Wind

by Subramania Bharati
Summary
In this poem, the poet has very beautifully expressed his ideas about both the destructive and
constructive aspects of the wind. The wind is often satirical of weak men. Wind symbolizes
the difficulties that are faced in life. When we have the endurance to bear the difficulties of
life we can overcome each challenge but if we are weak and unstable we succumb to the
difficulties of life.
Introduction to the Poem
We all know that wind is a natural phenomenon. In this poem, the poet talks to the wind. The
power of wind has been described and the poet says that wind is destructive. He has linked
the destructive power of wind to the adversities of life and says that the weak people break
down, but strong people emerge out of adversities, stronger. The poem gives an important
message that we should be mentally tough and physically strong in order to survive the
hardships of life. A weak person breaks down like a weak building and crumbles. We must
make these destructive forces our friends, with our strength and determination.
Poem and Explanation
Wind, come softly.
Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
There, look what you did — you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.
poking fun: making fun of something
weaklings: persons who are weak
The poet is talking to the wind. He asks the wind to come softly. So, he is saying that the wind
should not be very strong, loud. It should be soft and subtle. Then he says that the wind is
very powerful, it is destructive, it breaks the shutters of windows and scatters the papers.
When the wind is very powerful, all the books which are kept on the shelf fall down. So here,
the poet is describing the power of the wind. Then he says to the wind to look at the
destruction that it had done.
Whenever there is a strong wind all the things that are weak, like small plants, tiny children,
etc., get scared and they can even fall and get hurt. We can say that in the initial part of the
poem, the poet is referring to wind as a young child. He is saying that it should come softly
just like a small child does. In the later part, we come to know that the wind is destructive
just like a youth, just like a young boy or a young girl who is full of energy, violence and
destruction.

Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,

crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts —
crumbling: falling or to cause something to break
rafters: sloping beams which support the roof of the building
Here, the word ‘Crumbling’ is repeated so many times to lay stress that everything crumbles
in the face of a strong wind. So, the writer is saying that when wind is very powerful, it leads
to breakage of everything. Houses which are weak, fall, doors which are weak, fall, the
beams on which the roof of the buildings are supported, they also fall, all the wooden
structures fall, all bodies of people fall, animals, lives, hearts fall. So, he is saying that
everything crumbles. Everything that is weak reacts by falling down and breaking in the face
of adversity. So, the poet is saying that whenever a weak person faces any adversity or
challenge in life, he breaks down and falls.
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.
winnows: to blow grain free of chaff, separate grain from husk by blowing on it.
The poet is addressing to wind as ‘wind god’, and he is saying that the powerful god of wind
winnows, that means, he sifts all the people and those people who are weak fall down and get
crushed. So here, a comparison is made between wheat and people. Just like we winnow the
wheat to separate the grain from chaff, the wind god separates the strong people from the
weak people. When there is a strong wind, all the things that are weak, fall and get crushed.
He won’t do what you tell him.
So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s joint the doors firmly.
Practise to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.
steadfast – firm
The poet wants us to make friends with the wind, i.e., the adversities in our lives. He says that
the problems will not listen to us. They will come, so we should be prepared. In preparation,
we should build strong homes and close the doors of our house firmly so that the wind cannot
get into. And then he says that we should also make our bodies strong and hearts firm to face
these challenges. And then once we are strong enough all the challenges will be like friends.
We will not feel that they are troublesome.
The wind blows out weak fires.
He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.
flourish: grow
The poet has kept the wind on a pedestal. He is comparing the wind to god. He says that
wind is god and we praise wind every day. He adds that everything that is weak gets finished
off in the face of the strong wind. And all the things that are strong, flourish and grow to
become stronger. He is giving us a very important message, that we should not feel bad that
we are facing so many challenges and adversities in life. We should make ourselves
 physically and mentally strong to face these challenges. And once we are strong enough, we
will overcome the challenges, we will become friends with them and then we will be happy
that we had these challenges in our life because they help us become stronger and better.
Literary devices in the poem
Rhyme scheme - The entire poem is written in free verse. There is no rhyme scheme in the
poem.
The literary devices used are as follows –
i. Anaphora - When a word is repeated at the start of two or more consecutive lines, it is
the device of Anaphora.
Lines 2, 3, 4 begin with ‘don’t’.
Lines 6, 7, 8 begin with ‘you’.
ii. Personification – wind has been personified. When the poet says ‘you are’, he is
referring to wind as ‘you’ that means he is treating wind as a person.
iii. Repetition - ‘crumbling’ is repeated many times to lay emphasis. The poet wants to
say that the wind crushes everything that is weak. That is why he repeats the word
crumbling.
iv. Alliteration - the repetition of a consonant sound in close connection. ‘wind
winnows’ and ‘won’t want’
v. Symbolism - Symbolism means that the thing refers to some other thing. Wind is a
symbol. It refers to the challenges in life. He is using wind as a symbol for the
adversities in our life.
Summary
The first part of the poem describes the action of the wind. The poet asks the wind to come
softly. He requests the wind not to break the shutters of the windows, not to scatter the papers
and throw down the books from the shelf. But the wind throws the books and tears the pages.
The poet says that the wind makes a mockery of weaklings. It brings down frail houses,
crumbling doors, rafters, and even weak hearts. It crushes everything that is weak.
The poet advises us to be strong. Only then can we save ourselves from the wind. We should
build strong homes with firm doors. Our bodies and hearts should also be strong. It is the way
of the world to kick the weak and to be friends with the strong. The wind blows out the weak
fires but makes the strong fires roar and flourish. Thus, the poem conveys the idea that
nobody cares for the weak. Even the wind is on the side of the strong people. We must make
ourselves strong to become successful and overcome the challenges in life.
Question and Answers
1. What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
A. When the wind blows violently, it destroys everything. It breaks the shutters of windows,
scatters the papers, throws the books down from the shelves, tears their pages and brings
along a lot of rain.
3. What does the poet say the wind god winnows?
A. The wind God winnows means that nature sifts the weak things from the strong ones.
Everything that is weak is tossed by the powerful wind and gets destroyed. Just like the
winnower separates the grains of wheat from the chaff, similarly, the wind god separates the
weak from the strong.
4. What should we do to make friends with the wind?
A. We must make ourselves strong to face the violent wind. When we are strong, the wind
will not harm us, instead it will become a friend and help us to grow and flourish.
5. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
A. The last four lines of the poem carry an important message that the strong people emerge
stronger and victorious in the face of adversities. We must make ourselves strong like a
burning fire which grows and flourishes in the violent wind, we also prosper in the face of
challenges.
MCQs

