Beehive: Class 9 / Poem : WIND / Detailed notes by Sujeet Kumar

CLASS 9 / BEEHIVE
POEM- WIND
   -- Subramania Bharati 

INTRODUCTION / THEME / MESSAGE /
STANZA - WISE EXPLANATION / WORD MEANING / QUESTIONS ANSWERS
 
           --- prepared by : Sujeet Kumar

INTRODUCTION
--------------------------

The poem entitled 'wind ' by Subramania Bharati is about the activities and functions of wind. It describes wind as a powerful natural agent which arises and blows to serve ; but the service it offers often proves too much especially for those that are weak and unable to sustain the intense dynamism of wind.
The poet has humanified wind and has described its activities and functions first as a child who is overactive and mischievous; and then as a young boy who is too energetic for the weaklings to sustain and control its power - packed functions.


THEME OF THE POEM
------------------------------------
THE POEM is based on the modalities of troubles and sensations of desperate expressions of the human life.

The wind blows in accordance with the natural law of survival. But it's blowing sometimes brings troubles and difficulties for mankind. But quite indifferent to what mankind thinks and say, the wind does what and how it has to.

The poet says that accusing wind for our aero - stricken troubles is not justified as wind blows to do its naturally assigned jobs. What troubles humans is their inability to rise to the occasion and face the adversities with preparedness and courage.


MESSAGE OF POEM
---------------------------------
THE POEM suggestively appeals human beings to respect nature and appreciate its works. Being a part of nature, we have to adjust our living according to the laws of nature. The wind has to blow and it must blow. we have to be adeptive according to the nature of the wind. we have to lay the foundation of our life on strong bases of courage and determination and manage our living so as to sustain additional forces and extra charges of natural agents like wind.If we will not be strong and determined to meet the challenges of life ,we are sure to break down like a weak building that crumbles and collapse in face of even a slight jolt.


 STANZA: 1
--------------------
Wind, come softly.
Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
There, look what you did — you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.

WORD MEANING
----------------------------

Come softly. --- blow slowly
scatter ------- disperse
poking fun --- troubling/ harassing

EXPLANATION
-----------------------

The poet is addressing the wind that is like a human child - over -  agile, overactive and highly mischievous.

As the normal activities of a child to break , throw, tear or to desperse things so does the child wind here.

The child wind comes hurriedly with force and breaks the shutters of the window,
scatters important papers of the narrator and throw s down his books.

The narrator requests the child wind not to blow with force and destroy his things. But  the child wind doesn't comply with the request of the poet and goes on doing his work. Finally to add to the grief of the poet , the child wind invites rain. The forces of air along with water is so troublesome for the poet that he disapproves of the works of child  wind and calls him  an expert at harassing all those who have not provided with the required means to bear with the forceful work of the child wind.


IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?

A. When the wind blows violently, it destroys everything. It breaks the shutters of windows, scatters the papers, throws the books down from the shelves, tears their pages and brings along a lot of rain.


2. Who is being addressed ?

Ans: Wind

3. What is the tone of the narrator/ speaker / poet ?

Ans: Requesting

4. what does the poet request for and why ?

Ans: The poet requests the wind to blow gently because the strong wind destroys his belongings and made his life difficult.

5. What is the wind expert at ?

Ans: bringing troubles and making life difficult for those who are not strong enough to bear with the ways of fierce wind.

6. Find a word from the extract Which is antonym to ' collect' .

Ans: scatter


STANZA : 2
--------------------

Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters, crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts —
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.
He won't do what you tell them.

WORD MEANING
---------------------------
 crumbling: falling or to cause something to break

rafter: sloping beam which support the roof of the building

winnows : cause something to blow away / separate grains from husk using the power of blowing air

EXPLANATION
------------------------

Here, the poet is addressing the wind that is like a young human - extraordinarily energetic and powerful ; whimsical by nature who hardly pays attention to what others say.
The poet says that the young human wind is so aggressive and powerful that he causes breakage and fall to every such things as are weak and frail ---- be it houses, doors, beams, any wooden structure, bodies of animate or inanimate entities ---- all are sure to be blown away like the husk of grains and perished. The strong wind destroys the lives and breaks the hearts of those don't understand nature as and fail to cope with the manners of the wind god.
The poet means to say that whenever a weak person faces any adversity or challenge in life he breaks down and falls.


IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

1. Describe the physical characteristics of wind ?

And: The wind is like a young human ; very aggressive and powerful ; working in his own way not caring for what others say.


2. Why do houses, wooden things and rafter etc crumble ?

Ans: because they are weak .

3. which word in the extract means separate husk from grains using energy of wing.

Ans: winnows


4. Find a word from the extract Which means opposite to strong.

Ans: frail

5. Why has the poet called wind 'god '?


Ans: Wind is a supernatural agent and like God, wind can support life and can also destroy it. 

STANZA : 3
-----------------

So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s joint the doors firmly.
Practice to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.

WORD MEANING
---------------------------

steadfast – firm
to firm the body - to make body strong


EXPLANATION
-----------------------
Here, the poet addresses all those who suffer because of strong wind - blowing and have to bear loss and difficulties. The poet appeals all such suffers and suggests them measures against the devastating ways of the wind.

