POEM 2: THE SPIDER AND THE FLY by Mary Howitt

POEM 2:   THE SPIDER AND THE FLY by Mary Howitt    (Summary)

OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY:

·       INTRODUCTION

·       INVITATION TO PARLOUR

·       LITTLE BED

·       SPIDER’S PANTRY

·       SPIDER’S FLATTER

·       THE SPIDER’S CONFIDENCE

·       SAD END OF THE FLY

·       CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION:  “The Spider and the Fly” is a poem by the poet Mary Howitt.  The poem is written in the form of a dialogue between a cunning ‘Spider’ and an immature and innocent ‘Fly’.  The Spider which is hungry seduces the Fly by using false and flattering words to fall a prey to its hunger.  The Fly is cautious in the beginning.  Later it falls a prey to the Spider.  The poem is a warning to the children as well as to all who are tempted by evil things in this world.

INVITATION TO PARLOUR:   In the first stanza the spider invites the fly to its parlour.  The spider tempts the fly by saying that its little parlour is the prettiest one.  The parlour has a winding stair.  The spider told the fly that it would show many curious things that are there in the parlour.  The fly understood the trick played by the spider and refused saying that whoever went up the winding stair could never come down again.

LITTLE BED:  The spider persuaded the fly by inviting it to sleep on its little bed.  The spider said that the fly must be tired after flying so high and it might need rest.  It said that pretty curtains surrounded the bed and the sheets on the bed were fine and thin.  The fly could rest a while and it could be comfortably tucked in by the spider.  The fly exclaimed that it would not accept the invitation.  It added that it had often heard that those who slept upon the spider’s bed would never wake up again. 

SPIDER’S PANTRY:  The spider told the fly that it wanted to prove its warm affection it had for the fly.  It invited the fly to visit its store to choose from a number of good things to eat.  The fly replied that it did not wish to see the pantry. 

SPIDER’S FLATTERY:  The spider spoke sweet and attractive words about the fly.  It said that the fly was clever and wise.   The fly looked handsome and it had delicate wings and brilliant eyes.  The spider invited the fly to step into its parlour for a moment to look into the looking-glass it had in the parlour’s shelf.  The fly did not heed to the spider and left the place that it would come again on some other day.

THE SPIDER’S CONFIDENCE:  The spider was confident that the fly would soon visit its den.  So it wove a delicate web cunningly in a little corner.  It set its table ready so that it can eat the fly when it came back again.  The spider came to the door of its web and sang happily to attract the fly.  It sang that the fly looked beautiful with its pearl and silver wings.  The fly had a crest upon its head with its green and purple dress.  The spider told the fly that its eyes looked dull as lead whereas the fly’s eyes looked bright like diamond.

SAD END OF THE FLY:  The fly which was careful in the beginning failed in overcoming the temptation.  It got tempted by the flattery of the spider.  The fly flew nearer to the spider’s web and gave a chance for the spider to catch it. The poor foolish fly thought only about its brilliant eyes, its green  and purple colour and its crested head and went very near to the web.  The cunning spider jumped and caught the fly.  It dragged the fly into its winding stair and miserable den.  The fly did not come out again.

CONCLUSION:  The poet warns the children as well as others not to fall a prey to flattering words.  We should not heed to an evil counsellor.  We should learn a lesson from this tale and understand that there are people like the spider and we may fall a prey to them like the poor fly.

POEM 2 : A PSALM OF LIFE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

POEM 2 : A PSALM OF LIFE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY:

*INTRODUCTION

*LIFE IS NOT AN EMPTY DREAM

*LIFE IS REAL

*VIBRATION OF HEART

*LIFE IS A BATTLE FIELD

*FOLLOW GREAT MEN

*CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION:  ‘A Psalm of Life’ is a poem by the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is an American Poet and Educator.  He belonged to a group called ‘The Fireside Poets’.  His poem ‘A Psalm of Life’ celebrates and glorifies life.  The psalm is the song of life.  The poet says that we have only one life.  We should make good use of this life given by god.

LIFE IS NOT AN EMPTY DREAM:  The poet in the poem speaks from his “heart”.  He says that we should not be pessimistic.  He does not accept that ‘Life’ is an empty dream.  He says that life is not a mere journey towards the grave.  We should not say that the soul is dead.  We should not allow the soul to sleep.

LIFE IS REAL:  The poet is of the opinion that ‘Life’ is real and serious.  ‘Death’ should not be our goal of life.  The soul exists even after our death.  The soul does not turn to dust.  ‘Life’ is not just sorrow or happiness.  We must go beyond sorrow or happiness.  We may march towards death but we must act.  We must make each day better than the previous one.  We must make our life meaningful.

VIBRATION OF HEART:  There is lot to be done on this earth.  But our span of life is short.  Our heart should vibrate with strength and vitality.  It should not beat slowly like the silent drums in a funeral march. There should be happiness in every beat.

LIFE IS A BATTLE FIELD:  The poet says that this world is like a battlefield. We should not be afraid and worried.   The life here is brief.  We should fight like a hero.  Let us not turn our back in the battle.  We should not behave like driven cattle. 

