph. He believes that he stood by the right things and thus considers himself
victorious in defeat.

The final three lines of the stanza deal with the ideas of the speaker. Yet again we see Browning’s stout
religious belief. He believes that god might say “Your sins were already washed away when you died. The
people sought to it. They punished you; what now do you expect from me? You are now free of all
corruption”. Thus, the patriot thinks that the punishment he got in the mortal world has purged him, and
that he hopes to go to heaven instead of hell. He feels safer knowing that god knows he stood for what he
thought was right and thus he will be safe under him.

As a conclusive note, we must remember that it is not possible to establish the gullibility or innocence of
the patriot in the poem. On one hand we see the speaker himself admitting that he did some misdeeds,
whilst on the other hand we see him as a patriot who is mistaken — at least the title suggests that. It might
be so that he is guilty of some things he did which he thought were right. It might even be so that he is
truly innocent and is simply put to death because the people wish so.
However, the poem ends on a note of optimism with Browning’s own philosophy “God’s in His Heaven,
and all’s Right with the World”. The ‘Patriot’ believes that it is God who will reward him according to his
true merit.