POETRY

THE SONG OF FREE

Swami Vivekanand(1863-1902)
The wounded snake its hood unfurls,
The flame stirred up doth blaze,
The desert air resounds the calls
Of heart-struck lion's rage.
The cloud puts forth it deluge strength
When lightning cleaves its breast,
When the soul is stirred to its in most depth
Great ones unfold their best.
Let eyes grow dim and heart grow faint,
And friendship fail and love betray,
Let Fate its hundred horrors send,
And clotted darkness block the way.
All nature wear one angry frown,
To crush you out - still know, my soul,
You are Divine. March on and on,
Nor right nor left but to the goal.

20.The Song of the free

Reference:
These inspiring lines have been taken from the poem The Song of the
free composed by Swami Vivekananda, a great philosopher, a saint and a poet.
Context:
In these lines he gives a clear message that we should not afraid of death and
misfortunes and should achieve our goal. He gives the examples of wounded snake, fire, cloud
and heart struck-lion.
Explanation/Central Idea :
The saint-poet Swami ji says that we should always be ready to fight challenges. We
should not lose our courage. For example a wounded snake opens its hood and excited fire
burn brightly. A wounded lion struck by hunters arrow roars loudly. We should not be afraid of
death because soul is immortal. Nobody can harm our soul. Why should we fear? We should
not be bothered if we lose our beloved, friend, eyes and heart. Misfortune and adversity may

come but we should enjoy them. They say every black cloud has a silver lining. We have an
immortal soul. We should march on right path to the goal.

Objective:

It is very inspiring poem. The poet expresses his views on the

philosophy of Advaitvad. The poet says that human life is
surrounded with many sufferings and difficulties .But we should not
be disheartened. We should have a definite aim of life and should
march forward on to achieve it. The ups and downs of life give him
an opportunity to show his best powers.
There is a beautiful use of Metaphor, Personification and Apostrophe
in the poem.
We can find optimistic approach in life and also a philosophical touch
in the way of living.

ON HIS BLINDNESS
When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."
John Milton
Teaching Methodology:

Details about the poet and his way of writing.

Reading of the text and its description.
Summary of the text.
Open Discussion.

About the Poem and its objective:

On his blindness is a personal sonnet written by Milton. The poem expresses

the poets mental agony after becoming blind. He complaints to God against
the injustice done to him and in it he is almost like a rebel. But soon he
realizes the supremacy of God.
A profound poem on his blindness. It shows his complaint, but also the way
out; to serve God the best he can with his disability, and to wait on God's
timing. This beautiful poem demonstrates his faith. and shows how that faith
gives him purpose and light, even in his darkness.
Poem is famous for his sublime thought and grand style.
The poem has a kind of Uniformity of thought and expression.