My Mother At Sixty Six

By Kamala Das

About Kamala Das

Kamala Das is an Indian writer in English. She wrote lots of confessional poems expressing the experiences of being an Indian woman. The poet wrote under the pen-name, Madhavikutty. Some of her popular works include ‘An Introduction,’ ‘A Hot Noon in Malabar,’ and ‘My Grandmother’s House’. She writes in a matter-of-fact tone and her honesty and boldness in expressing her thoughts often keep her critics and readers spell-bound. Kamala Das has written poems, short stories, memoirs, and novels as well. “The Times” had called her the Mother of Modern English Indian Poetry.

Introduction: ‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ is an emotional poem that describes a daughter’s feelings toward her mother. Kamala Das has written this poem. She is an acclaimed Indian woman writer in English. She expresses her concern over her mother’s aging in this poem. Through the lines of this poem, the poet has poured her fear of losing her mother as a daughter. This is a confessional poem that presents the common feelings daughters have for their mothers. In this regard, this poem is a representational work.

Summary

‘My Mother at Sixty-Six’ is a poem that confesses a daughter’s fear of losing her mother. Firstly, the daughter, that is the poet, is surprised to realize that her mother is aging. Secondly, she notices how the rest of the world appears young and energetic. This is in contrast to her mother who continues to age. Thirdly, the poet expresses her apprehension over losing her mother if the old woman dies. Finally, the poet says how she hides her true feelings and smiles outwardly. She wishes to show her love for her mother.

The poet is the confessor of feelings in this poem. She describes her feelings for her mother while traveling in a car. It is during one of her visits to her mother’s place. The poet looks at her mother’s face and realizes that her mother had grown old. She is disturbed by the fact that her mother may soon die of old age. She becomes emotional and tries to distract herself by looking out at the passing scenery. The poet records the contrasting nature of the scenery: there are young trees and playing children. They represent the freshness and youth of what is on earth, while her mother looks old and frail.

In the final part of the poem, the poet expresses her fear of losing her mother to death. Even as a young girl, the poet had similar feelings and fears. She was so afraid of losing her mother that she would never leave her for a moment. The poet, even as a grown-up daughter, experiences a similar emotion. However, she can hide her fears. She smiles at her mother. She tries to express her love and affection to her aging mother, as the poet bids goodbye.

Detailed Analysis of the poem

Stanza -1

Driving from my parent’s home to Cochin last Friday

Morning, I saw my mother, beside me,

doze, open-mouthed, her face ashen like that

of a corpse and realized with pain

that she was as old as she looked….

Explanation – In this first stanza, the poetess is describing about her old mother. The poetess remembers the day when driving her car .she was going to Cochin airport. Her mother was sitting beside her in the car . The mother was going to see the poetess. But on the way when the poetess turned to look at her mother, she was dozing (sleeping) and her mouth was opened. And her face was seeming as pale as a Corpse (dead person). Suddenly a painful and sorrowful thought came into the mind of the poetess. She realized that her mother has grown very old and she’s not going to live long.

Stanza -2.

….but soon

put that thought away, and looked out at Young

Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling

out of their homes, but after the airport’s

security check, standing a few yards

away, I looked again at her,

Explanation – The poetess immediately put that painful thought away from her mind and from the window of the car, she looked out at young trees alongside the road. Which seemed running very fast. And she also looked like happy children who were coming and running out of their houses in large numbers. Finally, the poetess reached the airport and she had to go through a security check there. Her mother was standing a few yards away from her. At that point once again she looked at her mother. It must be remembered that while coming in the car, the poetess and her mother did not speak a single word to each other. Still, she was staring at her mother from a distance. It is a thoughtful fact that what kind of attitude the modern youths have towards their old aged beloved one.

Stanza – 3

………..wan, pale

As a late winter’s moon and felt that old

familiar ache, my childhood’s fear ,

but all I said was, see you soon, Amma,

all I did was smile and smile and smile……

Explanation – After Security Check, the poetess looked at her mother who was standing a few yards away from her. She was looking weak and pale. Her face was looking just like a yellowing moon of the late winter season. The poetess felt some old familiar pain and fear. It was the same as she had felt in her childhood but she could not speak a single word to her mother. The only words she could speak were “See you soon Amma”. And she (poetess) smiled and smiled and smiled. These words highlight that the youths of Modern times have deep sympathy for their old aged beloved ones. But they are unable to express their sympathy properly. This is the end of the explanation of the poem “My Mother At Sixty Six”.

An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum

Stephen Spender

Introduction:

The poem concentrates on the theme of social injustice and class inequalities. The plight of impoverished, and deprived children of a school in a slum area is described here. Their classroom is shabby; the pictures on the wall depict the wonderful world outside, which is out of reach for the children. The children are condemned to a dismal life as they are caught in a web of poverty and exposed to the indifference of the society around them. It is inhuman to show them glimpses of a better world, confusing them, tempting them to give in to deception and using unfair means to achieve what that world promises. The poet concludes with the hope that someone who is in a position to help them, (governor, inspector, visitor) will take on the moral responsibility of giving these children meaningful education and leading them from their narrow alleys and bleak worlds to the wonderful world of letters. If that is not done, then these classrooms will be the cemetery of their dreams.

