Sunrise on the Veldt - Doris Lessing

Sunrise on the Veldt written by Doris Lessing is a dive into a usual but unusually strange journey of a boy through the forest at 4:30 in the morning, and the grim spectacle which would throw him off of his perception of life. As the non-idyllic truths are revealed to him, the story sharply changes its mood from energetic and happy to a mellowed down deathly feeling.

The summary to the lesson is given here.

The boy, a 15-year-old boy sneaks out of his house on an extraordinary journey, along which he realizes the true meaning of life. With the feeling of invincibility, the boy walks out of his house with his father’s gun.

The graph below would help you understand more of the boy’s journey.

 

The setting of the story is an African Veldt which is basically an open grassland region. The Sunrise signifies enlightenment which is brought upon the boy. If you notice the sun rises only after the boy encounters the dead buck which provides a symbolical meaning to the whole text.

In a sort of beautiful way the story contrasts itself. Invincibility in the start of the story contradicting weakness towards the end.

This poem also tells us that a man is most susceptible to arrogance in his youth. As you are at the peak of your physical strength and are as flexible as clay when encountering different situations. It is also in the youth, a man is more susceptible to mental pain as his mind is still developing and building opinions. Hence, most mental traumas affecting people occur in their youth due to which they are restricted of certain activities in their adult life.

The story concludes with a conflict change as it starts from Man vs. Nature and midway turns into Man vs. Self.

Prevalent Themes:-

Invincibility, Death, Deathlessness, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Self

http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-nature-ephiphany-experenced-boy-doris-266056
refer to the above link for an interesting take on the lesson.

The Elder's Passing - Jonathan Hill

In the ancient times, mostly in Greek or Roman History when writing and print wasn’t in circulation, viva voce (oral communication) was the only way to convey knowledge to a person. Oratory hasn’t been just about a man coming to stage and giving a good speech, but about conveying knowledge to people on a large scale. In these times, knowledge was imparted to students and others through just narrating the knowledge. Lengthy writings writ in the minds of great men would be passed on for generations together just by narrating the same.

The Elder’s Passing by Jonathan Hill looks at this idea and brings it in the context of the Aborigines.

The library of this land

Resides within your mind

A tapestry of knowledge

Spanning from the dawn of time.

First Stanza: The poet refers to the Elders of the Aboriginal tribes and the wealth of knowledge they had accumulated. Its ‘spans from the dawn of time’ as this knowledge isn’t just knowledge of the current generation but also the knowledge which has been passed down from the Elder’s Elders and their Elder’s Elders.

I ponder all the secrets

You’ve taken to the grave

The stories and the song lines

Of how this land was made.

Second Stanza: After the massacre of the Aborigines, and the genocide carried over Australia from 1780s to 1920s, a lot of knowledge was lost in the process. By knowledge I mean cultural knowledge over here, which may include traditional remedies they might be using or the stories and events taken place over the continent.

The location of sacred places

Including ceremonial sites

Traditional bush remedies

And endless bush tucker delights.

Third Stanza: All the memories and facts about the location of sacred places to the location of Bush tucker delights has been lost in the process in the name of knowledge.

To convey these ancient truths

Many languages you used

But with your death they're diluted

With one less teacher for the youths. 

Fourth Stanza: After the death of the Aborigines we didn’t lose just one language out of the many languages in the world but over 10 to 15 languages lost in the process. We get dictionaries for aboriginal languages for languages like  Burarra, Bilinarra, Djinang, Gurindji, Iwaidja, Kriol, Martu Wangka, Maung, Tiwi, Walmajarri, Warlpiri and Wik Mungkan which are among the few remaining languages of the Indigenous Australians.

I reflect on the cultures crushed

In the creation of this nation

And wonder how many Australians

Know the extent of devastation.

Fifth Stanza: The poet is trying to make people, including the residing Australians understand the magnitude of devastation caused to the continent in terms of cultural wealth. As the English people took over the continent they washed the continent off of most of the Aborigines over a period of a century and this was one of the largest massacres in history. In 1788 there were over 250,000 of them, by 1920 we had only 60,000 remaining.

Only one source of solace

Soothes the growing grief

As you descend into the Dreaming

You are finally at peace.

Sixth Stanza: The one way an Aborigine can forget about his terrible history and the wrongs done to his people would be that of dreaming for a better future and finding peace. It is possible to be peaceful even in the worst of times, as peace of the mind would bring about peace in the world.

