Fire-Hymn: Summary
‘Fire-Hymn‘ is a heart-touching poem written by ‘Keki N. Daruwala‘. In this poem, the poet describes the scene of a burning ghat, where the dead body of a man is consigned to the flame of fire.
The poet says that when he was a child, he and his father used to visit the burning ghat of the Hindus. He says that the sight of the burning dead body becomes shocking and dreadful at night. It frightens passers-by.
Some times the limbs of a dead body are left half-burnt. And the redness of fire appears very cruel. The poet is a Parsi, who worships fire as a God. But he had to consign his newborn into the fire. Because there was no Tower of Silence there.
This made him a sinner. He feels guilty for violating the Parsi Code. He regrets that he could not save the fire from committing sin. So, he vows to free the fire from the sin of forgetting.
Thus, this poem is a song in praise of fire. Here, the poet shows the importance of fire for the Hindus after their death.
Objectives
1. ‘The burning ghat-erupted phosphorescence; is taken from …………..
- Song of Myself
- Macavity
- Fire-Hymn
- None of these
Answer:- Fire-Hymn
2. Keki N Daruwala was a …………… by religion.
- Hindu
- Parsi
- Christian
- Muslim
Answer:- Parsi
3. Fire-Hymn is written by ……………
- Keki N Daruwala
- T.S. Eliot
- Kamala Das
- Rupert Brooke
Answer:- Keki N Daruwala
4. Keki N Daruwala is an …………… poet.
- Indo-Anglian
- British
- American
- African
Answer:- Indo-Anglian
5. It was the …………….. of the poet along with him, passing by the cremation ghat.
- brother
- sister
- father
- son
Answer:- father
6. Consigning his newborn son to flames took place …………… years ago.
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
Answer:- 20
7. The cremation of dead bodies in ……………. is somewhat different.
- Hindu
- Muslim
- Parsi
- Christian
Answer:- Parsi
8. The speaker in ‘Fire-Hymn’ belongs to …………. religion.[2018]
- Indian
- African
- Nigerian
- Zoroastrian
Answer:- Zoroastrian
9. Keki N. Daruwala consigned his firstborn child to the flames for cremation because the nearest tower of silence was …………. miles away.
- one hundred
- one thousand
- one lakh
- None of these
Answer:- one thousand
10. Who has violated the tradition of his religion by cremating?
- Keki N. Daruwala
- T.S. Eliot
- D.H. Lawrence
- None of these
Answer:- Keki N. Daruwala
Macavity: The Mystery Cat – T.S. Eliot
11. Tower of Silence is related to ……………
- Hindus
- Parsis
- Sikhs
- None of these
Answer:- Parsis
12. Keki N. Daruwala was born in ………….
- 1927
- 1935
- 1937
- 1965
Answer:- 1937
13. Sahitya Akademi Award was given to Keki N. Daruwala in ……………
- 1964
- 1974
- 1984
- 1978
Answer:- 1984
14. Keki N. Daruwala is a well-known writer of ……………
- Poetry
- Novel
- Short stories
- Comics
Answer:- Short stories
15. The speaker in the poem, ‘Fire-Hymn’ swears ………….
- once
- twice
- thrice
- None of these
Answer:- twice
16. The theme of Daruwala’s poetry consists………….
- love, death
- love, death, domination
- love, death, domination, cynicism
- love, death, domination, cynicism, the plight of human society and violence
Answer:- love, death, domination, cynicism, the plight of human society and violence
17. Daruwala’s poetry is ‘a totally ………… recording to subjective responses’.
- impressionistic
- symbolistic
- idealistic
- None of these
Answer:- impressionistic
18. The term ‘debauchery’ in ‘Fire-Hymn’ stands for …………..
- moral behavior
- disgusting behavior
- immoral behavior
- None of these
Answer:- immoral behavior
19. The poet sees the red hot ………..
- Iron
- face
- embers
- None of these
Answer:- embers
20. ‘We saw embers losing their cruel redness is taken from ………..
