DAYBREAK
Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow
1.
Give
the substance of the poem, ‘Daybreak’.
At dawn, a wind rises from
the sea and asks the mists to make room for its movement. It greets the ships
and urges the mariners to set sail. Then it rushes to distant land and impels
all to wake up. It urges the forest to hang out its leaves. Then it touches the
folded wings of wood-bird and urges it to sing. The wind rushes over to the
farms and asks the chanticleer to crow and announce the beginning of a new day.
Then it whispers to the fields of corn to bow down to greet the morning. It
also urges the belfry tower to ring the morning bell. But it sighs for the deed
in the churchyard and asks them to lie quietly. [125]
2.
How
does the poet personify the wind in the poem, ‘Daybreak’?
The poet, H. W.
Longfellow personifies the wind so that it can communicate verbally. At dawn,
it rises from the sea and speaks to all it meets. It asks the mists, “O mists, make room for me.” Then
it greets the ships and urges the mariners to set sail. Then it rushes to
distant land and impels all to wake up. It urges the forest to hang out its
leaves, the wood-bird to sing, the chanticleer to crow, the fields of corn to
bow down to greet the morning and the belfry tower to ring the morning bell.
But it sighs for the deed in the churchyard and asks them, “Not yet! in quiet lie.” Like human beings, the wind uses human
language to wake up different objects of Nature. Thus, the poet personifies the
wind. [133]
3.
How
does the poet present day?
Longfellow’s
poem, ‘Daybreak’ gives us a graphic pen-picture of a day. At dawn, morning sun
rises over the sea. “A wind came up
out of the sea”. The sea is still shrouded with mists. The ships stand
still. The mariners are yet to rise. The far-off lands are yet to receive the
message of daybreak. The forests are yet to hang their leafy banners out. The
wood-birds are in nest. Their wings are folded. The house cocks do not crow.
The fields of corn do not receive the signal of sunrise. The belfry-tower
remains calm. In fact, both the land and sea are steeped in a trance. Only the
sun and the wind are active. The sun brings the day and the wind announces the
message. [124]
4.
How
does the wind see itself in relation to day?
The wind is the messenger
of the day. The day brings the spirit of regeneration. It welcomes action. But
it can’t deliver the message to all itself. Now the wind is out to carry the
message. He is alive to the well being of the world. He can’t allow men and
nature indulge in inaction. It feels an urge to translate the dream of the
delightful day into reality. The wind first gets the news of the arrival of a
day and speaks to all it meets. Obviously, it is committed to the entire world.
Thus the wind sees itself in relation to day. [104]
5.
Is
there a shift in tone in the final couplet? Why is there a shift?
In the poem,
‘Daybreak’ we see the sea-wind vibrating with life. It delivers the message of
a new dawn. It is emphatic, energetic and chivalrous in tone till it meets the
church-bell. But the wind minimizes its motion while blowing across the
graveyard.
In the graves the souls of dead persons are
sleeping in peace. The wind does not want to disturb the dead. They need not be
awakened as the time has not yet comes the wind pays respect to the Christian
belief that at the end of time all the dead will rise up with everlasting
glory. The wind knows it. So the wind tells them, “Not yet, in quiet lie.” So the shift of tone is suggestive
of sensitivity of sea-wind. [124]
Good answer thanks
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