Chapter 2.1 - Vocation
The speaker is a young boy. At ten o’clock every morning, when he is walking to school, he meets a hawker in his lane. The hawker cries out, ‘Bangles, Crystal Bangles!’ The boy feels that there is nothing to hurry the hawker on. There is no fixed road he must travel by, no place that he has to go to, and no time when he must get back home. The boy wishes that he was a hawker, calling out ‘Bangles, Crystal Bangles!’
When the boy comes back from school at four in the afternoon, he sees the gardener digging the ground in the nearby house. The gardener does what he wants to with his spade. No one scolds him if he gets his clothes soiled, gets baked in the sun, or gets wet. The boy now wishes to be a gardener, digging away in the garden with no one to stop him.
In the evening, just as it gets dark, the boy’s mother sends him to bed. Through the open window, he can see the watchman walking up and down the dark and lonely street. The street lamp stands like a giant with one red eye in its head. The watchman swings his lantern as he walks, his shadow beside him. The boy thinks he never goes to bed in his life. He wishes he could be a watchman so that he could walk freely at night, chasing away all the shadows with the light of his lantern.
From his wishes, we can see the boy’s longing for complete freedom. He wants to lead a carefree life.
(1) Poem and poet:
Vocation by Rabindranath Tagore.
(2) Theme:
The longing of a young boy for freedom.
(3) Tone:
Direct, full of craving.
(4) Structure and stanzas:
Stanzas of unequal length; the number and length of lines vary.
(5) Rhyme and Rhythm:
No rhymes or rhythm; the poem is in Free Verse.
(6) Language and Imagery:
Simple and direct; vivid images of the hawker, the gardener and the watchman.
(7) Figures of Speech:
Alliteration, Simile, Repetition, Onomatopoeia.
gong : a flat metal bell rung to draw people’s attention
takes someone to task : scolds and corrects
one-eyed-giant : reference to a character from Greek Mythology (Homer’s Odyssey)
chasing the shadows: following an imaginary goal or target
Warming up!
(1) Pick out words that refer to ‘means of living’ and fill them in the Web.
(profession / recreation / occupation / job / pastime / employment / hobby / career / entertainment / mission / trade / business / sports / retirement / placement)
Ans:
(2) Using a good dictionary, find the shades of difference in the following :
‘Profession’ refers to ______
Ans: a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification.
‘Vocation’ refers to ______
Ans: an occupation for which a person is specially drawn or suited.
‘Business’ refers to ______
Ans: the activity of buying or selling goods or services; a commercial activity done by a person at his own risk.
‘Occupation’ refers to ______
Ans: a person’s usual or principal work or business. especially as a means of earning a living.
(3) When a word is formed from a sound associated with it, it is called an Onomatopoetic Word.
For example : bang, tap, tinkle, crash, whistle etc.
If an Onomatopoetic word occurs in the lines of a poem, the Figure of Speech in that line is Onomatopoeia.
Write down eight to ten Onomatopoetic words on your own.
Ans: buzz, whoosh, clang, chirp, clap, howl, hiss, grunt, purr, quack.
In Between The Poetry
Q1. What does the hawker advertise aloud?
Ans: The hawker is advertising aloud for selling crystal bangles.
Q2. Who is scolded if he gets dirty?
Ans: The narrator is scolded if he gets dirty.
Q3. What accompanies the watchman?
Ans: The watchman is accompanied by his lantern and his shadow.
ENGLISH WORKSHOP
1. Which of the following words / phrases match in meaning to the underlined ones?
(a) deserted
(b) exposed to heat
(c) dirties the clothings
(d) no particular route
(e) following imaginary goals
(f) scolds and corrects
(i) nobody takes him to task
Ans: scolds and corrects
(ii) ______ if he gets baked in the sun
Ans: exposed to heat
(iii) ______ chasing the shadows with my lantern
Ans: following imaginary goals
(iv) The lane is dark and lonely
Ans: deserted
(v) ______ he soils his clothes with dust
Ans: dirties the clothing
(vi) There is no road he must take
Ans: no particular route
2. Read the poem and fill in the table.
Ans:
3. Think and answer in your own words.
(a) What could be the age group of the speaker in the poem?
Ans: The speaker in the poem is a young school-going boy.
(b) What is the difference between a hawker and a shopkeeper?
Ans: The difference between a hawker and a shopkeeper is that a hawker does not have a fixed shop. He goes from street to street selling his wares. A shopkeeper has a fixed shop and people who want to buy his goods must go to his shop.
(c) How do parents react when they see children soil their clothes in dust and heat?
Ans: When parents see their children exposed to heat or soil their clothes in the dust. they scold them and stop them from doing it.
(d) Why is the street light compared to a one-red-eyed-giant?
Ans: The street light is very tall and has a single red light at the top. Hence it is compared to a giant with one red eye.
(e) What exactly does the speaker in the poem crave for?
Ans: The speaker in the poem, who is a young school-going boy, craves for complete freedom to do whatever he wants and whenever he wants. He wants freedom from authority. He wants to lead a carefree life
(f) Does the poet really wish to become a hawker / gardener / watchman? Justify your response.
