The Solitary Reaper

The poet orders his listener to behold a “solitary Highland lass” reaping and
singing by herself in a field. He says that anyone passing by should either stop
here, or “gently pass” so as not to disturb her. As she “cuts and binds the grain”
she “sings a melancholy strain,” and the valley overflows with the beautiful, sad
sound. The speaker says that the sound is more welcome than any chant of the
nightingale to weary travelers in the desert, and that the cuckoo-bird in spring
never sang with a voice so thrilling.

Impatient, the poet asks, “Will no one tell me what she sings?” He speculates that
her song might be about “old, unhappy, far-off things, / And battles long ago,” or
that it might be humbler, a simple song about “matter of today.” Whatever she
sings about, he says, he listened “motionless and still,” and as he traveled up the
hill, he carried her song with him in his heart long after he could no longer hear it
Form - Ballad
The four eight-line stanzas of this poem are written in a tight iambic tetrameter.
Each follows a rhyme scheme of ABABCCDD, though in the first and last stanzas
the “A” rhyme is off (field/self and sang/work).
That beautiful experiences give us life-long pleasure.
 Ozymandias
Summary “Ozymandias”
Summary
The speaker recalls having met a traveler “from an antique land,” who told him a
story about the ruins of a statue in the desert of his native country. Two vast legs
of stone stand without a body, and near them a massive, crumbling stone head
lies “half sunk” in the sand. The traveler told the speaker that the frown and
“sneer of cold command” on the statue’s face indicate that the sculptor
understood well the emotions (or “passions”) of the statue’s subject. The memory
of those emotions survives “stamped” on the lifeless statue, even though both
the sculptor and his subject are both now dead. On the pedestal of the statue
appear the words, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: / Look on my works, ye
Mighty, and despair!” But around the decaying ruin of the statue, nothing
remains, only the “lone and level sands,” which stretch out around it.

Form
“Ozymandias” is a sonnet, a fourteen-line poem metered in iambic pentameter.
The rhyme scheme is somewhat unusual for a sonnet of this era; it does not fit a
conventional Petrarchan pattern, but instead interlinks the octave (a term for the
first eight lines of a sonnet) with the sestet (a term for the last six lines), by
gradually replacing old rhymes with new ones in the form ABABACDCEDEFEF.
Time is all powerful. Everything else is temporary.
 Laugh and Be Merry

Heaven and Earth are in rhyme

The rhythm is happiness

You have to laugh and be happy beyond any situation.