The poet points out that their houses and doors crumbles only because they are not strongly built. If we erect our houses on strong foundation and joint the doors firmly, the wind can't get into to crumble them.

The poet uses wind as symbol of adversities and explains that we want or not , adversities have to come in our lives. we should be prepared to face them with courage and confidence. And the only way we can do it is to make our establishments firm and strong. Once we are strong enough all the challenges will be like friends. We will not feel that they are troublesome.


IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
----------------------------------------
1. who wrote these lines ?

Ans: Subramania Bharati

2. The poet is talking to ----------
     a. wind
     b. himself
     c. those wind troubles
     d. God

Ans: ( c ) those wind troubles

3. wind is the symbol of ------------
    a. pleasure
    b. pain
    c. crumblings
    d. weaklings

Ans:. Pain

4. what measures does the poet suggest to sustain strong wind ?
                 OR
How can be develop friendship with wind ?

Ans : The poet suggest the following measures :
a. making strong houses with strong doors

b. to be courteous and confident and physically strong.


STANZA: 4
------------------
The wind blows out weak fires.
He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.

WORD MEANING
----------------------------
flourish -- grow
praise -- to say good of / extol

EXPLANATION
------------------------

In these lines the poet evaluates the work of wind and gives his last opinion about the position of wind in the life of mankind.

The poet says that wind is like god that creates as well as devastate. But wind finishes off only such things as are weak; all the things that are strong, flourish and grow to become stronger in face of the strong wind.
The poet holds that nothing is without reason in nature. The challenges and adversities the wind brings in our life are with a good reason to teach us how to be  physically and mentally strong enough to face these challenges. And once we come to learn it wind will no longer appear to be a prankster but a real friend who helps  us become stronger and better.


QUESTIONS ANSWERS
---------------------------------------
1. How is wind a god - like entity ?

Ans: Like a real God, the wind is both creator and destroyer.

2. which word in the extract means to develop, to grow in size and stature ?

Ans: flourish

3. Which literary device has the poet used in line two ?

Ans: Metaphor ( fire is compared to a line without using 'like ' or 'as' .


4. How is wind ' a real friend ' of mankind ?

Ans : Wind causes breakages and fall to everything that is the part of the weak establishment of humans. It brings adversities to the life of humans so that humans may be courageous and confident to face challenges of life and make their establishment accordingly.


5. Which poem these lines have been taken ? who is the poet ?


Ans: Wind; Subramania Bharati



LITERARY DEVICES USED BY POET
---------------------------------------------------------

1.Rhyme scheme - This is a thyme free poem. There is no thyme scheme.

2.Anaphora - Repetition of a word  at the start of two or more consecutive lines.
.
Lines 2, 3, 4 begin with ‘don’t’.

Lines 6, 7, 8 begin with ‘you’.

3.Personification – Wind has been personified. The  poet addresses wind using human - pronouns like ' he ' ; ' you ' which means he treats wind as a person.

4.Repetition - Repetition of a word many times in a verse / verses. ‘crumbling’ is repeated many times to lay emphasis.

5.Alliteration - the repetition of a consonant sound in close connection. ‘wind winnows’.
‘won’t want’

6.Symbolism - The use of a thing for the reference of another thing. In the poem ,poet has used wind to refer to the adversities and challenges of life.


ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ANSWERS
( 30 - 40 words )

1.What does the poet say the wind god winnows?

A. According to the poet the wind God winnows the weak things from the strong ones. Everything that is weak is blown away and destroyed by the powerful wind. As a  winnower separates the grains from the chaff, similarly, the wind god separates the weak from the strong.


2.What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?

A. The last four lines explain that the strong people emerge stronger and victorious in the face of adversities. As a strong fire grows all the more stronger in the violent wind, in the same way we also become courageous and confident by accepting and dealing with the adversities of life.


LONG QUESTIONS ANSWERS
( 100 - 200 words )

3. In place of blaming others for our failures, we should look into our own way of working to get the exact idea of what obstructs our progress. Elaborate on the basis of the poem ' Wind ' by Subramania Bharati.


Ans. :
The poem titled ' Wind ' by Subramania Bharati is about the troubles caused especially to humble establishments when wind arises and blows with its full capacity.

The poem describes wind as a model agent
of the nature that arises and blow the way it should. The wind simply blows in obedience to the natural law. But it's blowing sometimes brings troubles and difficulties for humans and their establishments. Houses, doors are crumbled. Household things are blown away and crushed. Even if the sufferers request wind not to be devastating, wind doesn't comply with the wailing losers. After the wind comes to a normal , the sufferers mourns his destruction and holds wind the prime culprit for his ruin. 

But, this is not fair as wind blows to do its naturally assigned jobs. What troubles humans is their inability to rise to the occasion and face the adversities with preparedness and courage.

Wind causes breakage and fall not to each and every house ; but to only those that are weak and frail. Strong establishments continue to maintain their existence alike during and after the strong wind.

In place of crying over the wind, look into our own doings and find out where we have gone wrong to leave a passage for the wind to enter and ruin us.

                        -----------------