Q1- Who is the poet of the poem?

A) Subramania Bharti
B) Robert Frost
C) Ruskin Bond
D) William Wordsworth

Q2- Who broke the doors of the window?

A) children
B) a boy
C) a naughty boy
D) wind

Q3- Name the things the wind had done.

A) brought rain
B) torn the pages
C) broke the doors of the window
D) all

Q4- What is winnowing called?

A) cleaning process
B) sorting process
C) Barsana
D) None

Q5- Why do people winnow the grain?

A) to clean the dust
B) to remove straws
C) to take out chaff
D) All

Q6- Who are affected by the wind?

A) the weak
B) the strong
C) people
D) things

Q7- Whom does wind God like?

A) weak people
B) who talks to it
C) strong people
D) none

Q8- What does the word prosper mean in the poem?

A) keep going
B) flourish
C) keep moving
D) proper

Q9- Who is blown out by the wind?

A) weak fire
B) strong fire
C) papers
D) all

Q10- What is the moral of this poem?

A) be firm and strong and never be defeated by any obstacle
B) pray to the wind
C) don't be weak
D) request the wind

Q11- Whom does the poet make a request to and address?

A) the people
B) his children
C) wind
D) all

Q12- Which figure of speech has been used in the poem?

A) alliteration
B) anaphora and metaphor
C) personification
D) all

Q13- Tell a word in the poem which is the antonym of foolish?

A) clever
B) wise
C) cunning
D) all

Q14- How can we be friends with the wind?

A) by building strong homes
B) having strong body
C) having a strong heart
D) all

Q15- Suggest a word that stands for to fix.

A) settle
B) make correct
C) Join
D) All

Q16- What should the people do to save their homes?

A) use good cement
B) build strong homes and close the doors firmly
C) consult a good architect
D) none

Q17- What does the poet suggest to be friends with the wind?
A) build strong homes
B) close the doors firmly
C) have strong bodies and mind
D) all

Q18- "He won't do what you tell him"- Who is he in this line?
A) God
B) Wind God
C) wind
D) all
Q19- Find a synonym for loyal from the poem.
A) firm
B) strong
C) steadfast
D) none

Q20- Find a word from the poem for "thrown in different directions."
A) scatter
B) thrown
C) blown
D) none

ANSWER KEY

1 A 11 C

2 D 12 D

3 D 13 A

4 B 14 D

5 D 15 C

6 A 16 B

7 C 17 D

8 B 18 C

9 A 19 C

10 A 20 A