SUMMARY AND CRITICAL APPRECIATION
OF “THE NIGHT OF THE SCORPION” NISSIM EZEKIEL
INTRODUCTION TO THE NIGHT
OF THE SCORPION:
The
poem, Night of the Scorpion is written by very famous Indian poet Nissim
Ezekeil. This poem is about a young rural boy (the poet). The poet could not
forget the night when a scorpion bit her mother and the pain which his mother
can gone through. In this poem he talked about the superstition followed by
villagers. The alone man who was logical and really helped his mother was his
father. The poem consists of 8 stanzas and 47 lines. The poem has been composed
in free verse style and no set of rhyming schemes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THE
NIGHT OF THE SCORPION:
Nissim
Ezekiel is considered the most modern Indian poet. Nissim Ezekiel was born on 16
December 1924 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was a professor of English in Bombay
University and intellectual & a philosopher as a poet. Nissim Ezekiel
father was a professor of botany at Wilson College and his mother was principal
of her own school. Nissim Ezekiel family belonged to Marathi-speaking Jewish
community, known as “Bene Isreal”. Nissim Ezekiel was awarded with the
Sahitya Akademic Award in 1983 for his poetry collection, “latter-Day P
Salms”. Nissim Ezekiel passed away on 12 January, 2004.
SUMMARY OF THE NIGHT OF
THE SCORPION:
STANZA-1
“I remember the night…………a sack of rice”.
Expl.
In
the first stanza, the poet says that he remembers the night very well when a
scorpion stung his mother. He says that the night was rainy. The rain lasted
for 10 hours which made the scorpion crawl beneath a sack of rice to get
warmth.
STANZA-2
“Parting with her poison…………the rain
again”.
Expl.
In
the second stanza, the poets say that the room was dark and the scorpion poured
its poison with its monstrous tail into his mother’s toe. Just after biting
mother’s toe, the scorpion went again to the rain.
STANZA-3
“The peasant come…………the evil one”.
Expl.
In
the third stanza, poet says that hearing the incident which took pace with his
mother, the villagers rushed to his house with candles and lanterns. The
villagers stated chanting the name of god and praying god to save his mother
and paralyse the evil one.
STANZA-4
“With candles and…………tongues blood, they
said”.
Expl.
In
the fourth stanza, the poet says that in the light of candles and lanterns the
shadow of the crowd (villagers) against the mud wall created a giant scorpion.
They tried to look for the scorpion ever where but they failed. The people of
the village were so superstitious, they believed that as the scorpion moves,
the poison will spread in the body of the poet’s moter.
STANZA-5
“may he sit still…………unreal world”.
Expl.
In
the fifth stanza, the poet says that the villagers were talking to themselves
that for saving the poet’s mother life it is very important that the scorpion
lies in the same position. Some people were saying that this happened because
of the sins done in her previous life.
STANZA-6
“against the sun…………put a match to it”.
Expl.
In
the sixth stanza, the poet says that scorpion poison will purify her soul and
body from all the sins. But his father did not believe in superstition. He was
totally a logical person. He did not agree on the view of villagers. He gave
her some medicine to reduce pain and put some paraffin on the bitten area.
STANZA-7
“I watches the flame………last its string”.
Expl.
I
the seventh stanza, the poets say, I was watching everything silently and my
mother’s pain was hurting me. My father was trying to reduce the pain. After 20
hours of pain, she gets relief from the pain.
STANZA-8
“my mother only…………only children”.
Expl.
In
the last concluding stanza poet tells that after relief in her pain she Thank God
that the scorpion stung me not my child. This paragraph shows immense love of
mother for her child and purity of a mother’s love.
CRITICAL APPRECIATION
OF THE NIGHT OF THE SCORPION:
“Night
of The Scorpion” is a poem based on Indian Scenario of superstition and
Poet’s feeling. The poem (Night of The Scorpion) captures a scene in a rural
Indian village. The poet is a young child witnessing a horrific event in his
life. In the past when poets mother was stung by the scorpion and was suffering
from unbearable pain. At the cries of poet’s mother neighbouring peasant
flocked to the poet’s house like swarm of bees with lanterns and candles.
“With candles and lanterns
Throwing giant scorpion shadow
On the mud-baked walls.”
The poet describes the scorpion as a devil.
The villagers were searching for the scorpion outside the house of the poet in
the steady rain. But in vain the superstitious peasant belief that the previous
activities of scene is to be burnt away by the pain and the suffering. The
villagers did some superstitious activity and prayed God to paralyse the
scorpion. They firmly believed that by doing so the effect of poison could be
diminished.
“May the sin of your previous birth
be burned away tonight, they said”
The
villagers infer that the mother’s desire and ambition are the sin of her
earlier life. According to them, due to earlier deeds she is presently paying
her.
“May the poison purify your flesh
of desire, and your spirit of ambition”
After
20 hour the poet’s mother got relied from her pain. She thanked God that the
Scorpion did not stung her children.
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