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Question
Write an appreciation of the poem considering the following points:
- About the poem/poet/title.
- Theme
- Poetic devices, language, style
- Special features/ novelties/focusing elements
- Values, message
- Your opinion about the poem.
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Solution
Appreciation of the poem 'The Sower'
About the poem/poet/title: 'The Sower' is a poem about the hard work and persistence of a sower, who works tirelessly and relentlessly while the poet observes his actions and terms him as an august personality, who works not for himself, but for others. Originally written by Victor Hugo in French, this poem has been translated to English by the Bengali poet, Torulata Dutt, who was the first Indian poetess to write verses in English and French. The title of the poem represents the central character of the poem, that is, the sower.
Theme: The central idea of the poem revolves around the act of sowing seeds by the sower, while the poet observes him and begins to revere him for his noble actions.
Poetic devices, language, style: The poetic devices used in the poem are Alliteration, Antithesis, Consonance, Hyperbole, Inversion, Personification, Repetition, and Synecdoche. An example of Personification from the poem is 'Twilight hastens on to rule' where 'Twilight' has been given the animate quality of 'hastening (rushing in)'. The language used by the poet is slightly complex because it has been written in a way that it maintains the rhyme scheme of 'abab'. It has a steady rhythm and a consistent metre, meaning that there is consistency in the number of syllables used in a line. The poet follows the narrative style of writing, where he gives a first-person account of observing the sower working hard in the field.
Special features/novelties/focusing elements: The special features used in the poem are imagery and symbolism. The poem is full of descriptive imagery, as each line either describes the scene or the action of the sower or the poet. The dominance of the silhouette of the sower over the deep furrows is symbolic of the dominance of man over nature. The 'precious grain' is so-called because each grain holds importance for the sower. He shall sow these grains carefully and hope for a good harvest.
The novelties in this poem are the exact translations of lines from French by Toru Dutt. She chose to provide a true account of the observations, as written by Victor Hugo, instead of trying to refine the lines that sound inelegant when translated. Her retention of the optimistic tone of the poem makes the poem refreshing and appealing. The focussing elements in the poem are the dedication and commitment of the sower, his perseverance, and the poet's acknowledgment of the sower's actions as being selfless and noble.
Values, message: The values that one can learn from this poem are determination, perseverance, and selflessness. The message given by the poet, through this poem, is that one should keep working with a positive attitude in life because one shall eventually reap the benefits of one's hard work.
Your opinion about the poem: The sower's commitment towards his work and the poet's admiration of the sower, give the poem a positive and encouraging tone, thus making it a fine read.
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| (2) | The Manager was a grave, calm man. I held my fifty-six dollars clutched in a crumpled ball in my pocket. “Are you the Manager?” I asked. God knows I did not doubt it. “Yes,” he said. “Can I see you …. alone?” I asked. |
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| (4) |
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15
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| (5) | The Manager got up and opened the door. He called to the accountant. “Mr. Montgomery,” he said unkindly loud, “this gentleman is opening an account, he will deposit fifty-six dollars. Good morning.” I rose. A big iron door stood open at the side of the room. “Good morning,” I said, and stepped into the safe. “Come out,” said the Manager coldly and showed me the other way. |
30 |
| (6) | I went up to the accountant’s wicket and poked the ball of money at him with a quick convulsive movement as if I were doing a conjuring trick. My face was ghastly pale. “Here,” I said, “deposit it.” The tone of the words seemed to mean, “Let us do this painful thing while the fit is on us.” He took the money and gave it to another clerk. |
35 |
| (7) | He made me write the sum on a slip and sign my name in a book. I no longer knew what I was doing. The bank swam before my eyes. “Is it deposited?” I asked in a hollow, vibrating voice. “It is,” said the accountant. “Then I want to draw a cheque.” My idea was to draw out six dollars of it for present use. Someone gave me a chequebook through a wicket and someone else began telling me how to write it out. The people in the bank had the impression that I was an invalid millionaire. I wrote something on the cheque and thrust it in at the clerk. He looked at it. |
40
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| (8) | “What! Are you drawing it all out again?” he asked in surprise. Then I realised that I had written fifty-six instead of six. I was too far gone to reason now. I had a feeling that it was impossible to explain the thing. I had burned my boats. All the clerks had stopped writing to look at me. Reckless with misery, I made a plunge. “Yes, the whole thing.” “You withdraw all your money from the bank?” “Every cent of it.” “Are you not going to deposit anymore?” said the clerk, astonished. “Never.” |
50
55 |
| (9) | An idiot hope struck me that they might think something had insulted me while I was writing the cheque and that I had changed my mind. I made a wretched attempt to look like a man with a fearfully quick temper. | |
| (10) | The clerk prepared to pay the money. “How will you have it?” he said. This question came as a bolt from the blue. “What?” “How will you have it?” “Oh!”— I caught his meaning and answered without even trying to think— “in fifties.” He gave me a fifty-dollar bill. “And the six?” he asked dryly. “In sixes,” I said. He gave it to me and I rushed out. As the big door swung behind me. I caught the echo of a roar of laughter that went up to the ceiling of the bank. Since then, I bank no more. I keep my money in cash in my trousers pocket and my savings in silver dollars in a sock. |
60
65
70 |
| Adapted from: My Financial Career By Stephen Leacock |
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- Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences. [3]
- The kind stranger went and got back the ball from where it had rolled into the bush.
- I took offence at the expression on his face that was clearly meant to insinuate I was a liar.
- The firm experienced a financial loss when the contract went to a contender who had just entered the business.
- For each of the words given below, choose the correct sentence that uses the same word unchanged in spelling, but with a different meaning from that which it carries in the passage. [3]
- alarm (line 8)
- The silence from the other end set off alarm bells in her head.
- The pallor of his skin alarmed those standing around.
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- wicket (line 44)
- The wicketkeeper was the true saviour of the day for that one match.
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- reason (line 48)
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- alarm (line 8)
- Find a single word from the passage that will exactly replace the underlined word or words in the following sentences. [3]
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- Cite any two instances of the behaviour of the bank employees that indicate the insignificance of a deposit of fifty-six dollars. [2]
- Why do you think the people in the bank thought of the narrator as an “invalid millionaire?” [2]
- Summarise why the narrator decided ‘to bank no more’ (paragraphs 6 to 10). You are required to write the summary in the form of a connected passage in about 100 words. Failure to keep within the word limit will be penalised. [8]
