Father to Son CBSE Class 11 NCERT English Hornbill book Poem 5 Explanation, Summary, Difficult words. Poets description is followed by Father to son introduction , theme, summary in English and Hindi, then explanation and poetic devices with questions and answers.
Father to Son Poet Elizabeth Jennings
Elizabeth Jennings (1926–2001) was an English poet renowned for her emotionally rich and introspective verses. Born on July 18, 1926, in Boston, Lincolnshire, England, Jennings produced a substantial body of work throughout her lifetime. Her poetry often delves into themes of love, nature, spirituality, and the complexities of human relationships. Some of her notable works include collections like “A Way of Looking” and “Collected Poems.” Jennings received critical acclaim for her ability to express profound emotions with simplicity and clarity. She passed away on October 26, 2001, leaving behind a legacy of poetry that continues to resonate with readers.
- “Collected Poems” (1985): This comprehensive collection offers a broad overview of her career and is a great starting point for anyone interested in her work.
- “Father to Son”: This poem, which you previously asked about, is one of her most famous and explores the complexities of a strained parent-child relationship.
- “Eclipse” (1995): This later collection contains some of her most introspective and philosophical poems, dealing with themes of aging, loss, and the search for meaning.
Father to Son Introduction
The poem “Father to Son” by Elizabeth Jennings tells a sad story. A dad feels heartbroken because he doesn’t connect with his son anymore. His son has grown up and is busy with his own life, and the dad feels left behind. He’s upset that they don’t understand each other like they used to when his son was little. He tries to fix things, but it’s like pushing water uphill. The gap between them keeps getting bigger.
Father to Son theme
The theme of “Father to Son” is about the challenges and emotions in the relationship between a father and his grown-up son. The poem explores the difficulty the father faces in understanding and connecting with his son, who has changed as he has grown older. There’s a sense of distance and frustration between them, with the father expressing a longing for the close bond they had when the son was a child. The poem touches on themes like communication gaps, generational differences, and the desire for reconciliation in a parent-child relationship.
Father to Son Summary
father to son class 11 summary
The poem talks about a dad who is really upset because he doesn’t have a good relationship with his grown-up son. They lived together for a long time, but the dad feels like he doesn’t know his son at all. Even when he tries to connect with him like they did when he was a little kid, it doesn’t work.
The dad realizes that even though his son looks like him, they’re very different. They don’t talk much, and when they do, it feels like they’re strangers. His son is in a different place emotionally, and there’s a big gap between them. Silence hangs between them. Despite everything, the dad is willing to forgive his son and wants him to come back home, the place they used to know. He doesn’t want his son to keep wandering the world; he just wants to love him.
Finally, the son speaks up and shares that he’s going through a tough time understanding himself. He feels sad about the growing distance between them, and that sadness makes him angry. Both of them want to forgive each other, but they can’t figure out how to fix things. They reach out to each other, but their hands stay empty, unable to hold on.
Father to Son Summary in Hindi
फादर टू सन कविता में एक पिता अपने बेटे के साथ बिगड़ते रिश्ते के बारे में अपनी पीड़ा व्यक्त करता है। वह बताता है कि उसका बेटा अब बड़ा हो गया है और उसकी अपनी जिंदगी है। पिता को लगता है कि उसका बेटा अब उससे दूर हो गया है और वह उसे नहीं समझता है। वह चाहता है कि उनके बीच फिर से पहले जैसा रिश्ता हो, लेकिन वह नहीं जानता कि क्या करे। पिता अपने बेटे को नहीं समझता है। वह उसके बारे में कुछ नहीं जानता है, जैसे कि वह क्या सोचता है, क्या महसूस करता है, या क्या चाहता है।पिता ने अपने बेटे के साथ संबंध बनाने की कोशिश की है, लेकिन वह असफल रहा है। वह नहीं जानता कि अपने बेटे के साथ कैसे जुड़ा जाए।पिता को डर है कि उसने अपने बेटे के साथ अपने रिश्ते को बर्बाद कर दिया है। वह सोचता है कि उसके कार्यों या अकर्मण्यता ने उनके बीच की दूरी को बढ़ा दिया है।
बाप अपने बेटे के साथ बिगड़ते रिश्ते के बारे में बात कर रहा है। वह कहता है कि भले ही उसका बेटा उसके जैसा दिखता है, लेकिन वह उसके अंदरूनी व्यक्तित्व को नहीं समझता है। बाप अपने बेटे के साथ बातचीत की कमी के बारे में बात कर रहा है। वह कहता है कि वे एक-दूसरे की बातों को समझ नहीं पाते हैं। इससे उनके बीच एक दूरी पैदा हो गई है।बाप अपने बेटे से जुड़ने की कोशिश कर रहा है, लेकिन वह नहीं कर पा रहा है। उनके बीच की दूरी बहुत बड़ी हो गई है।बाप अपने बेटे से नाराज है, लेकिन वह उसे माफ करना चाहता है। वह चाहता है कि उसका बेटा घर लौट आए।बाप अपने बेटे को बहुत प्यार करता है। वह चाहता है कि उसका बेटा उसके साथ रहे।
बेटा आखिरकार अपने पिता से बात करता है और उसे अपनी भावनाओं को बताता है। वह अपने पिता से अलगाव से दुखी है और वह गुस्से में है। वह अपने पिता को माफ करना चाहता है, लेकिन वह नहीं जानता कि कैसे। बेटा और पिता एक-दूसरे को एक खाली हाथ देते हैं, लेकिन कोई भी इसे नहीं पकड़ता। वे एक-दूसरे को माफ करना चाहते हैं, लेकिन वे ऐसा नहीं कर सकते क्योंकि वे अभी भी एक-दूसरे को समझ नहीं पा रहे हैं।
बेटा कहता है, “मैं नहीं जानता कि मैं कौन हूं। मैं एक ऐसे व्यक्ति में बदल रहा हूं जिसे मैं पहचान नहीं पाता। मैं आपसे अलग हो रहा हूं और मैं इसके लिए दुखी हूं।” वह अपने पिता से कहता है कि वह गुस्सा है। वह गुस्सा है कि उसके पिता ने उसे समझने की कोशिश नहीं की है। वह गुस्सा है कि उसके पिता ने उसे अकेला छोड़ दिया है। बेटा और पिता एक-दूसरे को माफ करना चाहते हैं, लेकिन वे ऐसा नहीं कर सकते क्योंकि वे अभी भी एक-दूसरे को समझ नहीं पा रहे हैं। वे एक-दूसरे के सामने अपने डर और कमजोरियों को स्वीकार करने से डरते हैं।
Father to Son Text of Poem
I do not understand this child
Though we have lived together now
In the same house for years. I know
Nothing of him, so try to build
Up a relationship from how
He was when small. Yet have I killed
The seed I spent or sown it where
The land is his and none of mine?
