Two Tramps in Mud Time

Two Tramps in Mud Time

Robert Frost [1874-1963]

Introduction

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, the son of a schoolmaster. When Robert was 10 years old his father died and the family moved to Massachusetts in New England. At 14 he is said to have sold his first poem! In 1892 he left school and worked in a mill, then taught at a school, became a reporter and editor of a weekly. Then he joined Harvard and studied the classics for two years. Again he became a reporter, a shoe maker, and a teacher of English and Psychology. In 1912 he went to England and published A Boy's Will and North of Boston which made him famous. After his return to the U.S.A. he continued to write poetry.

Robert Frost is perhaps the best loved of American poets. He was awarded the Pulitzer prize for poetry four times in 1924, 1931, 1937 and 1943. His famous works include Mountain Interval (1916), New Hampshire (1923), Collected Poems (1930), A Witness Tree (1942), and In the Clearing (1962).

Signposts

1. The summary of the incident.
2. Self justification of poet's motives.
3-5. Amplify the instability of New England's seasonal climate.
6. The poet's optimism or well being.
7. A shift from the point of view from the interrupted author to the upraising lumberjacks.
8. The situation of the man who splits wood for love and the needy vagabonds who eye him in their extremity.
9. Fuses the coordination of love and need.

Poem in Detail

Stanza 1
One day in April, between winter and spring, the author was chopping wood in his yard when two strangers emerged out of the wood like sub-human creatures. One of them distracted the poet, greeting him in a cheerful voice. He suggested that the poet should split the wood with greater force. The poet knew why the tramp had stayed behind allowing his companion to go ahead. He also knew that the tramp wanted to do the poet's work for payment.

Stanza 2
The poet was splitting large blocks of wood of a beech tree—the blocks were big and shapely like the chopping block. Each time the poet struck the wood forcefully, wood fell in neat splinterless shapely pieces like rock split into small pieces. The poet believed that the life of self-control had given him greater strength. He realised that the extra energy that a life of self-control gave a person, should be used for doing some work for others' benefit. However, on that day he wished to pamper himself by using that extra energy on splitting wood.

Stanza 3
This stanza shows how the weather changes quickly during the time of transition from winter to spring. It was the month of April—the sun was warm but there was chill in the air. April is the month of unpredictable weather. When the sun is shining and the wind is not blowing, it looks as if you are in May—in the spring season. On the other hand, if you speak of the weather as if it is spring in May as referred to above, then you arc in for a surprise. A cloud suddenly covers the sky and wind flows from a cold mountain. Then it seems that you are not in May, but two months backward in winter in the middle of March.

Stanza 4
A bluebird gently lands facing the wind only to keep its feathers unruffled. The controlled shrill notes of the bluebird's song shows that it is aware that it is not yet spring time. It sings in such a way so as not to excite blossoms to bloom in its spring glory. The winter was only pretending to be dormant, while it was still snowing. The bluebird is not gloomy but he is blue in colour only. The bird would not advise blossoms to bloom because he knows that anytime winter may return and the blossoms will be destroyed by frost.

Stanza 5
Water is very scarce when we need it the most in the hot summer months. Then we have to hunt for it by digging the ground with the magic stick; but now water is found everywhere. At present there are rivulets in the ruts of the road made by the wheel of carts and every hoof-print of a horse is filled with water. While one may be glad about the apparent abundance1 of water one should remember that under the surface of the mud, frost is hidden, just waiting to emerge after the sunset. Then the frost will reappear on the surface of the water as a fine layer of crystal. In this stanza note the contrast between reality and appearance. There is plenty of water yet it is hidden. There is plenty of work for the busy poet yet the tramps who wish to work do not get a chance to work.

Stanza 6
The poet had always loved the work he was engaged in. His enthusiasm increased when the two tramps came and wanted to take away his work from him. This made him realise how much he enjoyed chopping the wood. One might think that the poet had never felt the weight of an axe as he lifted it above his head or the firm grip of his outspread feet on the ground. While splitting wood the muscles in the poet's body throbbed and he sweated profusely in the heat of the springtime.

Stanza 7
Now the poet remembers about the tramps who had emerged out of the woods. The poet wonders where the two hulking tramps had slept the previous night. The poet thinks that the tramps had spent the winter in a lumber camp but were now unemployed. That is why they had slept in some unknown place. The tramps assumed that it was their right to chop wood. Here the irresponsible life of the tramps is compared to the self-controlled life of the poet. The poet is amused at the thought that the tramps judged him by their own standards and thought him to be a fool from the way he handled the axe.