The poem describes the plight of the Aborigines and the devastation caused to the. To make us understand the poem in a more relatable sense, the poet has introduced the concept of knowledge which puts light on the traditions of the Aborigines. It’s the Culture which brings a society to its forefront and it has always been culture which has brought humans together for so many years. With a diversity in cultures we have the opportunity to interact with different cultures and bring everyone together to bring about change in humanity and improving the world. As we embrace different cultures, we understand the importance of these and the different ideas evolved from the different ways people lived, we would understand life as a whole. Not just traditions passed down from person to person but knowledge which would shape the ideal human in the society.

The Song That Men Should Sing - Kenneth Mackay - TAKE 2

Note: One analysis of ‘The Song That Men Should Sing’ has already been posted. However, I thought I’d post this one as well as the views presented in this are quite opposite to the views presented in the other one, the more points of view the better.

The poem “The song that Men should sing” is a poem by Australian poet Kenneth Mackay in 1899. In it, the author counters the popular notion that peace and general disarmament go hand in hand. It is important to note that the author, Kenneth Mackay, served in the Boer War and had a strong military background.

The poem contains strong themes of nationalism, anti-pacifism, and racist undertones. The mentality of military people is expertly conveyed through the writer’s point of view. The ingrained belief that war is a necessary part of existence is repeated throughout the piece.

Before we continue, it is important to note that that unlike the other Australia-centred poems present in our additional English syllabus, this poem is not apologetic or in the slightest bit remorseful of the genocide inflicted upon the aborigines. It glorifies the wars waged against these tribal people (perceived to be sub-human). It is also important to note that while the other two poems we have to study (Elder’s passing and The Last of his Tribe) never attained fame or publicity in their time, this poem was published in textbooks for white school children for almost 30 years!

The cohorts who fought when the world was young
Have their blood-red legends told,
For a hundred poets have bravely sung
The deeds of the days of old.

The story is writ of the men who fell
In desert and sun-scorched track:
The legions who served their country well -
The heroes who marched 'Out Back' ... 

The first two stanzas speak on the stories often told of the heroes and soldiers who fought for their country during the beginning of Australia’s bastardized ‘colonization’. Many military words are used to invoke a sense of military honour and bravery.

But they tell us now, in their lifeless lays,
These knights of the stool and pen,
We must boast no more of the stirring days
When they fought and fell like men ... 

In the third stanza, we are told that we should glorify these men no more; they exist no longer, they are long dead.  If we continue to glorify them we are justifying our sluggish laziness through the bravery of our ancestors. In simple terms, we shouldn’t live off the glory of those who are long since deceased.

But the tale is best that has oft been told,
If it love of birthland bring;
And the song they sang in days of old
Is the song that I will sing ... 

This stanza serves as an introduction to the end of the poem. In it, the first two lines inspire a direct sense of nationalism. The final line links back to the title as well as the first stanza. In short, what the poet is saying is that he is aligning himself with the men of old, the soldiers who fought. He’s saying that we can’t establish ourselves as a fighting race merely because our ancestors fought; we too must fight.

We won the land from a nerveless race,
Too mean for their land to fight;
If we mean to hold it we too must face
The adage that 'might is right'.

It matters nothing what dreamers say,
When they prate that wars must cease,
For the lustful war-god holds his sway
In these piping days of peace ... 

                In the above two stanzazs, the author begins the conclusion. The first line is of particular significance, predominantly for its colonial tone of racial superiority. Rather than expressing remorse or sympathy for the aborigines, he calls them a nerveless race. The usage of the phrase nerveless race in this context is an extension of the stereotype created by the British that the aborigines were lazy and cowardly.

                The poet proceeds to state that invasion or war will inevitably come. The aborigines didn’t expect it, and neither will they, the modern day Australians. If they wish to maintain this country they love so dearly they must be prepared and ready to fight for it, rather than merely basking in the glory of their ancestors.

                But why do we need war? Why do we need armies? Can’t we all live peacefully?  Is what many of us might say. The poet is quick to dismiss this notion as folly. He states that war will always exist, as it looms even over days of peace. The usage of the word prate ( infinitive tense of prattle) is particularly significant to the poem. Prattle is a derogatory verb used to describe someone talking on and on about something they know very little about. Through this line, his  dislike of pacifists and his military intuition are brought to the forefront.

So our lads must learn there's a sterner task
Than playing a well-pitched ball;
That the land we love may some day ask
For a team when the trumpets call.

A team that is ready to take the field
To bowling with balls of lead,
In a test match grim, where if one appealed,
The umpire might answer 'dead'!

The poet winds up the poem. In the first of the above stanzas, the author begins a cricket metaphor.  He is saying that we can’t merely exist peacefully and carelessly as that is what the aborigines did. Rather, we must be prepared and ready to fight.

The final stanza provides an interesting extension of the cricket metaphor. The bowling with balls of lead is a reference to firing bullets in the battlefield. The team in this context is a reference to an army.