A poem attempts an understanding the purpose of creation! Creation is meant to

provide happiness to the creator, and this reveals why we’ll must be happy!
“Laugh and Be Merry” is actually the symbol of being human! The phrase is used
as a tagline and the very purpose of our life. Hence the poet commences the
poem with this phrase! The world becomes better with every song! The song
actually refers to the inner voice when happy!
Our time on Earth is very limited and actually can be measured with a thread! In
this little life, is there any scope to sit and repent! Well, that’s a no-no!
This is again a very sweet expression that reflects the notion of being humane. It’s
not that we’d only be happy throughout our life! We equally need to be proud of
our existence and the place from where we belonged.
According to him, God made Heaven and Earth for joy and took in a rhyme! Mark,
there is no mention of Hell! The poem is actually an attempt to look into the
brighter side of creation without depicting instances of the sleuth.
In life, it’s ok to fight, laugh, get wounded, or anything! But you should laugh
because “to be sad is not an option for you”
The words, “work and battle” here symbolize all human actions! In a battle, lives
are lost, but still the poet tells you to laugh because if battle is inevitable, you
have to develop the feeling of accepting the loss happily! That’s the way of
creation! Only if nine others fail, one becomes successful – this is the truth! To
love and laugh even after failure is the theme of the poem! Because, that actually
is the greatest win! When all the ten are happy, that’s the sign of the joy of the
Lord.
The final stanza ignites the feeling of brotherhood because we all are eventually
going to die! The purpose of hatred or separation withers upon realizing the
ultimate end of each being! We are in our individual rooms of a beautiful inn.
Anytime the music can stop, and then it actually ends! So, let there be a happy
beginning, happy journey and a happy ending!
 Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Robert Frost’s ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ is about a traveler who
waits by the woods to observe the nocturnal beauty of the frosty night. He is not
sure why he is standing aimlessly there. At the end of the poem, he becomes
realistic and says the memorable words, “But I have promises to keep,/ And miles
to go before I sleep.” Thus, this poem is about the journey of life and how one
should always be prepared to leave the static desires to rush with the dynamics of
life.
The title of the poem talks about a short event. According to the speaker, he
stopped by the woods on a snowy evening and what he realized is recorded in
this piece. The literal meaning points to the nocturnal scene and how it influenced
the speaker’s mind.
The deeper meaning of the poem concerns the journey of life. Through this poem,
Frost highlights the importance of being active and always being aware of the
promise that one makes to oneself. Before committing oneself, there is time to
ponder upon other things. But, when the desire of reaching the destination is
paramount, a person should not deviate from his route for the momentary
desires.
The last two lines of this poem contain a repetition. Frost repeats the idea to
emphasize the importance of carrying on the journey before the metaphorical
sleeping. Besides, the last two lines present the idea of sleeping from two
different perspectives. The first “sleep” is about to take a rest. While the later
reference deals with death. The speaker has a long way to go before death and
along the way, he cannot even waste a moment in lethargic thoughts.
In ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’, the speaker could not stay near the
woods for long as he had made some promises to keep. Not only that, he has to
ride for miles to reach his destination. Waiting at this moment of the night could
cost him a lot, both physically and mentally. For this reason, he left the place as
soon as he realized the fact.
 The Toys
The Toys” is one of the most beautiful poems written by Coventry Patmore. He
was born in London in 1823. He associates his poems with the everyday
happenings of life and has a deep concern for religion. His publications are, ‘The
Angel in the House’, ‘The Unknown Eros’ and other odes. Patmore died in 1896.
The poem, ‘The Toys’ is highly religious. The poem relates the story of a father
and son. The father treats his son harshly but later realizes his mistake and asks
God to forgive him for his foolish behaviour.
CHILD’S DISOBEDIENCE: The poet tells us how he punished his son for
disobedience. The child acted and talked just like a grown up man. He made
noise. His father asked him to keep quiet but the son did not obey him. At
seventh time, the father punished his son and sent him away without the usual
kisses. The child was much grieved. He left his father and went to bed.
FATHER REGRETS: After sometime, the poet realized that he had made a mistake,
as his son was lonely since his mother had died. He feared that the child might not
be able to sleep due to his grief. He went to his bedside, but he found the child
asleep. His eyelids were swollen due to weeping. His eye lashes were still wet
with the drops of tears.
THE TOYS: The father became more emotional when he found that his son had
very neatly arranged some pieces of glass, a red veined stone, some shells and a
bottle of blue bells and two French copper coins on the table. They were simple
but enough to comfort him. He noticed that the boy had sought consolation in
small ordinary objects to comfort his sad heart. It was a touching scene for the
father whose wife was dead and there was no one to console the child. He felt
sorry for his attitude. The father bent over the child and kissed away the tears
from the boy’s cheeks, but tears from his own eyes dropped on his son’s face.
GOD IS MERCIFUL: In this poem the poet points out that God is always kind and
merciful to man but man often fails to follow the commands of his creator. He
provides man with all the simple joys of life. Yet there are some who do not fear
God even on their death bed. God knows that though we had been disobeying His
commands and enjoying ourselves with worldly things, yet He forgives us.
CONCLUSION: The father hopes that as he has forgiven his son God would pardon
him for his childishness. He prayed all night with the feeling that God is merciful
