No Men Are Foreign
-James Kirkup
PRESENTED BY:-
Subject:-English
Class:-9th
Topic:-
Govt Sen Sec School Sirhind Mandi
Life History of James Kirkup
•
James Kirkup was born on 1923. He won the
Atlantic Award for Liteature in 1950. He
wrote some plays too. He worked as
Professor of English at Stockholm and at
Tohoku University Sendai Japan. He was a
versatile writer
Stanza 1
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.
Explanation
•
This poem is written by James
Kirkup. This poem gives us the
message of universal brotherhood
of man. The poet says that we
should not regard other countries
as foreign. We are all citizens of
the same world. People of
different countries wear different
kinds of clothes. But under their
different clothing the human body
is the same everywhere.
Explanation
•
The earth on which people
from different countries
walk is the same. People of
all the countries feel the
sun, air and water just as
we do. During peace time
all the countries flourish.
During war time all the
countries
suffer
from
shortage of food and other
difficulties.
Stanza 2
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 recognize and
understand.
Explanation
Remember that human
beings all over the world
have similar eyes. They
also wake and sleep as we
do. They are strong and
powerful like ourselves.
They can be won by love.
There is a bond which
unites all the nations of
the world. Each one of us
understands
and
recognises this bond.
Stanza - 3
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.
Explanation
•
When we hate others, we
actually rob, deceive and
condemn our ownselves.
When we fight against others
we spoil the purity of our own
earth. The fire and smoke
from the weapons of war
poison that very air which is
everywhere and which we all
breathe.
The theme…..
The poem “No Men Are Foreign”, a poem by
James Kirkup states that no man is foreign or
strange and we should not regard anyone as
foreign or strange. The poem revolves around
the idea that all men are equal. Though they are
separated by boundaries there is no difference
between men of different nations.
The theme…..i
The difference is only within a man’s heart. It is
a universal appeal for brotherhood. The
differences among them pertain merely to
colour ,dress and food habits which are not of
much significance. Humanity all over the world
is alike. If man is destroying another nation, he is
actually destroying himself and the entire
humanity.
The theme……ii
The people of different countries may differ in
complexion and clothing but their mental,
physical and emotional experiences are the
same. The poet makes an effort to wipe away
the hatred among people of the world and
highlights the futility of war and weapons that
only add pollution to “innocence
Remember ,no men are strange,
no countries foreign
They , too ,aware of sun and air and water,
Are fed by peaceful harvests
Remember they have eyes like ours.
The poet says that all have
some kind of eyes .They sleep
and wake in the same way. All
have same kind of strength
which can be won by only
love. All lead same kind of life.
The poet says that we should
not hate one another. If we
cheat others in real we cheat
ourselves.
The poet says that if we
fight with others, then we
only pollute the beautiful
earth. was cleat file, dust
which is responsible for
the pollution of earth.bo
we should learn that no
men are not foreign and
no countries are strange.
We should live like
brothers. We should not
cheat others.
CENTRAL IDEA
One should keep in mind that no human beings
are distant, unfamiliar or far off. We all are same
under different bodies. In times of war or peace,
even our international foes undergo the same
trials. They too, like us, enjoy the bright
sunshine day, breathe the same air from the
atmosphere and drink the same water available
on earth to survive.
Central idea….i
This poem is based on the idea that we are the
children of the same Father, God. As such we should
believe in the universal brotherhood of man. The earth
is the common property of all mankind. We should not
think that we are the citizens of this or that country. We
should give up feelings of narrow nationalism. We
should think that we are citizens of the world. In war all
countries suffer and in peace prosper. Therefore if we
hate others we deceive ourselves.
EXCERCISE
WORD-MEANING
Starve
:
Dispossess :
Betray
:
Condemn :
Outrage :
Defile
:
WORD-MEANING
Starve
: Die of hunger because of nonavailability of food.
Dispossess : To put one out of possession
Betray
: To cheat, to be disloyal
Condemn : To express strong disapproval
Outrage : Any gross violation of law or
decency
Defile
: To make foul or dirty
Write true or false against the
following sentences:
• No men are strange and no countries are
foreign.
• People are different from one another.
• We should hate our brothers.
• We should not defile our earth.
Write true or false against the
following sentences:
• No men are strange and no countries are foreign
(True)
• People are different from one another
(False)
• We should hate our brothers.
(False)
• We should not defile our earth.
(True)
Comprehension Question
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the central idea of poem ?
What u learnt from this story ?
Who is the writter of this poem ?
What message this poem convey ?
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