First flight Class 10 poem Animals

 

First Flight/ Class 10/ English/ Poem 7

Animal

by Walt Whitman

General Facts/ Introduction/ Theme/ Message/ Explanation/ Shot questions answers --- all in one.

             prepared by : SUJEET KUMA kiR

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                      ANIMAL

                       by: Walt Whitman

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GENERAL FACTS

* poem : Animal

                   * extract taken from ' Song of

                      myself' in leaves of grass

                     

                    * rhymefree/  non metrical poem/

                      free verse 

Poet : Walt Whitman

            * American

            * birth - 1819

            * death - 1892

            * wrote rhymefree and non metrical

               poetry

            * Nonconformist

 In the poem:

* I,me, myself refer to narrator/ speaker/ poet

* They,their, them refer to animals

INTRODUCTION

The poem titled Animals by Walt Whitman offers comparison between human beings and animals on the basis of qualities and concludes that animals are much better than human beings.

THEME

Comparison between humans and animals on the basis of internal qualities in order to tell who is better of the two.

MESSAGE

Humans must live through the qualities of humans and let them out in their actions, activities and behaviours. 

 EXPLANATION

                ( 1 )

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are 

so placid and self-contain’d,

I stand and look at them long and long.

WORDS

Placid: calm, peaceful

Contained; keep up control / satisfied

The poet expresses his wish to move from the world of human to the kingdom of animals and live with them because he finds the world of animals better than that of humans in the sense that:

   * they are more peaceful than humans;

   * they are self contained --satisfied with 

     what they have and the way their lives is

     and they never interfere in the lives of 

     others.

 Since the poet likes the animals' lives and their way of living , he stands still and looks at the animals for long. 

LITERARY DEVICES

*Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘I’ (I, think, I, live, with, animals)

*Repetition: use of the word ‘long’

*Anaphora: ‘I’ word used at the start of two consecutive lines

animals

                     ( 2 )

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,  

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with

the mania of owning things,

WORDS

Sweat: here it means complaint

Sweat: make a fuss

Whine: cry

Sins: wrongdoing

Demented: mad, disturbed

The poet further says that unlike humans, animals don’t make a fuss and  cry out loud over their good or bad conditions.They are pure in their actions. Therefore, they have never to stay awake in the night and cry in repentance for their wrongdoings. Moreover, they don’t show anger or grief if something wrong happens with them. 

He further says that animals are very truthful.They don't irritate him by boasting  of their good deeds done in the name of God to get name, fame and praise. 

He feels that the animals are not dissatisfied like humans. They stay happy with whatever they have. They never run behind worldly things. They never try to possess things of comfort or luxury.  He says that none of them is mad behind owning the worldly things.

LITERARY DEVICES

*Anaphora: use of repeated words at the beginning of two or more consecutive lines (use of “they do not”)

*Metaphor:  sweat and whine refer to the cries, complaints and restlessness of human beings

                        

                         ( 3 )

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that

lived thousands of years ago,

Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth. 

So they show their relations to me and I accept them,

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince

them plainly in their possession

Kneels: bow down

Evince: show, reveal

Possession: ownership of something

Tokens: here, the qualities

Here the poet talks about the practice of equality in animal kingdom. He says that in the world of animals all are equal. No one is high or low in status. 

Therefore, he has never seen any animal showing his devotion to anyone by bowing down in front of the others.They never do so even for their ancestors. No one among them is more respectable or important as humans have in their society.  

Everyone in the animal world is happy. They are not like human beings who find themselves the happiest or the saddest person on earth. 

Moreover, they show their relations with other animals without any maliciousness like the humans who show that they have nice and friendly relations with others, though the reality is opposite. 

The poet accepts the way animals show their relation with other animals and says that they bear with the qualities of humans and show them through their actions and behaviours.

LITERARY DEVICES

*Metaphor: The inner qualities of humans are referred to as tokens

              

                        ( 4 )

I wonder where they get those tokens,

Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?

WORD

Negligently: Carelessly

The poet is amazed at the good qualities of the animals and wants to know where the animals have got these good qualities from. 

He introspects questions himself as to  where his own( humans ) good qualities are gone?

 He wonders that humans gave up these qualities and they have been passed on to the animals.

 SHORT QUESTIONS ANSWERS

Q1-  “I think I could turn and live with animals…” What is the poet turning from?

Ans: - The poet is turning away from living in the world of human beings. He finds animals more placid and self contained and therefore, he wants to live with them.

Q2- Mention three things that humans do and animals don’t?

Ans: - The three things that humans do and animals don’t are as follows:

( i )Humans complain and cry about the miseries and sorrows they face.

( ii)Humans lie awake in the night thinking about their wrongdoings.

( iii) Humans also keep telling others about their religiousness and duties towards God.

Q3- Why do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago?

Ans: - Humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago. They could be some ancestors, saints or the preachers whom they follow religiously. They worship them and follow their preaching.

Q4- What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him?

Ans: - The word tokens according to the poet is the good qualities in human beings. The poet feels that nowdays good qualities do not exist in human beings. They have lost them for the sake of worldly things which they want to achieve at any cost.

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