In conclusion, the poet is saying that he has no problem with peace, but merely wishes to be ready in the event of a war or invasion. The coupling of the gentleman’s sport of cricket with the violence of war provides the aforementioned ideology.

The Last of His Tribe - Henry Kendall

Bush Poetry, includes the poems which talk about the lives of people during the colonial times in Australia. The Last of his Tribe, written by Henry Kendall is one such poem. Looking back to the history of Australia, around the time of the colonial invasion and the massacre of the Aboriginals, Australia has had a pretty rough history. Similar to America and the Red Indian Massacre Australia had to give up its mainland in the name of might.

The poem narrates the final moments of a young man from the Aboriginals tribe who has taken refuge by a waterfall.

He crouches, and buries his face on his knees,

   And hides in the dark of his hair;

For he cannot look up to the storm-smitten trees,

   Or think of the loneliness there --

   Of the loss and the loneliness there.

The First stanza starts off with an image of the man crouching, burying his face on his knees as his long hair hides the rest of his face. “For he cannot…” tells us the state of emotional turmoil he is in as he remembers his people who lived with, among the trees and are there no more. Due to this, there is a kind of loneliness that exists in the forest due to missing aboriginals. There is also, a sense of loss as the man has no one to look back to and nothing of his own.

The wallaroos grope through the tufts of the grass,

   And turn to their coverts for fear;

But he sits in the ashes and lets them pass

   Where the boomerangs sleep with the spear --

   With the nullah, the sling and the spear.

Second Stanza: The wallaroos hide behind the tufts of grass while passing the man by. In the line, “But he sits in the...” tells us about the young man sitting in ashes with his different equipment. The equipment mentioned in the text in front of him is usually used by the Aboriginals for hunting.

Uloola, behold him!  The thunder that breaks

   On the tops of the rocks with the rain,

And the wind which drives up with the salt of the lakes,

   Have made him a hunter again --

   A hunter and fisher again.

Third Stanza: Uloola, meaning waterfall. After reading this stanza we can imagine the man standing by the waterfall with the camera panning away from him with the waterfall in the picture, a thunder striking the sky as rain strikes the ground with a breeze passing him by. On realizing that there is no point in keeping his head buried in his laps, and upon understanding the fact that if there is something that needs to be done, he is the only one who can do it. Hence, he picks up his equipment and proclaims himself as the hunter again.  For his eyes have been full with a smouldering thought;

   But he dreams of the hunts of yore,

And of foes that he sought, and of fights that he fought

   With those who will battle no more --

   Who will go to the battle no more.

Fourth Stanza: After realizing that nothing is achievable with the mind of a loafer, his eyes lit up, with a fire of determination and that of rage. He looks to the future with his fiery eyes but looks back to his old days, that of hunting and battling. Battles which he willingly fought against his foes, battles fought alongside friends whom he would meet no more (Cuz they dead (Duh)).  

It is well that the water which tumbles and fills,

   Goes moaning and moaning along;

For an echo rolls out from the sides of the hills,

   And he starts at a wonderful song --

   At the sound of a wonderful song.

Fifth Stanza: As the water from the waterfall falls, a gunfire is heard from the side of the hills which hits the young man. He sings a song as he is falling to his death. This gives a very saddening feel to the poem and its ending.

And he sees, through the rents of the scattering fogs,

   The corroboree warlike and grim,

And the lubra who sat by the fire on the logs,

   To watch, like a mourner, for him --

   Like a mother and mourner for him.

Sixth Stanza: The man starts hallucinating as he dies, his life flashes in front of him and he remembers the times he had lived in the forest. He sees a lubra(woman) sitting by a bonfire. This woman just might be his mother who is referred to in the next to next line as well. As there is no one there to mourn for him, he hallucinates his mother mourning for him as he descends to his death.

Will he go in his sleep from these desolate lands?

   Like a chief, to the rest of his race,

With the honey-voiced woman who beckons and stands,

   And gleams like a dream in his face --

   Like a marvellous dream in his face?

Seventh Stanza: The death of this man as of the others of his tribe was just as significant as the others. To crown him as a chief or to let him die as a man, on his death bed is not something one should ask. In the time of death, a man’s life is only good if he has something to look back to. Considering the vast cultural knowledge lost in the process of the Australian Extermination, even us as humans have lost a lot of knowledge. But maybe all a man would like to look back to is a memory. A memory which he would keep with him forever. “With the honey…” this line tells us that the man is dreaming now, and can hear a honey-voiced woman. As the woman seems to beckons the man and stand. We can interpret this as being the man’s rebirth as his new mother is holding him in her arms.

