Class-12th all Poems Summary, Central Idea & Theme
My Mother At Sixty Six
by Kamala Das
My Mother At Sixty Six poem is written by Kamala Das and is one of her very popular poems. Kamala Das is famous for capturing the complexities of personal relationships. In the short summary of My Mother At Sixty Six, the poet relates to her own experience in the poem. She brings out a contradiction in human relationships. Throughout the poem, she has pictured what emotions a daughter feels when she bids farewell to her mother. She feels sad for her mother and is not able to express her grief. A short and long summary of My Mother At 66 is provided below.
The poet was driving from her folks home to the Cochin air terminal last Friday morning. Her mother was sitting close to her. She was sixty-six years of age. The older woman was resting. Her mouth stayed open. Her face looked pale and blurred. It was dim like debris. It looked dormant like a body (dead body).
Her youth dread overwhelmed her once more. In any case, she controlled herself. She gave off an impression of being ordinary. She scattered grains all over while bidding farewell to her mother. She wished to see her old Amma once more.
My Mother At Sixty Six Theme
The theme of the poem is ‘ageing’ which is the law of nature. It also depicts the helplessness and aspirations of the young generation. It portrays the different stages of life and how everybody grows old and faces various situations that life throws at them. Hence, this is the central theme of the poem My Mother At Sixty Six.
The dead and blurred face of her mother tormented her heart. The older woman appeared to be lost in her considerations. The poet dismissed her attention from her mother and looked outside. The world outside was loaded with life and action. The youthful trees appeared to be running quickly. The youngsters watched gladly while moving out of their homes.
My Mother At Sixty Six Summary: Brief Explanation
My Mother At 66 is a poem about a mother and her daughter. One fine day, the poet was driving to Cochin airport from her parent’s house. On the way, her mother was sitting beside her. She also mentions that her mother’s age is sixty-six. While the old lady was dozing, her mouth remained open. Her face was faded and pale. She looked like a corpse.
As a little girl, the actual thought of losing her mother upsets her. Thus, to drive away from her stressful consideration, she begins watching out at the trees, which seem, by all accounts, to be running as she drives a vehicle. She likewise sees little youngsters hurrying out of their homes to play outside. This helps her to remember youth and excellence.
The summary of the poem My Mother At Sixty Six depicts the dilemma of a child seeing her mother getting old. The lifeless and pale face of the mother pained the poet’s heart. In the poem- My Mother At 66, the poet’s mother seemed to have been lost in her own world. In My Mother At Sixty Six explanation, you will find that the poet then turned her attention towards the window and looked at nature that was full of activity and life. Here, she shows the contrast between the world outside and the inside gloominess.
The poet is harmed and pitiful and shifts her attention outside the vehicle to drive the unwanted sentiments. She changes her awful mindset. The scene from the window of the vehicle is of rising life and energy. The quick-running green and enormous trees near the happily playing kids address life, youth, and imperativeness. The poet here is recalling her youth. In her adolescence, her mother was youthful and wonderful. Though presently, her mother is encircled by the dread of losing her life, which makes her uncertain and dismal.
My Mother At 66 summary further tells us that the daughter reaches the airport and waits far away from her mother and as she bids goodbye to her, the image of her old, pale face strikes her. She compares how one grows old and starts looking like the faded moon in the winter.
Mother At Sixty Six summary further states the pain that the daughter feels on getting separated from her mother. Here the fog is an obstacle for the moonlight. The poet suddenly feels sad about getting separated from her mother as she felt in her childhood. She hopes to see her mother again. She expects her mother to enjoy her life and not to cry in front of her.
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers by Adrienne Rich
Central Idea of the Poem
The theme of the Poem
The theme of women and feminism can be found in this Poem. “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” sounds like a bead of good times. In reality, it is about a woman whose life has been limited by the patriarchal or male-dominated society in which she lives. But, the Poem does not give us any facts about this. It does not tell us, for example, that Aunt Jennifer was not allowed to go to college or that Aunt Jennifer’s husband didn’t give her any say in financial matters. But the Poem does firmly suggest that Aunt Jennifer’s prospects in life have been limited by her gender and also by her marriage, which left her terrified in her bad times. In “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” the restrictions that are problematic for Aunt Jennifer in life don’t bind her in art. So, at least, she has got that going for her. Aunt Jennifer’s needlework allows her to experience a world of deep green forests and brave dancing tigers. That is entirely different from the real life that she leads, which is weighed down by the sadness and limits of her marriage and her gender. Art in this Poem is a kind of freedom, freedom available to everyone, even the disempowered.
