JKBOSE 9th Class English Solutions chapter – 8 NO MEN ARE FOREIGN

This is an anti-war poem that teaches the basic oneness of mankind and folly of going to war. The poet says that no men are strange and no countries are foreign. Under the outward superficial differences, the inner essence is everywhere the same. Under all kinds of different dresses, all men have the same kind of body. The bodies of all men breathe in the same way as our body does. All men move on the same earth. And after death, all men lie under the same earth. Everywhere it is the same sun, air and water that people enjoy. Everywhere people are fed on the crops that are grown during times of peace. And everywhere they have to starve when there is a long winter of war.

Everywhere men have the same kind of hands. They do the same kind of labour. They have the same kind of eyes that wake and sleep. They have the same kind of strength that can be won by love. Everywhere, the same kind of life is lived which can be understood and recognized easily.

Therefore, the poet says that we shouldn’t heed those who tell us to hate others. We should remember that by hating others, it is only ourselves that we rob, deceive and criticise. By taking up arms against others, we only defile this earth that belongs to all of us. The fire and destruction of war pollutes the air that we all breathe. So, the poet asks us to remember that no men are foreign and no countries are strange.

यह एक युद्ध-विरोधी कविता है जो मनुष्य जाति की मौलिक एकता और युद्ध करने की मूर्खता के बारे में शिक्षा देती है। कवि कहता है कि कोई लोग बेगाने नहीं होते और कोई देश बाहरी नहीं होते। बाहरी दिखावे के अन्तरों के नीचे अन्दरूनी वास्तविकता सब जगह एक जैसी ही होती है। भिन्न-भिन्न प्रकार की सब पोशाकों के नीचे सब लोगों का एक ही प्रकार का शरीर होता है। सब लोगों के शरीर उसी प्रकार साँस लेते हैं जिस प्रकार हमारा शरीर साँस लेता है। सब लोग एक ही धरती के ऊपर चलते-फिरते हैं और मरने के बाद एक ही धरती के नीचे सोते हैं। हर जगह वही सूरज, हवा और पानी है जिसका लोग आनन्द उठाते हैं। हर जगह लोग उन फसलों से भोजन प्राप्त करते हैं जो शान्ति के समय के दौरान उगाई जाती हैं। और हर जगह उनको भूखों मरना पड़ता है जब युद्ध रूपी लम्बी सर्दी आ जाती है।

हर जगह लोगों के एक ही प्रकार के हाथ होते हैं और वे एक ही प्रकार की मेहनत करते हैं। उनकी एक ही प्रकार की आँखें होती हैं जो जागती हैं और सोती हैं। उनके पास एक ही प्रकार की ताकत होती है जिसको प्यार से जीता जा सकता है। हर जगह एक ही प्रकार का जीवन गुजारा जाता है जिसको आसानी से समझा जा सकता है, और पहचाना जा सकता है।

इसलिए कवि कहता है कि हमें उन लोगों की ओर कोई ध्यान नहीं देना चाहिए जो हमें दूसरों से घृणा करने के लिए कहते हों । हमें याद रखना चाहिए कि दूसरों से नफ़रत करने से हम सिर्फ खुद को ही लूट रहे होते हैं, धोखा दे रहे होते हैं और बुरा-भला कह रहे होते हैं। दूसरे लोगों के विरुद्ध हथियार उठा कर हम केवल इस धरती को गन्दी और अपवित्र बनाते हैं जो हम सब की सांझी है। युद्ध की अग्नि और विनाश उसी हवा को दूषित करते हैं जिसमें हम साँस लेते हैं। इसीलिए कवि हमें याद रखने के लिए कहता है कि कोई लोग बेगाने नहीं होते और कोई देश बाहरी नहीं

होते।

All men are the same. They have the same kind of body. They breathe in the same way. Thus no men are strange or foreign. We should never hate others. They are all our brothers. By hating others, we lose their love. Thus the poet gives the message of love and brotherhood.

                                    Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign

                                    Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes

                                    it evad vant Like ours, the land our brothers walk upon

                                    Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.

Paraphrase : Remember that no men are strangers. No countries are foreign countries. Under all kinds of dresses, there is the same body like ours. All bodies breathe the way our body breathes. The land on which others our brothers – walk upon is the same earth on which we move. We all shall lie under the same earth when we die.