Important facts:

·         The second last line of the every stanza repeats as the last line with a little difference in the text. This brings in an echo-y feel to the whole poem and manages to blend in nicely with the end of the poem.

Jurmana - Premchand

Jurmana, written by Premchand, is a peek into the life of Alarakkhi who is a sweeper who is most probably employed by the Government under the sanitation department.

In the story Alarakkhi is shown to be in a state of constant turmoil as she is not paid in full by her boss, then she is always picked on by the inspector and is fined constantly. She is shown as an everyday mother who is working hard to sustain family. Towards the end of the story, as Alarakkhi is getting paid, her name is unusually called later on which erupts gossip among the other sweepers gathered at the Municipal office to collect the pay. After her name is called, she is given her salary in full amount. Instead of being happy for the money that she got, she feels guilty for having abused the Inspector.

Characters:-

Munshi Khairat Ali: The Inspector

Alarakkhi

Husseni: Alarakkhi’s Husband

The Baby

In Short:-

The inspector has over 1000 sweepers under him – the feeling while waiting in line for the pay is the same as a student waiting in line to get his grades while speculating over the amount of deduction – Alarakkhi scolding her daughter(still a baby) as she doesn’t want to leave her mother as the mother works – Alarakkhi abuses the Inspector – Inspector appears - Alarakkhi is scared – Asks her to leave the baby home next time – Baby has a fever– Inspector asks Alarakkhi as to why she was abusing him – Alarakkhi is scared – she tells the inspector that no such thing happened – Huseni alarakkhi go to collect the pay – Alarakkhi thinks she has been fired – Her name usually comes after Champa, but doesn’t this time – gossip in the room – Alarakkhi’s name finally comes – She collects her pay – leaves – guilty of abusing inspector – the end

Themes:-

Unfair treatment, lives of workers, Guilt, Happiness

Motifs:-

Suffering – We can see that throughout the short story Alarakkhi’s suffering continues and even at the end of the story when she should have been happy she brings herself down by feeling guilty. Guilty for having abused the inspector. 

The Song that Men Should Sing - Kenneth Mackay - TAKE 1

The Song that Men Should Sing is more of a war poem with Australian Aborigines in context. Written by Kenneth Mackay, who served in the Boer war, understands the plight of the Aborigines, not only in Australia but also in South Africa. This led him to write literature on the Aboriginals and promote the culture of the aboriginals to the world while bringing our attention to the harms done to their society and culture.

The cohorts who fought when the world was young
have their blood-red legends told,
for a hundred poets have bravely sung
the deeds of the days of old. 

First Stanza: This stanza talks about all the battles that have taken place in the past and all the stories related to them. Glorifying war and ‘blood-red legends’ is one of the main aims of the poem as you might have thought. These stories or poems about wars have been narrated by hundreds of poets not necessarily in one timeframe but over a long period of time.

The story is writ of the men who fell
in desert and sun-scorched track:
The legions who served their country well -
The heroes who marched 'Out Back’.

Second Stanza: The second stanza tells us who these men exactly are. Desert, out back… sounds like Australia. Aborigines. Australia is also called Down Under referring to where it is located on the World Map.

But they tell us now, in their lifeless lays,
these knights of the stool and pen,
we must boast no more of the stirring days
when they fought and fell like men...

Third Stanza: The poet admires the Aboriginals in this stanza for not giving up and fighting for their freedom, ’...Fought and fell like men.’ They are called the knights of stool and pen as they fought with shields and swords, and also forced the poets to take up their pens and pull their stools(to sit on) to write about their glory out of respect.

But the tale is best that has oft been told
if it love of birthland brings;
and the song they sang in days of old
is the song that I will sing... 

Fourth Stanza: The poet says that if a tale is told often, it is okay only if it brings love to the birth land. The story of Australia which is brought up a lot including the massacre and the imprisonment of criminals by the British onto this island is what is referenced here.

We won the land from a nerveless race,
Too mean for their land to fight;
If we mean to hold it we too must face
the adage that 'might is right'.

Fifth Stanza: The British easily captured the Australian territory and massacred the population over there, in the name of ‘might is right’.

It matters nothing what dreamers say,
when they prate that wars must cease,
for the lustful war-god holds his sway
in these piping days of peace... 

Sixth Stanza: The poet says that war is something that will go on forever. If people ask for peace and would want war to cease, they can only hope for the war to come back again. Even if there is peace in this world, it can never be considered as true peace as there is always a certain kind of conflict happening in the smaller parts of the society which in turn takes a turn for the worse growing into a conflict. Peace is only an illusion and the illusion of peace shines in front of our eyes mostly when war is closer than ever.

So our lads must learn there's a sterner task
than playing a well-pitched ball;
that the land we love may someday ask
for a team when the trumpets call.