Stanza 8
Neither the poet nor the tramps said anything. The tramps decided to stay over and to look at him. They wanted the poet to understand that he had no right to do that work for pleasure. They needed that work to earn their living. By taking up their work for pleasure the poet was depriving them of their livelihood. Therefore, they had a better right to the job of splitting the wood. The poet understood that he worked for the love of splitting wood but the tramps wanted to work out of necessity. The poet agrees that where there is a choice between work for pleasure and work to earn a living the latter takes precedence.

Stanza 9
The poet wonders that some may accept the division of work for love and work for need. The poet is of the view that pleasure and need must be combined in work. It is only then that a man can reach the highest degree of achievement. In other words like the two eyes give one sight in man so also the two aspects as indicated above gives unique achievement. A man has to unite his need for work as well as his love for work. He needs to undertake his task with joy for the benefit of human beings. It is only then that the task pleases God and is done for the betterment of humanity in future.

Notes

Stanza 1
Tramp: a person without a settled home or regular work.

Mud time: the time of transition from winter to spring when snow melts and there is slush and mud everywhere.

put me off my aim: diverted my attention

hailing cheerily: greeting heartily.

dropped behind: stayed behind.

go on a way: continue his journey.

He wanted............ for pay: The tramps 'wanted to split the wood for a payment.

Stanza 2
beech: wood of a beech tree.

around: from all sides.

chopping block: a block of wood on which meat or vegetable is cut into small pieces.

squarely: honestly.

fell splinterless: large pieces of wood fell without being broken into fragments.

cloven rock: neatly split rock.

blows: efforts, strength.

spares: reserves.

strike: spend.

giving a loose to my soul: allowing my soul to express itself freely.

on the unimportant wood: in the insignificant task of splitting the log.

The blows......... unimportant: The life of self-control that the speaker has been leading, has given him additional strength. The speaker thinks that he should have made better use of his time by spending it in doing some deed of common good. That particular day, he deliberately decided to spend his time in pursuit of something that was not so serious as that of doing good to mankind. The words "giving a loose to my soul" and "unimportant wood" are significant in this context.

Stanza 3
The third, fourth and fifth stanzas refer to the vagaries of New England's seasonal climate. The main story is suspended and the poet illustrates the April's delicate equilibrium between warmth and cold—spring and winter. April signifies mud time—the time of transition from winter to spring when snow melts and there is slush and mud everywhere.

The balance of weather in April is so delicate that, if you dare to speak of it, it is disturbed. The third stanza shows how the weather changes quickly on the slightest pretext.

The sun was........... chill: The sun was warm because it was the beginning of spring. The wind was still chilly because the winter was just over.

the wind is still: the cold wind is not blowing.



You know how .... middle of May: April is a month of unpredictable weather. When the sun is shining and the wind is not blowing, it looks as if you are in May in the spring weather.

But if you .... to speak: If you speak of the weather as if it is spring in May as referred to in the lines above; then you are in for a surprise. A cloud suddenly covers the sky and wind blows from a cold mountain, then it seems that you are not in May but two months backward in winter in the middle of March.

the sunlit arch: the vaulted sky, bright and warm in the sunshine.

Stanza 4
alight: to come down from above.

fronts: stands in front of the wind.

unruffle a plume: not to disturb its feather.

so pitched: in a very moderated tune.

as yet: as of now. to bloom: to blossom.

A single flower............ bloom: not a

single flower bud has opened into a flower as yet.

snowing a flake: snowing in very small masses (flake) of snow.

half knew: almost knew.

playing possum: pretending to be dead; winter is not yet over, it might come back any moment.

he isn't blue: he is not gloomy or depressed; but he is just blue in colour.

advise: suggest.

a thing: anything.

he wouldn't........... blossom: he knows that at any time winter may return and then the blossoms will be destroyed by frost.

Stanza 5
witching-wand: a magic stick used to find out where the source of water is. If there is water underground, the magic stick is supposed to shake violently in the hands of the bearer standing on the surface of the earth.

wheelrut: furrow made by wheels. brook: a small stream.

print: depression made by the hoof of an animal.

hoof: the horny part of the feet of animals, like horses.

