Life – by Charlotte Bronte
Life, believe, is not a dream,
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day :
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
Oh, why lament its fall ?
Rapidly,merrily,
Life’s sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully,cheerily,
Enjoy them as they fly.
What though death at times steps in,
And calls our Best away ?
What though Sorrow seems to win,
O’er hope a heavy sway?
Yet Hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell,
Still buoyant are her golden wings,
Still strong to bear us well.
Manfully,fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously,victoriously,
Can courage quell despair!
Meanings
sages – learned men
sway – controlling influence
unconquered – not defeated
transient – temporary
buoyant – that which can rise upwards
lament – express grief or regret
trial – judgement
quell – end, suppress
despair – hopelessness
Introduction:
Often we hear peopletalking about all the negative experiences of life. And so everyone takes itfor granted that life is a burden. But in this poem, Charlotte Bronte gives usa very optimistic and motivational message that life is full of hope. Sheencourages us to have courage and move on because ‘Every dark cloud has asilver lining’ and ‘There is always light at the end of the tunnel’
Central Idea:
The poem encourages usto look at life with a positive attitude. It tells us to be optimistic and havethe courage to persevere and we will overcome our difficulties and bevictorious.
Summary:
Life, believe, is not a dream,
So dark as sages say;
The poet Charlotte Bronte begins the poem by telling us that we must not believe what the sages (learned men) have said that life is a dark dream. She advises us not to fear or dread life.
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day :
Taking the metaphor of the morning rain which symbolizes sorry and despair, the poet tells us that even if there is a little morning rain, the rest of the day is a pleasant one. So also even if there are problems and worries in our life, our life is going to be lovely and pleasant.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
Oh, why lament its fall?
In these lines, the poet takes the metaphor of the clouds of gloom which symbolizes sorrow and grief that are present in everyone’s’ lives. These showers are transient, they are temporary, they come for a short while, yet they make the roses bloom. So also in our life even if we have sorrow and grief, it will lead to joy and happiness. The poet then asks us a rhetorical question, ‘Why lament its fall?’ which means that if the showers make the roses bloom then we shouldn’t complain about the rainfall. So also if we have sadness and grief in our lives don’t worry as these will bring cheer and delight.
Rapidly, merrily,
Life’s sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily,
Enjoy them as they fly.
Here the poet says that the happy moments in our life move very quickly and cheerfully. She advises us to enjoy these fast flying moments before they are lost forever.
What though death at times steps in,
And calls our Best away ?
What though Sorrow seems to win,
O’er hope a heavy sway?
The poet rhetorically says that even though death has taken away our loved one and our house is engulfed in sorrow, we should not be swayed away by grief and loose hope.
Yet Hope again elastic springs,
Unconquered, though she fell,
Still buoyant are her golden wings,
Still strong to bear us well.
The poet has personified Hope and says that Hope has elastic springs. It means that, just like elastic can stretch itself and just like when a spring is released it will jump all around, so also Hope stretches itself and jumps all around so that people can catch it. But alas! It was not conquered by anyone and so it fell. Its golden wings are still buoyant and strong. Though Hope has fallen, its golden wings that are buoyant and strong will help it bounce back. So we should never feel despair for Hope is there to guide and lift us up.
Manfully, fearlessly,
The day of trial bear,
For gloriously, victoriously,
Can courage quell despair!
In the final stanza the poet encourages us to be strong and fearless, for on the day of trial i.e. day of judgement ( in Christianity and Islam, it is the day of judgement when God will make His judgement about humanity) we all will be glorious and victorious and our courage will quell despair. We all will triumph!
Appreciation of Poem
1. Title: Life
2. Poet: Charlotte Bronte
3. Theme/Central idea: The poem encourages us to look at life with a positive attitude. It tells us to be optimistic and have the courage to persevere and we will overcome our difficulties and be victorious.
4. Rhyme Scheme: abcb in the first stanza, dede and so on in all the remaining stanzas.
5. Figure of Speech: ‘What though death at times steps in’. The figure of speech is Personification.
6. Special Feature/Implied meaning, etc.: This is a motivational and encouraging poem. The poet says that all our worries and grief is transient and which will be soon turn into pleasant and sunny moments.