Summary

An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum’ by Stephen Spender presents the description of the poor children in the first stanza. The children who read in that elementary school have some common physical features. Their faces seem to the poet as “rootless weeds” and their “hair torn around their pallor” or pale face. There is a tall girl in the class. Her physique is so weak that her body cannot hold the weight of her head. The eyes of a boy in the class look like that of a rat. Another boy sitting in the classroom has some hereditary bone disorder. He is seen by the poet reading his lesson. “At the back of the dim class,” an “unnoted, sweet and young” boy is dreaming about the “squirrel’s game.”

In the second stanza, Stephen Spender says that the white walls or “sour creams walls” of the classroom contain the inscriptions of donations besides the picture of Shakespeare. Thereafter the poet provides the details of the outside world, which is much different from that of the slum kids. There are “civilized domes” and the “flowery” valleys like Australian Tyrol. The kids living in that world have an “open-handed” map to discover whatever places they want. In contrast, the children of the slum school cannot come out of “their world.” The “narrow street” of their world is sealed in with the “lead sky,” symbolizing darkness and pessimism. At last, the poet reiterates that those kids are deprived of the scenic beauties of the “civilized world”

In the third stanza, The poet thinks that the ships, sun, and love in Shakespeare’s works might have tempted the slum children to dream. When they come out of their dreamy world, they find themselves in their “cramped” hole-like rooms and the heap of “slag” around. These children suffer from malnutrition. They have other physical ailments too. There are no scopes of improvement in their “foggy slum.” That’s why Stephen Spender tells the privileged class to “blot their maps with slums as big as doom.”

At last, the poet is sure about their upheaval. The agents of the upper class have tried to shut the window of opportunity upon their lives. Spender thinks it cannot stop them. One day they will break open the shackles and run to the green fields. The golden sands below and the azure sky above will be their world. Nature with her books’ white and green pages will provide knowledge and inspiration. They don’t need the linguistics of the “class” since they know the language of nature. With this note of optimism, Stephen Spender ends his poem, ‘An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum.’

Detailed explanation of the poem

Stanza 1

Far far from gusty waves these children's faces.

Like rootless weeds, the hair torn round their pallor:

The tall girl with her weighed-down head. The paper-

Seeming boy, with rat's eyes. The stunted, unlucky heir

Of twisted bones, reciting a father's gnarled disease,

His lesson, from his desk. At the back of the dim class

One unnoted, sweet and young. His eyes live in a dream

Of squirrel's game, in tree room, other than this.

Word meaning

1. Gusty waves: breezy winds
2. Pallor: pale, dull face
3. Stunted: not fully grown due to malnutrition
4. Gnarled: Knotted, rough
5. weeds: unwanted plants that grow on their own
6. Paper seeming boy: Very thin boy, as thin as a sheet of paper
7. heir: Successor

Explanation: The poet describes the children who study in an elementary school that is setup in a slum area. The poet says that the faces of children are dull and without any energy. They are not full of energy like other kids of their age. These children are compared to unwanted weed. Here the writer wants to say that these children seem to be unwanted like the unwanted weeds which grow on their own in the fields. Their hair is not neatly done. It falls on their pale faces as if they have been torn apart. The children are untidy, they haven’t combed their hair. Then he describes a tall girl who seems to be burdened by poverty. Her head is bent maybe because of tiredness or shame. There is another boy who is so weak and thin that he has been compared to a sheet of paper. The boy’s eyes reflect greed and he wants to achieve everything. Then he describes another student who is physically disabled. The poet says that this boy is unlucky because he inherited a disease from his father due to which he has a deformed body. Instead of getting any facility from his father, he has received disease in heritage. This disabled boy is sitting on his bench and is reciting his lesson. At the back of the class, in dim, dark area, was a small boy who was not visible to the poet as he was sitting in darkness. The poet could see his eyes which were bright and full of a dream. He was not paying attention to the class. It seemed as if he was rather interested in playing with squirrels in the tree house.

Literary devices:

Simile: children are compared with rootless weed (like rootless weed)

Metaphor: boy is compared with paper as he is thin (paper seeming boy)

Repetition: use of far to stress on the distance

Stanza 2

On sour cream walls, donations. Shakespeare’s head,

Cloudless at dawn, civilized dome riding all cities.

Belled, flowery, Tyrolese valley. Open-handed map

Awarding the world its world. And yet, for these

Children, these windows, not this map, their world,

Where all their future’s painted with a fog,

A narrow street sealed in with a lead sky

Far far from rivers, capes, and stars of words.

Word meaning

1. Sour: unpleasant, here refers to the colour of sour cream -off white or creamish
2. Donations: things given or received in charity
3. Dawn: early morning, sunrise
4. civilized dome: here, it means rising sun at the horizon which is in the shape of a dome (semi–circle)
5. Tyrolese valley: A beautiful ice-free valley in Austria
6. Sealed: shut or locked
7. lead: here, dark future of kids
8. Capes: A large piece of land that sticks out into the sea from the coast

Explanation The poet describes the walls of the school. They are cream in colour like the colour of sour cream. This means that the walls are not clean, they have not been painted recently. The walls are covered with different charts and images that must have been donated by different people. There is a picture of Shakespeare on the wall. His head which is bald looks like the rising sun at the horizon. At the time of daybreak, the Sun is rising at the horizon and is semi-circular like a dome shape. It seems to be behind all the cities. There is a picture of the famous Tyrolese valley which has beautiful flowers. There is the image of a map which helps all in its own way. But for these children, the map of the world is irrelevant because the slum where they live is different from what is shown in the map. Their world is only what they see out of the window of the classroom – the slum. Their future is full of darkness. Their future is compared to a narrow street which means that there is no wide scope available for their future growth. These children are far away from the radiant light of knowledge and education.