- Song of Myself
- Fire-Hymn
- The Soldier
- Snake
Answer:- Fire-Hymn
21. ‘As I consigned my first-born to the flames’ is written by …………..
- Kamala Das
- Rupert Brooke
- Keki N. Daruwala
- T.S. Eliot
Answer:- Keki N. Daruwala
Subjective
1. Describe the ‘ghat-scene’ in the poem ‘Fire-Hymn’.
Ans:- The poet, Keki N. Daruwala in the poem ‘Fire-Hymn’ describes a ghat scene. Here, the body is burnt according to the Hindu religion.
Looking around, the poet was in deep pain and turmoil as he could see somebody burnt only half due to a lack of enough wood. The sky was full of smoke and all around the bodies were burning which ultimately turn into ashes.
2. What is the ‘Tower of Silence’?
Ans:- Being a Parsi poet, the poet mentions the Parsi method, cremation. He says that as per the Parsi rituals, the bodies are not burnt but are carried to the ‘Tower of Silence’ to put therein.
So, the ‘Tower of Silence is the place where the Paris cremate the dead bodies.
3. Who wrote the poem ‘Fire-Hymn’?
Ans:- It is Keki N. Daruwala, an Indo-Anglian poet who wrote this poem.
4. Was the poet a Hindu by religion?
Ans:- No, the poet was not Hindu, he was Parsi.
5. What is the meaning of the fire forgetting its dead?
Ans:- It means that sometimes the fire does not turn the whole dead body into ashes. Now and then, it leaves it half-burnt.
6. What does the poet see in the morning at the ghat?
Ans:- Once wandering at down past river bank and ghat. The poet along with his father, sees the red hot embers still glowing many hours after a dead body has been cremated.
7. When does the sight of burning become frightening?
Ans:- The sight of burning becomes frightening at night.
8. What is that pointed by his father to him one day?
Ans:- His father was upset to see half-burnt fingers of a dead body which he shows to his son and tells him how sometimes fire fails to perform its task.
9. Who was passing along with the poet by the cremation ghat?
Ans:- It was the father of the poet along with him, passing by the cremation ghat.
10. In what sense does the fire forget its dead?
Ans:- The fire forgets its dead in the sense that it leaves, sometimes, the dead body half-burnt. It forgets to turn the body into ashes completely.
Explanation
1. The burning ghat erupted phosphorescence
and wandering ghost lights frightened passers-by
as moonlight scuttled among the bones.
>>> These lines have been taken from the poem ‘Fire Hymn‘ which is written by Keki N. Daruwala. The poet here describes the scene of a burning ghat which is very fearful.
Flames are raising there. The wandering ghost lights frightened passers-by creating a dreadful scene. The moonlight runs fast over the bones lying there and it creates fear and terror.
2. “It never forgot, and twenty years since
As I consigned my firstborn to the flames”.
>>> These lines have been taken from the poem ‘Fire Hymn‘, written by Keki N. Daruwala. The poet said that he would never forget that fire.
He further said that he had not witnessed such huge fire for the last twenty years i.e. when he consigned his firstborn child to the flames. He said that he might have committed some mistakes. So, he begged an apology for the same.
3. “Broken, yet rebellious, I swore this time
To save it from the sin of forgiving”.[2018]
>>> The line have been taken from Fire Hymn, written by Keki N. Daruwala. He is disturbed to see the half-burnt bodies at the ghat and is filled with remorse and guilt of having burnt the body of his firstborn some years ago.
So, he asks for forgiveness and swears never to repeat it.
4. The fire at times forgets its dead ………….. from the sign of forgetfulness”.
>>>These are the concluding lines from the poem Fire Hymn by Keki N. Daruwala. He is a Parsi by religion. He says that fire sometimes forgets to perform its duty fully.
And many of the limbs of the dead are left unburnt. In this way, it commits a grave sin. The poet has come there to get his dead son cremated. So, he tells the fire not to forget his duty.