In every............. a pond: In summer there is scarcity of water; but now, as the winter is just receding, there is water in plenty on the ground; so much so, the furrow made by wheels look like a stream and the depression made by a hoof, looks like a pond.

lurking frost: the frost that is hidden, waiting suddenly to appear in the open. The lurking frost is like a wild beast hiding.

steal forth: move in secretly without being noticed.

Stanza 6
By coming......... to ask: what the tramps intended to ask is stated later in the poem.

The weight of a vernal heat: These lines describe the experiences involved in splitting the wood.

axe-head: The head of the axe with a heavy metal blade.

poised: held suspended in the air.

aloft: up in the air; upwards.

The grip......... feet: when you are splitting wood, you raise the axe and spread your feet. The feet have a firm grip on the ground.

The life......... smooth: Because of the energy used while splitting wood, the body muscles become tight and loose in usual intervals. When they are loose, they look soft and smooth.

rocking: move gently from side to side.

moist: slightly wet with perspiration.

vernal heat: slight heat of the spring season.

Stanza 7
The seventh stanza shifts the point of view from the interrupted poet to the lumber jack.

hulking: big and clumsy.

tramps: persons without regular work or settled home.

From sleeping....... last night: The tramps came after their sleep last night; but where they were sleeping only God knows.

lumber-camps: a camp where workers for felling of timber are put up.

But not long....... camps: but they were not sleeping for a long time, since they were put up in the lumber camps.

all chopping: all kinds of splitting of wood.

theirs of right: theirs by right. woods: a small forest.

lumberjack: one who is employed in the felling or sawing of timber.

They judged................. tool: Mark the subtle sense of ironical humour in these lines. It is not possible for "men of the woods and lumberjacks' to recognise and judge a civilized man rightly, they can judge a man only by means of their own tool-here: the axe.

Except as a ................ knowing a fool: Ironical humour continues in these two lines. The only way in which the two tramps could judge a person was in the way he could handle an axe.

Stanza 8
they had but to stay: they had only to prolong.

their stay: their act of standing there.

logic: way of reasoning.

As I had no................. for gain: Splitting the wood is for the poet no more than a hobby; but for the tramps it is their source of livelihood.

My right: The poet's right of having the hobby and splitting wood.

might be love: might be out of love for the hobby.

need: The tramps need the work of splitting wood for their livelihood.

in twain: together.

Stanza 9
vocation: trade or profession.

avocation: hobby in which one indulges for pleasure.

their separation: separation of work done for pleasure and work done for a living.

But yield................. to their separaion: The poet does not believe in the separation of vacation and avocation.

work in play: work is done for the sake of leisure.

love and need are one: When work undertaken to earn a livelihood is also the work undertaken as a hobby for enjoyment.

stakes: a race for prize money.

for mortal stakes: a race for prize money for winning the prizes of life like honour, wealth, power, etc.

For Heaven....... sakes: for God's sake and for the sake of future.

But yield who............ for Heaven and the future's sake: The concluding stanza of this poem is supposed to express what may be described as its central thought. "The underlying theme is a defense of the individual against the "gang security".

The poet knows we have no right to exercise a personal indulgence arrogantly when others are in dire need. When we unite our love and need in work, that is, play for mortal stakes then, the motive is pure and the act is justified. His relationship with his fellowman is one of sympathetic understanding.

The Harp of India

The Harp of India

H.L. V. Derozio [1809-1831]

Introduction

Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was an Indian of Indo-Portuguese origin. His father was Portuguese and his mother, Indian. He was born in 1809 when India was under the British rule. Derozio was greatly inspired with love for the country of his birth. Perhaps his contacts with other contemporary Indian nationalistic writers (like Raja Rammohan Roy) influenced his attitude. Though he died of cholera at the early age of 22 in 1831, Derozio's verses reflect maturity and a sensible understanding of the need to love one's own country. There is no doubt that Derozio wrote for instilling patriotic fervour amongst the youth. All his writings seem to promote a spirit that is truly 'Indian'. Amongst the better known of his poems is the narrative The Faqueer of Jungheera.

Derozio's love for his country is expressed in his sonnets The Harp of India and To India—My Native Land. His poems, Evening In August, The Faqueer of Jungheera, The Eclipse and Song of the Indian Girls give ample evidence of his nationalist thought and poetic talents. His poems have elements of English romantic poetry, but are Indian in content, theme and imagery.

Signposts
1. The withered condition of the harp.
2. Why is it in this condition?
3. Previous patriots' contribution.
4. Poet's desire to play the harp.