Ans: The poet does not really wish to become a hawker / gardener / watchman. He is childish and sees only what he thinks is their ‘carefree life. He does not see the difficulties. He actually only craves for complete freedom from authority.
4. Say why the speaker of the poem wishes to be a –
(a) hawker
Ans: The speaker in the poem feels that there is nothing to hurry the hawker. There is no fixed road he must travel by, no place that he must go to and no time when he must get back home. The speaker feels he is lucky and hence he wishes to be a hawker. It means that the speaker wants to be free to do what he wants and go where he wants to, without any restrictions.
(b) gardener
Ans: The speaker in the poem sees that the gardener in the nearby house is digging the ground. He does what he likes with his spade. He is free to get his clothes soiled with mud, get baked in the sun or get wet. No one scolds him. Hence the speaker wishes to be a gardener so that he is able to enjoy freedom in the open without any restrictions.
(c) watchman.
Ans: The speaker is in his bed. Through the open window, he can see the watchman walking up and down the dark and lonely street with a lantern in his hand. The speaker is resentful that he has to go to bed. He thinks that the watchman never goes to bed in his life. Hence he wishes to become a watchman and walk up and down in the dark street at night, having fun chasing the shadows with his lantern.
5. Pick out lines that contain
Alliteration
Ans:
(i) I can see through the gate the gardener digging the ground.
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘t’ and ‘g.
(ii) ‘He does what he likes with his spade, he soils his clothes.
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘h’.
(iii) ‘nobody takes him to task.
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘t’.
(iv) ‘my mother sends me to bed’.
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘m’.
(v)…through my open window the watchman walking up and down.’ Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘w’.
(vi) “The lane is dark and lonely, and the street lamp stands like a giant.
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘T’.
(vii) ‘I wish I were a watchman walking the street all night.’
Repetition of the sound of the letter ‘w’.
Simile
Ans: The street lamp stands like a giant with one red eye in its head.
The street lamp is directly compared to a giant using the word, ‘like’.
Repetition
Ans:
(i) The words ‘Bangles, crystal bangles’ are repeated to create images in our mind of the hawker.
(ii) The words ‘no’ and ‘nobody’ are repeated for emphasis.
Onomatopoeia
Ans: ‘the gong sounds ten’: the word ‘gong is an onomatopoeic word formed from the sound associated with it.
6. Some poets do not use uniformity in rhyming words, nor a steady rhythm. Such poems with no uniformity in rhyme, rhythm, length of lines or stanzas are called Free Verse. Walt Whitman, Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, Rabindranath Tagore are some famous poets who have composed poems in Free Verse.
A quick glance at the poem ‘Vocation’ reveals that the style used by Tagore is Free Verse.
Now turn the pages of your textbook and see if you can find other poems in Free Verse.
Ans: Students should do this on their own.
7. What vocation / profession / business would you like to take up in future? Prepare a fact file for the same using the following points.
(i) Name of the vocation / profession / business
Ans: Engineering
(ii) Educational qualifications required
Ans: B.E./B. Tech
(iii) Work profile / description
Ans: Setting up of projects, setting up plants, inventing new instruments and machines
(iv) Opportunities for advancement
Ans: Excellent in a developing country like India
(v) Your personal skills / talents for the choice
Ans: My interest in seeing how various machines work and my talent in repairing simple instruments.
8. Read and understand the following poem ‘Paper Boats’ and write its paraphrase in your own simple language. (You may take the help of a dictionary or internet.) The first line is done for you.
(Day after day, one after another, I sail paper boats on the stream of flowing water.)
Paper Boats
Day by day I float my paper boats, one by one on the running stream.
In big black letters I write my name on them and the name of the village where I live.
I hope that someone in some strange land will find them and know who I am.
I load my little boats with shiuli flower from our garden, and hope that these blooms of the dawn will be carried safely to land in the night.
I launch my paper boats and look up into the sky and see the little clouds setting their white bulging sails.
I know not what playmate of mine in the sky sends them down the air to race with my boats !
When night comes I bury my face in my arms and dream that my paper boats float on and on under the midnight stars.
The fairies of sleep are sailing in them, and the lading is their baskets full of dreams.
(Note :‘lading’ means cargo loaded in a ship.)
Ans:
Paper Boats
Day after day, one after another, I sail paper boats on the stream of flowing water. I write my name and the name of my village on the boats in big black letters. I hope that someone in some strange land will find them and know who I am. I fill my little boats with ‘shiuli’ flowers and hope that these flowers, which I picked at dawn, will be carried safely to land in the night.
I set my paper boats in motion and looked up at the sky. The little clouds have white, bulging tails behind them that look like the sails of a boat. I do not know if there is a young child like me up in the sky who wants to play with me and sends his boats down through the air to race with my boats.
When it is night, I bury my face in my arms and dream that my paper boats are floating in the air under the stars at midnight. The fairies who bring sleep are sailing in them, and they are filling their baskets with dreams.