Class 8 :: English Literature :: The Sower by Tarulata Dutta
The Sower
by Tarulata Dutta
Summary of The Sower :-
This poem commemorates the plebeian farmer whose importance is often taken for granted. But the fact is that the peasants does not just sow and nurture simple fruits to fruition; he is the source of sustenance for the humanity and is actually sowing and nurturing life. At the very first para of the poem we can see that the poet is sitting in a cool porchway. It is almost dusk. The sunlight is dying fast letting the twilight hasten on to rule. Working hours have already passed. The poet feels thrill to see a farmer still engaged in his work patiently wearing old rag clothes. The setting sun has made black and high shadow of him longer than the furrows made by a plough for planting seeds in. He is all ready to sow the seeds and which will grow into good crops to reap. He marches up and down along the plain to scatter the grains as wide as he could. The poet was mused to see him scattering the precious grains while striding in the field. It becomes deep dark till he finishes his work. They are the producer of food for the whole humanity. They get burnt in the sun drenched in the rain, they work hard from the dawn to dusk. Indirectly, they nurture the human civilization in cradle. This makes the poet feel respect for them. They are like touching the sky by the deeds they do. They are producing food. They are helping the whole civilization to survive. They produce food grains by their labour and hard work and perseverance which has no substitute in the long run of human civilization so far. They are doing the glorious task of touching the starry sky.
Comprehension:
1. The poet has used some interesting verbs with the following words. Find the verbs.
a. sunset: dying.
b. twilight: hastens.
c. shadows: run across.
d. silhouette: dominates.
e. darkness: deepens.
2. “But a sower lingers still
Old, in nags, he patient stands.
Looking on, I feel a thrill.”
a. What makes the sower ‘linger’?
=The sower was preparing seedbed to sow seed, this made the sower ‘linger’.
b. Why do you think he is ‘in rags’? Does this tell us something about farmers in general?
= A sower has to work on field, in the sun and in the mud, all this make his close dirty. So, it is good to wear old rag while working in the field.
This do tells us many things about farmers in general. They are the producer of food of the whole humanity. They burn in the sun, they get drenched in the rain, they work hard from the down to dusk. Indirectly they nurture the human civilization in their cradle. In spite of all these, they are take for granted by all of us. They lead a worse life than they deserve. The above lines depict their plight and miserable condition in general.
c. What gives the poet ‘a thrill’? Why?
=Looking at the sower working in the field gives the poet ‘a thrill’.
The sower is working till late in the dusk. The poet is looking at him sitting in a cool porch-way. The sun has set and twilight has hasten. The working hour has almost passed. The sower is still busy working in the field. As we know the shadows are longer in the evening, so they have crossed the lands and marking the end of the day. It is time to go back home. But the sower has no attention on that. He is determined to execute his task for the day. All these gives the poet ‘a thrill’.
3. Why can we say that the sower is a persevering, in industrious and optimistic person? Point and the relevant lines that illustrate each of these qualities.
= The line- “Working hours have well-night past”.-says that the sower is persevering. He is working till late after dusk. The sun has set and twilight has hasten. The working hours have almost passed. The sower is still busy in the field executing his task for the day.
The lines “But a sower lingers still, old, in rags, he patient stands”.-say that the sower is industrious. As we know, the shadows are longer in the evening, so, they have crossed the lands and marking the end of the day. It is time to go back home. But the sower has no attention to that. Here he is industrious.
The lines- “Now to sow the task is set. Soon shall come a time to reap”.- say that the sower is optimistic. He is expecting a good harvest in the coming time. He has sown seeds and he is optimistic about getting good grains from them.
4. Why, according to the poet, is the stature of the sower ‘august’ and ‘touching the starry skies’?
= A sower has to work hard in the sun and dirt and drench in sower of rain. They are the producer of food for the whole humanity. They get burnt in the sun; drenched in the rain, they work hard from the dawn to dusk. Indirectly, they nurture the human civilization in cradle. This makes the poet feel respect for them. They are like touching the sky by the deeds they do. They are producing food. They are helping the whole civilization to survive. They produce food grains by their labour and hard work and perseverance which has no substitute in the long run of human civilization so far. They are doing the glorious task of touching the starry sky.