Night of the Scorpion - Nissim Ezekiel

Summary

Stanza 1

In stanza 1, the poet says that he remembers well that night when her mother was stung by a scorpion. The poet is of the opinion that the heavy rain which lasted for 10 hours made the scorpion crawl beneath a sack of rice.

Stanza 2

In stanza 2, the poet says that after biting his mother with its diabolic tail, the scorpion went back to rain outside again. The poet here shows sympathy as well as anger towards the scorpion. He is angry when he talks about its biting and sympathetic when he talks about its going to rain again.

Stanza 3

Hearing about the incident, the villagers rush to the poet’s home. He compares them with swarms of flies buzzing the name of God a hundred times to paralyze the Evil One, the scorpion.

Stanza 4

The poet then explains how the villagers searched for the scorpion. The villagers began searching for the scorpion and their shadows themselves seemed to be like a giant scorpion on the mud-baked walls.

The villagers begin searching for the scorpion because they believe that the poison spreads across the body with the movement of scorpion so if the scorpion is stopped and paralyzed, the poison effect can also be controlled.

Stanza 5

Having failed in finding the scorpion, they begin giving their own opinions about the biting of the scorpion. Some of them said that his mother’s sins which she committed in her previous birth have been forgiven.

Some others said that the pain that she is suffering from will decrease the troubles in her next birth. Some others put forward that her good deeds will be balanced against her bad deeds because of the suffering.

Stanza 6

Some others said that the poison will purify and refresh her flesh of desire and her spirit of ambition. All of them seemed to be in peace as they understood the pain and suffering of the poet’s mother

Stanza 7

More and more people come with candles and lanterns. His mother is however crying and rolling on the mat with severe pain. His father who is a sceptic, rationalist. He tries every possible cure for her pain.

His father uses powder, mixture, herb, and hybrid to help her recover from the pain. He even poured a little paraffin upon the bitten toe and then fires it up. The poet watches the flames of fire burning on the skin of his mother.

He also watches the holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation. His mother ultimately recovers from the poison after 20 hours.

Stanza 8

The last line is quite emotional and heart touching. The poet says that after recovering from the poison, his mother’s words were, ‘Thank God the scorpion picked on me and spared my children’.

Even in such a condition, his mother remains concerned about the safety and health of her children.

Answers to the textual questions:

2. Answer the following questions.

a. What did the villagers do to help the mother?

The villagers uttered prayers for the speaker’s mother. They searched for the scorpion with candles and lanterns. They spoke consoling words. They sat around her and tried to comfort her.

b. What were the steps taken by the father to save the mother? What does the speaker think about it?

The speaker’s father tried every blessing and curse. He used powders, mixtures and herbs. He even poured some paraffin over the wound and fired it. The speaker watched everything in silence. The speaker was not sure that the actions would make the mother comfortable.

c. Do you think it is odd that the speaker in the poem does nothing but stand and watch his/her mother suffer from scorpion sting? Give reasons for your answer.

No. It is no odd. The speaker may be too young at that time to participate in any action. The speaker could only observe the things that happened and hope that the mother would be well soon.

d. What kind of emotions do the last three lines of the poem convey?

The last three lines of the poem are very emotional. Despite all her suffering, the mother thought of her children. She was thankful that the scorpion had spared her children. We are moved by the motherly affection and love.

e. What is the poet trying to communicate to the reader through this poem?

The poet tells us about the innocence, superstitions, and common practices of the society. The poet tells us about how the peasants tried to help the mother. The poet communicated the love and affection of a mother at the end of the poem.