Subject: English

Topic: The Ballad of Father Gilligan

Grade: VII

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 Introduction to the Poet
(William Butler Yeats)

• William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

was a great poet of the 20th century.
He was born in Dublin, Ireland.
• At 43, he was the best known poet
and dramatist of Ireland.
• In 1923, he bagged the Nobel Prize
for Literature.
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 Setting
This poem is largely set within a parish on the British
countryside. Father Gilligan is the priest in residence there.
His congregation all live nearby and they have been asking
for his services very often lately. Father Gilligan falls asleep,
and when he wakes up, the setting of the poem changes to
the house of a man who has died while he was sleeping. All
over the parish and his surroundings, a swarm of moths
greets passersby at dusk and at dawn. All in all, the setting
is very quaint.
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 Introduction
'The Ballad of Father Gilligan’ by .W. B. Yeats is a touching narrative that
illustrates God’s everlasting benevolence and how he intervenes in the life
of an earnest priest at the time of immense need. Father Peter Gilligan
was extremely concerned in the redemption of souls of his destitute
parishioners.
The poem is based on the themes that God is merciful, loving and caring.
The poem is an affirmation of a loving, kind God who showers his
benevolence on all his creatures.
The Ballad of Father Gilligan is written in the style of ballad with twelve
stanzas of four lines.
Ballad is a simple narrative poem written in a simple language.

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 Summary

The poem begins with the introduction of Peter

Gilligan, an old priest. He helps his people, who are
in his church. Half of his people are on the death bed
or buried under the ground due to sickness. He
treats the sick people and conducts funeral for the
dead. He treats them day and night and thus
becomes very tired.

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 Summary

One day, due to his tiredness he is about to sleep on his chair. At

that time, someone calls for the priest’s help. The priest feels
upset about being called. His continuous help to the needy
people and his tiredness makes him upset. Because of his
tiredness, he says that he cannot rest nor have happiness or
peace as people under his parish die continuously.
Immediately, he feels sorry for saying such words. He begs
God to forgive him because those words were spoken by his
body and not by him.

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1st stanza: In this stanza, the poet says that an old priest named Peter Gilligan was
feeling tired with the passing of every day and night because most of his congregation
were either sick or were already dead and buried.
2nd stanza: In this stanza, the poet describes one evening when the swarm of moths
had come at the same time they usually do and Father Gilligan was about to fall asleep in
his chair. Just at that time, he was called for, and he became greatly distressed.
3rd stanza: In this stanza, the poet describes Father Gilligan saying that since people
keep dying and since he is expected to be with them in their last hours, he is not getting
any rest, he has no reason to feel happy, and he is never peaceful either. However, in the
next moment, he regretted railing against his vocation and apologized to God saying
that it was his weary body that had spoken, and not he himself.
4th stanza: In this stanza, to atone for his unpleasant words, Father Gilligan knelt on the
ground putting his folded hands on the chair before him. While praying in that position,
he suddenly fell asleep. The evening went by, and a few stars appeared in the sky at
nightfall.
5th stanza: In this stanza, the poet describes that the whole sky was filled with stars and
how the wind shook the leaves on the trees. It seemed as if God had decided to envelop
the entire world in darkness and that He was whispering words to mankind in the form
of the rustling of the leaves.
6th stanza: In this stanza, the poet describes what happened early the next morning.
Sparrows had begun to chirp, and the swarm of moths had come back once again.
Suddenly Father Gilligan woke up and stood bolt upright.

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 What is a Ballad?

• A ballad is a narrative poem consisting of simple

stanzas and usually having a refrain. Ballads have
their origin in the folk tradition and are meant to
be sung.
• A refrain is a technique where lines are repeated.

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 Features of a Ballad

The prominent features of a ballad are :

• narrative (tells a story)

• folksy (simple and pertaining to the oral  folk

tradition)
• musical
• dramatic (full of dialogues and actions)
• usually has a sudden and unexpected beginning

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 Glossary
1. priest : an ordained minister of the Church,
authorised to perform certain rites and
administer certain sacraments

2. weary : feeling or showing extreme tiredness,

especially as a result of excessive exertion

3. lay : put (something) down gently or carefully

4. nodded : let one's head fall forward when drowsy or

asleep
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 Glossary

5. grieve : feel intense sorrow

6. spoke : past of speak

7. knelt : past participle of kneel (position in which the

body is supported on knees)