Poem in Detail

The poet laments over the fact that the rich tradition of Indian poetry (expressing the freedom of speech) lies neglected and is mute like an unstrung harp on the withered bough of a leafless tree. This is because India is under the British rule. The tradition of free expression now remains lifeless. The music produced by the harp was melodious then—but now, 110 one hears it. The breeze blows over the broken harp (of poetry/free expression) without producing any melody from it. The creative talent has been mute, as if it is chained by fetters of silence. Now the harp remains neglected, mute and desolate like a ruined monument in the wilderness of a desert.

The poet recollects that many poets, with greater talent than his own had produced, by strumming on the harp, enchanting music. Their achievement brought them fame, which continues to survive even after their death, like flowers that continue to bloom on the graves of poets buried long ago.

Poets with creative talents are dead and gone. The poet feels that there is still hope. He expresses his desire to revive the divine art of poetic composition by striking on the long neglected harp.

Notes

hang'st: hangs.
yon: that.
withered: dried up and dead.
bough: branch.
Unstrung: untuned.
fatal: deadly; resulting in death.
Neglected: ignored.
mute: dumb; silent.
desolate: deserted; lonely.
desert plain: vast area of sandy
wasteland.
harmonious: melodious.
chords: musical notes in harmony.
wreath: a circular band of flowers.
entwine: to twist or wind something in or around something else.
blooming: blossoming.
minstrel: poet.
cold: lifeless.
divine: heavenly.

Upagupta

Upagupta

Rabindranath Tagore [1861-1941]

Introduction

Rabindranath Tagore, the greatest of India's modern poets, was born in an ancient Bengali family in 1861. He showed remarkable poetic talent even at an early age. Besides being a poet, he was a novelist, essayist and dramatist. In the West, his fame rests primarily upon his translations and versions of such mystical verses as the Gitanjali, which were brought to the attention of scholars by W.B. Yeats and Ezra Pound. Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1913 for his Gitanjali. In India, and particularly in his native state of Bengal, he is noted equally for his other achievements. Besides being a versatile writer, he was an educator with great originality and imagination. He was the founder of the internationally famous educational institution known as Vishvabharati at Santiniketan. He was also the exponent of a new style of music called 'Rabindra Sangeet'; and in his later years, he came to be looked upon as one of the best painters.

Tagore's poetry is profoundly and unmistakably Indian. He restates the wisdom of India in verse by a mingling of love, friendship and music. He is a mystic "who can hear the voice of God in the tempest and see His hand in the stilling of the wave." Tagore's own translations of his works are mostly free renderings and not literal translations. They have been called English 'transcreations'. Besides Gitanjali, his works include the Crescent Moon, The Gardener, etc. Writing in free verse, Tagore has the credit of creating a new form of poetry, namely the prose-poem. Tagore's poems show that he was an inspired poet, and a conscious artist.

The poem Upagupta is a part of his writings in English in an anthology of 86 poems translated from the original Bengali version by Tagore himself. The anthology is entitled Fruit Gathering

Poem

Signposts
1. Upagupta asleep on the dusty ground.
2. The dancing girl invites him.
3. His promise to visit her when the time is ripe.
4. The woman driven away from the town.
5. Upagupta keeps his promise and visits her.

Poem in Detail

One night, Upagupta an ascetic, a disciple of Lord Buddha, lay asleep on the dusty ground by the city of Mathura. The sky was overcast with clouds, and the doors were all shut. In the prevailing darkness, a dancing girl passed that way. Though she was carrying a lamp in her hand, her feet tinkling, touched the chest of the ascetic. He woke up startled; he saw the light of the woman's lamp. She wore precious jewels. She saw the face of the young 'ascetic'. His eyes were full of tolerance and compassion. His face reflected peace and austerity.

The young woman begged to be forgiven for her fault. At the same time, struck by his physical charm, she invited him to come with her to her house. She said lovingly that the bare dusty earth was not a fit bed for a handsome young man as he was. Upagupta simply advised her to go to her house. He, however, promised to visit her at the proper time. Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning in the clouds. The dancing girl was frightened to hear the thunder of the coming storm.

Days passed, and it was the festival of flowers in spring season. The trees on the roadside were laden with flowers. The people were in a merry mood. Some of them played sweet notes on the flute. A large number of people went to the woods to celebrate the festival. The night was lit with the full moon. The streets of the town were lonely. Upagupta was going on his way while love-sick 'koels' were singing out their complaint from the mango trees. The ascetic passed through the city gates and stood at the base of the city wall.

