NCERT Solutions Class 9 English (Beehive (Poem))
The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 9 English (Beehive (Poem)) Poem – 6 No Men Are Foreign has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.
Poem – 6 (No Men Are Foreign)
No Men Are Foreign
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.
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 recognise and understand.
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.
– JAMES KIRKUP
Thinking about the Poem
1. (i) “Beneath all uniforms…” What uniforms do you think the poet is speaking about?
Answer – The poet is speaking about the various kinds of dresses and outfits people wear.
(ii) How does the poet suggest that all people on earth are the same?
Answer – The poet says that the uniforms (outfits) must be different but there is a human body beneath those uniforms and all of us will lie in the same earth when we die.
2. In stanza 1, find five ways in which we all are alike. Pick out the words.
Answer – The poet points out five ways in which we are all alike. Here are the words from the poem:
- no men are strange.
- no countries foreign.
- a single body breathes.
- the land our brothers walk upon (the same planet)
- (the same earth) in which we all shall lie
3. How many common features can you find in stanza 2? Pick out the words.
Answer – Following are the common features which we can find in stanza 2:
- Aware of sun and air and water.
- Fed by peaceful harvest.
- Starved by war.
- Similar labour (labour not different from our own).
4. “…whenever we are told to hate our brothers…” When do you think this happens? Why? Who ‘tells’ us? Should we do as we are told at such times? What does the poet say?
Answer – This happens when some politicians having vested interest or the religious leaders incite the masses to serve their own interests. They provoke the innocent people to indulge in anti-social activities. No, we should not obey them. We should always remember that we all are alike. By developing hatred for others, we harm ourselves only. The poet also says that we all are brothers and sisters. We should do everything at our own discretion.