7. Favourite lines: Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
8. Why I like/don’t like the poem: I like the poem because it gives me the motivation and encouragement to persevere.
Answer the following question:
1. What do the sages say?
Ans. The sages say that life is not a dream.
2. What does the rain often foretell?
Ans. The rain foretells a pleasant day.
3. What should we do during joyful times in life?
Ans. During joyful times in our lives, we should enjoy it cheerfully and gratefully.
4. Who does ‘Our Best” refer to?
Ans. ‘Our Best’ refers to our loved one.
5. Why are the wings of hope ‘golden’?
Ans. The wings of Hope are golden because they are bright and strong to give us hope for the future.
Warming up
1. There aremany popular lines like :-
‘Life is a game– play it well’.
‘Life is ajourney- keep going ahead’.
Discuss andwrite down a few such metaphorical lines about ‘life’. You can make them upyourselves.
(1) Life isa dream, enjoy it.
(2) Life isocean, dive deep.
(3) Life ismusic, hum it.
(4) Life isa challenge, accept it.
(5) Life isa teacher, learn from it.
2. Prepare as many ‘acrostics’ using the word LIFE, as you can.
Two examples are given below.
| Live | Liberty | Love | Live |
| In | Integrity | Inspires | Inspire |
| Freedom | Fraternity | Frees | Fascinate |
| Ever | Equality | Everyone | Encourage |
3. Listen carefully and write the word in the appropriate column.
| Positive Feelings | Negative Feelings |
| hopeful, happy, surprised, loving, proud, cheerful, anxious, excited, comfortable, peaceful, enthusiastic, motivated, inspired | lonely, jealous, surprised, shy, anxious, nervous, embarrassed, scared, silly, depressed, threatened, crushed, angry |
Teacher : hopeful, lonely, happy, jealous, surprised, shy, loving, proud, cheerful, anxious, nervous, excited, embarrassed, scared, silly, comfortable, peaceful, depressed, enthusiastic, motivated, inspired, threatened, crushed, angry.
Note that it is possible to feel both kindsof emotions at the same time. Have you experienced it? Try to describe thesituation in short.
ENGLISH WORKSHOP
1. Pick out from the poem, two lines each that reflect an optimistic (positive) attitude and pessimistic (negative) attitude.
Optimism :
(1) Oft a little morning rain Foretells apleasant day
(2) If the shower will make the roses bloom, Oh,why lament its fall?
Pessimism :
(1) Sometimes there are clouds of gloom.
(2) What though Sorrow seems to win, O’erhope a heavy sway?
2. Give other ‘-ly’ adverbs of similar meaning for the following. Use a thesaurus if needed.
(a) rapidly– swiftly or quickly
(b) merrily – cheerfully
(c) gratefully – thankfully
(d) cheerily – happily
(e)manfully – bravely or boldly
(f)fearlessly – courageously
(g)gloriously – wonderfully
(h) victoriously -successfully
3. Pick out three examples of interrogation (rhetorical questions) from the poem.
(a) Explain in your own words the point that each one makes.
| Interrogation | Explanation |
| (1) If the shower will make the roses bloom, Oh, why lament its fall ? | If the showers make the roses bloom then we shouldn’t complain about the rainfall. So also if we have sadness and grief in our lives don’t worry as these will bring cheer and delight. |
| (2) What though death at times steps in, And calls our Best away? | Even though death has taken away our loved one we should accept it. |
| (3) What though sorrow seems to win, O’er hope a heavy sway? | Even though we are engulfed in sorrow, we should not be swayed away by grief and loose hope. |
(b) Explain the metaphor in the following lines:
(1) Oft a little morning rain Foretells apleasant day
Ans. The morning rain is compared to sorrowand pleasant day to joy.
(2) Sometimes there are clouds
Ans. Clouds are compared to sadness
(3) … the shower will make the rosesbloom
Ans. The roses are compared to good times.
(4) Life’s sunny hours flit by
Ans. Sunny hours are compared to happymoments.
(c) Pick out four examples of personification. Write what is personified in each :
Ans.