Suddenly, Upagupta saw a woman lying in the shadow of the wall. She was the same dancing girl who had once invited the ascetic to her house. At the moment she was afflicted with a deadly disease. Her whole body was covered with wounds. She had been forced to leave the town lest she should spread the disease there by her touch. She was alone and forsaken. The ascetic took pity on her. He did not hesitate to give her service and help. He sat by her side, took her head on his knees, offered water to her thirsty dry lips, and finally applied medicine to her wounds. The woman felt extremely grateful to him. She asked the kind ascetic who he was. Upagupta told her that he had kept his word and come to her at an appropriate time.

Notes
disciple: follower of a religious leader.
murky sky: dark gloomy sky.
tinkling: making a pleasant metallic sound.
anklets: ornamental chain worn around the ankle of a lady.
startled: extremely surprised.
forgiving: merciful.
starred: shining like stars.
clouded: covered.
mantle: loose cloak.
drunk with the wine of her youth: proud of her youth and beauty.
austerely beautiful: reflecting the beauty of an ascetic.
ascetic: a religious person who practices a life of self-sacrifice.
graciously: kindly.
when the time is ripe: at an appropriate time.
showed his teeth: the sky broke into forks of lightning.
growled: made a rumbling sound.
trembled: shivered.
wayside: roadside.
aching with blossoms: heavy with flowers.
afar: far away.
gazed: looked down.
koels: singing birds.
plaint: complaints, messages.
base: support.
rampant: fort-like structure.
struck: affected.
black pestilence: a deadly epidemic disease.
moistened: made slightly wet.
smeared: applied.

The Queen's Rival

The Queen's Rival

Sarojini Naidu [1879-1949]

Introduction

Sarojini Naidu was a great patriot, freedom fighter and poetess of modern India. She was born on 13 February 1879 at Hyderabad and was educated in Madras, London and Cambridge. She was influenced by English romanticism as well as by Persian and Urdu poetic traditions. Her first volume of poetry The Golden Threshold was published in 1905. This was followed by The Bird of Time, The Broken Wing and The Sceptered Flute.

Known as the 'Nightingale of India' she composed poetry in which swift thoughts and strong emotion sprang into lyrics by themselves. She has given expression to joys as well as to the sorrows of life. She was sensitive to the beauty of living things. She tried to fuse the riches of English vocabulary with subjects of her poetry, very peculiar to the east. As a sensitive poet, Sarojini Naidu proved that English language can be made a vehicle of one's creativity.

The poem The Queen's Rival is taken from The Golden Threshold, the first volume of verse by Sarojini Naidu.

Signposts

1. Glamorous world of the queen.
2. The Queen's dissatisfaction.
3. Hunt for the seven beauties.
4. Queen's heart is still dissatisfied.
5. Queen's looking for a rival.
6. The mirror image.
7. The rival is found in a world of reality.

Poem in Detail

Queen Gulnaar sat on her ivory bed; countless treasures were spread around her. The walls in her chamber were inlaid lavishly with agate, porphyry, onyx and jade. The fabric, which she wore around her delicate chest glowed with the colours similar to those of a lapwing's crest. But she gazed in her mirror and sighed saying, "O King, my heart is unsatisfied."

King Feroz bent down from his ebony seat saying, "Is your least desire not fulfilled, my sweet heart?" He further requested her to express her desire, and he would spend all his life to fulfill her desire by doing away with the circumstances leading to her dissatisfaction. The queen said, "I am tired of my beauty; I am tired of my external beauty without substance and happiness. I have no rival to envy nor there is anyone to dispute my claim of being most beautiful."

Queen Gulnaar sighed like a murmuring rose, saying, "Give me a rival, King Feroz". King Feroz spoke to his chief councillor and ordered him to be in the palace before dawn on the following day. The King ordered him to send messengers over the sea to look for seven beautiful brides for the former. The King said that the brides should be of glowing beauty and of royal bearing. They should be. fit to be seven ladies in attendance to the Persian Queen.

King Feroz led to Queen Gulnaar's hall seven most attractive beauties in the evening time. The young Queen Gulnaar like a bright morning star, saw the seven beauties with suspicion. She recalled the words of the King, "I bring thee a rival, O Queen Gulnaar". She was not satisfied; she gazed in her mirror and sighed, "O King, my heart is still dissatisfied".

