Poem: River
Clear and cool, clear
and cool,
By laughing shallow, and
dreaming pool;
Cool and clear, cool and
clear,
By shining shingle
(stones, pebble), and foaming weir (waterfall);
Under the crag (rock)
where the ouzel (bird) sings,
And the ivied (covered
with ivy plants) wall where the church-bell rings,
Undefiled (pure), for
the undefiled;
Play by me; bathe in me, mother and child.
Dank (Wet, Damp) and
foul (unclean) dank and foul,
By the smoky town in its
murky (dark, gloomy) cowl;
Foul and dank, foul and
dank,
By wharf (dock) and
sewer (drain) and slimy bank;
Darker and darker the
farther I go,
Baser (lower) and baser
the richer I grow;
Who dare sport with the
sin-defiled (ruined)?
Shrink from me, turn from me, mother and child.
Strong and free, strong
and free,
The floodgates are open,
away to the sea.
Free and strong, free
and strong,
Cleansing my streams as
I hurry along
To the golden sands, and
the leaping bar,
And the taintless tide
that awaits me afar,
As I lose myself in the infinite
main,
Like a soul that has
sinned and is pardoned again.
Undefiled, for the
undefiled;
Play by me; bathe in me,
mother and child.
Summary
The poem “River” is a
short poem, just three stanzas long. It is written by “Charles Kingsley”. The
poet says that a river can be a place for playing, laughing, dreaming, and
bathing: a pure place where a mother and child can belong. It can reflect the
cleanest, most admirable aspects of the human spirit.
At the same time, a river
can be dark, dank, foul, and slimy: a place where a mother and child should
naturally feel repulsed. These portions of the river reflect the sinful,
unclean aspects of humanity. The point is that the river is defiled in some
places and undefiled in others. It's complex and changing. The same is true of
humanity. We're debauched at times, pure at other times. The author seems to
hint that sin and filth are related to greed and the accumulation of money.
"Baser and baser the richer I grow," the river says, meaning that it
gets more disgusting and unclean as it gets "richer."
However, the poem seems to have a hopeful message overall: the first and last stanzas are about the purity of the river, while the second stanza is about its filth. This structure allows the poem to end on a pure note. Toward the end of the final stanza, the river cries out this description of itself: "Like a soul that has sinned and is pardoned again."
THEME RIVERS (POEM)
The theme of the poem is that our soul is both pure and sinful at the same time.
CENTRAL IDEA
Its central idea is that a river can be
symbolic of both cleanliness and filth, and both sin and purity of the soul.
Metaphor: A Figure of speech comparing two things
without “like” or “as”.
1. The river’s a winder
2. The river’s a hoarder
3. The river’s a singer
4. The river’s a monster
ONOMATOPOEIA: is a sound that things
make
1. Hums
2. Gurgles
3. Sucking
4. Gobbled
5. Swallow
Personification: A figure of speech
gives human qualities to things
He doesn’t
choose
He twists
and he turns
He just
cannot be still
And he
buries down deep
He gurgles
and Hums
Sucking his
thumbs
As he dances
along
He’s gobbled
up trees
SIMILE: A figure of speech comparing
two things using “like “or “as”.
And sounds
like he’s happily sucking his thumbs
Paraphrasing
Stanza
1: In this stanza the poet
says that the river water is clear and cool. It flows by the shining stones
makes foaming waterfall. Near it the ouzel bird sings under a rock. The wall of
Church near it is covered with ivy plants. The church bell rings there. It is a
pure place for pure people. It can be a place for playing, laughing, dreaming,
and bathing: (a pure place) where a mother and child can belong.
Stanza
2: In this stanza the poet
says that the river water passes by the dark, swampy and polluted places. That
dark and gloomy town is full of pollution. The sewer is passing by the dock and
making the bank slimy and stinky. As it goes farther and lowers, it gets more
and more polluted. The poet questions “who will dare to play with a sinful and
ruined (person)?” Now the river is polluted and it is no more favorable for the
mother and child to play with.
Stanza
3: In this stanza the poet
says that the river water has become strong and free near the sea. The
floodgates are open and it enters the sea. It cleans all its filth and then it
touches the golden sand with its pure tides. It joins the grand sea and become
pure like a soul who is forgiven. Now the river is pure for the pure souls. Mother
and child can play by it bath in it is it is pure again.