and He would forgive him.
Moral: As the saying goes ‘To err is human; to forgive is divine’ we should forgive
the mistakes of people and live friendly with all. God is merciful on us and he
forgives those people who forgive the mistakes of human beings.
 Homecoming
Themes 1. The contrast between country-life and city-life The country-life is
generally understood to be pure and uncorrupted. The same holds true in this
story. There is green lush of “glorious meadow”, river banks and open spaces. A
city is deprived of such natural gifts, instead, it is congested with concrete jungles.
Phatik was a “ringleader” amongst his friends in the village, while in Calcutta, he is
left neglected “like a stray dog that has lost its master.” The boy whose proposal
was unanimously seconded in the village, finds himself being jeered and insulted
by his own cousins in Calcutta! 2. State of confusion at growing ages Tagore has
made interesting observations on a boy of fourteen. It is indeed true that puberty
and teenage are times when we are in a state of confusion, owing to several
physical, mental and moral changes in ourselves. Puberty is the intermediate
stage between childishness and youthhood. We fail to identify ourselves with
either. That is why we crave for a sense of belongingness at this age. Phatik too
longs for love and acceptance in his aunt’s home but fails to get it. 3. Narrow
acceptability of urban education The story reveals how modern education in cities
is unwelcoming to village folks who may not be acquainted with the nuances of
city-life. Phatik was the most “backward boy” in his school; however, the
teachers, instead of making a genuine effort to understand him, see him as an
“overladen ass” to be caned unmercifully. Thus, Tagore seems to suggest that
modern education is a sort of homogenization, rather than differentiation, and it
fails to cater to all as per their differential needs. 4. Search for economic
prospects in urban centres The story highlights the pull-off factor for urban
centres, and thus touches the theme of migration in some way. Bishamber had
already earned a fortune in Bombay, and now he wanted to finance Phatik’s
education in Calcutta so that he could better his family’s economic position, given
that Phatik had already lost his father and was supposed to be the sole
breadwinner for the family. 5. Wavering between uncertain paths When we are
young, we think future days have something interesting in store for us. When we
reach there, we miss the memories of youthhood. The same holds true for Phatik
in some ways. The boy who was pestering his uncle to go to the city now wanted
to get back to his village!
4. Justification of the Title The title “The Homecoming” is appropriate because
Phatik has several different crossroads in the story that involve coming home—
both symbolically and literally. The first homecoming Phatik experiences is at the
beginning of the story. His younger, favoured brother was injured in a scuffle and
ran home to tattle to their mother. Phatik delays returning home because he
knows that he’ll face an unjust punishment. When he finally goes home, however,
he has the opportunity to go to another home. His uncle Bhishamber offers to
take him to Calcutta, where he’ll be educated and live with his cousins. Phatik is
very excited to go—and even makes peace with his brother Makhan for the first
time when he gives him his treasured goods. That homecoming was another
disappointment. Though Phatik was excited to go to Calcutta, he quickly learns
that his aunt resents him and he’s out of place there. Despite his attempts to
please her, he’s never able to. He also dislikes the city of Calcutta itself and misses
his life in the country. When he asks whether he can go home, his uncle says,
“Wait till the holidays come.” When two police officers return him to his uncle’s
home after he runs away, it’s his third homecoming. This one is even worse, as
he’s ill from his escape. It’s implied that Phatik is dying. The final potential
homecoming is Phatik’s impending death. He waits for his mother, looking
disappointed when she isn’t there (despite his negative hallucinations about her
beating him). She finally comes, but the doctor says his condition is critical. Tagore
writes, “Phatik very slowly turned his head and, without seeing anybody, said:
“Mother, the holidays have come.” It’s the first time his mother has shown him
affection in a long time, calling him her darling and throwing herself onto his bed.
Motifs 1. Holidays Phatik keeps asking his uncle in Calcutta “Have the holidays
come yet?” and “When can I go home?” This incessant questioning assumes the
form of the literary device of a refrain. In the end, Phatik himself answers the
refrain, saying,’’ Mother, the holidays have come.” It may be assumed that the
lonely, isolated and feverish Phatik set-off for the holidays of eternity (may be
death) after getting a glimpse of his mother. 2. Scoldings In his village, Phatik is
scolded by his mother who sees him as a source of “perpetual nuisance.” In
Calcutta, Phatik is rebuked by his aunt who sees the “country lout” as
In The Home-Coming by Rabindranath Tagore we have the theme of conflict,
control, responsibility, love and isolation. Taken from his Collected Stories
collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and
from the beginning of the story the reader realises that Tagore may be exploring
the theme of conflict. Makhan will not listen to Phatik when he tells him to get off
the log. If anything Makhan is being defiant though he does pay a price for his
defiance. Phatik and his friends roll the log over and Makhan falls off. This causes
Makhan to hit Phatik and it is interesting that Phatik doesn’t retaliate. However
this is not how Phatik’s mother sees things when Makhan returns home and tells
his version of events. Phatik is the one who is blamed for hitting his brother and
bringing conflict into the home. What is also interesting about Phatik’s mother is
the fact that she has no control over him. He is not necessarily doing things that
are dangerous or overly wrong. He is acting as many fourteen year old boys would
do. Something which is too much for Phatik’s mother. If anything Phatik is not
allowed to be a young adolescence boy by his mother. Which might be the reason
why she is only too pleased to have Bishambar take him to Calcutta. The reader
aware that Phatik’s mother is unable to manage him. Something that is her fault
and not Phatik’s.

