song of the flower by Khalil Gibran, class 8

Song of the flower poem by Khalil Gibran

1. SONG OF THE FLOWER Khalil Gibran Presented by Aswathy J

2. INTRODUCTION Have you ever observed nature closely? Flowers, birds, butterflies, mountains, trees, blue sky and many other things together form nature. Nature is like our mother who delivers everything good to us . Nature provides us with clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, food to eat and a land to stay. Nature is very precious to us. So, we can express our gratitude towards our mother nature by protecting it. Now, let’s go through the poem “Song of the Flower” by Khalil Gibran to look into the life of a flower in nature.

3. KHALIL GIBRAN (1883 – 1931) Lebanese artist, poet and writer Considered as the third most popular poet in history His writings deal with themes such as love, death, nature, and a longing for the homeland His principal work The Prophet (1923) is an example of inspirational fiction The poem “ Song of the Flower” is taken from A Tear and a Smile (1950)

4. SONG OF THE FLOWER - INTRODUCTION Does a flower have any importance in nature? Have you ever thought of this? “Song of the Flower” by Khalil Gibran is a beautiful poem about nature and its relationship with living beings. The poem consists of seven stanzas. The poem speaks about the life cycle of a flower and its experience with the nature. The speaker is a flower talking about its life, origin, and the events occurring day and night. The life of the flower is a mixture of joy and sorrow, but the flower chooses to focus only on the light or the positive side of the life. Now, let’s see what the flower has to share with us…

5. I am a kind word uttered and repeated By the voice of Nature; I am a star fallen from the Blue tent upon the green carpet. I am the daughter of the elements With whom Winter conceived; To whom Spring gave birth; I was Reared in the lap of Summer and I Slept in the bed of Autumn . At dawn I unite with the breeze To announce the coming of light; At eventide I join the birds In bidding the light farewell . The plains are decorated with My beautiful colours, and the air Is scented with my fragrance. As I embrace Slumber the eyes of Night watch over me, and as I Awaken I stare at the sun, which is The only eye of the day. I drink dew for wine, and hearken to The voices of the birds, and dance To the rhythmic swaying of the grass. . SONG OF THE FLOWER

6. CONTINUES… I am the lover's gift; I am the wedding wreath; I am the memory of a moment of happiness; I am the last gift of the living to the dead; I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow. But I look up high to see only the light, And never look down to see my shadow. This is wisdom which man must learn.

7. GLOSSARY Eventide Noun : / iːv (ə) ntʌɪd / Meaning : The end of the day; evening Synonym : Sundown, Twilight Antonym : D awn, D aylight Example : Eventide is their favourite time for playing

8. Continues… Embrace Verb : / ɪmˈbreɪs , ɛmˈbreɪs / M eaning : H old (someone) closely in one's arms. Synonym : Hug, Hold Antonym : Reject Example : Aunt Sophie embraced her warmly

9. Continues… Slumber Verb: /ˈ slʌmbə / Meaning : Sleep Synonym : Nap, Rest Antonym : Wake up Example : sleeping beauty slumbered in her castle

10. Hearken Verb : /ˈ hɑːk (ə)n/ Meaning : L isten Synonym : Hear, Attend Antonym : Ignore Example : He refused to  hearken to  Tom's words of wisdom   Continues…

11. Rear Verb : / rɪə / Meaning : To take care of and support up to maturity Synonym : Caring, Upbringing Antonym : Ignore, Abuse E .g. : The birds rear their young ones Sway V erb : / sweɪ / Meaning : move back and forth E.g. : H e swayed slightly on his feet Continues…

12. Uh SUMMARY OF THE POEM - 1 ST STANZA

13. SUMMARY OF 2 ND , 3 RD AND 4 TH STANZAS In the early morning the flower blooms and joins the breeze to welcome the sun. In the evening it joins birds and says goodbye to the sun (At sunset it goes to sleep like birds). The grounds become beautiful with the presence of the flower. The fragrance of the flower fills in the air. When the flower sleeps at night, the stars (the eyes of the Night) guard it. During the day time, the flower gets protection and energy from the sun (the eye of the day).

14. SUMMARY SUMMARY OF 5 TH AND 6 TH STANZAS The flower drinks dew drops as its wine. It listens to the songs of birds and dances with the swaying grass. Humans use flowers on different occasions. Lovers use flowers to make gifts. Flowers are used as garlands in weddings. Flowers stand as the symbol and memory of happiness moments. It is the last gift to the dead in the form of a wreath. Thus, the flower becomes a part of joy and sorrow at the same time.

15. SUMMARY OF 7 TH STANZA The flower teaches the world a great lesson: People should always look on to the light of hope and be optimistic. We should never be pessimistic by looking at the shadow of sorrows. The flower in the poem always looks up to see the light. It never looks down to see the shadow. This is the wisdom that man should learn from the flower.