However, around the Queen's ivory bed, stood seven queens with such stunning beauty that they looked like a necklace of seven gems of pleasing colours on a silken thread. Furthermore, the even queens looked like seven beautiful lamps in a royal tower and seven bright petals of a most beautiful flower. Yet, Queen Gulnaar sighed like a murmuring rose and expressed her dissatisfaction, saying, "King Feroz, where is my rival?"

Then the spring winds gently blew, giving rise to rains that caused flood. The winds also made the tulip buds to bloom into a carpet of reddish flower; the bees began to buzz with louder sound and the summer was already at hand. There was excitement in the peach groves as the orioles began to sing. Against this background, Queen Gulnaar sat on her ivory bed adorning her delicate hair with precious jewels. She gazed in the mirror and sighed, "O King, my heart is still dissatisfied".

Queen Gulnaar's two year old daughter was adorned with blue robes with attractive borders of tassels of gold. The child, like a fairy in a forest rushed to the Queen and snatched the mirror away. Then the child quickly wore her mother's hairband with fringes of pearls on her own beautiful curls. Suddenly, with a child-like move, she planted happily a kiss on the mirror. Queen Gulnaar laughed like a quivering rose, saying, "O King Feroz, look, here is my rival".

Notes

Couplet 1 to 4

Gul: in Persian means a bud.
naar: means beautiful. Gulnaar means a beautiful bud. The Queen as her name suggests was very, beautiful like a blossoming bud.
ivory bed: a bed inlaid with ivory, in keeping with the Persian artistic tradition.
countless treasures: The queen was surrounded with her many rich treasures. Countless is a hyperbole.
chamber walls: walls of her room.
richly: lavishly.
inlaid: ornamented by inserting pieces of metal, ivory, etc.
agate: a special type of marble.
porphyry: a hard rock (quarried in ancient Egypt) composed of crystals.
onyx: semi-precious variety of agate with different colours in layers.
jade: hard green stone used for ornaments.
tissues: finely woven frabic.
breast: the chest.
glowed: shone.
hues: colours.
lapwing: a plump wading bird with black and white feathers and a crested head.
crest: a tuft of feathers on a bird's head.
gazed: looked fixedly.
sighed: expressed disappointment,

Couplet 5 to 8

ebony: hard dark wood used for furniture.
unfulfilled: not accomplished.
Sweet: sweetheart.
sky of discontent: the whole matter concerning your dissatisfaction.
empty: devoid of substance.
splendour: brilliance, magnificence.
empty splendour: outward excellence which is without substance
bliss: happiness.
shadowless: unsubstantial.
gainsay: to dispute my claim.
savour: taste, flavour.
salt: substance which gives taste.

Couplet 9 to 12

none to envy and none gainsay: note the alliteration by repetition of one sound. Similarly note the sound in savour or salt; dream or day.
dream: ambition to be considered most beautiful.
day: a day of triumph on which I can boast of my superiority in beauty.
murmuring rose: note the imaging of a flower of beauty grumbling in a subdued tone.
ere: before.
Vizier: a minister or councilor of state in Persian.
seven: indicate a complete number. Radiant: glowing.
feature: outward appearance; beauty. regal: royal
mien: look; bearing; face-expression.
meet: fit.
handmaids: female servants (beautiful young ladies).
Vesper: evening prayer service. call: invitation.

Couplet 13 to 15

Vesper call: call to the evening prayer service (here) at the evening time.
new moon tide: exceptional rise of water because of the new moon's attraction.
Seven new moon tides: seven beauties with exceptional attraction (like water attracted by the moon).
eyed: observed closely with curiosity and suspicion.
morning star: a bright star seen in the east before sunrise.

Couplet 16 to 18

Like seven soft ............. thread: The seven queens stood attractively at Queen Gulnaar's bed that they looked like a round necklace of seven soft gems on a silk thread.
soft gems: gems of light colour (not of glaring colour).
fair: beautiful; attractive.
murmuring: expressing discontent in a subdued tone.

Couplet 19 to 22

spring winds wakened: the winds in spring caused rain which brought about floods in the mountain.
kindled: lit.
tulip: a bulbous spring flowering plant, produces flowers of various colours.
flame: indicate a string of flowers of the colour of a flame.
And kindled................ buds: caused the
plants to bring about tulip buds of reddish colour: i.e. the buzz of the bees.
days grew long: indicates onset of summer when days are longer.
thrilled: moved with excitement.
oriole: a golden yellow bird with black wings.
Decking: adorning (decorating).
exquisite: extremely beautiful (or delicate).
gazed in her mirror: saw her beauty reflected in the mirror.

