Exile-Alan Duff Central Idea and Summary

Exile 

- Alan Duff  

About Poet:
Alan Duff  (born 26 October 1950, Rotorua, New Zealand) is a novelist and newspaper columnist,
most well known as the author of “Once Were Warriors”

About Poem:
The title of the poem suggests the speaker is away from his home and, although comfortable there, he does feel the need to go back to his home.
The speaker in the poem is a tiger kept in captivity in the zoo. He states how it is like to be in a cage. He smells different animals around. He has no appetite as he is provided with easy meat. Since he is in the cage, he is mocked by other animals. It is not easy for him to break free from the cage. Therefore, he plans to return to his own home, the jungle, at dusk.  
The poem might be trying to tell us that a man in bondage always plans to free himself despite the comfort he is given there.

Words:
striped: adj=  marked with patterns
barred: adj = prevented or blocked
gazelle: n. = small antelope
mock: v. = imitate with contempt
sniffing: v. = inhale through nose
plotting: v. = making a secret plan

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Where the Rainbow Ends-Richard Rive Central Idea and Summary

Where the Rainbow Ends!   

- Richard Rive  

About Poet:
 Richard Rive was born on 1 March 1931 in Caledon Street in Cape Town, South Africa. His father was an African. Rive went to St Mark's Primary School and Trafalgar High School. Later he  obtained a BA degree from the University of Cape Town, followed by an MA degree from Columbia University in the United States, and a Doctorate from Oxford University. He was the Head of the English Department at Hewat College for years. In 1965, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship. Rive was a firm believer in anti-racism and decided to stay in his country in order that he could influence its development there. Rive was shot to death at his home in Cape Town in 1989.

About Poet:
This is a beautiful poem about friendship and racial harmony. The poet makes the point that no matter how different people are it is possible to be friends. He does not say that this will be an easy process as people are different. He says it is possible to have harmony if people try hard. Also, the title of the poem is significant as folklore has it that there is a pot of gold to be found where the rainbow ends. Rainbow signifies different colours in a band and the poet is trying to say that different coloured people can find happiness together.
This poem is all about importance of equality and brotherhood. Since, the time has passed we can see the world has made a huge differences on the basis of caste, creed, colour, etc. The poet wants to search a place where such differentiation is not made. It encourages all the mankind not to be racist and abet people to be non-racist abandoning the racism from the whole world!

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Patriotism-Sir Walter Scott Central Idea and Summary

Patriotism 

- Sir Walter Scott   

About Poet:
Sir Walter Scott (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832) was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time. He was the first English-language author to have a truly international career in his lifetime His novels and poetry are still read, and many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature.  



About Poem:
In the poem patriotism, the poet says somewhere in the country lives a man with his soul and conscience so dead, who has never in his life, not even once said to his own country that this is his own native land. If we come across such a person, we should mark him well.
An unpatriotic person is not liked by anyone. He is a wretch and miserable person. No matter how rich or powerful he is, he is concentrated all in self. He never becomes the subject of minstrel songs. Though he may be proud of his name and earn high titles of fame and position, his wealth is boundless as anyone may wish to claim, yet in spite of those high titles, unlimited power and pelf ; money wealth often implying ill-gotten gains-affluence, fortune, funds, riches; this wretched soul concentrated all in himself. Ultimately, he shall forfeit (deprived of) his fair renown living, and die twice; body and soul; before he goes down to the vile dust from where he originally sprung up, with no tears to weep for him, no one to honour him and no one to sing praises of him.  
 
Words: 
breathes: v. = survives/ taking in air
heart.... burn'd: ph. = worried
wandering: v. walking slowly
foreign strand: np=alien land
Minstrel: n. = singer or musician in the Middle Ages
rapture: n. = extreme happiness
swell: v. = fill with pride
pelf: n. = wealth
wretch: adj. = a person who does bad deed
forfeit: v. = give up or lose
renown: n. = state of being well-known

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