The poems and the song in this Unit allow you to see the range of ways in which individuals and communities express their opinions, their anger and their sorrow. In class, do the following two exercises:
(a) Bring to class a poem that discusses a social issue. Share this with your classmates. Work in small groups with two or more poems to discuss their meaning as well as what the poet is trying to communicate.
(b) Identify a marginalised community in your locality. Write a poem, or song, or draw a poster etc to express your feelings as a member of this community.

Open in App

Solution

(a) The poem supports noble ideal of equality (or equality of all castes or human beings). As far as body is concerned it is unclean (or dirty) of everyone. There is a soul in everybody (of every caste). Soul is untained it is faith of Brahmins or people of upper caste. She believes that impurity of the body is born within it since the time of birth and last till it goes to tomb. She is asking the powerful social group by which the ritual the body can be pure. Everybody comes out or born from a bloody warm. This is the law of nature or glory of God. In fact, defilement prevails within body. It is polluted from within. No one is low or high. All are equal. All are human beings.

(b) Yes. Marginalised community in our locality is the scheduled caste community. Now frame a poem or song or draw a poster, etc. to express your feelings as a member of this community.
Hints: A Poster
An SC member wants to enter a Hindu Temple.
The Priest asks him not to do so.
Visitors to the temple belonging to Hindu powerful people beat the SC member and throw him away out of the gate of the temple.

Suggest Corrections

Similar questions

Q. Referring closely to the poem, Mending Wall, discuss the two attitudes to barriers or walls, as presented in the poem. What, in your opinion, does the poet wish to convey through the poem?

Q. Sometimes people make prejudiced comments in our presence. We are often not in a position to do anything about this because it is difficult to say something right then and there. Divide the class into groups and each group discuss what they could do in one of the following situations:
(a) A friend begins to tease a classmate because he is poor.
(b) You are watching TV with your family and one of them makes a prejudicial comment about a particular religious community.
(c) Children in your class refuse to share their food with a particular person because they think she is dirty.
(d) Someone tells you a joke that makes fun of a community because of their accent.
(e) Some boys make remarks about girls not being able to play games as well as them.
Discuss in class what the different groups have suggested for the above situations, and also talk about the problems that can come up when raising the issue.

Discuss with your partner the following definition of a poem.

A poem is made of words arranged in a beautiful order. These words, when read aloud with feeling, have a music and meaning of their own.

Q. This poem, in ballad form, tells a story. Have you come across any such modern song or lyric that tells a story? If you know one, tell it to the class. Collect such songs as a project.

How does Frost present nature in this poem? The following questions may help you to think of an answer.

(i) What are the birds that are usually named in poems? Do you think a crow is often mentioned in poems? What images come to your mind when you think of a crow?

(ii) Again, what is “a hemlock tree”? Why doesn’t the poet write about a more ‘beautiful’ tree such as a maple, or an oak, or a pine?

(iii) What do the ‘crow’ and ‘hemlock’ represent − joy or sorrow? What does the dust of snow that the crow shakes off a hemlock tree stand for?

Join BYJU'S Learning Program