FOLLOW GREAT MEN:  We should look at the lives of great men.  They have achieved name and fame on earth.  Let us follow them.  Our achievements will remain forever like the foot prints on the sands of time.  Some people sailing in the sea of life may be shipwrecked.  They may lose heart.  Our achievements may provide inspiration to them.  They can pick up courage and start a new life.

CONCLUSION:  The poet concludes his poem with an optimistic note.  He says that we must overcome our fate.  It could be done only through hard work and by being active throughout our life.

POEM 3 : Shaper Shaped by Harindranath Chatopadyaya

POEM 3 : Shaper Shaped by Harindranath Chatopadyaya

Introduction- The poem 'Shaper Shaped' is by Bengali intellectual Harindranath Chatopadyaya. He was wealthy, high born, temperamental, eccentric, exceptionally brilliant  proud of his abilities, but wasting them by his self-destructive tendencies.  He was a man of varying abilities. He was an artist, poet, dramatist, actor and philosopher.  The poem deals with a change from a man's obsession with himself.  With self-realisation, has come the knowledge of humility and surrender to the will of God.

Obsession with self-The  poem reveals the poet's frank admission of his obsession with himself in the past. He is arrogant enough to think that he is all powerful. With humility, self-realization brings in a glimpse of the larger purpose of the conscience.

Self-Realisation- Initially, the poet neglects everything around him and is very arrogant. Later, when he realizes his true purpose in life, humility follows Self-Realisation. The poet tells us that we are mere human beings and cautions us not to be wrapped up in our tiny little egos. He adds that only when man sheds the idea of being all powerful and gives up the obsession with self will he be able to experience the awakening of his soul.

Potter and Clay-The poet used to think he was a potter who was gifted and could magically design beautiful pots and vessels of clay. Wisdom dawned on him. The pride of being a potter is lost. He has realized that he is not the potter but the clay which the creator would shape how it pleased him.

Poet and Song-Then, the poet used to think he was a talented poet who would write beautiful songs which men would adore. He is fortunate that he has acquired new knowledge. He has realized that he is only a song which the creator has written.

Sword Maker and Sword-The poet used to be a maker of swords. The swords designed by him glittered and brought glory in thousands of battle fields. Now, he is filled with the new found silence of the creator and has become the sword which will be used by God to do his will.

The Dreamer and dream-In olden days, in his arrogance, he would think he was an excellent dreamer and showed disrespect to everyone.  He would hurl the insolence of emerald and pearl everywhere. With the realization comes humility and he is kneeling at the feet of the creator. Now he has become the dream.

 Conclusion- The poet talks about arrogance in human beings which does not allow one to appreciate the power of God. Hence, it is necessary for human beings to submit to the will of God to lead a fruitful life. It is essential to get rid of the narcissistic tendencies and realize the will of God.

POEM 1 : I DREAM A WORLD by Langston Hughes

POEM 1 :  I DREAM A WORLD   by Langston Hughes

OUTLINE OF THE ESSAY:

*INTRODUCTION

*WORLD WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION

*WORLD WITH FREEDOM

*WORLD WITH EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

*WORLD WITHOUT WRETCHEDNESS

*CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION:  James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet.  He was born on 1^st February, 1902.  He died on 22^nd May, 1967.  He was a Social Activist, Playwright and Novelist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form called Jazz poetry.  The poet dreams of a world.  The world must be a place for every man to live without any racial boundaries.  There should be harmony and freedom in that world.  The poem is an example of personification.  The poet has used abstract nouns.  They enhance our mind to connect ideas and images.  We are made to think deeper of the true meaning.

WORLD WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION:  In the first four lines of the poet Hughes dreams of a world where man lives in harmony with other men.  In this world no one looks down on anyone else.  The poet wishes that love and peace should rule his dream world.  We know that in the real world men do look down upon other men.  This was especially in terms of skin colour.  The white people in America of the early twentieth century considered the coloured peoples as second-class citizens.  This created hatred instead of love among people.  The poet hated this.

WORLD WITH FREEDOM:  The poet dreams of a world in which everyone will both want, and have, freedom.In this dream world greed and materialism will no longer ruin humanity.  In the real world only certain men enjoy freedom of choices.  Such men exploit the other men. This makes the poet feel unhappy.

  WORLD WITH EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES:  Hughes says that in his dream world all races will have equal opportunities for success.  In the real world things are different.  Most white educational institutions, work places and entertainment centres do not allow coloured peoples to enter. 

WORLD WITHOUT WRETCHEDNESS:  Hughes dreams of a world where wretchedness has departed from the lives of men.  He wants joy to come and reside in its place.  But we know that such a world can only exist in a dream-vision.  At the same time, the poem makes us get optimistic thinking of getting a good and happy world.

CONCLUSION:  Hughes believed that all races were equal and deserved to be treated with the same amount of respect.  This is what he upholds in his poem ‘I Dream a World.’ The dream is not only the poet’s dream; it is the dream of everyone in this world of suffering.