No men are foreign

No men are foreign

1. NO MEN ARE FOREIGN By James Kirkup

2. JAMES KIRKUP Born : 23 rd April, 1918 , England An English poet, translator and travel writer Died : 16 th May, 2009 Genre : Poetry, fiction, journalism

3. THEME Oneness of mankind under the superficial differences of colour, race, nationality and faith. It presupposes that all human beings are brothers and sisters. Those who spread hatred and wage wars are criminals and deserve to be condemned. Universal brotherhood

4. MESSAGE No men are foreign is a beautiful poem giving a message of unity and harmony among all people and nations of the world. The poet says that no men are strange and no countries are foreign, we are all human beings. We should remember that our ways of life are the same .

5. CENTRAL IDEA We should not hate our fellow humans, despite our differences in caste, creed, colour, nationality and faith. The poem spreads the idea of universal brotherhood .

6. SUMMARY No men are foreign is a beautiful poem that gives the message of unity and harmony amongst all the people of the world. The poet says that in this world, no men are strange to each other and no countries foreign. We all are human beings made up of the same flesh and blood. The poet makes a strong plea for peaceful co-existence and universal brotherhood. He stresses upon the fact that god has created us all equal, the same flesh and blood. Human emotions are also the same. Hence, humans all over the world are brothers and sisters

7. PARAPHRASE Stanza 1 (remember, no men,………….we all shall lie ) In the first line the poet says that no men are strange and no country is foreign. He is attempting to remove the man made borders that have been created to separate different countries. One this is done we will feel free. The poet wants to convey that the entire earth is one. He goes on to say that inside the uniform that soldiers wear or the attires we wear, we all are the same. God has created us all the same way . We breathe the same way. He refers to all as brothers and that the entire earth belongs to one race and we all walk upon the same mother earth as brothers and when we die we shall lie in our graves upon the same earth.

8. Stanza 2 ( They, too……………different from our own ) They refers to people of different countries, different from us. We consider them foreigners and discriminate against them and fight with them. The poet says that nature has given its bounties to everyone in equal measure. Everyone gets air ,water and sunlight in equal measure which proves that god does not discriminate. We all do farming during peace time, when there is no war. We lead a relaxed life and eat the things given to us by nature. He further adds that during that during war and the harsh winter season the opposite happens. We starve as also people belonging to other countries. Scarcity of food is everywhere. Here he gives this example to draw the similarity between people of the world. He goes on to say that people we perceive to be different from us, have the same hands that toil the same way as we do. He is giving all these examples to convey to the reader that there is no difference between any man.

9. Stanza 3 ( Remember they have eyes…………recognise and understand ) The poet asks the readers to remember that people of different race and faith and countries have the same appearance as us, which has been bestowed by god. God has given them eyes that open and close when we are awake and asleep. Similarly god has given man strength which we can win through love. He says that in every country, in every land there is one thing that is common and that is life. Life signifies that we all are living. When we recognise this life, this living and understand each others feelings and realize that we all are alike then there will be no fights or war.

10. Stanza 4 ( Let us remember……..dispossess ; dislodge ;deprive ) The poet warns us that whenever we are told to hate a person from another country, to think of him as an enemy and if we do it then we deprive, cheat and condemn ourselves. He says that we should distance ourselves from such negativity. We should never consider anyone as our enemy. During war, both parties have to bear loss. That is why the poet says that war is not a favourable situation, no one has ever gained from war. The poet says that whenever we think of going to war with our fellow brothers we must remember that it is ourselves that we are betraying and condemning.

11. Stanza 5 ( It is the human earth……… and no countries strange ) Whenever we pick weapons on another we defile, dirty our earth. The earth gets dirty because the weapons kill and dead bodies fall on the earth. War always leads to bloodshed, fire and death. The dead bodies accumulate on the earth and make it impure. The fire of war pollutes the air and atmosphere. The poet wants to give us the message that war is futile. The poem ends with a repetition of the first line in reverse.

12. LITERARY DEVICES The entire poem is written in free verse Alliteration- body breathes, war’s winter Metaphor- Uniform refers to the militaries of different countries, war time is compared to winter season Repetition- Remember no men are foreign…… Enjambment- line 2, 3, 4 Transferred Epithet- peaceful harvests

13. Asset Questions: 1. Which word is not an antonym of ‘betray’? protect safeguard defend expose 2.That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn. Which of the following word can replace dispossess ? deprive bury reveal guard

14. 4.’Peaceful harvest’ is an example of? Hyperbole Metaphor Transferred Epithet simile 3.The rhyme scheme of the poem is________________. abab abba abcb None of the above

15. ASSIGNMENT Extract “ Remember, no men are strange……… in which we all shall lie” a. What breathes beneath all uniforms? b. What does the poet want to convey in the first line? c. Where shall we all lie in the end? d. Name the poet.

16. Answer in 30-40 words a. How are we responsible for war? b.‘Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence of air.’ Explain. Answer in 40-50 words a. Nature does not differentiate between men of different lands and races. Explain in context with the poem. Answer in 100-120 words a. How are we all alike? Explain in context with the poem .