The poem “Night of the Scorpion” by Nissim Ezekiel reflects a poignant memory from the poet’s life. It narrates a night when a scorpion bit his mother, revealing the superstitions of the villagers who resorted to irrational acts instead of providing genuine help. The poem also beautifully highlights a mother’s love for her child.
Watch this video to gain a comprehensive understanding of the poem, including word meanings, appreciation, and figures of speech. This guide covers all essential aspects needed for your board exams.
Word Meanings:
- Stung: Bite
- Steady: Constant
- Diabolic: Showing wickedness typical of a devil
- Peasants: Farmers, Villagers
- Buzzed: To whisper
- Diminished: To become smaller
- Groaning: Moaning, making unpleasant sound
- Sceptic: Someone undecided about what is true, inquiring after facts
- Rationalist: A person who bases opinions and actions on reason and knowledge rather than on religious belief or emotional response
- Incantation: The chanting of words that claim to have magical power
Appreciation:
“Night of the Scorpion” is a free verse poem without a rhyme scheme or meter. It employs various figures of speech, such as:
- Onomatopoeia: “Buzzed the name of God a hundred times” – evokes the sound of whispered prayers.
- Metaphor, Simile, Alliteration, Antithesis – enrich the poem’s language and imagery.
The poem not only depicts the superstitions of the peasants but also the selflessness and unconditional love of a mother who is stung by a scorpion. It showcases the villagers’ care and efforts to comfort her pain.
Figures of Speech:
- Alliteration: “Parting with his poison – flash” – repetition of the sound ‘P’.
- Simile: “The peasants came like swarms of flies” – direct comparison between peasants and flies.
- Onomatopoeia: “Buzzed the name of God a hundred times” – ‘buzzed’ denotes a whispering sound.
- Metaphor: “To paralyse the evil one” – ‘Evil’ is indirectly compared to the scorpion.
- Repetition: “With candles and with lanterns” – repetition of ‘with’ for poetic effect.
Questions and Answers:
- What does the phrase ‘to paralyse the evil’ mean in stanza 3?
- It means to stop the scorpion’s venom from spreading throughout the poet’s mother’s body.
- Who are ‘they’ in stanza 4?
- ‘They’ refers to the peasants.
- Whom does the word ‘him’ refer to in line 3?
- ‘Him’ refers to the scorpion.
- Why does the poem begin with the poet’s remembering the night?
- The poem starts with the poet recalling this night due to the significant event of his mother being bitten by a scorpion and her display of love for her children.
- What forced the scorpion to take shelter in the poet’s house?
- Ten hours of steady rain forced the scorpion to take shelter.
- When did the mother find relief?
- After twenty hours of suffering, the poison subsided, and the mother found relief.
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