Appreciation

2.1. ‘Song of the Open Road

About the poem / poet: The poem ‘Song of the Open Road’ is a classic travel poem written by Walt Whitman. This narrative poem centers on the quest for freedom. It is taken from ‘Leaves of Grass’ by Walt Whitman. This poem is a beautiful blend of human feelings. It shows the poet’s self-realizations about the journey of life. Walt Whitman, an American poet, is often called as ‘The Father of free verse’.

Title of the poem: The title of the poem is significant and is appropriate. The road signifies mobility and freedom. The poem is about self-awareness, free will and tenderness of heart.

Poetic Style and theme: The poem is written in free verse, Means it has no regular rhyme. It has unique arrangements of words and different lengths. Walt Whitman strongly advocates importance of democracy & Freedom. It is an inspirational poem. Major themes of this poem are Freedom, joy of free life and optimism.

Language /Poetic devices: The poem is written in free verse. Simple poetic devices such as Alliteration, Repetition, Antithesis, Inversion, Paradox, Tautology, Metaphors are used. He employs Metaphor comparing road to 'the road of life', He also makes use of symbols.

Special features: The poem is written in very simple and effective language. Which is easy to understand and it creates an impact on the readers. It is written in first person narration. As it is written in free verse, it doesn’t have rhyme scheme and meter. The poet uses many phrases like light hearted, querulous criticism etc. He also uses imagery like constellation and brown road. The use of brackets in fourth stanza is a typical feature of the poem that makes the stanza more remarkable.

Message/other: The poem is a didactic poem. It teaches us that we should be optimistic and happy. It motivates and encourages us to enjoy freedom, nature and travelling. I like this poem because it gives us a new attitude to look at life and should not live the routines of ordinary life.

2.2 Indian Weavers'

Appreciation of the poem 'Indian Weavers'

Poem /poet : The poem Indian weavers is written by Sarojini Naidu. She is also known as the Nightingale of India and was an Indian Independence Activist and poet. The poem begins by asking questions. It consists of three stanzas with two rhyming couplets each. This poem is a metaphor for the three stages of human life - birth, youth and death. The poet depicts Indian weavers, who weave tirelessly at different times, the new-born baby's garments in the early morning, the queen's marriage-veils in the evening and the dead man's shroud at midnight.

The central idea: The central idea of this poem is that human beings pass through different stages of life like joys, responsibilities & sorrow. This poem is a metaphor for the three stages of human life.

The style of the poem: The style used in the poem is simple and lucid, with each stanza beginning with a question to evoke the reader's interest. The rhyme scheme of the poem is aabb. The poem is in question & answer form. Means it has a conversational tone.

The message/ why do you like? . The message being conveyed by the poem is that of the motion of life, where each stage, characterised by its unique emotions. I find this poem a good because it is short poem which is full with images. I like the poem for the colour-scheme that the poet has chosen for the garments.

2.3 'The Inchcape Rock'

Ans. About the poem/poet and the title:

'The Inchcape Rock' by Robert Southey is a ballad of seventeen stanzas. The poem is about some dangerous rocks near the coast of Scotland. The title of the poem is very suitable because the rock is a central point of the whole poem.

The theme:

The theme of the poem is on the proverb ' Evil digs a pit for others but falls into the same (बुराई दूसरों के लिए एक गड्ढा खोदती है लेकिन उसी में गिर जाती है) '. It is about the evil feeling of jealousy. The Abbot installed a bell on the dangerous Inchcape rock to save the ships from the dangerous rock during the storms. So, the seamen blessed the Abbot for his good work.

But Rove felt jealous at the fame of the Abbot and cut down the bell from the Inchcape rock. But finally he himself was the victim of the Inchcape rock.

Poetic style:

The poem is a ballad type. It has a, a, b, b rhyme scheme. There are total seventeen stanzas and each stanza consist four lines. There are some archaic (old) words used in the poem, such as quoth, canst, blest, hath etc.

The language/ poetic devices used in the poem:

The language of the poem is very simple and easy to understand. The poem consists of different figures of speech such as personification, Transferred Epithet, simile, repetition, paradox, alliteration, onomatopoeia, apostrophe, inversion etc. The poem consists vivid imagery of the 'bright, shining sun', 'hazy sky’, the 'steady ship', 'green ocean', 'birds wheeling around', 'sinking ship'. etc. The use of symbolism also adds to the beauty of the poem where the Abbot is the symbol of good, while Sir Ralph symbolizes the evil.

