WELCOME

SONG OF THE FLOWER

-Khalil Gibran
 Khalil Gibran
• January 6,1893 – Apr 10, 1931
• Lebanese – American artist, poet & Writer
• The third best selling poet of all time, behind shakespere and Laozi
• Mainly dealt with the themes such as love, beauty, happiness, alignation & lost rural
beauty etc.
• Major works – Prophet(1923), God, Children, Dead are my people etc.
 THEME OF THE POEM

‘ Song of the flower’ by Khalil Gibran can be said as an autobiography of a

flower.

 The flower speaks about its importance in nature and how it can become the
part of nature.
 The flower relates its life to the seasons.
 Stanza - 1

I am a kind word uttered and repeated

By the voice of Nature;
I am a star fallen from the
Blue tent upon the green carpet.
I am the daughter of the elements
With whom Winter conceived;
To whom Spring gave birth; I was
Reared in the lap of Summer and I
Slept in the bed of Autumn.
 Uttered – Spoken
 Blue tent – Sky (here refers)
 Green carpet – Grass
 Reared – Bring up and care for until they are fully grown
 The first stanzas describe when it is flowers are most active and beneficial to
the world. They spreads their fragrances through the air and help to
announce the sunrise alongside the birds.
 The life of the flower is related to the season.
 Winter conceived it, spring gave birth to it, summer reared it and in autumn
it passes away.
 Stanza - 2

At dawn I unite with the breeze

To announce the coming of light;
At eventide I join the birds
In bidding the light farewell.
 Dawn – the first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise.
 Eventide – the end of the day; evening
 At the beginning (dawn) it unites with the breeze to announce the arrival of
light.
 In the evening it join the birds to issue a command at the party of light
 Stanza - 3

The plains are decorated with

My beautiful colors, and the air
Is scented with my fragrance.
 Plains – a large area of flat land with few trees.
 Decorate – make (something) look more attractive.
 Stanza - 4

As I embrace slumber the eyes of

Night watch over me, and as I
Awaken I stare at the sun, which is
The only eye of the day.
 Slumber – sleep
 Stare – look fixedly or vacantly at someone or something with one’s eyes wide
open.
 This essence of the flower is watched over by night while it sleeps
 When day comes it became active and stares at the sun.
 Stanza - 5

I drink dew for wine, and hearken to

The voices of the birds, and dance
To the rhythmic swaying of the grass.
 Dew – tiny drops of water that form on cool surfaces at night, when
atmospheric vapour condenses.
 Hearken – listen
 Swaying - move or cause to move slowly or rhythmically backwards and
forwards of from side to side.
 It drink the morning dew along with it sways left to right with the grass by
hearing the chirping of the birds.
 Stanza - 6

I am the lover’s gift; I am the wedding wreath;

I am the memory of a moment of happiness;
I am the last gift of the living to the dead;
I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.
 Wedding wreath – an arrangement of flowers, leaves, or stems fastened in a
ring and used for decoration
 The flowers are used to given to their loved ones, they are used in wedding
and also used to give the dead peoples representing memories.
 They are used both in happy times and sad times, symbolizes a wide range of
emotionns
 Stanza - 7

But I look up high to see only the light,

And never look down to see my shadow.
This is wisdom which man must learn.
 Shadow - a dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of
light and a surface.
 Wisdom – the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement;
the quality of being wise.
 The flowers always stood up, never looks down, it remain perpetually
optimistic until it dies.
 Poetic elements

Metaphor;

Metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or

phrase is applied to an object or action to which it
does not apply literally. It helps to make a
comparison or explain an idea.
 Metaphors used in this poem

 I am a kind word uttered and repeated by the voice of nature.

 I am a star fallen from the Blue tent upon the green carpet.
 As I embrace the slumber the eyes of Night watch over me
 I stare at the sun which is, The only eye of the day.
 I drink dew for wine.
“ Be like the flowers, turn your faces to sun”
- Khalil Gibran
 THANK YOU

 Seena Krishna. V
 B.Ed English. B