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Question
Explain how the poet guides his son who is at the threshold of manhood, to face the challenges of life.
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Solution
The poet shares his wisdom with his son who is at the threshold of manhood. He persuades his son to be hard as steel or rock to withstand challenges and unforeseen betrayals in life. A person with a soft heart will crumble before a breach of trust. Similarly, he wants his son to be discerning enough to be soft when needed to grow like a frail flower plant splitting a rock. Occasionally one has to go with the current because life is at times fertile with a lot of opportunities to grow even among the harshest circumstances. ‘Rich soft wanting’ can help a person to win against all odds. He reiterates this idea by explaining how gentleness can reform a hardened criminal when lashes would, in contrast, harden them further.
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