Class 9th Eng. Poem -6 NO MEN ARE FOREIGN,NCERT/CBSE Based Question and answer, Theme Message Literary devices

Poem-6

No Men are Foreign by James Kirkup

   Introduction of the Poet

James Falconer Kirkup (April 23, 1918-May 10, 2009) was a prolific English poet, writer and translator: He wrote over 30 books (including autobiographies, novels and plays), many dozen collections of poetry, six volumes of autobiography, over a thousand short pieces in joumals and periodicals, and hundreds of monographs of original work and translations

His first book of poetry was The Drowned Sailor which was published in 1947. He became the first resident university poet in the United Kingdom. He was felicitated with the Japan PE.N. Club Prize for Poetry in 1965.

A Brief Summary of the Poem

This anti-war poem emphasises on the futility of wars. The poet lays emphasis that no men are strange and no countries are foreign. People wear different kinds of uniforms but the bodies beneath them remain the same. Similarly, the whole earth is one land. We are brothers as we walk on the same land. All the people of this planet will be buried in this land after their death.

People throughout the world enjoy the same sun, air and water. They feed on the crops that are harvested during peaceful times. Similarly, they starve when there is a long winter or war. All people have the same kinds of hands and they too work hard similarly to earn their livelihood. They have eyes that wake and sleep like ours and the same sort of the strength that can be won by love. The same kind of life is lived everywhere and it can be recognised and understood easily.

Therefore, the poet says that we should remember that when we are told to hate others, it is only ourselves that we rob, betray and criticize. We pollute the earth when we take arms against each other. The destruction caused by wars spoils the purity of air. So, the poet reminds us that no men are foreign and no countries are strange.

Literary Devices

Alliteration: It is the repetition of sounds at the beginning of a word or of a stressed syllable within a word.

Examples:

a single body breathes

Here, 'b' sound is repeated.

by war's long winter starv'd

Here, 'w' sound is repeated.

Or sleep, and strength

Here, 's' sound is repeated.

Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which there is an implied comparison between two objects.

Examples

*Beneath all uniforms*

Here, uniforms stand for the military of different countries.

*war's long winter starvd*

Here, the times of war is compared to the winter season, both of which lead to starvation

Repetition: It is a literary device where the poet employs repetition of words to emphasise a point

Examples:

The word 'Remember' is repeated five times to emphasize the serious message the poem conveys.

Enjambment: It is a literary device where lines run from one line to the next to indicate a pause but without any kind of punctuation mark.

Examples:

Remember they have eyes like ours that wake Or sleep, and strength that can be won By love. In every land is common life

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