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| JAMES KIRKUP |
CLASS 9 ENGLISH SOLUTION
The poet says that they use light, the air and water as we do, whom we
call strangers or foreigners. They too are conscious of them and there is no
difference in the way we use them. So, the poet says that we have no foreigner
among us. They get the crops and their eatables from the fields just like us.
They like peace as we do. During the war, even they have to face hardships and
die due to starvation as we would have. They also talk to each other like us to
communicate. In all respects, we are similar. Thus, the poet emphasises that
there is nothing as to be called strange or foreign.
The poet also says that everyone we call stranger has eyes like that of
ours. They too see the world like us. They too follow the course of the earth
every day and sleep as well as wake up. They are kind to love and sympathy,
like us and even they can be won by it. Everywhere we go, there is a common
process of existence that is easy to identify and understand.
We are all the same and nothing can be used to justify dissimilarity. However, some people reject it and try to break the sense of brotherhood by provoking one against the social as well as global harmony. These few people encourage us to take the weapons, hate and kill our brothers. And then we only hurt our spirits and abuse our serenity, if we do something wrong to our brothers. The poet, therefore, says not to commit any such wrong deed and not to degrade humanity.
The poet further adds that taking up arms against our brothers
pollutes not only our spirit but also the whole world in which we live. The
good qualities and the innocence of the people are surpassed by hatred and
jealousy within our heart. In the state of provocation, whatever we do is never
justified, and we pollute the environment with our wrongdoings.
CLASS 9 ENGLISH SOLUTION
Thinking about the poem
1. (a) ‘Beneath all uniforms....” What uniforms do you think the
poet is speaking about?
Answer: The poet is speaking about ‘uniforms’ of various colours, castes, creeds, religions and the nationalities of different people.
(b) How does the poet suggest that all people on earth are the same?
Answer: The poet says that although people of different nationalities look different, we all are human beings. We have the same body, the same needs, and we use the same resources.
2. In stanza 1, find five ways in which we all are alike. Pick out
the words.
Answer: In the following ways, we all are alike in stanza 1:
(i) No men are strange.
(ii) No countries are foreign.
(iii) A single body breathes beneath all uniforms.
(iv) The land is the same everywhere.
(v) The land where we all shall lie is also the same.
3. How many common features can you find in stanza 2? Pick out the
words.
Answer: Following common features can be found in stanza 2:
(i) They, too, are aware of the sun, air and water.
(ii) They, too, are fed by peaceful harvests.
(iii) Their hands are like ours.
(iv) In their lines, we read.
(v) A labour not different from our own.
4. “.... Whenever we are told to hate our brothers....” When do you
think this happens? Why? Who ‘tells’ us? Should we do as we are told at such
times? What does the poet say?
Answer: The perpetrators of wars, who are inspired due to their selfish motive to dominate and subdue others, incite ‘brothers’ to hate each other. They are the ones who tell us to prepare for wars. No, we should not do things their way. Other countrymen are like us only. Thus, the poet is true in his saying that no man is strange and no country is foreign.
5. What does the
poet mean by saying ‘no men ...... countries foreign’?
Answer: By saying this, the poet means that despite all the differences in language, caste, colour etc. the entire world is a singular entity.
6. Does the earth
unite us in a sense? If yes, explain in the context of the poem.
Answer: Yes, in one of the most beautiful senses, the earth unites us. It is the earth that we walk upon, and after our lives; we must all lie in it, which is our destined end.
7. In which
context, ‘harvests’ ad ‘war’ have been used by the poet?
Answer: ‘Harvest’ is indicative of peace as one does the cropping work to feed oneself, while ‘war’ is used to indicate an intensity that is similar to starvation and destruction.
8. How is the
labour not different for us and for the so-called strangers?
Answer: The
labour for us and the so-called strangers is not different, as all of us have
to do it daily for survival. Also, the hands and the mechanism we use are the
same.
CLASS 9 ENGLISH SOLUTION
9. How are the eyes of
everyone similar according to the poet?
Answer: Our eyes are the same as our so-called strangers. As our eyes wake and sleep so do theirs. As we dream of something, so do they. Hence, our eyes are similar.
10. What meaning does the
poet imply by saying ‘strength that can be won by love’?
Answer: The poet wants to imply that even the most powerful can be won over by the invincible power of love. The ability of love is so great that it can be used to create wonders.
11. How can we say that
there is a common life in every part of the land?
Answer: It is
possible to say that there is a common life everywhere. We all share the same
resources and work. We are psychologically similar, and we do understand the
pain and pleasure equally.
12. What should we remember about men and
countries?
Answer: We should remember that no
men are strange and no countries are foreign.
13. Where do we all walk upon and where
shall we all lie in the end
Answer: We all walk on the same earth
and in the end; we all shall lie in the earth.
14. Why should we not hate others?
Answer: We should not hate others because all of them are our brothers.
15. What do you mean by ‘hells of fire
and dust’?
Answer: ‘Hells of fire and dust’ means the wars which
cause much destruction.
16. Whom does the poet call ‘our
brothers’ and why?
Answer: The poet calls ‘our brothers’
the people who live in other countries. He says so because we, human beings,
can not or must not be segregated by the superficial differences of complexion,
language, dress, culture and nationality. Human wants, human wishes, human
aspirations and human feelings are the same everywhere in the world.
17. What does the poet mean when he says,
‘in which we all shall lie’?
Answer: The poet means we all shall lie under the same earth. In this case, ‘lie’ means to be buried after death. It emphasises that sooner or later, we will all meet the same fate; therefore, there is no point in hating each other.
18. How is this earth polluted?
Answer: This earth is polluted by
death and destruction, with hatred and enmity spreading through wars. War also
damages the earth's environment irreparably by polluting it with dust, debris
and smoke caused by war weapons.
19. What does the poet say about ‘hating
our brothers’?
Answer: The poet condemns ‘hating our
brothers’. He thinks that we damage ourselves as we engage in such negativity.
We deprive ourselves of the love of our brothers and earn condemnation for such
depravity.
CLASS 9 ENGLISH SOLUTION
20. Why does the poet say that people of
the world should live in peace and not go to war?
Answer: The poet advocates peace
because peace in this world brings growth, prosperity and cheerfulness. He
urges the human race to stay away from wars because wars lead to destruction,
violence, misery and starvation. They contaminate the earth and pollute the
very air we all breathe.
21. When do we defile the earth?
Answer: We defile the earth when we
take weapons against each other. Wars cause huge suffering without yielding any
result.
22. How, according, to the poet, the
human earth is ‘defiled’ and the innocence of air ‘outraged’?
Answer: The weapons of war make the earth filthy and
destroy its environment. The poisonous ammunition destroys the fertility of the
earth and makes it barren. Explosives are responsible for destructive fires
that send ashes all over. The earth, air and water are thus polluted. It causes
hunger and countless diseases to spread. Thus, the victor, as well as the vanquished,
find the world and its surrounding hostile and unfriendly. Mother Nature
becomes helpless and can not shower her gifts on human beings. Its bounties are
tarnished and stolen. Wars fill the air with dirt and smoke. Thus ‘human earth’
is ‘defiled’ and ‘innocence of air’ is ‘outraged’ by wars.
CLASS 9 ENGLISH SOLUTION
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