Literary devices:

Metaphor:

1. Walls are described to be dull as sour cream (sour cream walls)

2. The future of the kids is described as limited (Narrow Street sealed with a lead sky)

Assonance: repetition of vowel sound ‘e’ (Belled, flowery, Tyrolese valley)

Allusion: Reference to a well-known person or place (Shakespeare’s head, Tyrolese valley)

Repetition: ‘far’ repeated

Stanza 3

Surely, Shakespeare is wicked, the map a bad example,

With ships and sun and love tempting them to steal—

For lives that slyly turn in their cramped holes

From fog to endless night? On their slag heap, these children

Wear skins peeped through by bones and spectacles of steel

With mended glass, like bottle bits on stones.

All of their time and space are foggy slums.

So blot their maps with slums as big as doom

Word meaning

Wicked: evil

Tempted: persuade

Slyly: trickily

Cramped: confined

Slag: weak

Mended: repaired

Blot: to mark with a spot

Doom: disaster

Explanation The poet further says that these children living in the slum area have faced so many hardships that they feel every other person to be their enemy. For them, Shakespeare is an evil man. They don’t find the map to be a good thing. They were never liked or loved by anyone. Therefore they hate almost everyone. Their desire of being loved by others forces them to steal. They live in small homes and they have started adjusting to it. Their life is going towards an endless night. This means that their future is full of darkness. These kids are so thin that one can easily see their bones through the thin layer of skin. Their skin is like a thin layer of cloth and the bones beneath are visible through the skin. These kids suffer from malnutrition. They wear spectacles which are made of steel. They are cheap and very uncomfortable. Even the lenses in the spectacles are repaired. The spectacles look like stones that have been repaired with pieces of glass sticking out of them. Here the poet tries to explain that these kids have to face so many hardships in their lives. As these slums are getting bigger, they will destroy the future of these children and it is very difficult for such kids to escape from them.

Literary devices:

Metaphor: Their homes are very small like holes (cramped holes)

Simile- their repaired spectacles (like bottle bits on stones)

Alliteration: Use of ‘f’ sound (From fog)

Stanza 4

Unless, the governor, inspector, visitor,

This map becomes their window and these windows

That shut upon their lives like catacombs,

Break O break open till they break the town

And show the children to green fields, and make their world

Run azure on gold sands, and let their tongues

Run naked into books the white and green leaves open

History theirs whose language is the sun.

Word meaning

Catacombs: tomb, cemetery

Azure: deep blue

Explanation The poet says that the government should take notice of the problems being faced by these kids. He urges them to change the life of these kids and make the world map a reality for them. There is a need to break the restrictions which are put on them due to poverty and lack of resources. He wants the governor and the public to help these kids in achieving their dreams. As this will take them away from fog to the azure sky, the poet here wants to say that in this way the kids can be taken away from the darkness of their present to a bright future. He wants these kids to experience the sands and the beauty of nature as this will led to a desire of gaining knowledge. They will then go through the white and green leaves. Here white leaves depict books and green leaves depict nature. This will then result in their progress and they will be able to paint a bright future for themselves.

Literary devices

Metaphor: books and nature are expressed in form of white and green leaves (the white-green leaves open)

Anaphora: Use of repeated words in two consecutive lines (Run azure And Run naked)

Keeping Quiet

Pablo Neruda

Introduction: This is an anti-war poem and the poet feels that the need of the hour is introspection and meditation and a higher level of existence. Only this will save the world from self-destruction. He appeals to the people to slow down the pace of their lives. This period of life will benefit mankind immensely. Wars lead to total destruction and hollow victories with no survivors. Stopping all activities and sharing of silence is the only hope for a peaceful world. However, total inactivity is not what the poet advocates and neither does he think death is the answer. He advises the people to let the earth be our teacher. Just as, when earth may look dead, life goes on under the surface, preserving seeds to sprout later etc. in the same way, from our silence will come true knowledge and the meaning of life. We should make a conscious and resolute effort to calm the mind, stop all activity and do some quiet introspection. Then we can hope for mutual understanding among human beings, and harmony among the people of the world.

Theme: Only by keeping quiet and stopping all destructive activities can we find peace and tranquillity. Silence creates a unique moment when all differences are removed and a feeling of brotherhood prevails. It provides an opportunity for introspection and a better understanding of self.

