CLASS VIII ENGLISH

UNIT – 4

POEM:
THE LAST BARGAIN
 PREPARED BY

JAYASRI E K
K V MALAPPURAM
ABOUT THE POET
THIS POEM IS WRITTEN IN 1ST PERSON.. A MAN IS SEARCHING
FOR A SUITABLE JOB ON AHOT SUMMER DAY.HE WANTS OTHERS
TO STRIKE A BARGAIN WITH HIM .
HE DOES NOT WANT TO WORK UNDER ANYBODY’S CONTROL
SO, HE REFUSES THE OFFERS OF THE KING, THE RICH OLD MAN
AND THE FAIR MAID.
AT LAST HE WAS OFFERED THE OCCUPATION OF PLAYING WITH
A CHILD ON THE SAND.
HE ACCEPTS THE OFFER AS HE FEELS FREE AND HAPPY WITH
THE CHILD.
 THE POET:
RABINDRANATH TAGORE
 R A B I N D R A N AT H TA G O R E
( 7 M AY 1 8 6 1 – 7 A U G U S T 1 9 4 1 )
Rabindranath Tagore  sobriquet Gurudev was a Bengali
polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music.

Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh

and beautiful verse“.
He became the first non-European to win the

Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

In translation his poetry was viewed as spiritual and
mercurial; his seemingly mesmeric personality, flowing hair,
and otherworldly dress earned him a prophet-like reputation
in the West.
 TAGORE
Introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of
colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing
it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit.
Highly influential in introducing the best of Indian
culture to the West and vice versa.
Generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of
modern India..
THE POEM
A MAN CALLING OUT FOR WORK

"Come and hire me," I cried, while in

the morning I was walking on the
stone-paved road.
 THE KING

Sword in hand, the King came in his chariot.

He held my hand and said, "I will hire you with my power."
But his power counted for nought, and he went away in his in
his chariot.
 THE RICH OLD MAN
In the heat of the midday the houses stood with shut doors.
I wandered along the crooked lane.
An old man came out with his bag of gold.
He pondered and said, "I will hire you with my money."
He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away.
 THE FAIR MAIDEN

It was evening. The garden hedge was all aflower.

The fair maid came out and said, "I will hire you
with a smile."
Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went
back alone into the dark..
 THE CHILD

The sun glistened on the sand, and

the sea waves broke waywardly.
A child sat playing with shells.
 He raised his head and seemed to
know me, and said, "I hire you with
nothing."
From thenceforward that bargain
struck in child's play made me a free
man.
THE SUMMARY
A man was looking for a job. He was willing to
serve anybody on payment. He was waiting to be
hired. He walked along the stony road for an
employer. The king carrying a sword in his hand
came in his open royal vehicle. He caught the man
by the arm and said that he was ready to hire him
with his power. But the offer was rejected as
power had no attraction for him. The king went
away.
At midday, it was hot and the houses had
their doors shut. The man was going along
the irregular lane.An old man on hearing
his offer, came to hire him with his gold
coins. He counted the coins one by one.
But gold also could not persuade the man
to sell his services.
It was evening. The hedges round the
garden were laden with flowers. A lovely
maid came out and offered to hire him with
her smile. But she too went away
disappointed. Her smile turned into tears
and she was lost in the dark.
In the setting sunlight, the sand around the
seacoast shone golden. The sea waves beat their
heads on the shore and broke up. A child sitting
there was playing with sea shells. He said to the
man that he was ready to hire but without any
payment. The man finalised the deal. He joined
the child in the game and since then he felt like a
free man.
COMPREHENSION

QUESTIONS
1. Who tried to strike the bargain with the
speaker first?
2. The speaker did not accept the offer of the old
man. Why?
3. Why did the girl cry?
4. With whom did he strike the bargain at last?
Why?
.FIND OUT WHICH LINES EXPRESSE THE FOLLOWING IDEAS

1.The king wanted to show off his power to hire the man

2. The old man was miserly

3. The speaker refused the girl's offer and she was sad

4. The speaker did not want to be a slave under

anybody’s power.
 • HOME WORK


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FAVOURITE CAREER
THANK YOU