If anything Phatik’s mother lacks the responsibility that is required to raise Phatik.
She considers him to be wild though as mentioned he is just an average fourteen
year old boy who likes mischief as many fourteen year old boys do. Bishambar’s
wife isn’t much better when it comes to rearing Phatik and it is noticeable that
she never really embraces Phatik as being a member of the family. She may be his
aunt by marriage but that is the closet that Bishambar’s wife wants to get to
Phatik. Even though Phatik is on his best behaviour he is still not loved by
Bishambar’s wife. For her he is no more than a man child. Yet to be a man and no
longer a child. He is at an awkward stage in life. A stage that Bishambar’s wife
wants no involvement with. Bishambar on the other hand is supportive of Phatik.
Something that is noticeable by the fact that he not only promises him that he can
go home for the holidays but there is a sense that Bishambar will make a decent
man out of Phatik in Calcutta. He is giving him every opportunity.

Phatik’s school days are also a miserable occasion for him. If he is not being
beaten by the teachers he is being beaten by some of the other students. If
anything Phatik may feel isolated. When he lived in the village Phatik was the
leader of his gang. Now that he is in Calcutta things are very much different.
Rather than being a leader he has become a victim. A difficult role for any
fourteen year old to play particularly when they are not getting the support that
they need from the adults around them, Bishambar’s wife being an example. Even
Phatik’s cousins do not help Phatik when he is in school although they may be
afraid of being isolated themselves by the bullies in the school. The unity that
Phatik had in the village. He does not have in Calcutta. As mentioned Phatik is
isolated from others. How deeply affected Phatik feels and how much he misses
the village is noticeable by the fact that he attempts to walk home to the village
but instead manages to make himself sick.