Summary “Keeping Quiet” is a peace poem written by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The poet asks humanity to count numbers from one to twelve – twelve being the number of hours shown in a clock or the number of zodiac signs. He requests everyone not to speak because languages create barriers between people. The moment when everyone stops moving their body will be very special and different as we have never experienced such a moment before.
The poet says that in this period of inactivity the fishermen would not harm the whales, the salt gatherers will not hurt their hands, those who are busy destroying the nature will adopt a new approach toward life, The men who are preparing for wars and victory based on deaths of innocent people will join their enemy and stand in unity with them, doing nothing. No one will harm himself or any other person. Everyone will unite and ponder upon his acts and realize the results of his deeds.
The poet clarifies his idea and says further that he does not want that people should stand idle. He wants that there should be no war because he does not want to see trucks laden with dead bodies of the soldiers. He is promoting Universal brotherhood and peace.
The poet says that everyone is working continuously, to achieve one’s goals. People are threatened by death and fear forces them to work endlessly so that they can achieve everything quickly. In this mad rush, they do not realize the repercussions of their acts. He wants us to pause and come out of the mad rush. He wants us to be happy about our achievements and celebrate them. He wants us to overcome the fear of death and to relax for a while. We should know the results of our deeds and celebrate our achievements. When people will remain quiet for a while, they will realize the purpose of their lives. Just like all the creations of nature undergo a rebirth with the change of seasons, similarly, keeping quiet will be a rebirth for the human soul. It will give a new meaning to our life. Again, the poet says that he will count till twelve and asks everyone to remain quiet while he leaves.

Detailed analysis of the poem

First stanza

Now we will count to twelve

and we will all keep still

for once on the face of the earth,

let’s not speak in any language;

let’s stop for a second,

and not move our arms so much.

Explanation:  

i. The poet asks everyone to count up to twelve in their mind. The number twelve represents the hours of the day or the months of a year.

ii. He wants all of us to be calm and still.

 iii. People across the nations have to unite together, so, they shall not speak their own languages, rather they all shall keep quiet and speak the language of silence.

 iv. This will bring unity among all the humans on the face of the Earth.

 v. For at least one moment, no one shall move his arms either to signal, or to fight, or argue with each other.

 The poet here requests everyone to count till twelve in their own mind and to stop for a while. Maybe this ‘twelve’ referred by the poet is the twelve hours in the clock or the twelve months in a year. He wants everyone to stop and calm down. The poet urges everyone not to speak any language. As we all know that there are different languages spoken in different parts of the earth which sometimes become a barrier in our way for peace. So, he asks people not to speak. Not only this, but he also wants us to stop moving our arms. By using the word ‘arms’ he means the weapons which are used by different countries to raise a war against each other. So basically the poet is demanding peace from all of us.

Literary devices:

Assonance: Use of vowel sound ‘o’ and ‘e’ (Now we will count to twelve, not move our arms so much)

Anaphora: Two consecutive lines starting with the word ‘Let’s’

let’s not speak in any language,

let’s stop for one second,

Alliteration: the repetition of a consonant sound at the start of 2 or more closely placed words.

‘we will’ - ‘w’ sound is repeated

Second stanza

It would be an exotic moment

without rush, without engines,

we would all be together

in a sudden strangeness

Fishermen in the cold sea

would not harm whales

and the man gathering salt

would look at his hurt hands

Explanation

When everything will come to a standstill, it will be a rare situation.

i. No one will be in a rush, there will be no engines running.

ii. Everyone will be calm and quiet, united with each other in a strange atmosphere.

iii. It will be strange because it has never happened earlier.

iv. No person would be harming any other living being either for food or to earn his livelihood.

v. All the people who work endlessly will get some time to look at their injuries and the damage they have caused to their bodies.

Poet says that it would be a rare situation when there will be no engines working. Here he wants to stay that if everything comes to standstill, it will be a very different moment. If all the engines like the vehicles and machines stop, then there will be a sudden, strange situation as the world will experience a sudden calmness. People will not be in a rush to achieve material things one after another. Further, the poet says that the fisherman will also stop and not harm whales in the sea. This means that the poet is urging everyone not to harm the animals. Here he gives the example of whales that are being hunted for the purpose of food or trade. He also wants people to calm down so that they can stop and see what they have achieved or lost. For this, he gives the example of the man who gathers salt, whose hands are hurt. Here he wants everyone to stop for a while in order to see and feel their achievements and how much they have lost for the sake of attaining such materialistic things.

Literary devices:

Alliteration- ‘we would’ - ‘w’ sound is repeated, ‘sudden strangeness’ - ‘s’ sound is repeated,

‘his hurt hands’ - ‘h’ sound is repeated

Third stanza

Those who prepare green wars,

wars with gas, wars with fire,

victory with no survivors,

would put on clean clothes

and walk about with their brothers

in the shade, doing nothing.

What I want should not be confused

with total inactivity.

Life is what it is about;

I want no truck with death

Explanation

i. The people who exploit the green wealth of nature by deforestation, or mining, or fishing in the deep seas and the soldiers who use weapons to kill fellow human beings need some time to introspect into the consequences of their actions. They are merely doing their job or following orders.

ii. He wants them to put on ‘new clothes’ i.e. to adopt a new approach towards life and to realize that killing so many people is not a victory.

iii. He wants all of us to be united as one, consider our enemy to be our brother.

iv. He is promoting brotherhood, peace and unity.

v. He does not want us to stop our work but to take some time and analyze the results of our deeds.

The poet asks everyone to stop those activities which are damaging the environment. Today all the human beings are making money by damaging the environment with their activities such as mining, deforestation, letting the chemical waste into rivers, etc. The poet asks us not to do so. He also requests people not to involve in wars as there is no benefit of achieving such a victory in which no one is left alive. He says so because wars and environmental damage will lead to no life on earth. Rather, he wants people

To adopt a new approach towards life and mankind. He says that you should treat your enemy like brothers and promote peace and harmony in the world.

