No Men Are Foreign

 

Introduction:

It is clear from the title of the poem, ‘No men are Foreign’ that the poet wants to promote universal brotherhood. The title means that no men belong to another country. That implies that all men are the same, and all men are equal.  All the people, irrespective of where they live eat, live, die the same way. The gifts of nature like, sunshine, air, and harvests are the same. This poem is written by James Kirkup, an American poet.

Meanings:

Beneath: under

Strange: unknown

starve: to be without food

betray: expose, victimize, reveal information about

condemn: criticize

dispossess: dislodge; deprive

outrage: to make extremely angry

Rhyme Scheme: There is no rhyme scheme in the poem. The poem is written in free verse.

Literary Devices:

Alliteration: The repetition of a consonant sound in two or more closely placed words is called alliteration. The instances of alliteration in the poem are….

Stanza 1 - Body, breathes ‘b’ sound is repeated

Stanza 2 – war’s, winter ‘w’ sound is repeated

Metaphor:

Stanza 1 - Uniform refers to the military of different countries

Stanza 2 – wars time is compared to the winter season

Repetition: It is used throughout the poem.

‘Remember’ word is repeated 5 times in this poem.

‘Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign’ is repeated in stanza 1 and stanza 5

Enjambment: Enjambment is running lines of poetry from one line to the next without using any kind of punctuation to indicate a stop. Instances of enjambment in the poem are as follows …..

Stanza 1 – line 2, 3 and 4

Stanza 2 – line 3 and 3

Stanza 3 – line 1, 2, and 3

Stanza 4 – line 1 and 2

Stanza 5 – Line 2 and 3

Summary:

It is interesting to note that the poem ‘No Men Are Foreign’ begins and ends with the same line, ‘Remember no men are strange, no countries foreign’. The poet wants to emphasize on the fact that all the people living on this Earth are the same. We have created distinctions by erecting borders and fences.

While we are alive, we walk on the same Earth and upon our death, we will lie in our graves in the same earth. The poet tells us about some more similarities.  We enjoy good food during peace and starve during the war and in wintertime. We have the same kind of hands and we use them to do hard work. All of us have eyes that are open when we are awake and close when we sleep.

The poet asks us to remember that we hear somebody saying that we are different. We are told to hate, disown, victimize, attack, and criticize others who are foreign. If we do like that, we will be cheating and hating ourselves. We will be taking weapons against ourselves.

We are segregating ourselves. We are polluting our innocence and goodness with hatred and intolerance.  We are making the earth impure with our narrow mindedness. We have to remember that no men are foreign.

Questions and Answers

1. (i) “Beneath all uniforms. ..” What uniforms do you think the poet is speaking about?

(ii) How does the poet suggest that all people on earth are the same?

A. (i) The uniforms refer to those worn by soldiers belonging to different countries who take part in wars and fights.

(ii) The poet says that all the people are the same in the following ways: we belong to one human race, we walk on the same Earth, upon death, we will lie in our graves in the same Earth, during peace we all enjoy the bounties of nature, during the war and in the winter season, we all starve due to the shortage of food, we all do hard work with our hands, and we have eyes which function in the same way.

2. In stanza 1, find five ways in which we all are alike. Pick out the words.

A. The five words which indicate that we are all alike are: We walk, we breathe, we have eyes, we work with our hands, and we enjoy the gifts of nature.

3. How many common features can you find in stanza 2? Pick out the words.

A. There are three common features in stanza two. They are: 1. We enjoy the gifts of nature and eat good food during peace. 2. We starve during the war and in the winter season. 3. We have similar hands which we use for doing work.

4. “...whenever we are told to hate our brothers ...” When do you think this happens? Why? Who ‘tells’ us? Should we do as we are told at such times? What does the poet say?

A. The leaders of any country tell the masses to hate the people of another country. They say so for their own benefit. The poet says that we should not follow them because when we hate our brothers, we hate and belittle ourselves. When we indulge in wars, we pollute Earth with our hatred and intolerance.