1. Name the poem and the poet.

2. What should we remember ?

3. What are all men to us ?

4. Where do we all walk upon ?

5. Where shall we all lie in the end ?

1. The name of the poem is ‘No Men Are Foreign’. The name of the poet is James Kirkup.

2. We should remember that no men are strange and no countries are foreign.

3. All men are brothers to us.

4. We all walk upon the same earth.

5. We shall all lie in the same land in the end.

                                              They, too, aware of sun and air and water,

                                              Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starved.

                                              Their hands are ours, and in their lives we read

                                              A labour not different from our own.

Paraphrase : All others enjoy the same sun, air and water that we enjoy. They are all fed like us, by harvests during times of peace. And when there is a long winter of war, all have to starve equally. All others have the same kind of hands that we have. The labour they have to do in their life is no different from the labour we have to do in our life !

1. Who does ‘They’ refer to in these lines ?

2. What do they all make use of ?

3. What are they fed by ?

4. What is meant by (a) ‘peaceful harvests’ (b) ‘war’s long winter’?

5. How are their hands ours ?

6. What do we read in their lives ?

1. They’ here refers to all men of the world.

2. They all make use of the same sun and air.

3. They are fed by the harvests that they grow.

4. (a) Peaceful harvests’ means the crops that we can grow in times of peace. (b) War’s long winter’ means the painful days when we have to stay in and can have nothing to feed ourselves.

5. Their hands are ours because there is no difference between their hands and our hands.

6. We read in their lives that they do the same labour that we have to do.

                                                     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 recognise and understand.

Paraphrase : Remember their eyes are like our eyes. Their eyes wake and like our eyes do. They have the same strength that we have a strength that be won by love. In every land, the same kind of life is lived. We can all recognize understand that common pattern of life.

(i) Who does the word, ‘they’, here refer to ?

(ii) What kind of eyes do they have ?

(iii) What is there in every land ?

(B) Choose the most appropriate options:

(i) The word ‘strength’ here denotes ……. .

(a) the muscular strength. (b) Pride of power.  (c) The strength of army.(d) the all-powerful money.

(ii) What can we win by love ?

(a) Money. (b) the pride of power  (c) Bodily strength. (d) The strength of army.

(iii) The word ‘ours’ here is …….. .

(a) many of us. (b) a pronoun (c) we in large numbers. (d) a personal noun.

(C) What can all recognise and understand ?

(A) (i) The word ‘they’ here refers to all men of the world.

(ii) They have eyes like ours.

(iii) In every land, people live the same kind of life.

(B) (i) (b) the pride of power (ii) (b) Pride of power. (iii) (b) a pronoun.

(C) All can recognise and understand that everywhere, people live the same kind of life.

                                                        Let’s 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; Of

                                                        Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.

Paraphrase : All men are our brothers. And when we are told to hate our brothers, we should remember that by hating others, it will be only ourselves that we shall rob (of their love). By hating others, we shall be deceiving and criticizing ourselves only. Remember that when we take up arms against each other, we defile the human earth only. The hells of fire and dust raised during the war pollute that very air which is everywhere our own. So we should remember that no men are foreign and no countries are strange.

1. Who have been called ‘our brothers’ ?

2. Who should we not hate and why ?

3. What shall happen if we take up arms against each other ?

4. What is meant by the following:

(a) hells of fire and dust

(b) the innocence of air ?

5. What is everywhere our own ?

6. What message does the poet want to convey in these lines ?

1. All men of the world have been called our brothers.

2. We should not hate others because they are all our brothers.

3. We shall defile this earth of ours.

4. (a) By hells of fire and dust’ is meant the wars that cause a lot of destruction. (b) By the innocence of air’ is meant the pure and fresh air’ that we get to breathe.

5. The pure and fresh air is everywhere our own.

6. The poet means to say that all men of the world are our brothers. No men are foreign and no countries are strange.

Ans.— By ‘uniforms’, the poet means the different dresses that the people wear in different parts of the world.

Ans.— All people have the same kind of body. They breathe the same air. They sleep and wake up in the same way. They also eat in the same way.

Ans.— The fire of hatred outrages the innocence and beauty of this earth.

                               Or

Ans.— All men are the same. They have the same kind of body. They breathe in the same way. Thus no men are strange or foreign. We should never hate others. They are all our brothers. By hating others we lose their love. Thus the poet gives the message of love and brotherhood.

Ans.— There is no rhyme-scheme in the poem. It has been written in free verse.

Ans.— The poet has used the technique of repetition and plain logic to bring home his point.