ABOU BEN ADHEM -SUMMARY,
FOUNDATION GRID-FIGURES OF SPEECH- Leigh Hunt
Abou Ben Adhem( May his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:-
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the presence in the room he said,
“what writest thou?’ – the vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, ‘the names of those who love the Lord,’
‘and is mine one?’ said Abou, ‘Nay, not so,’
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerily still: and said, ‘I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men.’
The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blest,
And lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest!
SUMMARY
This inspirational fable Abou Ben Adhem is written by Leigh
Hunt. In this poem the poet tell story of a Sufi saint, Abou Bin Adhem. He
explains that serving men is in fact serving God. If we value others, no doubt,
God would claim us as His close friend. The poem is giving a message to be kind
to others. We should help others to seek Allah’s will and closeness. Our good
deeds of offering prayers and keeping fast will not be helpful if we don’t help
our fellow men. Service to humanity is service to god in real.
FOUNDATION GRID/POETIC DEVICES
Theme:
Service to humanity is service to God. Faith, Love &
Humanity is a theme of Abou Ben Adhem
Central Idea:
In this poem “Abou Bin Adhem” the poet has given the message
to serve humanity. Allah loves those who show compassion, love, affection and
empathy to their fellow men.
Tone/style:
Simple, Spiritual,
Moralistic, Fable, and inspirational
Setting:
Abou Ben Adhem’s room
Imagery: ( This figure of speech mean is
name given to the elements in a poem that spark off the senses of hearing,
sight, touch, taste etc.)
Moonlight, A pious person lily, Angel, book of gold
Simile: (It is a figure of speech relating the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind to enhance the description)
“Like a lily in bloom”
Rhyming Scheme: (It is the pattern of sounds
that repeats at the end of a line or stanza. Here are 18 lines so write 9 pairs
of sounds)
aa, bb, cc, dd, ee, ff,
gg, hh, ii
Alliteration: (It is technique when two or more words are linked that share the same first consonant sound, such as "deep dream".)
"Deep dream of peace"
Here 'd' sound is used to convey sound and peaceful sleep.
Assonance: (It is the repetition of “vowel sounds” in the same line.)
The sound of “O” in “Abou spoke more low.”
“I” in “Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom”
Rhyming words
Room bloom
Bold gold
Said head
Night light
Blest rest
Then men
Accord lord
So low
OLD ENGLISH VS NEW
Thou you
Thee you
Nay no
Writest writing
Blest blessed
Lo look
PARAPHRASING
VERSE # 7
But cheerily still he said to pray thee. Write me as one that
loves His Fellow men.
VERSE# 8
The angel wrote and vanished. The next night it came with
great wakening light.
VERSE # 9
And the angel showed the names whom love of God had blest and
Lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all he rest.
.
About the poet
James Henry Leigh Hunt was British critic, essay writer and poet. He was born on 19 October 1784 and died on 28 August 1859. He also worked at many newspapers. Leigh Hunt was lucky to have company of renowned writers & poets Shelley and Keats. He had 10 children with his wife Kent. A few of
Lei
Hunt's famous poetry work is:
- Abou Ben Adhem
- Juvenilia
- Story of Rimini
- The descent of liberty
ABOUT THE POET
Ibrahim Bin Adham OR Abou Ben Adhem was a King of Balkh who
turned to Sufism. He’s more known as a Sufi saint from Syria. He abandoned the
throne of Balkh to become a Sufi saint. Many Arabic and Persian sources tell
that, Ibrahim Bin Adham received an admonition from God to do well. He gave up his status as a king to take up
the ascetic life in Syria.
NOTES OF POEM ABOU BEN
ADHEM
Q. What is meaning "may this tribe increase?
A. The poet says may
his tribe increase which means he wishes that may there be many more like him.
Q. What is mean of “lily in full bloom”.
A. It means the room was very bright.
Q. Why Abou Ben Adhem is Fable?
A. Any short story that has animal or any mythical characters
as a part to convey moral is called fable. Here the appearance of an angel
makes the poem a fable like work.
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