Std.12: Maharashtra State Board: Sub-English: Videos by Prof. Dr. Uday Shirgave Sir [SECTION TWO: POETRY]

Song of the Open Road is a beautiful blend of self-awareness, free will and tenderness of heart. It gives us poet’s realization that along the journey of life one will face a test of wisdom which is not tested in any school or university. A road is something everyone uses, whether rich or poor and forces all levels of people to associate with one another. The road signifies ‘mobility’. One can take the road as a point to start over towards something new. Whitman talks about the people and places. He argues against staying in one place for too long, although the hospitality may be true.

Indian Weavers is a short poem where the poet talks about three types of garment that the weavers weave at three particular times of a day. Each stanza of the poem represents the three important events of human life: birth (childhood), adulthood (young) and death (old). The colours mentioned in the stanzas are very significant as they indicate the moods related to the events.

‘The Inchcape Rock’ is a ballad. It’s the story of the 14th century attempt by the Abbot of Aberbrothok to install a warning bell on Inchcape, a notorious sandstone reef about 11 miles (18 km) off the east coast of Angus, Scotland, near Dundee and Fife, occupied by the Bell Rock Lighthouse. The poet was inspired by the legendary story of a pirate who removed the bell on the Inchcape Rock placed by the Abbot of Aberbrothok. The poem gives us a message that those who do wrong things will meet with due punishment.

This is an inspirational poem. In this poem, the speaker is asking the readers whether they have done anything to improve the life of another human being or not. It is up to you whether you will have a better future or not. Therefore, one should consider one’s actions and deeds carefully and plan accordingly for a better future.

This poem is taken from ‘Travelling in a Cage’. It draws a portrait of a suburban commuter. It depicts his dull, monotonous, exhausting and equally pitiable daily routine. It describes a forced alienation at home, which is reflected through the stale food and lack of sharing. His children refuse to share their joys and sorrows with the hardworking father who as a result is forced to retire into solitude. This very painful loneliness is a symbol of man’s isolation from the materialistic man-made world.

The poem tells us about the reach man who wants to be a poor man to find the real happiness. It is when e do not have money or have lost our money, we realize how important the money is. At the end, the poet says that now he doesn’t have money, he has true friends though they may be few.