10th English : No Men Are Foreign
Unit 6.2 > No Men Are Foreign
GLOSSARY
| Condemn | express complete disapproval | முழுவதுமாக மறுத்தல் |
| Labour | hardwork | கடின உழைப்பு |
| Betray | disloyal | நன்றி மறத்தல், காட்டிக் கொடுத்தல் |
| Defile | damage the purity or appearance | மாசுபடுத்துதல் |
| Outrage | extremely strong reaction of anger, shock | கோபத்தின் மிக வலுவான எதிர்வினை, அதிர்ச்சி |
A. Based on the understanding of the poem, read the following lines and answer the questions given below.
1. Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes
Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon
Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.
a) What is found beneath all uniforms?
A single body is found beneath all uniforms
b) What is same for every one of us?
The body is the same for everyone of us
c) Where are we all going to lie finally?
Finally, we are all going to lie in the earth
2. They, too, aware of sun and air and water,
Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv’d.
a) What is common for all of us?
The sun, air and water is common for all of us.
b) How are we fed?
We are fed by the grains that are harvested.
c) Mention the season referred here?
The season mentioned is a long winter
3. Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read
A labour not different from our own.
a) Who does ‘their’ refer to?
Their refers to the brothers who live in the earth
b) What does the poet mean by ‘lines we read’?
The phrase line we read mean the marks on the hands of the people who work hard are looked at by us.
c) What does not differ?
The labourious hardwork of other is not different from ours.
4. Let us remember, whenever we are told
To hate our brothers, it is ourselves
That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn.
a) Who tells us to hate our brothers?
The people who belong to our conuntry tell us to hate the people who live in an alien land. The poet calls the alien our bothers
b) What happens when we hate our brothers?
It reflects ouurselves, our attitudes, etc.
c) What do we do to ourselves?
By hating others, we are really diloyal to ourselves
5. Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence
Of air that is everywhere our own,
Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.
a) What outrages the innocence?
Our greedy to occupy other countries by waging war against them, resulting in devastation outrages the innocence.
b) Who are not foreign?
The men who live in other countries are not foreigners.
c) What is not strange?
The nearby countries are not strange.
B. Based on your understanding of the poem complete the following by choosing the appropriate words/phrases given in brackets:
| unity of human | dreams and aspirations | same land | our hands |
| unnatural | breathing body | same eyes | brotherhood |
| language | human earth | ||
This poem is about the brotherhood of all men. The subject of the poem is the unity of human race, despite of the difference in colour , caste, creed , religion , country etc. All human beings are same. We walk on the same land and we will be buried under it. Each and everyone of us are related to the other . We all are born same and die in the same way. We may wear different uniforms like ’language’ during wars the opposing side will also have the same breathing body like ours. We as human do they same labour with our hands and look at the world with the same eyes Waging war against others as they belong to a different country is like attacking our own selves. It is the human earth we impair. We all share the same dreams and aspirations We are similar to each other. So the poet concludes that we shouldn’t have wars as it is unnatural to fight against us.
C. Based on your understanding of the poem answer the following questions in a paragraph of about 100-150 words.
1. What is the central theme of the poem ‘No men are foreign’?
| James Falconer Kirkup expresses his wish that all men of the world should consider themselves as brothers, Though they belong to a different country or speak a different language, they are clothed in ‘a body that breathes’. They live in the same land where they would finally settle in. They enjoy the boundaries of Nature The sun, The Air, The water, They take food by harvesting They are affected by war. They have the game hand, same eyes like ours. People who are really induced to hate others, should avoid it. Because by their habit of hating, they are degrading themselves, Hating in turn leads to war and it ends in the destruction of the living space. Thereby the poet tells us to consider this view. “No men are foreign and no countries strange”. |
2. The poem ‘No men are foreign’ has a greater relevance in todays world. Elucidate.
| Hatred is a burning spree in today’s world. Terrorism rules the day, Then and there is human – attack the world over, One ts always in a dilemma how to control the hatred and enmity among the nations. It is a million-dollar question. So the poem of James Falconer Kirkup is a timely capsule to reduce the evil effects of hatred and violence. If his poem is really read and understood by the human beings, then it would mitigate the grievances of war. To consider and confirm this, please try to understand the poet’s view The poet tries to. say that the person who live in the other countries have the same hand, same eyes, a body that breathes like ours. So he ascertains that the readers should take this into account. Further the hatred turning into war really demolishes the earth where the humans survive. Considering all these, we, the humans, should live a life of brotherhood. |
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