Seventh Stanza: The poet tells the next generations to teach the children more than playing on the field and competing properly. As sports have become the ground to settle disputes among countries as to who is better, it can also be seen as a battleground where bloodshed is prohibited. In time, when humans would need to protect their territories, and everyone should be ready when the time comes.

A team that is ready to take the field
to bowling with balls of lead,
in a test match grim, where if one appealed,
the umpire might answer 'dead'!

Eighth Stanza:  According to the poet the youth should be ready for battle as war needs no reason to erupt. Balls of lead refer to he Cannister Guns which they used back in the day for shooting lead bullets. The game of war, as the poet has put into context is a very revolting idea to the whole idea of peacekeeping and peace itself.


The concept of War and Peace has caused a ton of debates over the last century. War being an integral part of human conflict can never be stopped as there is someone or the other, out there that a majority of humans would fight against, to get their point of view in picture. Defining peace and the concept of peace is very important at this point as no one really knows what world peace is. World Peace is the idea of planetary non-violence. As far as I know, humans are the most non-peaceful mammals ever. Peace would only bring death to all humans, then I guess, the death of all humans might bring peace as well. When we talk of peace we always talk of what is right and what is wrong, but the whole idea of peace narrates the non-sensitization of humans to other views, hence the modern idea of peace is a bit revolting to the main concept of peace itself. Peace is a long way ahead for us humans. Under the veil of glory and war, we must realize that  war might erupt out of nowhere and put nations in conflict. To the everyday man, who lived in the 1900s might have had no idea about the war. He might have been flabbergasted to find out that there is a war happening between countries, and for what reason, well he does not know, he is busy thinking about his future. But what the future brings may be just as unreasonalble and scary as it can be set. Hence, the poet tells us to be ready for war in case there is one.

For a different view on the same poem go here.

Lol. Peace.

A child said, What is the Grass?

The poem ‘A child said what is the grass?’ was written by Walt Whitman, one of the pioneers of modern American literature. In it, he attempts to respond to a child’s innocent question of what the grass is.  If you haven’t read the poem yet, check it out here:

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-child-said-what-is-the-grass/

Okay, let’s start.

Before I delve into a full-fledged analysis of the poem, I would like to point out a couple of key points about this poem. If a child were to come and ask you what the grass is, what would you say? You’d probably tell him it’s a plant, that it naturally grows, or, if you’re exceptionally lazy, might tell him ‘it’s complicated’. But look at what Whitman does; he sets aside what he thinks he knows and digs deeper and deeper in an attempt to come to the root of the answer. In a manner akin to how children persistently ask question after question, Whitman questions his stance again and again throughout the poem until he finally reaches a desirable answer. By doing so, he attempts to answer the child’s question by thinking like a child.

Another interesting point worth mentioning is how the poem follows no clear-cut rhythmic scheme. Rather, it stumbles forward in a non-linear and haphazard way. It almost seems to follow the poet’s stream of consciousness.  All the answers and subsequent questions in his mind are laid out before us on the paper. By this approach, the poet takes us along with him on his journey for an answer.

The theme of death dominates the piece. This is unsurprising as Whitman was a war nurse in the civil war and had seen much suffering and brutality. Through the course of this poem he seeks to philosophically ascertain that life is no different from death.

Now; let’s begin with the poem.

Upon being asked what the grass is by the child, the speaker muses that it’s impossible for him to answer as he doesn’t know what the grass is any more than the child does. He begins to examine the possibilities of what exactly the grass could be. Mind you, it is important at this point of time to note that many of the lines or stanzas in the poem begin with the phrases ‘I guess’, ‘Or’, etc. By using such phrases his uncertainty and subsequent humility is brought to the forefront. This can be linked back to the aforementioned concept of attempting to analyse this problem from a child’s point of view.

I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green stuff woven.

Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropped,
Bearing the owner’s name someway in the corners, that we may see and remark, and say Whose?

Or I guess the grass is itself a child. . . .the produced babe of the vegetation.

                He examines different possibilities; the first of which is particularly profound as it links to the themes that will emerge later on in the poem. The word disposition is used to refer to one’s attitude, beliefs, or feelings on an issue. Thus, by calling the grass the flag of his disposition, he is quite literally saying that the grass perfectly represents his thoughts on life and death ( his belief that  life is one continuous ciricle; death does not conquer, it just feeds the circle of life ).

The reference to grass being the handkerchief of the Lord appears to be used for its imagery. Take a handkerchief and drop it on a table tennis ball; it’ll cover the ball completely, adhering to its shape. Similarly, grass covers the earth like a blanket, like a divine handkerchief dropped.