Literary devices:

Alliteration: ‘wars with’ - ‘w’ sound is repeated, ‘clean clothes’ - ‘c’ sound is repeated

Assonance: use of vowel ‘o’ (victory with no survivors, would put on clean clothes and walk about with their brothers)

Repetition: use of ‘war

Fourth stanza

If we were not so single-minded

about keeping our lives moving,

and for once could perhaps a huge silence

might interrupt this sadness

of never understanding ourselves

and of threatening ourselves with death

Explanation

i. All human beings work endlessly with the aim of completing all their tasks.

ii. They are driven by the target of survival and the threat of death.

iii. So they are in a mad rush to accomplish all their works.

iv. He says that perhaps, if they pause for a while, they can appreciate their achievements and their lives would become happier.

v. He suggests that by keeping quiet, we will be able to understand the true purpose of our life.

Now the poet wants to clarify to his readers that when he asks them to stop from saying or doing anything, he doesn’t want anyone to become a non-active person. Non active is a person who remains idle and doesn’t do anything. Here, he simply means that we should stop and see the consequences of our deeds. The poet doesn’t want to see people being killed due to their greed for money and expansion of territories. Further, he says that people are continuously working to achieve their tasks without even thinking about their results. They are in fear of death and therefore, want to achieve most of the things before their death. Here he urges them to stop for a while and take some moment to relish on what they have achieved till now. Everyone here is living a life in which he wants to achieve various things one after another. But now the poet says it is the time to stop and see what has been achieved and should be enjoyed. This will help us skip the sadness which has become so prominent in our lives. The sadness of not enjoying what we have achieved and the greed to achieve what next is in the list to be achieved.

Literary devices

Alliteration: we were, so single-minded

Enjambment: and for once could perhaps a huge silence……..of threatening ourselves with death.

Fifth stanza

Perhaps the Earth can teach us

as when everything seems dead

and later proves to be alive.

Now I’ll count up to twelve

and you keep quiet and I will go

Explanation

The poet suggests us to take teaching from nature.

i. As the Earth undergoes changes, in winter, everything freezes, and becomes lifeless but after some time, the season changes again, and everything comes back to life.

ii. Similarly, taking a pause and introspecting into our lives will give it a new meaning. We will be able to understand the purpose of our life. It will be like a re birth of the soul.

iii. The poet has conveyed to all the people the purpose of his message and so, he asks them once again to take a pause, count till twelve and walks out of the scene, keeping the scene open for all the people on the Earth to experience this for times to come.

So, now the poet suggests to the human beings that we should learn a lesson from Earth. During the winters everything freezes and becomes lifeless. But when season changes and it’s the onset of spring season, everything present in nature such as the trees, birds, rivers, etc. gets life. So here, the poet, by giving the example of nature, wants to say that all human beings should stop and try to judge their deeds. They can try and make their life better with calmness, and peace. Finally, he ends up by saying that now he will count up to twelve so that we all may become quiet. Here ‘quiet’ means to calm down ourselves and move towards the path of peace and harmony. After saying this he says ‘I will go’. He says so as he has conveyed his message to the people and wants them to be left alone to think about it and work in the direction of peace.

A Thing of Beauty

By John Keats

Introduction 

According To The Poet,  A Thing Of Beauty Is A Source Of Joy Forever.
The Sun, The Moon, Trees, Musk Roses and Daffodils Are All Objects Of Beauty. Its Beauty Never Turn Into Nothingness.  
Excerpt from His Longer Poem 'Endymion'

A Thing of Beauty Summary 

The summary of the Poem “A Thing of Beauty” is given below. ‘A Thing of Beauty– is a poem taken from the poem titled – “Endymion – a poetic romance’ written by the famous poet John Keats. The poet says that a beautiful thing is a source of endless joy. It has eternal beauty which never fades away. A beautiful thing is like a shady shelter that gives us a sleep Full of sweet dreams, good health, and relaxation.

Our attachments to the Earthly things are like a flowery wreath. They are traps that bind us to materialistic things and keep us away from eternal happiness. The Earth is full of hatred, greed, and negativity. According to the poet, the gloom and sadness caused by this negativity fade away with the positive vibes of the beautiful things that surround us.

The poet lists out some of the beautiful things that surround us. As the saying goes -“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. He says that the numerous creations of God like the Sun which gives us energy, the moon’s beauty, and the trees which give us shade are the natural beauties around us. The various animals like the sheep that surround us make our world lively. Pretty flowers like daffodils make the world green and lively. The flowing streams of water cool and refresh us in the hot summer season. The forests which are full of the pretty musk rose flowers are a beautiful sight to the eye. All these are the things of beauty. Also, the stories of the brave soldiers who laid their lives to protect their people are beautiful and inspiring. These beautiful things are like a fountain of immortality bestowed upon us by God. They inspire us to live on and maintain our faith in goodness.

A Thing of Beauty Explanation

Stanza - 1

A thing of beauty is a joy forever

 Its loveliness increases, it will never

Pass into nothingness, but will keep

 A bower quiet for us, and asleep

 Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

Bower: A shady place under the tree

The poet says that beauty stays forever. It never fades away. Rather, it increases with the passing time. The perception of the poet regarding beauty is that it never goes off with the passing time, rather it beautifies more and more. For the poet, beauty is like a beautiful shady tree under whose shade all the creatures can sleep peacefully and enjoy good health.