Couplet 23 to 27

two spring times old: two years old. bordered: having the borders.
tassel: a tuft of loosely hanging threads.
wildwood: wild uncultivated forest.
fay: fairy.
plucked: snatched.
set: arranged.
curls: ringlets of hair.
light: delicate.
fillet: hair-band.
fringes: borders; sides.
fillet with fringes of pearls: hair band, sides of which were set with pearls.
caprice: whimsical change of mind.
tremulous: quivering, trembling.

The Man with the Hoe

The Man with the Hoe

Edwin Markham [1852-1940]

Introduction

Charles Edward Markham who wrote under the name of Edwin Markham was^ born in Oregon City in America on 23rd April 1852. His father died before Edwin was five years old. Then his family settled in central California. Educated in a local school and college, he became the Headmaster of the Tompkins Observation School in Oakland. The first poem that brought him fame was The Man with the Hoe published in the San Francisco Examiner in 1899. During the next 40 years of his life he lived on Statan Island and produced five volumes of poems and much prose. His works include Lincoln and Other Poems (1901), California the Wonderful (1915), Gate of Paradise (1920), Ballad of the Gallows Bird (1926), Eight Poems at Eighty (1932) and Collected Poems (1940). Edwin Markham died on March 7, 1940

In the present poem, Markham draws a picture of a typical land-labourer, tired and worn out with soul so dead that he had become a brother to the ox. ^God made man in his own image, but this is what man has made of man. The poem was written as a response to an oil painting by the French artist Jean Francois Millet (1814-1875). The painting called "L'homme a la houe" depicted a man bent over by the burden of his work. The man held a hoe in his hand. Markham was deeply influenced by this painting and wrote the poem "The Man with the Hoe." The poem highlights the oppression and injustice suffered by the working class through the centuries. The poem gave Markham immediate fame. It is said to have brought to him 250,000 dollars by way of royalties! But the author himself once modestly said that it was 'a chance stroke. I caught the eye and ear of the world.

Poem
Signposts

The man with a hoe is a symbol of betrayal by humanity.

The betrayal is against God's plan of creating him.

There is a gap between what he is and what God intended him to be.

Appeal to the rulers to restore his human image.

Prediction of a rebellion of the working class.

Poem in Detail

Stanza 1

The poor exhausted farmer leans forward on his hoe gazing on the ground. He bows low under the weight of work over the centuries. The futility and emptiness of the ages is reflected on his face. The heavy burden of labour makes his back bend low and has made him insensitive to human emotions such as ecstasy, hope and despair. The farmer does not lament; neither does he see a ray of hope. Shocked and excited, he has become a labourer like an ox. Who has disfigured him by pushing down his jaw like that of an animal? The intensive labour has pushed back his brow, which makes him look old. All these have deprived him of his reasoning power.

Stanza 2

Is this the man who was created by God and was given control over the land and sea? Is this the man who is created to trace the stars and to explore space in order to exert his power? Is he not meant to explore the universe and experience a strong desire for eternity? Is he the ideal man made by God, the creator of suns and who designed their path over the oceans? The figure of this farmer is more terrible than of someone living in the darkest region of hell. This is the man who shows forth the world's blind greed. He is more filled with ominous signs of spiritual degeneration. He has within himself a great danger to the universe than any other thing in the world.

Stanza 3

There is a big difference between the farmer and those who are powerful. While the powerful enjoy the status of the highest angel, the farmer is reduced to the level of a slave. To such a degenerated symbol of humanity, the philosophy of Plato, the world of astronomy, and the wonders of music, the beauty of the Dawn as well as the blooming of roses have no significance. In his awful shape, the signs of the long suffering of the labourers is reflected. His dreadful shape is a symbol of the betrayal of humanity. The hoeman—who has become a representative of the suffering masses—has been looted, desecrated, and deprived of his rightful possessions. He cries out in protest to his Creator and his protest is a prediction of an imminent rebellion.

Stanza 4

Oh masters, rulers, men in power in all countries! Is he the degenerated man whom you want to offer as a gift to God? He is degenerated, dehumanized by sufferings. He can't even think. How will you remedy the situation? How will you instill in him human aspirations, illuminations, aesthetic sense and hope? How would you make amends for the lasting insults, treacherous injustice, and endless sorrows, which have been inflicted on the labourers for centuries?