The poet now attempts to think of the grass as a product of the vegetation, the result of seeds, fertile soil and favourable weather.

What is important about all of these is not so much the significance each one holds, but the manner in which they have been displayed. It seems as if each of these are points in Whitman’s mind and as he philosophizes on, he is attempting to connect the dots and gain a better view of the overall picture.

The following stanza is particularly important:

Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,
And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow
zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the 
same, I receive them the same.

                In this section, Whitman begins to ponder on the indiscriminatory nature of the grass. The usage of the word hieroglyphic is somewhat deep as a hieroglyphic is a word written as a drawing. Information encoded in visual imagery. By referring to the grass as a hieroglyphic, Whitman hints that the grass is not merely there for aesthetic beauty, but that it contains some piece of vital information that we must seek out.

                The grass grows everywhere. Broad zones, narrow zones. Near black people, near white people. The grass doesn’t care. In the last line, the subject suddenly changes from the grass to the poet ( I give them the same, I receive them the same). By doing this the poet is attempting to tell us that we should be more like the grass. Also, in case you were wondering, a Kanuck is an offensive term for a Canadian, a Tuckahoe for a Native American, a Congressman for the rich white majority, and Cuff for the enslaved black. These were vital notions for Whitman, who had lived through the Civil War, and seen so much violence, death and suffering over the question of slavery.

                The fact that the grass grows everywhere, and doesn’t care about our differences, makes our prejudices seem shallow, foolish and petty. Whitman embraces this and incorporates himself into the stream of thought to show his support ( the usage of I).

//Please ignore the colours, theres no significance, I just don't know how to blog

And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.

Tenderly will I use you curling grass,
It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,
It may be if I had known them I would have loved them,
It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken
Soon out of their mothers' laps,
And here you are the mothers' laps.

The contrast evoked between ‘beautiful uncut hair’ and ‘graves’ instantly catches the reader’s attention. The sheer polarity, that tug, induced by having beautiful uncut hair and graves so close together in the sentence evokes a sense of energy. The imagery evoked is that of the earth slowly growing hair (untrimmed grass) from the bodies buried within it (graves). This link exists because, like hair, grass grows from roots. Hair can still grow on a human head after he or she dies, so the mentioning of hair goes back to the theme of life sprouting from death. 

Throughout the rest of the above stanza, Whitman continues to build on the idea of grass/death being an equalizer of sorts. Everyone is equal in death. The grass will grow form them nevertheless, regardless of who they were when they were alive. The final line twists the concepts of life and death in a macabre fashion by speaking on the death of a child. The children who have passed have been “adopted” by Mother Nature. The ground holds them like a mother would.

This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old Mothers,
Darker than the colourless beards of old men,
Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.

O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues,
And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths
For nothing.

I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men
And women,
And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring
Taken soon out of their laps.

The first stanza implies that the grass is pulling its colour from the bodies beneath it. The dark green grass contrasts greatly with the pale white hair on dead elderly people.

The usage of the word ‘tongues’ can be read as talking about the language of the grass. ‘Tongues’, in a biblical context, is a language that the angels of heaven speak and that no mortal can understand. Thus by saying that ‘they do not come from the roofs of mouths for nothing’, implies that the grass means something, and is not merely there. This links back and emphasizes the point made earlier by referring to the grass as a ‘hieroglyphic’. In short, Whitman is saying that the grass has a meaning, that it has a deep philosophical secret it is attempting to diverge to us.

The sage of ‘I wish’ in the third stanza, implies that he is unable to translate the hints. He wishes he could explain and justify the tragic deaths of people taken long before their time; but he cannot. The fact that death is inevitable and a requiem for life to continue conflicts with the undeniable tragedy of a premature death. The poet deeply wishes that he could explain or philosophize on this front but is unable to do so.

What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And what do you think has become of the women and Children?

The poet now asks another question, delving deeper and deeper in his search for the answer.  He ponders on the fate of those who have died and who now lie buried under the earth. Off this question, Whitman leaps into the enlightening conclusion of the poem.

They are alive and well somewhere,
The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at
The end to arrest it,
And ceas'd the moment life appear'd.

All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and Luckier.

This paragraph is not only Whitman’s answer as to where the dead have gone, but is also his answer to the child’s question. The fact that the dead are alive and well somewhere is odd to say the least, but as we read on we see how the poet has effectively bypassed our traditional views of life and death (life is the beginning, death is the end) and provided us with a much grander scheme of things. The death of a person allows for life, in some form or another, be it the life of the sprouts or the life of creatures. Life begets life. 

In the last 3 lines of the second last stanza, the poet implies that death is not to be mourned as life is nothing but a by-product of death. We are alive and life exists around us because of the death that preceded us. Through this stanza, Whitman paints a verbal picture of our world and its fascinating equilibrium; though constantly changing, everything obeys the law of conservation of energy, even life.