The end of the story is also interesting as it becomes clear to the reader that
Phatik due to his illness is delusional. When he sees his mother he believes that
the holidays (October) have come. Yet those in the room know that Phatik is
gravely ill and is about to die. What was once a healthy boy in every sense of the
world has become a frail wreck in such a short period of time. Tagore possibly
suggesting that Phatik should never have been taken out of the village
environment he was used to. Some children will succeed in the city or with
schooling. Phatik was not that sort of character. He was a lover of nature but he
ended his life surrounded by the walls of Calcutta. Though no blame can be
placed on Bishambar for what has happened. He was simply trying to help Phatik.
The same cannot be said for the two characters in the story who are mothers.
Phatik’s mother due to her impatience and readiness to get rid of Phatik and
Bishambar’s wife for judging Phatik as being no more than an awkward young
boy. Who she really didn’t want to deal with. It is there where the blame for
Phatik’s premature death lays. Neither woman has shown Phatik the love he
deserved and needed.
Abandonment The story brings out how nothing, but abandonment is destined for
Phatik. First, his mother abandons him from his village. In the city, his aunt
despises his presence. His cousins abandon him by mocking and insulting him. His
teachers make no effort to understand him. Bishamber, who should ave assumed
a more responsible guardianship for Phatik remains a mute spectator all along,
while all the other characters desert Phatik to desolation and loneliness. When
Phatik makes peace with his younger brother Makhan, we can assume that
Makhan could become Phatik’s best confidant. However, it is already too late by
now because by then Bishamber has already planned to take Phatik to Calcutta.
There was this certain king who believed that he would not fail if he knew what
was the right time for every action, who were the right people to be with and
what was the most important thing to do. Until he proclaimed that he would give
a great reward to the person who can answer his three questions.
Character Analysis Phatik The protagonist of the story “The Homecoming” is
Phatik Chakravorty. The story traces the tumultuous journey of Phatik – from a
“ringleader” to the like of a “stray dog that has lost its master.” In the beginning
of the story, Phatik typifies a village boy laced with a carefree attitude. The author
embarks upon setting a vivid contrast between the ‘rural’ Phatik and an ‘urban’
Phatik. In the village, Phatik is involved in several acts of mischief. It is notable
that the story itself opens with Phatik carrying out a mischievous activity. Phatik’s
change in behaviour begins when he is about to leave for the city but ensures to
make peace with his brother Makhan, and so gives him his toys. This is a
significant change in Phatik, and it is insinuated as if Phatik must get all-ready to
embrace the changes on the anvil lest he should be swept away by those very
changes. It is said that change alone is constant. Unfortunately, Phatik, a “country
lout” and an “overladen ass” (as held by his aunt) fails to ‘chip in’ through the
jostling of city life. Phatik’s stay in Calcutta is marked by a string of attitudinal
coldness displayed by the people he comes across. His aunt despises his presence,
his cousins tease him, while his teachers flog him mercilessly. Phatik could have
found a saviour in his uncle; however, Bishamber, his uncle, does not assume a
proactive role in making the young boy feel ‘at home’ in his home. The author has
designed Bishamber’s character such that he remains a mute spectator when
Phatik is facing troubles. He had not even ‘briefed’ Phatik as to what all the young
boy could anticipate in a city. Phatik tries to escape but to no avail. He bears the
brunt of his aunt yet again, and an unabated chain of scolding and taunting takes
a toll on his health. It only ends up aggravating
6. his ill-health. In the end, when his mother storms into Bishamber’s, house
Phatik opens his shivering mouth only to answer the question (“Have the holidays
come yet?”) that he asks his uncle many a times in the story. The story ends up
with the answering refrain “Mother, the holidays have come. “ It’s left open to
the readers to surmise, as per their own understanding, as to what Phatik’s
answer entails. It may allude to some greater metaphysical debate, but then
literature is social science – open to differing opinions and interpretations.
Conclusion The story “The Homecoming” brings out the sad fate of Phatik
Chakravorty who fails to chip in through the city-life. The last line of the story –
“Mother, the holidays have come”- continues to haunt readers as to what exactly
happened with Phatik. Did he leave for the ‘holidays’ forever? (Did Phatik die?).
There is a strong possibility that Phatik entered the long sleep of eternity.
However, we are not told as to what happens next. It is left for the readers to
surmise as per their own understanding. And it is this ambiguity that makes this
story so interesting. One thing can be safely concluded that Phatik’s homecoming
is not the village home that he longed for, but some other home. It is left for you
and me to decipher the softer meanings of that some other home where we all
will enter, some day or the other.
 Three Questions
The king asked the hermit once again then in every question, he answered:

1. Now is the time to do every action because now is the only time that we
have power.

2. The right person is who are you with.

3. The most important thing to do is to do good for the person you are with.
Three Questions – Summary
Three Questions is a value based intellectual story written by the renowned
Russian writer – Leo Tolstoy. The story is divided into two parts, both are inter-
related and of practical importance.
In order to fully analyze a biography or an autobiography, we need to:
Analyze the purpose of the text, whether it is written to inform, persuade, or
entertain.
Evaluate its effectiveness by examining its use of anecdotes, facts and examples.
Evaluate the author’s writing style, diction, and tone.