(1) Oft a little morning rain Foretells a pleasant day –Rainis personified and given the human quality of foretelling.
(2) Life’s sunny hours flit by –Sunnyhours are personified and given the humanquality of flitting by.
(3) What though death at times steps in –Deathis personified and given the humanquality of stepping in.
(4) What though Sorrow seems to win –Sorrowis personified and given the humanquality of winning
(d) ‘And calls our Best away’ is a gentle way of expressing the unpleasant idea of a loved one dying. It is an example of euphemism. Think and write down 3 or 4 ways in which we can express the idea of ‘death’ in a tactful and gentle manner.
(1) He/She is no more
(2) He/She has gone to heaven
(3) He/She has passed away
(4) God has called him/her.
4. ‘….. and that’s how I realised that courage and hope can help me overcome any major mishap/problem in life.’ Write an episode / experience from your own life that leads to the above conclusion.
Ans. My friend, Rohan, had topped the 10thboard exams in our school and I wanted to know how he had achieved it. So Iapproached him with the question. He sat me down and told me about an incidentthat was a life changer. I’m sure you too would like to know all about it. So thisis his story.
Rohan, lives with his parents in Mumbai. His father, the only earning member of his family, works as a school bus driver, ferrying children from early morning till late evening. His mother is a homemaker. Though his father works hard, they found it very difficult to make ends meet with his meager salary. So, as a goodwill jester for his hard work, the Principal, Mr. Sharma admitted Rohan in their prestigious school, free of cost.
Their happiness knew no bounds. They had alot of expectations from Rohan. They wanted him to study hard, get a corporatejob and live a life of comfort. They would pressurize him to always excel inschool. If he scored less marks or did not stand first in class, he wasreprimanded and insulted at home. To avoid this humiliation, Rohan startedadopting all kinds of false methods to score high grades.
Last year, when he was in class IX, he wascaught cheating by his Math teacher. He was taken to the Principal’s office. Mr.Sharma recognized him and immediately called for his father. Burning with rage,the Principal gave a piece of his mind to both father and son. As Mr. Sharmadid not want Rohan to set a bad example to other students, he warned them that thenext time this happens Rohan will have to leave school.
At home, Rohan’s parents were furious. Theyfelt so ashamed and insulted by his behavior that they stopped talking to himaltogether.
This incident was a turning point in Rohan’slife. He promised himself to work hard. From that day on, he devoted his timeto study hard, often burning the candle at both ends. His efforts paid off andin class X, he was declared the topper of the school, scoring a whopping 97%marks.
He was felicitated in front of all the students. His parents too were called on the dais. What a proud moment it was for Rohan and his parents! With his dedication and perseverance he was able to win back his parent’s love and teachers’ respect. In conclusion, he said to me, “And that’s how I realised that courage and hope can help me overcome any major mishap/problem in life.”
5. Read : ‘The Psalm of Life’- a poem by H. W. Longfellow.
A Psalm of Life
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
What The Heart Of The Young ManSaid To The Psalmist.
Tell menot, in mournful numbers,
Lifeis but an empty dream!
For thesoul is dead that slumbers,
Andthings are not what they seem.
Life isreal! Life is earnest!
Andthe grave is not its goal;
Dust thouart, to dust returnest,
Wasnot spoken of the soul.
Notenjoyment, and not sorrow,
Isour destined end or way;
But to act,that each to-morrow
Findus farther than to-day.
Art islong, and Time is fleeting,
Andour hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, likemuffled drums, are beating
Funeralmarches to the grave.
In theworld’s broad field of battle,
Inthe bivouac of Life,
Be not likedumb, driven cattle!
Bea hero in the strife!
Trust noFuture, howe’er pleasant!
Letthe dead Past bury its dead!
Act,— actin the living Present!
Heartwithin, and God o’erhead!
Lives ofgreat men all remind us
Wecan make our lives sublime,
And,departing, leave behind us
Footprintson the sands of time;
Footprints,that perhaps another,
Sailingo’er life’s solemn main,
A forlornand shipwrecked brother,
Seeing,shall take heart again.
Let us,then, be up and doing,
Witha heart for any fate;
Stillachieving, still pursuing,
Learnto labor and to wait.