Stanza 5

Lords, masters and rulers in all countries! How will you account for the abuse of your fellowmen down the ages? What answer will you give to the simple questions asked by the work-force when they rise in rebellion everywhere against their oppressors? What will the fate of kings and kingdoms be? They have destroyed the true image of the working class. The blind terror will sit in judgement after centuries of patient suffering. Then it shall rise to judge its masters.

Notes

Stanza 1

bowed: bent under.
weight of centuries: the burden of miseries accumulated over many centuries.
leans upon: a labourer is seen bent over his hoe,
gazes: stares with disdain. For all his efforts on the ground, he has got nothing significant in life.
emptiness: lack of achievement in the past or hope for anything in future. This feeling of frustration is reflected on his face.
ages: centuries.
burden: (two meanings)
(i) heavy responsibility of working for human beings (the benefits of which did not accrue to him.)
(ii) troubles and miseries in the world.
Responsibilities of working and miseries accumulated make his back bend.
dead: non-sensitive, having no feeling for.
rapture: great delight; ecstasy. despair: hopelessness.
stolid: unemotional, passive.
stunned: dazed, astonished.
brutal: cruel.
Who loosened jaw: who made him powerless (by loosening and letting down his jaw like in an old man)?
Whose was that hand: who was responsible.
slant: turn.
brow: eyebrow.
Who was responsible for pushing back his eyebrow? That is, to make him look old and haggard.
breath: command, order.
blow out: extinguish.
light: power of thinking and understanding.

Stanza 2

Thing: human being; capital T is used to emphasise that 'thing' is precious; it is a human being.
The Lord God .... land: Here an allusion is made to the (Bible) Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 28. According to the Bible, God made man from the clay of earth and breathed life into him. God gave him power over sea and land, i.e., over the whole universe.
to trace: to find out.
search the heavens for power: to explore space or to use energy such as solar energy, from heavenly bodies.
passion of: strong desire for. dream: vision of God for man.
He: God, the creator of man.
shaped: created. marked: charted out.
the ancient deep: an expression used by Milton, meaning chaos. Markham was a great admirer of Milton.
And marked............. deep: And charted
out the revolutions of the suns over the chaos. Chaos and darkness existed before God created everything in the universe and put
order in it.
caverns: caves.
gulf: an abyss, a deep place.
no shape: the appearance. The shape of the man with the hoe is so disgusting that such an appearance is not even found in all deep caves in hell — even its deepest abyss.
tongued: expressed with shock.
with censure: with harsh criticism (disapproval).
signs: indications.
portents: omens, warnings for the future.
packed: filled.

Stanza 3

gulf: big gap or contrast.
seraphim: an angel of the highest order.
slave....labour: slave of continuous work.
Plato: Greek philosopher.
Pleiades: a cluster of stars in constellation Taurus, usually known as 'the seven sisters."
peaks of song: climax of a song. rift of dawn: break of dawn.
reddening: blooming,
dread shape: fearful shape of the stooping figure of the Hoeman.
suffering ages: centuries of
exploitation.
Times tragedy: a sorrowful event through the stretch of time over a long period.
aching stoop: painful stooping posture.
betrayed: humiliated by an act of unkindness.
plundered, profaned and disinherited: robbed, desecrated and deprived of his right.
protests: rebels, objects.
Power: God.
prophecy: a prediction of future events.

Stanza 4

handiwork: a thing done with one's own hands.
monstrous: like a monster, huge and ugly.
distorted: twisted out of shape.
soul-quenched: a being without aspiration or hope.
straighten up: restore dignity to something.
touch it again with immortality: re­awaken a sense of belonging in the despairing Hoeman.
Upward looking: having hope and aspiration.
the light: ability to think,
rebuild: revive.
it: oppressed labour class.
music: harmony.
the dream: ideals.
make right: rectify.
immemorial infamies: wicked behaviour over a long time.
perfidious: deceitful. wrongs: injustices. immedicable: incurable. woes: sufferings.

Stanza 5

reckon with: encounter, face.
brute question: blunt question.
whirlwinds of rebellion: strong protests of rebellion.
shake all shores: shake all the countries.
dumb: mute.
terror: extreme fear.
dumb Terror: personification of the angry figure symbolising the oppressed working class.
silence of the centuries: patient endurance by the oppressed class over many centuries