Tamilnadu state board sacheer Kalvi 10th English Guide unit-6 Poem No Men Are foreign
No Men Are Foreign( Memory poem)
- James Falconer Kirkup
10th English Memory Poem "No Men Are Foreign"
Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign
Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes
Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon
Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.
They, too, aware of sun and air and water,
Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv’d.
Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read
A labour not different from our own.
Remember they have eyes like ours that wake
Or sleep, and strength that can be won
By love. In every land is common life
That all can recognise and understand.
Let us remember, whenever we are told
To hate our brothers, it is ourselves
That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn.
Remember, we who take arms against each other
It is the human earth that we defile.
Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence
Of air that is everywhere our own,
Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.
GLOSSARY
Book.Page.No. 180
labour- hardwork
betray- disloyal
Condemn - express complete disapproval
defile- damage the purity or appearance
outrage- offend / scandalize
Based on the understanding of the poem, read the following lines and answer the questions given below.
B.P.No. 180
1. Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes
Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon
Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.
a) What is found beneath all uniforms?
Beneath all the uniforms we could find same kind of body which breathes.
b) What is same for every one of us?
Land or earth is same for every one of us.
c) Where are we all going to lie finally?
We are all going to lie in the earth finally.
2. They, too, aware of sun and air and water,
Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv’d.
a) What is common for all of us?
The sun, air and water are common for all of us.
b) How are we fed?
We are fed with the produce of the harvests
c) Mention the season referred here
Winter season is referred to here.
3. Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read
A labour not different from our own.
a) Who does ‘their’ refer to?
‘Their’ refers to enemy soldiers.
b) What does the poet mean by ‘lines we read’?
‘Lines we read’ means their way of life.
c) What does not differ?
The work the enemy soldiers do is not different from our work.
4. Let us remember, whenever we are told
To hate our brothers, it is ourselves
That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn.
a) Who tells us to hate our brothers?
The king or the man on the top tells us to hate our brothers.
b) What happens when we hate our brothers?
When we hate our brothers we hate ourselves.
c) What do we do to ourselves?
When we hate our brothers we betray and condemn ourselves.
5. Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence
Of air that is everywhere our own,
Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.
a) What outrages the innocence?
The fire and dust which come out due to war outrage the innocence.
b)
Who are not foreign?
Men are not foreign to us.
c) What is not strange?
Countries are not strange.
ADDITIONAL
Read the following lines and answer the questions given below.
1. Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes,
Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon.
a) Identify the words in alliteration.
Beneath, body, breathes.
b) Identify the figure of speech employed here.
Simile.
2. Remember they have eyes like ours that wake
Or sleep and strength that can be won.
a) Who does the word ‘they’ refer to?
‘They’ refers to people of different countries.
b) How can we win the people?
We can win the people by love and kindness.
3. Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence
a) Identify the figure of speech employed here.
Metaphor.
4. Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read.
a) Identify the figure of speech used in this line.
Metaphor.
b) Whose hands are referred to here?
Other people’s (neighbours) hands are referred to here.
Based on your understanding of the poem complete the following by choosing the appropriate words/phrases given in brackets:
This poem is about the dreams and aspirations of all men. The subject of the poem is the unity of human race, despite the difference in colour, caste, creed , religion , country etc. All human beings are same. We walk on the same land and we will be buried under it. Each and everyone of us are related to the other. We all are born same and die in the same way. We may wear different uniforms like’ brotherhood,’ during wars the opposing side will also have the same breathing body like ours. We as human do the same labour with our hands and look at the world with the same eyes. Waging war against others as they belong to a different country is like attacking our own selves. It is the human earth we impair. We all share the same language. We are similar to each other. So the poet concludes that we shouldn’t have wars as it is unnatural to fight against us.
(unity of human, dreams and aspirations, same land, our hands, unnatural, breathing body, same eyes, brotherhood, language, human earth)
Based on your understanding of the poem answer the following questions in a paragraph of about 100-150 words.
1.What is the central theme of the poem ‘No Men Are Foreign’?
Poem-No Men Are Foreign
Poet-James Falconer Kirkup
Theme
Unity of human race despite diverse differencesRemember, no men are foreign, no countries foreignBeneath all uniforms, a single body breathesJames Falconer Kirkup (1918 – 2009) was an English poet, translator and travel wirter. He wrote over 30 books including autobiographies, novels and plays.The central theme of the poem is that war is a mistaken notion and all people on earth are connected through their common humanity. The poet describes a number of similarities that we share with our supposed enemies. The poet notes that underneath every soldier’s uniform, the soldier breathes as we do. The soldiers who oppose us all walk on the earth, as we do, and they also share the sun, drink water, and enjoy the harvests of the earth. In addition, we share similar body parts, such as hands that labour and eyes that wake from sleep. After drawing all these similarities, the poet asks the reader to recall that when we are asked to hate others, it is really ourselves that we hate. If we fight each other, we destroy the earth that we share and destroy innocence everywhere. When we fight others, we forget that our enemies are not foreign but are like ourselves. So the poet concludes that we shouldn’t have wars because it is quite unnatural to fight against us.Their hands are ours, and in their lines we readA labour not different from our own
2. The poem ‘No Men Are Foreign’ has a greater relevance in today’s world. Elucidate.
Poem-No Men Are Foreign
Poet-James Falconer Kirkup
Theme
Unity of human race despite diverse differencesIn every land is common lifeThat all can recognise and understandJames Falconer Kirkup (1918 – 2009) was an English poet, translator and travel wirter. He wrote over 30 books including autobiographies, novels and plays.The poem ‘No Men are Foreign’ by James Falconer Kirkup points out why it is wrong to hate others based on differences such as race, culture, or geography. The speaker stresses that all people are similar and part of the brotherhood of man. At the end of the poem, the speaker mentions how unnatural warfare is because it is fighting against ourselves. The poem covers various points of similarity between people from all countries: people have hands like ours, they labour as we do, and they have eyes like ours that wake to see a similar world. Hating other people because they are different, or raising arms against other people, is a condemnation of ourselves: it is the human earth, our own earth that we defile. In today’s world each country wants to fight with the other for the sake of its supremacy. They hate each other to maintain their economy and social status. Even men hate each other for silly reasons forgetting that we are all brothers and sisters. So this poem is very relevant in today’s world
Remember, we who take arms against each other.
It is the human earth that we defile.