When it comes to this poetry, immortality is pretty much right up there with love. The poet seems to be passionate about the idea of their immortality. So it is really no surprise that the theme of immortality, of life after death, is reflected in “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” too. The speaker sees that the tigers will continue dancing after Aunt Jennifer’s death, and thus Aunt Jennifer will be able to live on through her art. Even though Aunt Jennifer’s wall hanging might not be so famous, she still gets to be immortal in her own way.
The tone of the Poem
While the Poem is theoretically dazzling, the subjects that art endures beyond human life and that suffering may be traded through art are almost not original. Rich, however, uses a resourceful image to reorganize these conventional themes in a new way and even hints, in the image of Aunt Jennifer weighed down by an oppressive marriage, at the feminism that would invade her later work. Yet the Poem remains quite impersonal. The reader sees Aunt Jennifer but is not at all aware of the voice of the Poem’s narrator. For the reader, it is as though the picture is framed by an invisible hand, in contrast to Rich’s later work, where the reader cannot help being aware of the poet’s personal presence.
“Aunt Jennifer's Tigers” Summary
Aunt Jennifer creates a needlepoint that shows tigers leaping across the canvas. Bright and vibrant, like topaz gems, the tigers live within the green world of the canvas. They are not afraid of the men standing underneath the tree, who are also depicted in the image. The tigers walk with certainty, shining and courageous.
Aunt Jennifer's fingers swiftly and delicately work the yarn, yet she finds it physically difficult to pull even a small needle made of ivory through the canvas. Her husband's wedding band feels huge, and weighs down heavily on her hand.
When Aunt Jennifer dies one day, her frightened hands will finally be still. Yet they will still be marked by the difficulties that ruled over her while she was alive. Meanwhile, the tigers she created will continue to leap across her needlepoint without shame or fear.
A Thing of Beauty
Central idea of the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’
The central idea of the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’ composed by John Keats is that –
The poem ‘A Thing of Beauty’ gives us a message that a thing of beauty is a joy for ever. It never ends. A thing of beauty gives us encouragement to go forward and work hard. Our earth is full of innumerable beautiful things. A thing of beauty moves away the pall of misery, sorrow and disappointments of our life. The mighty deads are also a thing of beauty because they had done their best for the society. All the beautiful things are like an endless fountain, sent by God.A Thing of Beauty Theme :
A Thing of Beauty’ is an excerpt from John Keats poem ‘Endymion: A poetic romance’, which is based on a Greek legend. Being a romantic poet, John Keats talks about love, beauty and youth in this poem. In fact, the poem reflects his attitude towards beauty. The poet believes that beauty is intransient and gives us the same pleasure again and again. It provides us with eternal joy and never fades away. Beauty plays a very important role in our lives and helps us to remain happy and joyful in this sad, mundane world.
Summary of the poem "A Thing of Beauty"
The poem "A thing of beauty" is written by John Keats. He says the loveliness of beauty ever increases and it can never stop. Nature provides a bower for us to relax and sleep well, to lift our spirits, and to heal our mind, body and soul. Everyday we wreathe ourselves like a flowery band to bind ourselves with earth. There are many evils like despondence, inhumanity, dearth of nobility and dark ways of life in our society. Only the beauty around us in the form of everyday things can save us from such evils. The poet lists several beautiful things that can help us lift our spirits - like sun, moon, trees, fellow men, daffodils, streams of water, musk-rose blooms, and inspirational stories of the mighty kings. The poet says such natural beauty is like an endless fountain of an immortal drink, pouring to us from heaven - which helps us live healthily forever.
