Text of the Poem
They
stood him up
against an
orchard wall
and shot him
at dawn.
Pandemonium of
crows
and then
the empty horizon.
Hundreds of
miles away
his mother
kneels in
prayer –
in ignorance –
the ignorance of prayer.
Wheat ear on
the stubble –
the blind earth
must be fed.
Main idea
It is a simple, short, and narrative poem by Daud Kamal (1935-1987). The main idea of the poem revolves around the concept of once being charged with rebellion and also given the punishment without probing into the matter. The poet is of the view that having a difference of opinion is not a crime, it should be considered positive because in a normal or flourishing society it is always welcomed by the people.
Summary
The poem starts with an appalling scene of a gun and shot. A man is standing against a wall of an orchard at the time of dawn. He is being punished by some people to whom he had shown some rebellion. A flock of crows is gathered and creating an uproar. There is nothing in the sky. The emptiness of the sky is multiplying the noise of the crows.
The victim’s mother
innocently is still praying for her son. She is miles away from the death scene
and only praying ignorantly. Whereas, the poet is of the view that her prayers
are in vain. She is in fact, ignorant of the situation. And this is what going
on in the country overall.
The wheat ears are
still on the stalks and although these are ripped still they are needed to be
fed. The same is the case of the earth which is blind means barren and needed
more water to get fertilized.
Tone
The tone of the poem is depressed, dejected, helpless, and unprotected. It is quite serious unlike the other poem with the same title by D J Enright.
The poem consists of
four stanzas. The first and third stanzas have five lines each, whereas the
second and fourth contain three lines each. It is in free verse. Though it is a
short poem, sometimes one verse consisting of one word only is deliberately
done by the poet to keep the emphasis intact.
Diction
The diction is quite
simple. Daud Kamal very carefully uses diction keeping the main idea of the
poem in view. Mostly monosyllable words are used. The first word “They” is used
very strongly that the reader can easily guess whom the poet is referring to.
The words like, ‘empty horizon’, ‘blind earth’ and ‘stubble’ create an
atmosphere of desolation. The use of, ‘pandemonium’ with a flock of crows
paints a full picture of a death scene as it is believed that a group of crows
gather to decide a capital punishment of a crow. The same is happening here.
Imagery
Daud Kamal was very
expert in creating images from common objects to make ideas more comprehensible
for his readers. The symbols of “Orchard Wall” and “Dawn” are used to show
peacetime, the beauty of nature Imagery of, “Pandemonium of crows” triggers the
reader’s sympathetic feeling towards the sufferer. The personification of the
“Blind Earth” stands for the dictators who need to be fed by such innocent
drops of blood whose only crime is that they show friction. The Wheatears stand
for fertility and nourishment.
Critical Analysis
While reading Daud
Kamal’s “The Rebel” another poem instantly comes to our mind that is a poem
with the same title ‘REBEL’ by D J. Enright. Enright’s poem is full of humor.
There is no deep thought or message that he wanted to convey, he only paints a
picture of people with rebellious nature, who, sometimes just for nothing goes
against or act against the normal life routines. The purpose of Enright is to
build stamina among society for such characters. Daud Kamal on the other hand
throws light on a man who shows rebellion against the affairs either social or
related to the state. The tone of the poem vividly suggests that the person
being penalized is not just or lawful. The poem is about the unjust punishment
of such people who show resistance to what is happening. The poet wants to make
it vocal that having a difference of opinion should not cost a life. As in a
healthy society, it is always a normal practice. One should not be punished to
death for only against a different opinion.
In the first stanza,
the juxtaposition of place, time, and incident is used very tactfully by the
poet. The place of implementation of the execution is against the orchard wall
and the time is dawn. Both time and place relate to peace, harmony nature, and
serenity. On the contrary, an innocent soul is being punished with such silence
and tranquility. It suggests that rebellion is always curbed in silence to
avoid its proliferation. Pertinent to mention here that rebellion can be
positive or negative. And Daud Kamal successfully paints the picture at the
very outset of the poem. Moreover word, ‘THEY’ is quite alarming. The reader
halt with a thought that ‘who they are?’ ‘To whom the poet is referring?’ and
later on the rest of the poem explained both questions vividly.
The wild noisy uproar
of the crows at the death scene arouses more sympathy towards the victim. Crows
stand for evil and death and their noise is the protest for unfair practices.
It is also believed that the gathering of crows is to determine or settle down
the capital punishment for their fellow crow. Here the imagery directly tells
about the injustice done to the person. And the fellows either from a state or
a party are gathered to shed the blood of an innocent. Daud Kamal very
artistically builds an environment for his reader to understand the matter with
the use of a single image i.e. “Pandemonium of crows”
Life is precious. The
climax of the atrocity reaches its culminating point when we see a mother on
the other side praying for the life of his son. Moreover, ironically she knows
nothing about the incident or what is behind the curtain. She is innocent
enough just like the “blind earth” whether she is praying “in” ignorance or
“for” ignorance.
The last stanza of the
poem is again heart-pinching. It is very important in fact. Daud Kamal very
agonizingly explains the situation. Wheat is a symbol of fertility and
resurrection and earth again is a symbol of fertility, nourishment, and
creativity. But if a “Wheatear is on stubble” and earth is “Blind”, then what
one can expect except feeding both with blood.
It is a bitter reality
which Daud Kamal portrays in his short but comprehensive poem.
This article is written by Farrukh Anjum, one of the contributors at the School of Literature.