8. leaning : be in or move into a sloping position

9. peep : look quickly and secretly at something,

especially through a narrow opening

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7th stanza: In this stanza, the poet says that Father Gilligan was shocked at the
realization that the man who had called him the previous night must have died while
Father Gilligan was sleeping. He then woke his horse up and started riding recklessly.
8th stanza: In this stanza, the poet describes how Father Gilligan rode as fast as he could
through narrow roads and marshy lands. When he finally reached the sick man’s house,
his wife opened the door and was surprised to see Father Gilligan, wondering aloud why
he had come again.
9th stanza: In this stanza, the poet describes Father Gilligan asking the sick man’s wife
whether her husband had passed away and the wife answering that he had, in fact, died
just an hour ago. Father Gilligan was so distressed to hear this that he could not stand
steady and began to sway.
10th stanza: In this stanza, the poet says that the sick man’s wife told Father Gilligan
that after he had left, her husband died a happy death. Hearing this, Father Gilligan knelt
on the ground.
11th stanza: In this stanza, we hear Father Gilligan speaking. He says that God had
created the starry sky to comfort the souls of the sick and the dying, and that same God
must have sent one of His to take Father Gilligan’s place at the bedside of the dying
man.
12th stanza: In this stanza, Father Gilligan continues to speak. He says that God is a king
in purple robes and all the planets are in his dominion. However, He is so merciful that
he even had pity on such a meager creature as Father Gilligan while he was asleep upon
his chair.

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 How does Yeats describe the character of Father Gilligan?
Fill appropriate words to fill the character diagram.

Father
Gilligan

Humble, god-fearing, obedient, earnest, duty conscious, responsible, hard

working, religious

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 Glossary

10. whispered : speak very softly using one's breath rather

than one's throat, especially for the sake
of secrecy

11. upright : sitting or standing with the back straight

12. roused : cause to stop sleeping

13. rode : past of ride

14. lane : a narrow road, especially in a rural area

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 Glossary
15. swayed : move or cause to move slowly or
rhythmically backwards and forwards or
from side to side
16. to and fro : move constantly backwards and forwards

17. merry : cheerful and lively

18. hath : third person singular present tense of

have
19. robes : long, loose outer garments reaching to
the ankles

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 Answer the following questions
•Why was Father Gilligan tired and weary?
Father Gilligan was performing his priestly obligations day and night. He had
to conduct funeral services to people who were dying because of the
pandemic.
•Why were his flock either in bed or lying under the green sod?
Father Gilligan’s flock were dying because of the fatal epidemic. They were
either affected from it or were dying because of the deadly disease.
•Why did another man send for Father Gilligan? Why is the man referred to as
‘poor’?
The man was sick and was expecting death any time. He had sent for the
priest so that he could receive the last communion before he passes away. It
was imperative for a Catholic to receive the rites of extreme unction meaning
in the Catholic tradition that the man died in a state of grace so that his soul
is salvaged and therefore, he can go to heaven. The man was said to be ‘poor’
because of his poverty and also because he deserved sympathy as he was
about to die.

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 Answer the following questions
•Why did Father Gilligan seek forgiveness from God? What justification
does he give to God for his errant words?
It was Father Gilligan’s duty to look after the parishioners. So his desperate
outburst was sinful and a challenge to God. Father Gilligan endeavours to
rationalise his errant words by saying that it was his exhausted body, not
his spirit that complained of the state of his life..
•What time of the day was it? Why the time is called moth-hour?
It was the time of twilight when the sun was setting and the evening
appears and there was silence all around. It is called the moth-hour when
the moths come out of their hiding places and appear in the sky.
•What does the line ‘And rode with the little care’ indicate?
The priest was very sad for neglecting his religious duty to offer the last
communication to the sick man. He also feared that one of his parishioners
will be damned because of the priest’s shrinking of his appointed tasks. So
he was anxious and concerned and rides recklessly to the sick man’s house
without caring for his own safety.

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 Answer the following questions
•Why was the sick man’s wife surprised to see Father
Gilligan?
The sick man’s wife was surprised to see Father Gilligan as
her husband had received the last sacrament from the priest
and he had passed away peacefully. But the priest had come
again.
•Why was the priest overcome with grief at the words of the
widow?
The priest was heartbroken for failing in his religious
responsibility to provide the last communion to the sick man.
•What do you understand about Father Gilligan’s character?
Father Gilligan was a god-fearing man who had deep
religious beliefs and endearing humility.

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