WIND (BEEHIVE).pdf

well explained

1. by SUBRAMANIA BHARATI
[Translated from Tamil by A.K.
Ramanujan]

2. DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY WIND….

4. Theme:Windasapotentialdestroyerandacreator.Theweak
andfragilecannotwithstandthefuryofwind,butthestrongonescanuseitto
theiradvantage.
Sub-Theme:Overcomingthehardshipsoflife
Narrator:Thepoethimself
Subramania Bharati
1882-1921

7. Thepoem"Wind"inspiresusto
facethechallengesthrownatus
withgritandfirmdetermination.
Weshouldbestrongenoughto
faceallthehardshipsoflifewith
courage.
Windsymbolizesproblemsand
obstaclesthatweallfaceandgo
throughatsomepointoftimein
ourlives.
Central idea of the poem……

8. He poet is talking to the wind.He asks
the wind to come softly. (refers to a
young child)
Further he asks the wind to notbreak the
shutters of the windows, scatter the
papersandthrow down the bookswhich
are kepton the shelf
Books are weak and hence wind threw
them off the shelf and also tore their
papers.(refers to a youth-the strength)
The poet asks the wind to look what you
did —you threw them all down. You tore
the pages of the books. You brought rain
again.( the strength of the wind is
shown)

9. The poet is describing the power of the wind. Then he says to the wind
to look at the destructionthat it had done.
Frail-weak houses,doors,woods,rafters,bodies(animals/humans)
Crumbling–falling of houses,doors,rafters,wood,bodies,lives,hearts)
Poking fun at weaklings-refers to small plants/grass ,little
things,children)
Whenever there is a strong wind all that are weak, like small plants
get destroyed and small children get frightened. We can say that in
the initial part of the poem, the poet is referring to wind as a young
child.
Here, the word ‘Crumbling’ is repeated so many times to lay stress
that everything crumbles in the face of a strong wind.
So, the poet is saying that when wind is very powerful, it is very
strong, it leads to breakage of everything.
Houses which are weak fall, doors which are weak fall, the beams on
which the roof of the buildings are supported, they also fall, all the
wooden structures fall, people fall, so do animals.

10. Wind brings havoc in the lives of the people. So, he is saying that everything
crumbles. Everything that is weak reacts by falling down and breaking in the
face of adversity (difficult/unpleasant situation).
Therefore the poet is saying that whenever a weak person faces any
adversity or challenge in life he breaks down and falls.
The wind god winnows and crushes them all-
Thepoet is addressing wind as ‘wind god’ , and he is saying that
the powerful god of wind winnows, that means he tests the people and
those people who are weak-fall down and get crushed.
So here, a comparison is made between wheat and people. Just like we
winnow the wheat to separate the grain from chaff.
The wind separates the strong people from the weak people. When there is
a strong wind, all the things that are weak fall and get crushed .Wind god
winnows and crushes them all.

11. The poet says that if we make ourselves and our will
power strong, the wind will become our friend. i.e. the
adversities in our lives.
In other words, the problemswill become our friend and
will help us to grow.
In the next line, the poet says that the wind (or the
problems and challenges) blow out(destroy or fail) the
weak fires (i.e. those who lack will power or courage or
hope).
On the other hand, it makes strong fire (those having
strong will power and fearlessness) roarand flourish(i.e.
successful and famous/grow).
In the final two lines, the poet says that the friendship of
wind (challenges and problems) is good and a brave
person praises him (wind which symbolises problems
and challenges) every day.

12. Once we are strong enough all the challenges will be like friends.
We will not feel that they are troublesome.
The poet has kept the wind on a pedestal.He is comparing the wind to god. He
says that wind is god and we praise wind every day.
He adds that everything that is weak gets finished off in the face of the strong
wind. And all the things that are strong, flourish and growto become stronger.
The poet says that we should not get frightened by adversities in life ,on the
contrary should face them.
He also adds that once we are strong enough, we will overcome the challenges, we will
become friends with them and then we will be happy that we had these challenges in
our life because they help us become stronger and better.