Literary devices:

Rhyme scheme: aabbc (forever, never, keep, sleep, breathing)

Alliteration: Use of consonant sound at the start of two words that are close in series

(Sleep-Sweet)

Metaphor: bower Quiet (calmness of the bower is compared to the calming effect of a beautiful thing)

Stanza – 2

A flowery band to bind us to the earth,

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways

Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,

Some shape of beauty moves away the pall

From our dark spirits.

Morrow: The following day

Wreathing: surround, encircle

Despondence: depressed

Gloomy: sad

The poet says that every day, it is the beauty that fills us with the spirit to live. It is the beauty that builds the desire in us to live though there are sad moments and cruel people around us. So here the poet wants to say that without beauty the earth will be full of cruel people, sad and gloomy moments. It is the beauty that is created by God which helps us to remove the sadness from our hearts.

Literary devices:

Anaphora: Use of the same word in two consecutive lines (of noble natures- Of all the unhealthy)

Alliteration: Use of consonant sound at the start of two words that are close in series (‘b’ in Band Bind, ‘n’ in Noble nature's in some shape).

Metaphor: wreathing a flowery band (the beautiful things of our life bind us to the earth)

Imagery: creating a sensory effect of beautiful things lined up in a string (A flowery band to bind us)

Inversion: normal order of words is reversed (Are we wreathing a flowery band)

Stanza – 3

Such the sun, the moon,

Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon

For simple sheep; and such are daffodils

With the green world they live in; and clear rills

That for themselves a cooling covert make

‘Giants the hot season; the mid forest brake

Boon: blessing

Rills: a small stream

Brake: a process to slow down

Here the poet describes the beautiful things which are present on earth. These are the sun, moon, trees, flowers (daffodils) and the rivers. Poet says that all these things are like a blessing bestowed on all the creatures by the earth. He further describes that the trees provide us with their shade, flowers with their beauty and rivers with their coolness during the hot summers. All of these are the beauties of nature which are like a boon for us.

Literary devices:

Alliteration: Use of consonant sound at the start of two words that are close in series (‘s’ in Sprouting Shady, Simple sheep, ‘c’ in cooling covert)

Imagery: Trees giving shade (sprouting shady boon), growing process of daffodils (daffodils with the green world they live in), and clean river streams (Clear rills)

Antithesis: opposite words placed together (old and young)

Stanza – 4

Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms

We have imagined for the mighty dead;

All lovely tales that we have heard or read;

An endless fountain of immortal drink,

Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink

Grandeur: high rank or socially important

Mighty: enormous

Immortal: never dying

Brink: edge

The poet further carries on with the description of the more beautiful things present on earth. Such as the beautiful musk roses which have such a nice fragrance. Then he describes the tales of the mighty warriors who laid their lives for their countries or for humanity. He says that these beautiful things are gifts from god for all of us. They are like nectar given by God to us and these are those beauties that are immortal and give us a reason to live on this earth despite having so many sorrows in our life.

Literary devices:

Alliteration: Use of consonant sound at the start of two words that are close in series (‘h’ have heard)

Metaphor: Immortal drinks (beautiful objects of nature are forever like a never-ending portion of a drink)

Rhyme: Rhyme scheme is used in every stanza of the poem (forever; never, keep; sleep, dead; read etc.)

Imagery: Bushes full of musk roses (sprinkling of fair musk rose blooms), books describing valour of fighters (grandeur-..Mighty dead), god providing us with the best things (pouring from the heaven’s brink)

A Roadside Stand

By Robert Frost

ABOUT THE POEM

The poem, A Roadside Stand, is Robert Frost’s criticism of an unequal society where there is a large division between, the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots owing to the iniquitous distribution of wealth. The poem depicts with clarity the plight of the poor and the complex dynamics of their existence. It also so focuses on the unfortunate fact that the unequal progress and development between cities and villages have led to the feeling of distress and unhappiness in the rural people.

POEM’S SUMMARY

The poem “A Roadside Stand”, composed by Robert Frost is about a farmer who puts a little new shed in front of his house on the edge of a road. Several thousands of cars speed past it. He desires to sell wild berries, squash and other products. He does not like charity. He tries to sell his products for money. He believes that money can give him a better lifestyle as he saw in the movies. However, his hopes are never fulfilled. People in cars go past without even giving a cursory look at his stall. And if few of them happen to look at it, they see how the letters N and S had been turned wrong. They believe that such badly painted signs spoil the beauty of the countryside. Nevertheless, a few cars did stop. One of them desired to take a U-turn. It came into the farmer’s yard and spoiled the grass. Another car stopped to know the way. And one of them stopped as it needed petrol, though it was quite evident that the farmer did not sell petrol. The poor village people had little earnings. They have not seen much money. They lead a life of poverty. It is known that some good-doers plan to remove their poverty. They aimed to buy their property on the roadside to build theatres and stores. They plan to shift the villagers into the village huddled together. They wished to teach them the ways that could change their good and healthy habits. They even aimed to teach them to sleep during the daytime. The ‘greedy good-doers and ‘beneficent beasts of prey’ desired to force the benefits on the poor village people and befool them. The poet feels quite miserable at the pitiable sufferings of the poor village folk. He even had a childish desire for all the poor to be done away with at one stroke to end their pain. But he knew that it is childish and vain. So, he desires someone relieves him of his pain by killing him.