Special features:

The poem is didactic in nature, meaning that it conveys a moral through the story depicted in it. The moral of this poem is 'As you sow, so shall you reap'.

Opinion:

In my opinion the poem is the best moral for all the human being. It is applicable for the current society to stop crimes and evil deeds.

‘Have you earned your tomorrow?’

the poem / poet / title

‘Have you earned your tomorrow?’ This is a simple and optimistic poem written by American writer of British origin Edgar Guest. The poet has made use of rhetorical questions to inspire and convey his ideas. This is an unique and innovative style used by the poet. The title of the poem arouses interest.

The Theme:

The theme or the central idea of the poem is that ittells an importance of being kind and helpful towards others and bymaking small contributions to improve their lives; as the good deeds done by us today will earn us our tomorrow.

Poetic devices: Poetic devices like Alliteration, Synecdoche & Interrogation are used. Visual imagery is a special feature of this poem. Thelanguage of the poem is simple. The rhyme scheme of the poem is a a b b

A special feature: A special feature of the poem is the use of visual imagery in "vanish in the throng", "rushed along the way"."slipping fast" and "close your eyes in slumber", which add to the overall appeal of the poem.

The message: The message of the poem is that we earn a bright future because of the
good and kind actions that we do every day. We should be kind to everybody
always and everywhere. We must make each day of our life meaningful. I like the
poem as it contributes in improving the lives of others. It teaches compassion & kindness. It is truly an inspirational poem.

2.5 Father Returning Home

About the poet:

Dilip Purushottam Chitre (1938-2008) was a notable Indian poet, critic, painter and filmmaker of the modern era. His Ekun Kavita or Collected Poems were published in the nineteen nineties in three volumes.

Theme :

It is an autobiographical poem. The poet has shown the loneliness of an old man in our modern society in a beautiful way by depicting a picture of his own father returning home from work. The poem expresses the generation gap between a “father” and “children”. No one is there to take care of him, to converse with him or to understand and share his feelings.

Special features of the poem:

The poem consists of two stanzas of 12 lines each. It is written in free verse with no particular rhyme scheme followed. The language is easy and simple but full of symbolic expressions.

Poetic devices and language:

The language is easy and simple but full of symbolic expressions and poetic devices like simile, alliteration, Transferred Epithet, Synecdoche. The poet uses imagery and descriptive words (evening train, yellow light, enseeing eyes, eyes dimmed by age, gray platform).

The message

The message that the poem conveys that of the isolation of man from the modern world. In today’s fast life, the only solace that man can find in his dreams of the past or the future.

My Opinion about the poem:

Overall, I find the poem highly relevant to today’s world. The aspect that I like the most about the poem is the simplicity with which it conveys a strong message to the readers.

2.6 ‘Money’

About the poem and poet: ‘Money’ is a reflective poem written by W.H. Davies. He was a Welsh poet, known as the ‘Tramp poet’. Through this poem, the Poet has described his self-experienced about money and personal happiness.

Poetic device and language: The poem consists of five stanzas of four lines each. It has a simple narrative style. Alliteration, Antithesis, Inversion, Simile, Onomatopoeia and Repetition are the figures of speech used in this poem. The poet has made use of vivid imagery. For example, ‘wives hum, like bees’ or ‘came knocking all day at my door’ and ‘Then felt I like a child that holds / A trumpet that he must not blow’, these lines effectively present the visuals. The rhyme scheme of the first four stanzas is a b c b and of the last stanza is a b a b.

The theme: The theme of the poem is the disadvantage of money. A rich man has many false friends and he lacks true happiness whereas a poor man has few friends, but they are true and real. Thus, he is full of goodness and happiness.

The message: The message of the poem is that to experience true joy and happiness one need not to be rich and wealthy. It is not necessary for the poor to become rich, but the rich must become poor to enjoy true happiness.

I like this poem: I like this poem because it shows the real value of money. It also describes the false and fake beliefs of being rich. This poem certainly teaches a valuable life-lesson to all that “prosperity makes friends and adversity tests them.”