We speak like strangers, there’s no sign
Of understanding in the air.
This child is built to my design
Yet what he loves I cannot share.
Silence surrounds us. I would have
Him prodigal, returning to
His father’s house, the home he knew,
Rather than see him make and move
His world. I would forgive him too,
Shaping from sorrow a new love.
Father and son, we both must live
On the same globe and the same land,
He speaks: I cannot understand
Myself, why anger grows from grief.
We each put out an empty hand,
Longing for something to forgive
Father to Son Poem and Explanation
I do not understand this child
Though we have lived together now
In the same house for years. I know
Nothing of him, so try to build
Up a relationship from how
He was when small. Yet have I killed
Explanation – In this stanza, the poet talks about how he feels about his son. Even though they lived in the same house for a long time, the poet says he doesn’t really get his son. He doesn’t know what his son likes or dislikes. The poet tried to connect with him when he was a little kid, but it didn’t work. Now that his son has grown up, things have changed between them.
The seed I spent or sown it where
The land is his and none of mine?
We speak like strangers, there’s no sign
Of understanding in the air.
This child is built to my design
Yet what he loves I cannot share.
Explanation -The dad starts by saying ‘I’ in the first line, admitting that he played a part in the problem of not talking well. He explains that no matter how hard he tried, his son was in a different emotional place that he couldn’t reach. They talked like they didn’t know each other, and there was no understanding. Even though his child looked like him, the dad didn’t know what his son really liked.
Silence surrounds us. I would have
Him prodigal, returning to
His father’s house, the home he knew,
Rather than see him make and move
His world. I would forgive him too,
Shaping from sorrow a new love.
Explanation – They are not talking to each other. When he was a kid, he acted a bit recklessly, like a prodigal son. Now, his dad wishes he would come back home to the familiar place. The dad doesn’t want his son to keep wandering and creating his own world. The dad is willing to forgive and forget the sadness caused by the distance between them. He just wants to love his son again.
Father and son, we both must live
On the same globe and the same land,
He speaks: I cannot understand
Myself, why anger grows from grief.
We each put out an empty hand,
Longing for something to forgive
Explanation – Now, the son talks for the first time and tells how he feels. He’s sad about the space between them. He says he’s at a place where he doesn’t get himself. His anger comes from feeling so sad. It’s clear that both of them are frustrated about the gap in their relationship. They both want to forgive each other, but they can’t figure out how to fix things. They reach out to each other, but their hands stay empty, and it doesn’t work.
Father to Son Poetic Devices –
imile – a figure of speech that makes comparison and shows similarities between two things
We speak like strangers
Alliteration – The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of closely connected words
The seed I spent or sown it where – ‘s’ sound
Silence surrounds us
Metaphor – an indirect comparsion between a quality shared by two persons or things
The seed I spent or sown it where
The land is his and none of mine?
Father to Son Questions Answers –
Question 1- Does the poem talk of an exclusively personal experience or is it fairly universal?
Ans -The poem seems to delve into a fairly universal theme of the complexities and challenges within parent-child relationships. While it may have been inspired by a personal experience, the emotions, struggles, and desires expressed in the poem are relatable to many individuals who have faced or are facing similar issues in their own familial relationships. The themes of communication gaps, generational differences, and the yearning for understanding are common aspects of human relationships, making the poem resonate with a broader audience.
Question 2- How is the father’s helplessness brought out in the poem?
Ans -The father feels really lost and confused in the poem. He says, “I do not understand this child,” even though they lived in the same house for a long time. The son also admits he doesn’t get himself, and his anger comes from feeling sad. The dad feels left out because he doesn’t know what his son loves, and there’s a big gap between them. He says, “I know nothing of him,” showing how clueless and helpless he feels about understanding his son.
Question 3- Identify the phrases and lines that indicate distance between father and son.
Ans- The poem shows how far apart they are with these lines: “I don’t get this child, even though we’ve lived together for years in the same house.” The son admits, “I don’t understand myself, and I get angry when I’m sad.” There’s a gap because the dad can’t share what the son loves, and he says, “I know nothing of him.” The word “silence” is used to say there’s quietness around them, emphasizing the lack of connection.
Question 4-Does the poem have a consistent rhyme scheme?
Ans –The poem follows a regular rhyme pattern and uses an open verse style. It mixes short sentences with longer ones for a varied rhythm.