Class 7 :: English Literature :: The Flower School by Rabindranath Tagore
The Flower School
by Rabindranath Tagore
The Poem :
"When storm-clouds rumble in the sky and June showers come down,
The moist east wind comes marching over the heath to blow its bagpipes
among the bamboos.
Then crowds of flowers come out of a sudden, from nobody knows where,
and dance upon the grass in wild glee.
Mother, I really think the flowers go to school underground.
They do their lessons with doors shut, and if they want to come out to play before
time, their master makes them stand in a corner.
When the rain comes they have their holidays,
Branches clash together in the forest, and the leaves rustle in the wild wind,
the thunder-clouds clap their giant hands and the flower children rush out
in dresses of pink and yellow and white.
Do you know, mother, their homes is in the sky, where the stars are.
Haven't you seen how eager they are to get there? Don't you know why they are
in such a hurry?
Of course, I can guess to whom they raise their arms; they have their mother
as I have my own."
The Summary of the Poem :-
Here in the poem the poetic persona, a little child describes that when the rains arrive at the end of the harsh summer, along with the moist east wind, vibrant flowers burst out of the ground and reach up to the sky.
Nobody knows where they come from and dance dance upon the grass with joy. Then the poetic persona informs the mother that the poetic persona thinks that the flowers go to their school underground. They learn their lessons with doors shut and their master punishes them if they want to come out to play before time.
When the rain comes the flowers get their holidays as the children get their monsoon holidays. The pink, yellow and white flowers blossom playfully along with the branches and leaves of trees in the wind and thunder. The persona also says that the the flowers have their homes in the sky where the stars are. The persona asks the mother why they are in a hurry to go. Then the persona replies that because they have their mother there.
Comprehension
1. Tick the sentences that show that the flowers attend a very strict school.
a. When the rain comes they have
their holidays. [ ]
b. They do their lessons with
doors shut, … [ ]
c. … the flower children rush out in dresses on pink and yellow and white. [ ]
d. … their master makes them
stand in a corner. [✓]
2. As we read the poem, we can hear the sounds of the monsoon. Fill in the chart with examples from the poem that do this.
=
Sounds of monsoon :-
(The moist east wind … blow(s) its bagpipes among the bamboos.)
(Branches clash together in the forest.)
(The leaves rustle in the wild wind.)
(The thumber-clouds clap their giant hands.)
3. "Haven't you seen how eager they are to get there? Don't you know why they are in such a hurry?"
a. Who is the speaker and who is the listener in this poem?
= The poetic persona is the speaker and the mother is the listener in this poem.
b. Where are the flowers eager to go? Why?
= The flowers are eager to go their home in the sky where the stars are.
They want to go to their home as their mother stays there and they raise their arms for their mother.
c. Who do the flowers represent here?
= The flowers represents the school-children here. This poem compares these blooming flowers to school-children and the freedom they experience when the monsoon break begins.
4. Why do you think the poet chose this title? What image did he want to create in the reader's mind?
= The poet has very aptly chose the title 'The Flower School' to tell about the flower and the imaginary comparison between the flowers and the school-children. As the school-children get break at the beginning of the monsoon, the flowers too get the opportunity to come up the ground after their vacation from school learning.
When the rains arrive at the end of the harsh summer, vibrant flowers burst out of the ground and reach up to the sky. This poem compares these blooming flowers to school-children and the freedom they experience when the monsoon break begins. The poet also depicts the image of relevant natural scenario to intensify the joy of the flowers. He says about the rumbling of the storm-clouds, the clashing of the branches in the forest, the rustling of the leaves in the wild wind and sound of the thunder-clouds to draw a vivid image of the joy and merriment of the flowers.