Good Morning Please Welcome to the Presentation Unit

Good Morning! Please, Welcome to the Presentation!

Unit 1: Poems Theme under Discussion: Life & Death “Liberty without learning is always in peril and learning without liberty is always in vain. ” - J. F. Kennedy

“Where the Mind Is Without Fear” -Rabindranath Tagore About the Poet: -R. N. Tagore(1861 -1941) -Regarded as the greatest and the most versatile Indian author- poet, essayist, story writer, playwright and also a philosopher. -Born in Calcutta - Mostly self learned and self taught. -The first Asian cum non-European to win the Nobel Prize in literature. - He’s written profoundly sensitive and beautiful poems filled with deep feelings.

Background & Introduction: • This poem was originally written in the Bengali language, but later translated by the poet himself into English. • The original poem bears the title “ Prarthana” meaning prayer. So, this poem is a prayer to God. • Tagore wrote this poem before India’s independence when the nation was under the British Rule and the people were eagerly waiting get their freedom.

Subject Matter: • It’s a beautiful prose poem in which the poet sketches an ideal picture of his nation free from all ills and evils. • It’s a kind of prayer made by the poet to the God what he would like his country to be!

Paraphrase of the Poem: • The poet begins pledging to the Almighty that his country should be free from every kind of fear and people could hold their head high in dignity. • He dreams up his nation in which everyone is free to acquire knowledge. • Then he wishes that there should not be any division among the people in terms of caste, colour, creed, region and religion or on any baseless superstitions that break the unity.

Contd… • He ardently wishes that his people should be always guided by the reason, should speak the truth and work tirelessly for the betterment of themselves and their nation leaving behind all prejudices. • For this, he believes that the thought and action of his people must go together. • Finally, he earnestly appeals to the God to keep his country awake and lead her to the path of freedom.

Central Idea/ Theme: • A poem imbued with the desires of freedom. The poet earnestly appeals to his Almighty to liberate his nation from all sorts of evils and to lead her to the path of progress and prosperity.

Four Levels: 1. Literal Comprehension: ……… 2. Interpretation: ………. . 3. Critical Thinking: ……… - A beautiful short poem - A moving sketch of the contemporary India - The use of colloquial language - A strong appeal

Contd… • But some metaphors are difficult to decipher. • Is the ideal/ utopian world possible in reality imagined by the poet? • Is it possible to create such a heavenly world of freedom? • I don’t think by making prayer to the God we can bring change and progress; it’s one’s action that can bring a real change.

4. Assimilation: • While reading this poem, I came to visualize my own country and people.

Any Questions……. . ? ? ? ? ? “In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. ” - F. D. Roosevelt

Finally, Thank You!