16. SEASONS IN THE POEM WINTER - conceived the flower SPRING - gave birth SUMMER - brought it up AUTUMN - death

17. THEMES OPTIMISM – POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARDS LIFE HOPE NATURE

18. POETIC DEVICES METAPHOR A metaphor is a figure of speech that develops a hidden comparison between two objects that share something in common. It states that one thing is another thing. My father is a rock - My father is a very strong or strict person My brother was boiling mad - My brother was extremely angry

19. Instances of metaphors from the poem I am a kind word uttered and repeated By the voice of Nature; I am a star fallen from the Blue tent upon the green carpet. I am the daughter of the elements With whom Winter conceived; The flower is considered metaphorically as word, star, daughter

20. PERSONIFICATION Personification is the literary device that assigns human traits and characteristics to inhuman or inanimate objects. Example- The sun smiled down on us

21. Instances of personification from the poem In “Song of the Flower,” the flower is given human characteristics of speech and feelings. The flower narrates its life’s events from its own perspective. This can be clearly understood by Gibran’s use of the first-person pronoun ‘I’. He gives the flower an identity of its own: I   m a kind word I  am a star I am the daughter I drink dew for wine Hearken to the voices of the birds

22. ANAPHORA Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of consecutive lines in a specific stanza. In this poem, all the lines of the sixth stanza begin with the phrase “I am,” or the first three lines of the same stanza begin with the phrase “I am the.” It is used to emphasize the speaker’s points. I am the  lover’s gift; I am the wedding wreath;  I am the  memory of a moment of happiness;  I am the  last gift of the living to the dead;  I am  a part of joy and a part of sorrow.

23. RHYME SCHEME Rhyming words are two or more words that have similar ending sound. “Song of the Flower” was initially written in Arabic. So the translated version does not contain a regular rhyme. On only one occasion, there is rhyming between lines. It occurs in the fifth stanza: “dance” and “grass”. The poem also contains some internal rhyme between the words “uttered” and “repeated” “tent” and “carpet” , “Nature”, “daughter”, “Winter” and “Summer .

24. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Who is the speaker in the poem? Ans : The flower is the speaker in the poem. 2. What do the expression ‘blue tent’ and ‘green carpet’ refer to? Ans : ‘Blue tent’ refers to the sky, and the ‘Green carpet’ refers to the earth full of vegetation. 3. How are the seasons related to the life of the flower? Ans : The life of the flower is related to the season. Winter conceived it, spring gave birth to it, summer reared it and in autumn it passed away .

25. CONTINUES… 4. What does the flower do at dawn and at dusk? Ans : The flower joins the breeze and announces the arrival of the light in the morning. In the evening it joins the birds to bid farewell to the sunlight. 5. How does the flower make the world beautiful? Ans : The flower decorates the plain and fills the air with its fragrance. 6. What is described as ‘the eye of the day’? Ans : The sun is described as ‘the eye of the day’.

26. CONTINUES… 7. How does the flower become a part of joy and sorrow? Ans : The flower is used to make wreaths on both joyous and sorrowful occasions like wedding and death respectively. Thus it becomes the part of joy and sorrow. 8. What, according to the flower, is the wisdom that man should learn? Ans : The flower always looks up to see only the light. It never looks down to see the shadow. Similarly, man should see the brighter side of life and never brood over its darker side.

27. ACTIVITIES Prepare a profile of the famous writer KHALIL GIBRAN using the hints given below. Birth: 1883 Nationality: Lebanese Famous as: Artist, poet, writer, philosopher, Considered as third most popular poet in history. Works: ‘ The Prophet’ (1923), ‘A Tear and a Smile (1950)’ Death: 1931

28. Answer: KHALIL GIBRAN (1883-1931) Khalil Gibran, the famous Lebanese poet, was born in 1883. He is famous as an artist, poet and a philosopher. He is considered as the third most popular poet in history. His major work is “The Prophet” which was published in the year 1923. “Song of the Flower” is K halil Gibran’s beautiful poem taken from “A Tear and a Smile” (1950). Khalil Gibran incorporates the themes of love, nature, optimism in his poems. He passed away in the year 1931. CONTINUES…

29. Let’s learn some metaphors and what they imply. helloooo

30. Complete the spider diagram Ans:

31. Write a poem on your favorite flower. An example is given for you. I like roses and Once I asked her Is she happy? She told me I love sun I love children I love butterflies But no one likes me; That’s why I’m being harmed.

32. REMAINING ACTIVITIES Write a conversation between you and the flower in the poem “Song of the Flower”. Form 3 posters showing the importance of nature. Narrate any incident in your life that made you realize the importance of protecting and preserving nature. Write a short story showing the importance of being optimistic in life.

33. THANK YOU