'Keeping Quiet’
Central Idea of the Poem – Keeping Quiet
The central idea of the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’ composed by Pablo Neruda is that –
In this poem, the poet suggests that he will count to twelve and everybody will keep still. He suggests that on the Earth, at our dwelling place, we should be silent and motionless for a few moments. He asks all the human beings to stop all worldly activities for some time and spend a few moments in quiet introspection. It will help us to understand ourselves. We are always in hurry. He says that stillness and silence will help man in creating a feeling of mutual understanding among human beings. That’s why the poet Pablo Neruda has discussed the need of maintaining peace and silence in the poem ‘Keeping Quiet’Theme of the poem Keeping Quiet
The main theme of the poem Keeping Quiet is Peace, Fraternity and Unity. Throughout the poem, the poet talks about destruction caused by greed and selfishness. We are destroying our environment, killing our brothers and hurting ourselves and while doing all this, we never introspect ourselves and our actions. According to the poet, if we stop doing everything (like wars, deforestation, Industrialisation, killing of animals, hurting ourselves) and instead remain still and keep silence, we will be able to feel a strange happiness. We will be able to introspect our inner self which asks us to spread love and unity instead of hate and greed.
Keeping Quiet: Tone
The tone of the poem is calm throughout. Since the poet is urging his readers to stay silent and still, he himself adopts a very tranquil, serene tone to set the poem’s mood. Although the topic being addressed by the poet is a very pressing one, he goes on about it in the most composed way possible. The tone of the poem is also highly reflective. In the course of the thirty-five lines of the poem, the poet ruminates over problems about humans individually and collectively as a society and reflects upon the most plausible solution, which is self-actualization through meditation.
Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda is a reflective piece of poetry that has philosophized a solution to the problems caused in the world due to growing materialism, greed, and power lust. The poem speaks in favor of inward self-fulfillment, independent of external factors. It is highly spiritual because it urges readers to shed their egos and realize one’s identity as human beings. The poet’s writing style in the poem is very soulful, and it seems to come straight from the heart. This is probably why the poem appeals to the heart more than the faculties of the intellect. This poem is not an activist’s call to action but a philosopher poet’s call to introspection.
Short Summary of Keeping Quiet
Keeping Quiet summary discusses peace, humanity, and brotherhood. This poem is by the author Pablo Neruda. The poem is explosive as well as quiet at the same time. Neruda speaks of a world of wisdom in a calm fashion. Neruda believes that staunch activism is not the best way to get into the heart and minds of the masses. Consequently, the author speaks with much serenity. Furthermore, this serenity creates an aftermath of thought ripples in the minds of the reader. The poet wants the readers to take time out of their busy lives for retrospection and introspection. The poem is symbolic of stopping all activities and understanding the purpose of the world. Keeping Quiet appeals to the heart of the readers in contrast to the intellect. Through this poem, Neruda aims to get his readers thinking and pondering as opposed to intellectual stimulation.
Keeping Quiet Summary in Detail.
This poem emphasizes the importance of self-introspection and silence. Furthermore, these two can transform the life of an individual. Moreover, they can also transform the face of the earth. The poet says that self-introspection and silence do not take much time to look within. Any individual can do it and examine oneself. This is easy and takes only as long as it will take someone to count to twelve. During this time of introspection (self-examination), it is important for the individual to keep quiet. The individual must say nothing at all. Without silence and keeping quiet, self-introspection will not work. Silently introspecting will give the individual a strange feeling of unity and togetherness with all others.
In the beginning, it will certainly feel a little strange. However, eventually, it has the power to bring us all together. This silence will be free from the annoying sounds of engines. Furthermore, this silence will also be free from the people rushing to get their work done. The author feels contentment while imagining the change that will take place in those moments. The men who have to deal with the pain while collecting salt will get a little relief. Even the people who desire war and destruction will put on clean clothes and an opportunity to walk among their brothers. They will get to experience a life that is free of enmity and hatred. There will be a halt to their destructive and dangerous activities. Peace and tranquillity will prevail everywhere once such harmful activities come to a stop, even if it is for a short time.
The poet clarifies that his wish should not mean “total inactivity”. The poet only desires to interrupt the violent, cruel, and sad activities taking place all over the world for a few moments and let individuals introspect their actions. In fact, there is a connection to what he says with life rather than death. Activity is the very essence of life whereas inactivity is symbolic of death. However, for a new, improved, and useful activity, a little stillness is quite important.
The poet makes use of the image of the earth to explain how life exists in things that seem dormant. In winter, the earth becomes very silent and it seems to be dead. The Earth becomes lively again in spring. Furthermore, in spring, the addition of fresh new beauties and colours takes place. In a similar fashion, man can resume his activities in a better manner after a little silence and quietness.
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