Stanza-wise Explanation of the Poem

Stanza 1

“The little old house was out with a little new shed

In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,

A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,

It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread,

But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow supports

The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.”

Word meaning

Sped: the rate at someone or something moves

Dole: a charitable gift of food, clothes or money

Plead: make an emotional appeal

Withering: fade

Faint: lacking conviction or enthusiasm

EXPLANATION

The poem starts with the description of the roadside stand. A small-time farmer who puts a little shed in part of his house several thousands of cars sped past it. He desires to sell wild berries, squash and other products. The farmer does not like charity. He tries to sell his products for money. He believes that money can give him a better lifestyle as he saw in movies.

Stanza 2

The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead,

Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts

At having the landscape marred with the artless paint

Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong

Offered for sale wild berries in wooden quarts,

Or crook-necked golden squash with silver warts,

Or beauty rest in a beautiful mountain scene,

Word meaning

Marred: spoiled

Quarts: vessel

Explanation

However, his hopes are never fulfilled. People in cars go past without even giving a cursory look at his stall and if few of them happened to look at it, they see how the letters N and S had been turned wrong. They believe that such badly painted signs spoil the beauty of the countryside.

Stanza 3

You have the money, but if you want to be mean,

Why keep your money (this crossly) and go along.

THE hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint

So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid:

Here far from the city, we make our roadside stand

And ask for some city money to feel in the hand

To try if it will not make our expanding,

And give us the life of the moving pictures’ promise

That the party in power is said to be keeping from us.

word meaning

moving pictures: movies

Explanation

The farmer tells the rich to keep their money if they are meant to be so cruel and mean. He is not hurt that they do not notice the stand but he is hurt at the way he is treated and ignored. He wishes for some city life and money which he has seen in movies and other media but the political parties are denying him all this plush life.

Stanza 4

It is in the news that all these pitiful kin

Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in

To live in villages, next to the theatre and the store,

Where they won’t have to think for themselves anymore,

While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey,

Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits

That are calculated to soothe them out of their wits,

And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day,

Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way.

Word meaning

Beneficent: charitable or do-gooders

Explanation

It is known that some good-doers plan to remove their poverty. They aimed to buy their property on the roadside to build theatres and stores. Good-doers plan to shift the villagers into the village huddled together. They wished to teach them the ways that could change their good and healthy habits. They even aimed to teach them to sleep during the daytime. The greedy good doers and beneficent beasts of prey desire to force the benefits on the poor village people and befool them.

Stanza 5

Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear

The thought of so much childish longing in vain,

The sadness that lurks near the open window there,

That waits all day in almost open prayer

For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car,

Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass,

Just one to inquire what a farmer’s prices are.

And one did stop, but only to plow up grass

In using the yard to back and turn around;

And another to ask the way to where it was bound;

And another to ask if could they sell a gallon of gas

They couldn’t (this crossly); they had none, didn’t it see?

Word meaning

Longing: a yearning desire

Lurks: be or remain hidden so as to wait in ambush for someone or something

Squeal: long, high–pitched cry or noise

Plow up: move in a fast and uncontrolled manner

Explanation

Frost talks about his own personal feelings. He is intolerable towards the farmer’s battered hopes. The windows of the farmer’s house just ache to hear the sound of a car stopping to make some purchase. However, they are always disappointed as the cars stop either to enquire about the police or about the gas stations

Stanza 6

No, in country money, the country scale of gain,

The requisite lift of spirit has never been found,

Or so the voice of the country seems to complain,

I can’t help owning the great relief it would be

To put these people at one stroke out of their pain.

And then the next day as I come back into the sane,

I wonder how I should like you to come to me

And offer to put me gently out of my pain.

Word meaning

Requisite: a thing that is necessary for the achievement of a specified end

Stroke: moving your hand slowly and gently over something or someone

Explanation

The poet feels quite discrete at the pitiable sufferings of the poor village folk. He even had a childish desire for all the poor to be done away with at one stroke to end their pain. But he knew that it is childish and vain. So he desired someone relieves him of his pain by killing him.

Poem’s analysis

Form (structure or pattern) of the poem – The poem has 56 lines divided in 6 Stanzas.

Style (literary elements used by the poet) of the poem – The poem is written in a rhyme scheme of ABAB.

Tone (the poet’s or reader’s attitude towards the subject) of the poem – The poem has a sympathetic tone.

Poetic Devices

Metaphor – A figure of speech that directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. From the poem:

“Trusting Sorrow”

Alliteration – The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. From the poem:

“Greedy good-doers”

“Beneficent Beasts”

Personification – A literary tool where you assign the qualities of a person to something that isn’t human. From the poem:

“A roadside stand that too pathetically pled”

Transferred Epithet – A figure of speech in which the syntactic relationship between two terms is interchanged. From the poem:

“Polished Traffic”

“Selfish cars”

Oxymoron – A figure of speech containing words that seem to contradict each other. From the poem:

“Greedy good-doers”

“Beneficent Beasts

AUNT JENNIFER’S TIGER

 BY‐ ADRIENNE RICH

Introduction

Adrienne Rich was brought up in a well-off family. Rich felt dominated by her father’s strong personality while growing up. It was he who most guided her as a young poet. This wasn’t always to her liking as he expected her to write her poems his way. When Rich was growing up men dominated and women were expected to become dutiful wives in their adult lives. All these elements may have influenced the picture of marriage Rich drew in this poem. At the heart of the poem is an image of a husband who controls and frightens his wife. Rich wrote a lot of poems based on everyday experience. One topic she often featured was the tension, women felt due to being dominated by their husbands. In ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ Rich is mocking the weakness of Aunt Jennifer and the clout and authority of Jennifer’s husband in their marriage.

