The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Summary and Explanation
PSEB Class 9 English Poem 3 The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Summary, Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings and Poetic Devices from English Main Course Book
The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Summary – Are you looking for the summary, theme and Lesson explanation for Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class 9 English Poem 3 – The Nightingale and the Glow-worm from English Main Course Book. Get Lesson summary, theme, explanation along with difficult word meanings and poetic devices.
PSEB Class 9 English Main Course Book Poem 3- The Nightingale and the Glow-worm
By William Cowper
The story of the Nightingale and the Glow-worm carries a lovely lesson for mankind. Every object of nature, living or non-loving, is useful in its own way. For the world to be happy and prosperous, one must learn to co-exist with others in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding.
- The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Summary
- The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Summary in Hindi
- The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Theme
- The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Explanation
- The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Poetic Devices
Related:
- The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Question Answers
- The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Character Sketch
The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Summary
William Cowper describes a nightingale that sang all day long. His melody cheered up the village. His song never once paused. One evening, the nightingale paused his melody because he was hungry. He was on top of a hawthorn shrub and searched for food. He then saw a glow-worm, which was glowing brightly. The glow-worm knew what the nightingale wanted. The glow-worm wanted to live. So he told the nightingale that he admired his singing as much as he admired his light. Both of their abilities spread happiness in the city. Therefore, the glow-worm believed that they both should live and continue to spread happiness and cheer with music and light. The nightingale liked the speech and left the worm alive.
Summary of the Poem The Nightingale and the Glow-worm in Hindi
विलियम कूपर एक बुलबुल का वर्णन करते हैं जो दिन भर गाती रहती थी। उसकी मधुर आवाज़ से गाँव में रौनक छा जाती थी। उसका गाना कभी रुकता नहीं था। एक शाम, बुलबुल भूख लगने के कारण गाना बंद कर दिया। वह एक कंटीली झाड़ी पर बैठकर भोजन की तलाश कर रही थी। तभी उसने एक चमकता हुआ जुगनू देखा। जुगनू समझ गया कि बुलबुल क्या चाहती है। जुगनू जीना चाहता था। इसलिए उसने बुलबुल से कहा कि वह उसके गाने की उतनी ही प्रशंसा करता है जितनी उसकी रोशनी की। दोनों की खूबियाँ शहर में खुशियाँ फैलाती हैं। इसलिए, जुगनू का मानना था कि दोनों को जीवित रहना चाहिए और संगीत और रोशनी से खुशियाँ और आनंद फैलाते रहना चाहिए। बुलबुल को उसकी बात अच्छी लगी और उसने जुगनू को जीवित छोड़ दिया।
Theme of the Poem The Nightingale and the Glow-worm
The poem is centered around diversity and harmony. The poet highlights the importance of mutual respect and understanding among all components of nature. We should celebrate our differences and strengths. Blind violence in the pursuit of survival and fulfilment of basic needs can create an unhappy atmosphere. Instead, we should learn to live with other organisms and objects without killing or destroying them for our selfish needs.
The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Poem Explanation
Stanza:
A nightingale, that all day long
Had cheered the village with his song,
Word-meanings:
nightingale: a small migratory, small or medium-sized bird with brown feathers, noted for its rich, melodioussong which can often be heard at night.
cheer: to make someone happy
Explanation: A nightingale sings a melodious song all day long, making everyone in the village happy and cheerful.
Stanza:
Nor yet at eve his note suspended.
Nor yet when even tide was ended
Word-meanings:
eve: period of time immediately before an event or occasion
suspended: temporarily prevented from continuing
Explanation: The nightingale’s song did not pause even before the start of an event or occasion. The nightingale’s song did not end when the tide of the sea fell and ended.
Stanza:
Began to feel as well he might,
The keen demands of appetite;
Word-meanings:
keen: eager
Explanation: One day, the nightingale began to feel hungry for food.
Stanza:
When, looking eagerly around,
He spied far off, upon the ground,
Word-meanings:
spied: saw in a secretive way
Explanation: The nightingale looked around eagerly and secretively. He was searching for a creature on the ground to feed on it.
Stanza:
A something shining in the dark,
And knew the glow-worm by his spark;
Word-meanings:
glow-worm: a soft-bodied beetle with luminescent organs in the stomach
Explanation:The nightingale spotted something shining in the dark. By the light, the nightingale knew that it was a glow-worm, a soft-bodied beetle with luminescent organs in the stomach.
Stanza:
So, stooping down from hawthorn top,
He thought to put him in his crop.
Word-meanings:
stooping: bending forwards
hawthorn: a thorny shrub with roses and red berries
crop: a pouch in a bird’s gullet where food is stored or prepared for digestion
Explanation: The nightingale was on top of a thorny shrub. He stooped down as he observed the glow-worm. He wanted to put the worm in the pouch in his gullet, where it would be stored and prepared for digestion.
Stanza:
The worm, aware of his intent,
Harangued him thus, right eloquent
Word-meanings:
harangued: spoke loudly and angrily
eloquent: fluent in speaking
Explanation: The glow-worm was aware that the nightingale wanted to eat him. The worm spoke up loudly and angrily in fluent speech.
Stanza:
“Did you admire my lamp, quoth he,
“As much as I your minstrelsy,
Word-meanings:
quoth: said
minstrelsy: singing
Explanation: The glow-worm asked the nightingale if he admired his luminescence as much as he admired his singing.
Stanza:
You would abhor to do me wrong.
As much as I to spoil your song:
Word-meanings:
abhor: hate, dislike
Explanation: The glow-worm told the nightingale that he should not ruin his luminescence if he does not want it to ruin his singing.
Stanza:
For ’twas the self-same power divine.
Taught you to sing, and me to shine;
Explanation: The glow-worm said that the same divine power gave him his light and the nightingale the ability to sing. So, they both had to respect each other’s gifts.
Stanza:
That you with music. I with light.
Might beautify and cheer the night.”
Explanation: The glow-worm said that he and the nightingale should use their abilities to make the night more beautiful and cheerful.
Stanza:
The songster heard his short oration.
And warbling out his approbation
Word-meanings:
oration: speech
warbling: a bird singing softly
approbation: approval, praise
Explanation: The nightingale heard the glow-worm’s short speech and sang out to show his approval.
Stanza:
Released him, as my story tells,
And found a supper somewhere else.
Explanation: The nightingale released the glow-worm and went away. He found supper somewhere else and the glow-worm got to live. “As my story tells” means that the poet is keeping the ending open for readers to imagine other endings.
The Nightingale and the Glow-worm Poetic Devices
1. Rhyme – The rhyme scheme of the poem is aa bb cc dd and so on. The last words of every pair of lines rhyme with each other. For example- light-night, oration-approbation.
2. Inversion – The order of the sentence has been inverted to create rhyme and rhythm. For example –
A nightingale, that all day long
Had cheered the village with his song,
The sentence structure should be – All day long, a nightingale’s song had cheered the village
3. Anaphora – When consecutive lines start with the same word. For example-
Nor yet at eve his note suspended.
Nor yet when even tide was ended
4. Alliterative – When the same consonant sound is repeated at the start of two or more consecutive words. For example – Harangued him, heard his, supper somewhere.
Conclusion
This post covers the summary, explanation and word meanings of the poem ‘The Nightingale and the Glow-worm’ from PSEB Class 9 Main course book. Students can go through the post and understand the lesson.