Literature (G.C.E. O/L)-Poems on Humour- The Huntsman

The Huntsman

By

Edward Lowbury

 

Quick overview about the poet



 

Edward Joseph Lister Lowbury was born in Hampstead on 12th December 1913. He was a pioneering and innovative English Medical bacteriologist and pathologist as well as a poet. His first collection of poems was published while he was working in Kenya. Later starting from 1961 he published regular collections of   poetry. In 1974 he was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has a place among those of any age who continue to be read for having given lyrical expression to a striking or moving thought in plain and concise language.

 

The poem ‘The Huntsman’ is a poem based on Kenyan folklore.


This poem comes under the broader theme

“Humour”



What is Humour?

Humour 

means

evoking sense of amusement, raising a smile either

 physically or in one’s mind

Humour can be easily seen or presented in a very subtler 

manner.

 However humorous poems are not merely funny they have a serious side too.

And this is connected with the underlying themes of the poem


“The huntsman” is a narrative poem.

 a narrative poem

 tells a story which is true or factious

(not real, imagined)

 The poem “the Huntsman” also narrates a certain story.

 It is the story of a huntsman who became a prey.

 “The huntsman” narrates a rather ghastly incident 

which also illustrates a lesson

 It brings out a very important moral message which is 

not to engage excessive and worthless talking 

In this poem the poet through his narrative illustrates how irresponsible talking can bring destruction to the speaker in a very humorous manner  

 

  • What is a skull?
  • How do you feel and what words come to your mind when you hear the word skull?
  • What do skulls associate with?
  • Can skulls speak?     

  • We are going to read a poem in which a skull speaks. Do you believe?.



 The Huntsman 

Kagwa hunted the lion,

     Through bush and forest went his spear.

 One day he found the skull of a man  

  And said to it, ‘How did you come here?’

 The skull opened its mouth and said,   

 ‘Talking brought me here.’

Kagwa hurried home:

  Went to the king’s chair and spoke:

‘In the forest I found a talking skull.’   

 The king was silent. Then he said slowly,

 ‘Never since I was born of my mother  

  Have I seen or heard of a skull which spoke.’

The king called out his guards:  

  ‘Two of you now go with him

And find this talking skull;

    But if his tale is a lie

 And the skull speaks no word,   

 This Kagwa himself must die’

They rode in to the forest

    For days and nights they found nothing.

At last they saw the skull; Kagwa

   Said to it, “How did you come here?”

The skull said nothing. Kagwa implored,

    But the skull said nothing.

The guards said, ‘Kneel down.’  

  They killed him with sword and spear.

Then the skull opened its mouth

   ‘Huntsman, how did you come here?’

 And the dead man answered,  

  ‘Talking brought me here.’

 

Read the poem and answer ten questions that follow to understand the poem.

  1. What is the name of the hunter?
  2. What kind of an image do the first two lines create of the hunter?
  3.  What did the hunter find in the forest? What is special about it?
  4.  Whom did he inform about this event?
  5.  Did he believe him? What was his reaction?
  6.  Can you imagine how the hunter might have felt after hearing the king’s order?
  7.  Were they able to find the skull easily?
  8. Did the skull talk when Kagwa came with the guards?
  9.  What happened to Kagwa?
  10.  What happened after that?


Learn the meaning of the following words which is in the poem that may useful for you to understand the poem

Spear                   -

Skull                    -

Tale                     -

 Implored            -

 

Before further discussion it is better to consider the following sayings.think over

 and try to understand what message those sayings convey.


“Speech is silver silence is gold”

“Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

“Give every man thy ear but few to thy voice”

“The wise man knows that he knows nothing the fool knows he knows all”

 

 

 Let’s read the poem for appreciating and enjoying.

  1.  Describe the image of the hunter created by the poet in the first verse.
  2.  How does this contrast with the silly way of behavior of the hunter?
  3.  How does the writer use the behavior of the hunter to bring out humour?
  4.  What effect do the last four lines of the first verse have on the reader?
  5.  Why did the skull keep quiet when the huntsman came with the guards?
  6. The skull speaks after the hunters went away. What is funny about this?
  7.  What do you think is the message or theme the writer tries to bring about?
  8. How does the last stanza confirm this?

 

Let’s look at the techniques used by the pot to bring out his theme.

 

Narrative style – poem is developed through narration of a story. Which draws our interest for further reading.

Brings out in a very clear and simple language

It is presented dramatically which excites us.

“One day he found the skull of a man  

  And said to it, ‘How did you come here?’

 The skull opened its mouth and said,   

 ‘Talking brought me here.’”

Lyrical expression

  “Through bush and forest went his spear.”

Personification- the skull speaks

Anaphora

“The skull said nothing”

Irony and suspense

Supernatural

Conversational tone

 

What are the themes of this poem?

Danger of unnecessary speaking

The value of silence.

 

 Reading the poem for developing a critical outlook.

 

• The poem has rather short lines. What effect do they bring in? Do you think that they help to depict the unthinking childish behavior of the hunter?

• What can you say about the rhyming pattern in the poem? How does it help to bring out the theme effectively?

• How does the writer use the elements of irony and suspense to bring out humour in the poem?

• What are the poetic devices used in the poem?


You can attempt the following context questions .

  1.  “And dead man answered,

        “Talking brought me here”

  1. From where are these lines taken? Name the writer.
  2.  What does the word ‘here’ in the second line mean?
  3. Can a dead man answer? If so what does the writer try to convey?

 2.  “They rode in to the forest

         For days and nights they found nothing.”

  1. Where can you see these lines? Who is the writer?
  2. What do they search for? Why?
  3. Did they find what they looked for? Briefly describe?

   3.    “One day he found the skull of a man

                And said to it, “how did you come here?”

                The skull opened its mouth and said,

               Talking brought me here”

  1. From which text are these lines taken? Who wrote it?
  2. Who is ‘he’? What is absurd about this situation?
  3. What does the skull mean by “talking brought me here”
  4.   What moral message is stated through these line? Briefly explain

 

 


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