Finally, the image of an expanding circle is evoked to visualize the recycling of life energy. We don’t really die when our hearts stop beating as we are fed back to the earth that birthed us. The life cycle keeps on going and going and going and both the living and the dead are a part of that cycle, interacting freely with each other. By removing our fear of death and our desire to keep it at bay, Whitman, looking at the problem from the perspective of a child, has taken us with him on an amazing journey, at the end of which we’ve seen life and death for the inseparable friends they really are.

So, what is the grass?

          The grass is both life and death. It lives, but it lives because of death. The grass is the embodiment of the paradox that is existence.

The Storyteller

The Storyteller is a short simple story written by Saki, a British author and storyteller. In it, the author attempts to highlight the importance of storytelling. It’s a really simple story, and doesn’t have much to be interpreted or read in to, so I’ll provide you with a brief summary.

The story begins with 3 small children, accompanied by their aunt, boarding a train. As they enter they find that a single bachelor  is sharing the compartment with them. As the train drives through long stretches of empty countryside, the children begin to pester their aunt by asking question after question. Eventually, in an attempt to shut them up, the aunt tries to tell them a story. Her story is about a girl who was very good and who won the affection of many because of her goodness and thus, when she was found herself attacked by a mad bull, the friendly villagers came together and saved her.

Her story sucked and the kids made no attempt to hide this from her.

“It’s the stupidest story I’ve ever heard!”, is an actual line from one of the children in the story to describe her take on the aunt’s stupid story.

The bachelor passes a comment on the aunt’s poor storytelling abilities to which she promptly retorts that maybe he should try telling them a story. He agrees and begins.

In his story, there is a girl called Bertha. She’s a good girl and has 3 medals she’d won because of her goodness. In fact, she was so good, that the prince allowed her to come visit his exclusive park. In this park there were no flowers, just pigs. Still, the park was exceptionally beautiful. As Bertha walked through the park, a wolf entered the park, looking for a sheep to eat; it saw Bertha and chased her. Bertha ran and hid in one of the massive bushes, trembling in fear. The wolf had given up and was turning away when it heard the sound of her medals jingling as she trembled in fear. It knew where she was and promptly ate her.

The End.

At that point, the train was pulling in at a station. The bachelor stood up to leave and an angry aunt scolded him for undoing all the good morals she’d been instilling in the children for years. The piece ends with his retort that at least he was able to keep them quiet for 10 minutes, a task she failed to accomplish.

The author shows a rather sarcastic take on dialectic stories in this piece, and challenges the conventional fact that all stories must pass on good or meaningful morals. The fact that the ‘good’ story told by the aunt fails to gain the kids’ attention whereas his does, explores the concept that poetic justice is more often than not reserved for the books and sometimes there’s nothing wrong with an improper story.

Another important aspect of the story is the way that the children’s continuous volleys of questions help the bachelor frame his story, rather than derail it. For every question they ask he gives a detailed and justified response, and steers his story in a new direction. This gives a sense of interactivity and freshness to the story. This can be seen as being indicative of how seniors should interact with and treat children. This can also be seen as a praise of the dying tradition of storytelling; the rawness and non-linearity present in storytelling are aptly shown throughout the piece. 

The Snake / A Narrow Fellow in the Grass

The Snake is a poem written by Emily Dickinson in the 19^th century. In it, the poet describes what begins as encountering a snake in a field. I will be analysing this poem line by line so get ready :

A narrow Fellow in the Grass
Occasionally rides –

                By reading the above two lines, it is relatively easy to tell that the ‘Fellow’ being described is a snake in the grass. So why didn’t the poet just come out directly and tell us ? By not specifying the creature and by using words normally associated with humans (ie: Fellow, rides) the poet aptly personifies the snake.

You may have met him? Did you not
His notice instant is –

                Now look closely at the last line of the above stanza. This jumbled up manner of speaking may not be present merely for the heck of it. The twisted statement results in a vagueness in its meaning – is instant being used to describe us noticing the snake or the snake noticing us. Both are frightened in that one terrifying moment when they come face to face.

This twisted device links to the personification employed in the above two lines; it helps us think of the snake as being on our level.

The Grass divides as with a Comb -
A spotted Shaft is seen,

                The poet now returns to describing the sight of a snake slithering away in the grass. A simile comparing the parting of the grass in the snake’s wake to the way a comb parts hair is employed.  The usage of the passive voice tense in the second of the above lines ( ie: “is seen”, not I saw or he saw) appears to be used in order to make the experience being recounted more relatable and immersive to the readers.