Summary

In the poem ‘Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ a woman expresses her suppressed feelings through her art. Aunt Jennifer is the victim of the male-dominated society. She has no one to tell her mental and physical pain. She makes a picture to convey her deep feelings. The speaker describes the tigers that her aunt produced on the panel. They are set in motion. They are moving quickly by raising the front legs and jumping forwards on the back legs. In the green jungle, they look free, bright, brave, fearless and magnificent. There are men sitting under the tree, but the Tigers do not. They move on to their goal boldly and smoothly. Jennifer finds it difficult to make pictures by using the ivory needle. She is tired of doing the household work after she got married. She can’t get herself involved in her artistic work. She has to do it in her leisure time. Even then she has to be sure whether her husband is watching her or not. So her hands are terrified. She will not be free from fear until she dies. She will be dominated by her husband. She will die, but her art will express her desire to move proudly and fearlessly like the tigers she has made.

EXPLANATION OF THE POEM:

Stanza ‐1.    

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen,  

Bright topaz denizens of world of green.

They do not fear the men beneath the tree;

They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

IMPORTANT WORDS:

1. Prancing- A human quality which means walking in a very energetic manner. Here it’s used for the tiger.
2. Topaz- Means a shiny crystal, Yellow (colour of tigers)
3. Denizen- The native or citizen of a place.
4. World of green- Represents forests here.
5. Certainty- Confidence. Here it shows the way the tiger is confident while he walks.
6. Chivalry- A social code of humans that has boldness, heroism, and courage.

Explanation:   Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance and move across a screen or wall. They are bright coloured like the golden yellow jewel (topaz). They are the denizens (dwellers) of green forests. They are not afraid of the men standing under the tree. They are well-groomed (shining) and running fast on the panel with confidence. 

  (Here Aunt Jennifer has knitted images of tigers on the panel. They are not real or living tigers. The images of tigers are created by aunt on the panel with her own hands. The tigers represent her dreams. Her desire is to be free from fear and oppression that control her life and wants to become brave like tigers.)

Stanza‐ 2. 

Aunt Jennifer’s fingers fluttering through her wool

Find even the ivory needle hard pull.

The massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band; 

Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer’s hand

IMPORTANT WORDS:

1. Fluttering:  means doing something in a hurry. (Here it is used by the poet to describe Aunt Jennifer’s movement while she is working on the wool which means that she is nervous and not confident, unlike the tigers that are certain in their movements.)
2. Wedding band: an engagement ring.
3. Massive: heavy or huge

Explanation:  Aunt Jennifer’s hands are moving about her wool to create beautiful images of tigers. But the movement is not easy and smooth. Aunt finds the ivory needle very hard to pull through the wool. The Uncle’s wedding band seems very heavy on her hand. She feels burdened with her marital (wedding) responsibilities.

(Aunt always fears from her husband. Her marital life is burdened for her. Through this stanza, the poet wants to carry the fact that a woman does not feel easy carrying he martial life. Her humor does not matter before her husband. She feels so much subjected that the marital bond is a burden on her. This is also with Aunt Jennifer.)

Stanza‐ 3.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hand will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by

The tigers in the panel that she maid

Will go on prancing proud and unafraid

IMPORTANT WORDS:

1. Terrified: Extreme fear or extremely afraid of something.
2. Ordeals:  A very unpleasant experience.
3. Mastered: Gain control over.

Explanation:  The final stage reveals Aunt Jennifer will remain terrified always in her life as well as after her death. She will be confident with unpleasant painful experiences after her death because she is mastered by her husband. The tiger in the panel that she made will go on jumping. They will be proud and unafraid.

LITERARY DEVICES USED IN THE POEM:

PERSONIFICATION

Aunt Jennifer’s tigers prance across a screen.

METAPHOR

Ringed with ordeals: means even death would not free her as the wedding band; a symbol of oppression would yet be o her finger.

SYMBOLS AND IMAGES:

Wedding band- a symbol of oppression in an unhappy marriage. Its weight refers to the burden of gender expectations .ringed means encircled or trapped, losing individuality and freedom.

Aunt Jennifer- is a typical victim of male oppression in an unhappy marriage, who suffers a loss of individuality, dignity, and personal freedom silently. She becomes dependent, fearful and frail.

Tigers- symbolize untamed free spirit. Here they stand in contrast to their creator's personality. The use of colours implies that Aunt Jennifer's tigers and their land are more vital and enjoy a sense of freedom far greater than her. They pace and prance freely, proudly, fearless, confident and majestic, fearless of men.

Yellow (bright topaz) represents the sun and fierce energy, green reminds one of spring and vitality.

Embroidery- a symbol of creative expression. The artwork expresses the Aunt’s suppressed desires and becomes her escape from the oppressive reality of her life.