BSEB Class 12 English Poem 8 Fire-Hymn Summary, Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings from Rainbow Book
Fire-Hymn – BSEB Class 12 English Poem 8 Fire-Hymn Summary and detailed line by line explanations of the poem along with the meanings of difficult words.
BSEB Class 12 English Rainbow Book Poem 8 – Fire-Hymn
By Keki N. Daruwalla
- Fire Hymn Introduction
- Fire Hymn Summary
- Fire Hymn Summary in Hindi
- Video Explanation of Fire Hymn
- Fire Hymn Lesson Explanation
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Fire-Hymn Introduction
‘Fire Hymn’ is composed by the poet ‘Keki N. Daruwalla’ who is the recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award and Commonwealth poetry Award. Keki N. Daruwala is an Indo Anglian poet. He is a Parsi. He wrote poems in his own words. In this poem he tells us about a burning ghat.
Fire-Hymn Summary
The poem Fire-Hymn is written by Keki. N. daruwala. In the poem the poet describes the scene of a burning Ghat. The poet explains about a ghat where dead bodies were burnt. The ghat was surrounded all around with fire and was burning because it was busy engulfing the dead bodies. The passerby and passengers were frightened because of the wandering ghost lights erupting from the ghat. Moonlight ran fast among the dead bodies. In the morning the poet went to the ghat along with his father. The ghat was situated near the bank of a river. The poet witnessed embers which were the pieces of wood and coal which lost their redness of the fire and only grey ashes were left. Half cooked limbs suggested that half of the bodies were burnt and half were still left.
In the second stanza of the poem the poet witnessed the immoral behaviour of the fire because dead bodies were not completely burnt. It was an immoral behavior of the fire. The poet’s father said to him that he could witness half burnt fingers and how the bone remains that had not been burnt were left at the ghat. The poet then said that it seemed sometimes that fire forgot that it was dead. The poet disclosed his religion that he was a Zorastrian, which was a Parsi religion, who believed that there was a continuing struggle in the world between the forces of light and dark and in his religion fire was worshiped so his child fingers clenched with pain. The poet could not see the sins of fire because he was a child and he swore to save fire from the sin of forgetting its dead.
In the third stanza of the poem the poet described an incident of his life. Twenty years later, the poet was no longer a child but one whose eldest child died and he consigned his first born to fire. As the poet mentioned above about his religion, dead ones were not burnt in fire but they were kept on the Tower of Silence. The Tower of Silence is the structure where Parsis dispose of the dead bodies and the nearest Tower of Silence was a thousand miles away. So he committed a sin against his religion and submitted his child to fire. The fire- hymn, which was a religious song or poem to praise God, said to the poet that he had been forgiven. The poet was broken yet he was unwilling to obey the rules and once again, he swore to save the fire from committing the sin of forgiving.
Fire-Hymn Summary in Hindi
फायर–हाइमन कविता केकी द्वारा लिखी गई है। कविता में कवि ने जलते हुए घाट के दृश्य का वर्णन किया है। कवि एक ऐसे घाट के बारे में बताते हैं जहाँ शव जलाये जाते थे। घाट चारों ओर से आग से घिरा हुआ था और जल रहा था क्योंकि वह शवों को अपने आगोश में लेने में लगा हुआ था। घाट से फूटती भटकती भूतिया रोशनी से राहगीर भयभीत हो गए। चाँदनी लाशों के बीच तेजी से दौड़ी। सुबह कवि अपने पिता के साथ घाट पर गये। घाट एक नदी के किनारे स्थित था। कवि ने अंगारों को देखा जो लकड़ी और कोयले के टुकड़े थे जिन्होंने आग की लाली खो दी थी और केवल राख बची थी। आधे पके हुए अंगों से पता चलता है कि आधे शव जल चुके हैं और आधे अभी भी बचे हुए हैं।
कविता के दूसरे छंद में कवि ने आग के अनैतिक व्यवहार को देखा क्योंकि शव पूरी तरह नहीं जले थे। यह अग्नि का अनैतिक आचरण था। कवि के पिता ने उनसे कहा कि वह आधी जली हुई उंगलियाँ देख सकते हैं और जो हड्डियाँ जली नहीं थीं उन्हें घाट पर कैसे छोड़ दिया गया था। कवि ने फिर कहा कि कभी–कभी ऐसा लगता था कि आग भूल गई कि वह मर चुके है। कवि ने अपने धर्म का खुलासा किया कि वह एक पारसी धर्म से है जिसका मानना था कि दुनिया में प्रकाश और अंधेरे की ताकतों के बीच संघर्ष जारी है और उनके धर्म में अग्नि की पूजा की जाती है, इसलिए उनके बच्चे की उंगलियां दर्द से भिंच गईं। कवि आग के पापों को नहीं देख सका क्योंकि वह एक बच्चा था और उसने आग को उसके मृतकों को भूलने के पाप से बचाने की कसम खाई थी।
कविता के तीसरे छंद में कवि ने अपने जीवन की एक घटना का वर्णन किया है। बीस साल बाद, कवि अब बच्चा नहीं था, बल्कि वह था जिसका सबसे बड़ा बच्चा मर गया और उसने अपने पहले बच्चे को आग के हवाले कर दिया। जैसा कि ऊपर कवि ने अपने धर्म के बारे में बताया है, मृतकों को आग में नहीं जलाया जाता था बल्कि उन्हें टावर ऑफ साइलेंस पर रखा जाता था। टावर ऑफ साइलेंस वह संरचना है जहां पारसी लोग शवों का निपटान करते हैं और निकटतम टावर ऑफ साइलेंस एक हजार मील दूर था। इसलिए उसने अपने धर्म के विरुद्ध पाप किया और अपने बच्चे को अग्नि के हवाले कर दिया। अग्नि–स्तोत्र, जो ईश्वर की स्तुति करने वाला एक धार्मिक गीत या कविता थी, कवि से कहता था कि उसे क्षमा कर दिया गया है। कवि टूट गया था फिर भी वह नियमों का पालन करने को तैयार नहीं था और एक बार फिर, उसने अग्नि को क्षमा करने के पाप से बचाने की शपथ ली।
Video Explanation of Fire-Hymn
Fire-Hymn Poem Explanation
Poem :
The burning ghat erupted phosphorescence:
and wandering ghost lights frightened passers-by
as moonlight scuttled among the bones.