And then it closes at your Feet
And opens further on –

                The grass closes in wake of the snake and a division of grass is seen further on as the snake slithers away from you. The snake is leaving. So who was more afraid? The snake or you?

The sudden switch in the object’s tense should be noted.  The snake closes at your feet. You are involved in the poem, caught deeper in its splendour. This is the poem pulling the reader in.

He likes a Boggy Acre -
A Floor to cool for Corn –

But when a child and Barefoot
I more than once at morn,

The first two lines in this segment don’t contain much relevance apart from the usage of the humanized pronoun ‘He’ to describe the snake; this is possible further personification.

The next two lines in the segment begin in an obviously nostalgic manner. It becomes apparent that these lines are the introduction to a moment in the narrator’s childhood.

Have passed I thought a Whip-Lash
Unbraiding in the Sun

On a surface level, the poet, whilst barefoot in a field thought she saw a whip (or a lash), that had been left in the sun so long ago it had begun to fall apart and unbraid.

These two lines are particularly poignant as the poet has employed some stunning wordplay and imagery. The ‘-‘ separating the whip-lash shows that it is not a whiplash(the motion of a whip) but is something of a whip and a lash. For those of you who don’t know, a whip or a lash was a long thin leather strip which, laying in a field would indeed look like a snake. The  whip-lash is used to describe the appearance of the snake. The whiplash that comes to mind however as one lightly reads the line, refers to the startled and sudden jumping back of a frightened snake.

The verb unbraiding has been brilliantly used to evoke vivid realistic imagery of the braid-like patterns on the snake skin. The present continuous tense in which the verb is used adds a sense of motion to the events, as if the snakes body itself is churning and contorting around itself.

When stooping to secure it
It wrinkled And was gone –

                The poet reaches down to pick up the whip when all of a sudden it disappears. It is at this point that we realize that, although we thought the poet was talking about a snake, she was genuinely talking about a whip. The fact that we assume that it was a snake goes to show the extent of the vividness of the imagery evoked.

Several of Nature’s People
I know and they know me

I feel for them a transport
Of Cordiality

                This paragraph is where things get a little complicated. The usage of the term Nature’s People can be interpreted to be talking about other creatures of nature such as insects, birds, etc. The fact that the poet makes a conscious effort to emphasize that they know her, shows that the nature of the bond between the narrator and nature is a two-way-street. The last two lines essentially display a feeling of gratitude at having the honour of ‘hosting’ nature. The author’s basically appreciating nature in this stanza.

But never met this fellow,

Attended or alone,

Without a tighter breathing,

And zero at the bone.

The fear that is evoked in the poet by the snake is aptly shown in this stanza by the usage of the phrase ‘tighter breathing’. The imagery is once more aptly shown here through the shortness of breath being described as tighter breathing. 

So what does the poem mean? What is it talking about? Well, like all art, there’s no right or wrong interpretation to the poem. Any interpretation is a good one. But seeing as how you are most likely reading this because you have your English exam on Monday, I’ll try to sum up the predominant schools of interpretation that exist with respect to the poem.

1)      The poem is actually about a snake and other animals. The poet speaks on the fear evoked in her by the terrifying sight of the snake. However, she is quick to juxtaposition this with the love and affection (cordiality) that she feels for other animals. By generating this contrast she induces the thought in the reader’s mind; why are we so afraid of the snake? Isn’t the snake just as afraid as us?

2)      The poem hints at the author’s distrust of people. In this context, which is a widely accepted take on the poem, the phrase Nature’s people, refers to the poet’s fellow human beings. She says that she feels glad to know them and happy to have them around. However, she knows the capability for deception, cunning and evil that all of us innately possess. Thus, she is curious as to why she is at ease with such deceptive and possibly evil creatures but frightened by something as innocent as a snake.

3)      The poem’s conclusion hints at sexual undertones. A large number of people, particularly expert critics of American Literature seem to believe that the snake in the poem is used as a ornately wrought metaphor for a dick. The phallus shape of the snake, coupled with the usage of words like whip and lash to describe it adds to this argument. In this context, the ‘tighter breathing’ referenced in the final stanza could be speaking of the skipped heartbeat we experience when we see a really hot chick or dude. The shortness of breath and the tighter breathing are positive in this scenario. Finally, the zero at the bone can be seen as symbolic of sexual intercourse, significantly the act of penetration.

      Personally, I feel that this is one of the least accurate interpretations of the poem. By likening the snake to a dick we force the poem into a very small, limited, and perverse scope. The other two interpretations are accurate and well established, but I felt I should mention this one as there appear to be a great deal of people who feel that this is a valid way of looking at the poem.

So, that’s it.

Good luck.

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