Animals

 

Animals Poem Explanation Notes

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are

so placid and self-contain’d,

I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with

the mania of owning things,

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that

lived thousands of years ago,

Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

So they show their relations to me and I accept them,

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince

them plainly in their possession

I wonder where they get those tokens,

Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?

By WALT WHITMAN

The poet says that he is desirous of living with animals as they are calm and self-contained. He appreciates the numerous qualities of animals. The self-contained nature of animals explains that they are happy in their own lives and do not interfere in others’ lives. They are satisfied with what they have and do not have the greed to earn more than others. Moreover, animals’ calm nature shows that they do not run after materialistic things like humans. They are at peace in all situations. The ups and downs in their life do not bother them. They know how to deal with such situations.

In the second stanza, the poet says that animals do not complain about their life. Whatever the conditions are, they never sweat and cry. Neither do they stay awake till late at night, nor do they cry for their wrongdoings. They are very truthful and do their duties toward God. They are not like humans who do things just to showcase their duties in the name of God. Animals are satisfied with themselves. They do not behave crazily and madly to own things. They are free from their desires and longings.

In the third stanza, the poet says that animals do not bend down on their knees in front of others. He has never seen any animals doing so to show their devotion to others. They have not done this for their ancestors who lived thousands of years ago. Further, the poet says that animals do not show respect to others the way humans do. They are not double-faced, showing themselves well in front of others and having evil thoughts running in their minds. They never feel unhappy and live their life with joy on Earth. Here, the poet conveys that one animal eats another animal as food, but they never hide this. They exhibit their behaviour in front of others as they are. There are no hidden or fake things among animals like humans. That’s why the poet accepts them the way they are. He further says that animals bring happiness to his life and make him feel the way he is. Animals do not hide anything and show their possessions.

In the end, the poet says that he wonders where animals got these good qualities from. He further asks himself, did he lose his good qualities, or has he left them somewhere carelessly a long time back? He feels that humans lost their good qualities and passed them on to the animals.

We hope the explanation and summary of the CBSE Class 10 English First Flight Animal poem must have helped students to understand the context in a better way. To help students prepare well for the English subject, we have provided essays on some familiar topics. By going through the Essay on Independence Day and Essay on Women Empowerment, students will know how to express their thoughts while writing an essay on any topic.

        QUESTION ANSWER

Animals

Thinking about the Poem (Page 84)

Question 1:

Notice the use of the word ‘turn’ in the first line, “I think I could turn and live with animals…”. What is the poet turning from?

Answer:

The poet is turning away from human beings to live with animals because he thinks animals have calm,

self-contained and non-complaining nature. On the contrary, he feels humans are complicated and false in comparison to animals.

Question 2:Mention three things that humans do and animals don’t.

Answer:

According to the poet, here we outline the three things that humans do and animals don’t:

1. Humans complain about small things and are always dissatisfied. On the other hand, animals are

non-complaining creatures who are satisfied with whatever they have.

2. Human beings sweat and work hard to earn their living and they whine about their condition

always whereas, animals are placid creatures and do not sulk about their condition at any time.

3. Humans are fond of materialistic things as this makes them happy. On the contrary, animals are

non-demanding creatures and do not behave irrationally to possess worldly pleasures.

Question 3:

Do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago? Discuss this in groups.

Answer:

Yes, humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago due to cultural traditions or

religious beliefs. They fold their hands in humility and worship their ancestors to show respect by kneeling down in front of their portraits.

(Note: Students can discuss and share their own cultural beliefs with their classmates and also be aware  of religious practices of other cultures at the same time.)

Question 4:

What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him? Discuss this in class. (Hint: Whitman belongs to the Romantic tradition that includes Rousseau and Wordsworth, which holds that civilization has made humans false to their own true nature. What could be the basic aspects of our nature as living beings that humans choose to ignore or deny?) Answer: The tokens mentioned by Whitman in the poem indicate the symbols of the true nature of human beings. He intends to convey that as civilization flourished, humans lost their natural instincts and moved away from the tokens of virtue such as containment, honesty and innocence. They became more self-centred and the desire to possess worldly pleasures took over their minds. They lost their humane touch in due course of time. On the contrary, animals have always carried forward their real instincts and continue to do so. The poet looks at those characteristics and wonders where he had negligently lost his true nature.