Once strolling at dawn past river-bank and ghat
we saw embers losing their cruel redness
to the grey ash that swallows all, half-cooked limbs
Word meanings
Phosphorescence– light emitted by a substance without combustion or perceptible heat.
Hymn- a song of praise
Erupted- break out, thrown out
Scuttled- scurry, run fast
Strolling- walking, leisurely
Embers- pieces of wood or coal that are not burning but are still red
Explanation of the above Poem: In the first stanza of the poem Fire-Hymn written by Keki N. Daruwalla, the poet, explained about a ghat where dead bodies were burnt. The ghat was surrounded by fire and was burning because it was busy engulfing the dead bodies. The passerby and passengers were frightened because of the wandering ghost lights that erupted from the ghat. Moonlight ran fast among the dead bodies by which the poet means that night was visible but still people were afraid because of the ghat which was continuously burning. In the morning the poet went to the ghat along with his father. The ghat was situated near the bank of a river. The poet witnessed embers which were the pieces of wood and coal which had lost their redness of the fire and only grey ashes were left. Half-cooked limbs suggested that half of the bodies were burnt and half were still left.
Poem:
bore witness to the fire’s debauchery.
My father said, “You see those half-burnt fingers
And bone-stubs? The fire at times forgets its dead!”
A Zoroastrian I, my child -fingers clenched
Into a little knot of pain,
I swore to save fire
From the sin of forgetfulness.
Word meanings
Debauchery- immoral behaviour
Stubs- the remains that have not been burnt
Zoroastrian- a Parsi, who believes that there is a continuing struggle in the world between the forces of light and dark
Clenched- closed into a tight ball
Explanation of the above Poem: In the second stanza of the poem the poet witnessed the debauchery of the fire because dead bodies were not completely burnt. It was the debauchery or immoral behavior of the fire. The poet’s father said to him that he could witness half-burnt fingers and how the bone remains that had not been burnt were left at the ghat. The poet then said that it seemed sometimes that fire forgot to completely burn the dead. The poet disclosed his religion that he was a Zoroastrian, which was a Parsi religion, who believed that there was a continuing struggle in the world between the forces of light and dark and in his religion fire was worshiped so he tightened his fingers into a tight ball and they were in pain due to the extreme pressure with which he closed them. The poet could not see these sins of fire because he was a child and he swore to save fire from the sin of forgetting its dead.
Poem :
It never forgot, and twenty years since
As I consigned my first-born to the flames —
The nearest Tower of Silence was a thousand miles –
The firm-hymn said to me, “You stand forgiven,”
Broken, yet rebellious, I swore this time
To save it from the sin of forgiving.
Word meanings
Consigned- sent off, delivered
Tower of Silence– The Parsis dispose of the dead bodies on this structure
Hymn- a religious song or poem of praise to God or a god.
Rebellious- unwilling to obey rules
Swore– took oath (for something)
Explanation of the above Poem: In the third stanza of the poem the poet has described an incident of his life. Twenty years later, the poet was an adult whose eldest child died and he consigned his first born’s body to fire, upon his death. As the poet mentioned above about his religion, dead ones were not burnt but they were kept on the Tower of Silence. The Tower of Silence is the structure where Parsis dispose of the dead bodies and the nearest Tower of Silence was a thousand miles away. So he committed a sin against his religion and submitted his child to fire. The fire- hymn, which was a religious song or poem to praise God, said to the poet that he had been forgiven. The poet was broken yet he was unwilling to obey the rules and once again he swore to save the fire from committing the sin of forgiving the dead.
Poetic/Literary Devices
Following poetic/literary devices have been used in the poem Fire-Hymn:
- Anaphora: Anaphora is the repetition of a word at the start of consecutive lines like ‘The’ is being repeated at the start of both the lines-
‘The’ nearest Tower of Silence was a thousand miles –
‘The’ firm-hymn said to me, “You stand forgiven,”
2. Personification: Personification is giving human characteristics to animals or non-living things. Here in the poem, ‘bore witness to the fire’s debauchery’. Poet personifies the debauchery or immoral behavior of the fire.
3. Enjambment – when a sentence continues in more than 1 line and there is no punctuation mark at the end of the line.
Once strolling at dawn past river-bank and ghat
we saw embers losing their cruel redness
to the grey ash that swallows all, half-cooked limbs
4. Rhyme scheme- the poem is written in free verse
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- How Free Is The Press Summary, Explanation, Word Meanings
- The Earth Summary, Explanation, Word Meanings
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- Sweetest Love, I Do Not Goe Summary, Explanation, Word Meanings
- Song of Myself Summary, Explanation, Word Meanings
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