Autumn Song

Text of the poem

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Idea of the poem

Context of the poem

About the Author

Sarojini Naidu was born on February 13, 1879 in Hyderabad, India. Naidu wrote poetry from a young age, was very intelligent and was able to speak 5 languages. While studying at Kings College in England, in 1916 she met Mahatma Gandhi who inspired her to become an activist and politician for Indian independence. She joined his movement and was greatly responsible for inspiring the women of India to stand up for their rights. Nine years later she was elected the first female President of the Indian National Congress. She was also the first female Governor in India. She is now known as “The Nightingale of India”; her birthday is celebrated as Woman’s Day. Her poems were her passion; she wrote poetry about Indian life.

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Transacting the text

Language appreciation

In ‘Autumn Song,” Sarojini Naidu uses lyrical language with simple end rhymes in order to parallel personal loss and loneliness with the beautiful frailty of autumn. She capitalizes on wind as a metaphor for change and loss of “joy” in the fair frailty of Autumn. The change from the invocation of nature to the personal address in the last stanza, specifically in the last line, gives the speaker urgency to move on from the loss and not linger in sorrow that she hears in the “wind.”

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Meaning making

Pictures/ video clips are an interesting way of assisting students to comprehend a poem. A picture helps in creating a visual memory and can also help in understanding new words.

To listen to an audio recital of this poem, click here.

Figures of speech

A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or personification. Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use, as any figure of speech introduces an ambiguity between literal and figurative interpretation. A figure of speech is sometimes called a rhetorical figure or a locution. To know more click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_of_speech

Assessment

Ask the learners to write a short paragraph using the hints given below.

Hints:

• What is the poem about?
• Which is the most striking image and why?