The Ballad of a Dead Friend’ – Edwin Arlington Robinson

Read Time:7 Minute, 25 Second

About Author

Edwin Arlington Robinson was an American poet and playwright. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. Born: December 22, 1869, Head Tide Historic District Died: April 6, 1935, New York, New York, United States Parents: Edward Robinson Siblings: Herman Robinson, Dean Robinson Education: Harvard University

Summary

The poem entitled The Ballad of a Dead Friend’ is written by an American poet “Edwin Arlington Robinson”. It’s a ballad . Ballad is a type of poem which is sometimes related to music. Mainly the ballad start in a folk song and continues today in a popular music. Many love songs and sad songs are considered as ballad today. It shows emotional pain at the death of a friend. But as the death is inevitable, human beings have to face with such a pain in life. The poet compares death is a natural process in living creatures including human beings. Human life with withering ferns which naturally get withered and dried, and decayed. The poem tells that death is a natural process for all the living beings including we all human being.
First Stanza
The poem shows that we human beings are similar to withered ferns which are lying by the roadways. Time is a very powerful and determining factor in human life. The poem compares time with the jester who tells joke on his own. Time never cares our prayers, rather ignores. Although we have emotional pains at the death of our friends, time does not care our pains, sorrows, trouble, tears and sighing at such a sad moment bring changes in life. Therefore, many friends come and go in our life. Thus, his poem shows that time is the greatest agent to bring human life.
The Second Stanza
The second stanza tells that we have to pass though different stages of life as the natural process. After we are born, we become mature and gradually get the stage of old age. Finally, we are taken to the stage of death. We do not like friend’s death but God wants it. Therefore, we have to buy shrouds to cover our friends’ dead bodies when they die because love is similar to the trade we are plying in life. Thus, many friends come and go though they reject their departures or deaths.
The Third Stanza
The third stanza shows that human beings are willing to catch or obtain what is flying in their life. It means that they want to obtain many things in life. But their ambition becomes useless like the dust in the air. Everything in this world are short-lived therefore, human beings make many friends in life but they go to the heaven as the will of Almighty. Thus, human beings desire to achieve many things, including friends, become meaningless. This poem shows that death’ is inevitable in human life.

सारांश नेपालीमा
The Ballad of a Dead Friend’ शीर्षकको कविता अमेरिकी कवि “Edwin Arlington Robinson” द्वारा लेखिएको हो। यो एउटा गीत हो। Ballad एक प्रकारको कविता हो जुन कहिलेकाहीँ संगीतसँग सम्बन्धित छ। मुख्य रूपमा लोकगीतबाट सुरु भएको लोकगीत आज पनि लोकप्रिय संगीतमा जारी छ। धेरै मनपर्ने गीतहरू र दुःखी गीतहरू आजको गीतको रूपमा मानिन्छ। यसले साथीको मृत्युमा भावनात्मक पीडा देखाउँछ। तर मृत्यु अपरिहार्य छ, मानिसले जीवनमा यस्तो पीडाको सामना गर्नुपर्छ। कवि मृत्यु एक प्राकृतिक प्रक्रियासँग तुलना गर्छन् मानव जीवन सुकेको फर्नसंग तुलना गर्छन जुन स्वाभाविक रूपमा सुकाइन्छ र सुक्छ, र कुहिन्छ। मृत्यु प्राकृतिक प्रक्रिया हो भनी कविताले बताउँछ ।
पहिलो श्लोक
कविताले देखाउँछ कि हामी मानवहरू सुकेका फर्नहरू जस्तै छौं जुन सुकेका छन् सडक मार्गहरू। समय मानव जीवनमा एक धेरै शक्तिशाली र निर्णायक कारक हो। कविताले समयलाई तुलना आफ्नै मजाक बताउने जोस्टरसँग गर्छन । समयले हाम्रो प्रार्थनाको वास्ता गर्दैन, बरु बेवास्ता गर्छ। साथीको मृत्युमा हामीमा भावनात्मक पीडा भए पनि समयले हाम्रो पीडाको वास्ता गर्दैन,यस्तो दु:खद घडीमा दु:ख, कष्ट, आँसु र सुस्केराले जीवनमा परिवर्तन ल्याउँछ। त्यसैले, धेरै साथीहरू हाम्रो जीवनमा आउँछन् र जान्छन्। यसरी, कविताले मानव जीवनल्याउ ने सबैभन्दा ठूलो एजेन्ट समय हो भनेर देखाउँछ
दोस्रो श्लोक
दोस्रो श्लोकले बताउँछ कि हामीले प्राकृतिक प्रक्रियाको रूपमा जीवनका विभिन्न चरणहरू पार गर्नुपर्छ। हामी जन्मिसकेपछि परिपक्व हुन्छौं र विस्तारै बुढ्यौलीको चरणमा पुग्छौं। अन्तमा, हामी पुग्छौ‍ मृत्युको चरणमा। साथीको मृत्यु हामीलाई मन पर्दैन तर भगवानले चाहेको हुन्छ। त्यसैले हाम्रा साथीहरू जब मर्छन तिनीहरू मृत शरीरलाई ढाक्न कफनहरू किन्छन प्रेम हाम्रो व्यापार जस्तै हो भन्छन। यसरी, धेरै साथीहरू आउँछन् र जान्छन् तर तिनीहरूले आफ्नो प्रस्थान वा मृत्युलाई अस्वीकार गर्छन्।
तेस्रो श्लोक
तेस्रो श्लोकले देखाउँछ कि मानिस आफ्नो जीवनमा उडिरहेको चीजलाई समात्न वा प्राप्त गर्न इच्छुक छन्।
यसको मतलब तिनीहरू जीवनमा धेरै चीजहरू प्राप्त गर्न चाहन्छन्। तर तिनीहरूको महत्वाकांक्षा जस्तै तिनीहरू हावामा धुलो व्यर्थ हुन्छ। यस संसारमा सबै कुरा अल्पकालीन छन्, त्यसैले मानिसले जीवनमा साथीहरू धेरै बनाउँछ
तर तिनीहरू भगवानको इच्छाको रूपमा स्वर्ग जान्छन्। तसर्थ, मानिसको साथी लगायत धेरै कुराहरु हासिल गर्नु चाहना अर्थहीन हुन्छ । यो कविताले मृत्यु मानव जीवनमा अपरिहार्य हो भनेर देखाउँछ।

Answer the following questions.

a) “Time, the jester, spurns

All our prayers and prying-

Why does the poet say so? Elaborate.

= Through the given lines of the poem, the poet wants to show that time is very powerful in life and it does not care our prayers, sorrows and problems. It is like a jester who crakes jokes and forces us to laugh.

b) The poet says, ‘All but Love is dying’. What does he try to convey? Do you agree? Give reasons in support of your answer.

= Yes, I do agree that love is the greatest thing in life but it cannot live long because it disappears after someone dies.

c) What do you understand of these lines?

‘Man forever yearns.

For the thing that’s flying’. Explain.

= There two lines tell us that human beings are willing to achieve to what they are exposed. It means human beings want to gain/achieve many things in life.

d) Do you feel sad after reading this poem? Why/Why not?

= No. I don’t feel sad often reading this poem because this poem is about natural and real event in human life. Birth and death are two ends of life; therefore, we should not take death negatively.