13. QUICK SUMMARY

16. Themessageconveyed through thepoem Windis that-
Theproblemsandchallengesinourlivesarelikewindi.e.mighty,everlastingand
trouble-making.
Wecannotstopthem.Hence,weshouldmakeourselvesstrongandbold.
Weshouldnevergiveupwhenthereareobstaclesandhardshipsinlife.
Weshouldfacethoseobstacleswithstrongwillpowerlikepoetbefriendsthewindso
thatitcouldnotharmthepoetinanyway
We should have courage enough to face them.
Those who lack courage and will power fail in their lives badly while those who face
these problems with firm determination, succeed and become prosperous.
THE MESSAGE THE POEM IMPARTS……

18. Rhyme scheme
The entire poem is written in free verse. There is no rhyme scheme in the
poem.
The literary devices used are as follows –
1.Anaphora-When a word is repeated at the start of two or more consecutive lines, it is the device of
Anaphora.
Lines 2, 3, 4 begin with ‘don’t’.
Lines 6, 7, 8 begin with ‘you’.
2.Personification–wind has been personified. When the poet says ‘you are’, he is referring to wind
as ‘you’ that means he is treating wind as a person.

19. 3.Repetition-‘crumbling’ is repeated many times to lay emphasis. The poet
wants to say that the wind crushes everything that is weak. That is why he
repeats the word crumbling.
4.Alliteration-the repetition of a consonant sound in close connection. ‘wind
winnows’.
‘won’t want’
Symbolism-Symbolism means that the thing refers to some
other thing.
The wind is a symbol. It refers to the challenges in life. He is using
wind as a symbol for the adversities in our life.

20. 1.The wind god winnows—
(a) Anything that is big and strong.
(b) Anything that is weak and crumbling.
(c) Anything that is in this world.
(d) Anything that is not natural.
2.What does the wind do?
(a) It throws down all the books on the shelf
(b) It tears the pages of the books.
(c) It brings the rain again.
(d) All the above.
3.Who is blown out by the wind?
(a) weak fire
(b) strong fire
(c) papers
(d) all
4.The speaker is asking the wind to come-
(a) vigorously
(b) hastily
(c) scornfully
(d) softly
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS-
5.What is the moral of this poem?
(a) be firm and strong and never be defeated by any obstacle
(b) pray to the wind
(c) don’t be weak
(d) request the wind

21. ANSWERS-
1. (b) Anything that is weak and crumbling.
2.
d) All the above.
3. (a) weak fire
4. (d) softly
5. (a) be firm and strong and never be defeated by any obstacle

22. Reference to Context
Hewon’tdowhatyoutellhim.
So,come,let’sbuildstronghomes
Let’sjointthedoorsfirmly
Practicetofirmthebody
Maketheheartsteadfast.
i.Whoisreferredtoas‘He’intheabovelines?
Thewindisreferredtoas'He'intheabovelines.
ii.Whatdoesthepoetimplywhenhesays,‘Hewon’tdowhatyoutell
him’?
Thepoetimpliesthatdifficultiesandtroublesdonotlistento
entreaties;theyhavetobefacedboldly.

23. iii.According to the poet, what preparations should be made to face
the fury of the wind?
Accordingtothepoet,weshouldbuildstronghomesandclosethe
doorsfirmlytofacethefuryofthewindasheattacksanddestroys
theweaklingsonly.
iv. What is the poet’s advice to people?
Thepoetadvisespeopletostrengthentheirbodiesaswellashearts
tofacethechallengesandhardshipsthatcometheirway.They
shouldgearthemselvesupwithphysicalandmentalstrength,grit
anddeterminationsothattheycanremainunruffledandunharmed
indifficulttimes.

24. 1.What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
The wind breaks the doors of the window, scatters the papers and
throws down the books on the shelf. It also tears the pages of the
books and brings rain.
2.What does the poet say the wind god winnows?
The poet says that the wind god winnows the weak crumbling houses,
doors, rafters, wood, bodies, lives and hearts, and crushes them all.
3.What should we do to make friends with the wind?
To make friends with wind we need to build strong homes with firm
doors. We should also practice to make our bodies and hearts
stronger.

25. 4.What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
Do this, and the wind…………………..we praise him everyday.
Inthelastfourlines,thepoetinspiresustobedeterminedand
faceallthehardshipsorobstaclescominginlifecourageously.
Hetellsusthatthewindcanonlyextinguishtheweakfiresbut
intensifiesthestrongerones.Inthesameway,peoplewhodo
notfightagainstthechallengescomingintheirlives,theyhave
tofacethefailure.Ontheotherhand,thosewhostay
determinedandmakesincereeffortstomeettheirgoals,come
outtobesuccessful.