CLASS VIII ENGLISH UNIT 4 POEM THE LAST

CLASS VIII ENGLISH UNIT – 4 POEM: THE LAST BARGAIN

PREPARED BY JAYASRI E K K V MALAPPURAM

ABOUT THE POET

THIS POEM IS WRITTEN IN 1 ST PERSON. . A MAN IS SEARCHING FOR A SUITABLE JOB ON AHOT SUMMER DAY. HE WANTS OTHERS TO STRIKE A BARGAIN WITH HIM. HE DOES NOT WANT TO WORK UNDER ANYBODY’S CONTROL SO, HE REFUSES THE OFFERS OF THE KING, THE RICH OLD MAN AND THE FAIR MAID. AT LAST HE WAS OFFERED THE OCCUPATION OF PLAYING WITH A CHILD ON THE SAND. HE ACCEPTS THE OFFER AS HE FEELS FREE AND HAPPY WITH THE CHILD.

THE POET: RABINDRANATH TAGORE

RABINDRANATH TAGORE (7 MAY 1861 – 7 AUGUST 1941) v Rabindranath Tagore sobriquet Gurudev was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. v Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse“. v He became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. v In translation his poetry was viewed as spiritual and mercurial; his seemingly mesmeric personality, flowing hair, and otherworldly dress earned him a prophet-like reputation in the West.

TAGORE v. Introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit. v. Highly influential in introducing the best of Indian culture to the West and vice versa. v. Generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of modern India. .

THE POEM

A MAN CALLING OUT FOR WORK v"Come and hire me, " I cried, while in the morning I was walking on the stone-paved road.

THE KING v. Sword in hand, the King came in his chariot. v. He held my hand said, "I will hire you with my power. " But his power counted for nought, and he went away in his chariot.

THE RICH OLD MAN v In the heat of the midday the houses stood with shut doors. I wandered along the crooked lane. An old man came out with his bag of gold. He pondered and said, "I will hire you with my money. " He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away.

THE FAIR MAIDEN v It was evening. The garden hedge was all aflower. The fair maid came out and said, "I will hire you with a smile. " Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went back alone into the dark. .

THE CHILD v. The sun glistened on the sand, and the sea waves broke waywardly. A child sat playing with shells.

He raised his head and seemed to know me, and said, "I hire you with nothing. " From thenceforward that bargain struck in child's play made me a free man.

THE SUMMARY

v. A man was looking for a job. He was willing to serve anybody on payment. He was waiting to be hired. He walked along the stony road for an employer. The king carrying a sword in his hand came in his open royal vehicle. He caught the man by the arm and said that he was ready to hire him with his power. But the offer was rejected as power had no attraction for him. The king went away.

v. At midday, it was hot and the houses had their doors shut. The man was going along the irregular lane. An old man on hearing his offer, came to hire him with his gold coins. He counted the coins one by one. But gold also could not persuade the man to sell his services.

v. It was evening. The hedges round the garden were laden with flowers. A lovely maid came out and offered to hire him with her smile. But she too went away disappointed. Her smile turned into tears and she was lost in the dark.

v. In the setting sunlight, the sand around the seacoast shone golden. The sea waves beat their heads on the shore and broke up. A child sitting there was playing with sea shells. He said to the man that he was ready to hire but without any payment. The man finalised the deal. He joined the child in the game and since then he felt like a free man.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Who tried to strike the bargain with the speaker first? 2. The speaker did not accept the offer of the old man. Why? 3. Why did the girl cry? 4. With whom did he strike the bargain at last? Why?

. FIND OUT WHICH LINES EXPRESSE THE FOLLOWING IDEAS 1. The king wanted to show off his power to hire the man 2. The old man was miserly 3. The speaker refused the girl's offer and she was sad 4. The speaker did not want to be a slave under anybody’s power.

• HOME WORK v Write a paragraph (100 words) on MY FAVOURITE CAREER

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