Treasure Trove A Collection of ICSE Poems Workbook Answers Chapter 9 Notes – Abou Ben Adhem – ICSE Class 10, 9 English
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About the poem
Leigh Hunt based the poem, Abou Ben Adhem on a story in a French book, Bibliotheque Orientate, by Barthelemy d’Herbelot de Molainville (1625-1695). As the story goes, Abou Ben Adhem was a Muslim mystic, or Sufi, in Persia who was venerated as a saint after his death (circa AD 777). He is usually referred to in English-language religion and history books as Ibrahim ibn (or bin) Adham. Abou was the king of Balkh but later became sufi saint. Ibrahim ibn Adham gave up a life of luxury in exchange for a simple life devoted to his fellow man and to God. Ibrahim’s description of the moment of his, conversion to a new lifestyle appears in Tabaqat al-Sufiya, a book about Sufism by Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, who died in AD 1021. The poem, Abou Ben Adhem, is written as a religious concept. It consists of 2 stanzas with each having 11 lines. It also contains some archaic terms. The poet uses rhymed couplet to communicate the ideas of love, peace and happiness through the poem.
About the Poet
Leigh Hunt was a central figure of the Romantic movement in England, but he was not, one of its great poets. However, he produced, during the first sixty years of the nineteenth century, a large body of poetry in a variety of forms: narrative poems, satires, poetic dramas, odes, epistles, sonnets, short lyrics, and translations from Greek, Roman, Italian, and French poems. His vivid descriptions and lyrical quality are noteworthy, as is his keen delight in nature, and he is a master of mood and atmosphere. But Hunt is the least philosophical of all the Romantic poets. Rather than having depth and passion, his poetry is imbued with the spirit of cheerfulness, which makes it pleasant but not great. In addition, most of his poems have commonplace themes such as friendship, patriotism, appreciation of nature, and they are usually too uneven and lax for excellence. Hunt was a man of varied talents, however. As a poet, he played a major role in freeing the couplet from the rigidity of neoclassical practice.
Hunt lived mostly in the world of poetry, painting, and music. Though he was shy and home loving, he had a natural gaiety and sprightliness and was a lively conversationalist. James Henry Leigh Hunt was born seventh in a family of eight. His father, Isaac, was a lawyer from Barbados, and his mother, Mary She well Hunt, was the daughter of a wealthy merchant of Philadelphia. After his schooling, Hunt served an apprenticeship as clerk to his barrister brother, Stephen, but disliked the work intensely. In 1805 his brother John started a weekly paper, The News. As drama critic for it, Hunt gained a reputation for being perceptive and impartial at a time when impartiality was rare.
On 3 July 1809, after several years of courtship, Hunt married Marianne Kent, daughter of a court milliner. Marianne was not intellectual, and she seems to have been extravagant, an incompetent mother, and, in later years, an alcoholic who embarrassed Hunt by borrowing money from his friends behind his back. Hunt’s most prolific period of poetical activity occurred in the years 1812 to 1820. After 1816 he had a close association with Keats and Shelley. Not only did the three visit frequently, but in 1817 Hunt and his entire family stayed in Marlowe with Shelley for several months, and in 1820 Keats, mortally ill with tuberculosis, stayed with Hunt for several months in his cottage at Hamp stead Heath.
The 1830s were most difficult for Hunt. His influential days as editor of The Examiner were past as were his heady days with the great Romantic poets, and his reputation was at its lowest ebb. He lived through the decade in poverty and poor health. Because of his straitened circumstances he was forced to move from a small house to a smaller house to a smaller cottage. He borrowed frequently from his friends and was, at least once, sued for not repaying a loan. In the mid 1830s Hunt wrote most of his best remembered lyrics, including “Jenny Kissed Me.” Toward the end of the decade Hunt finally became somewhat more secure financially. In the last decade of his life, Hunt’s literary activities and reputation had changed. He was no longer the vigorous reformer of The Examiner but a gentle essayist, poet, and critic. His reputation in America was at its height, as evidenced by the several editions of his works published there during the 1850s and the visits paid to him by American authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Leigh Hunt was clearly precocious, having published when only seventeen a volume of poems written between the ages of twelve and sixteen. He devoted his entire life to literature, writing several volumes of poetry, many essays, a handful of plays, and a novel, 5 as well as making other literary contributions as a critic, editor, and encourager of younger writers. But whether it was because he did not have the genius, which is likely, or whether in order to provide for a large family, he simply had to write too hastily to write greatly,he never fulfilled his early promise, and, except for a few short lyrics, he seems to be little read today.
Central Idea
Abou bin Adhem, a born prince, was a great saint who gave up a highly comfortable life for the service of mankind and love of God. The central idea of this poem is that God loves those who love their fellow men. Love of fellow men is the best type of worship.Abou Ben Adhem’s name was top of the list of those who loved their fellowmen. The poet through the example of’Abou bin Adhem’ teaches us to love our fellow men if we want to be blessed by God’s love. He, who is patient and thankful, is loving and gentle to God’s creatures, and returns good for evil, and subdues his passions and forgets his own self for others, will receive a great reward – the love of his Lord.
Word Meanings
- Tribe – race, class, here the number of people like Abou.
- Increase – grow.
- Awoke – got up.
- Deep – undisturbed.
- Within – here with the circle of moonlight in Abou’s room.
- Like a lily in bloom – the angel is here compared to a lily in bloom to reveal his freshness and splendour.
- Book of gold – book having golden leaves.
- Exceeding peace – perfect calm and peace within that makes one bold.
- The presence – here the angel in the room.
- What writest thou? – what are you writing?
- The vision – the angel.
- The lord – god.
- Mine – my name.
- ‘Nay, not so’ – No, your name is not among those who love god.
- More low – more humbly.
- Cheerily – cheerfully.
- Pray – request.
- The – you.
- Write me – treat me.
- Vanished – disappeared.
- Wakening light – dazzling light.
- Blest – blessed.
- Lo! – behold.
- Led – headed, at the top.
- Rest – other names.
Summary
Abou Ben Adhem is a poem that portrays the heavenly feelings of a devotee or a strong believer. This poem clearly explains that the poet who addresses himself as Abou Adhem is a strong believer in God. He believed that not only loving God, but also loving people who believed in God is great.
In this poem, Abou sees an angel in his room one night. He does not get frightened or scared, for he had belief in God and believed angels to be messengers of god so he was happy. He just wanted to know what the angel was writing down. When he was informed that the angel was making a list of people who loved God, Adhem inquired whether his name was also included. But when he was informed that his name was not there, he did not feel dejected or sad, he only requested the angel to write his name in the list of people who loved God’s fellowmen.
When Adhem saw the angel the next day also, he enquired the purpose of visit and he was totally surprised and happy to know that his name was in the list of people whom God had blessed.
This poem clearly depicts the belief one has in God. We can love God only if we love our fellowmen, created by God. By loving other people, we could make the world a better place and forget and forgive one another. The poet has tried to convey the message that, we could make the world a better place to live in and how God would love it to be so. All holy books teach us the same theme -“To love one another”.
Hunt has beautifully pictured how each one of us should think and how when we start thinking for others; we are truly blessed by God for our deeds. Loving God is not meant only by saying, but it is our deeds that ultimately God would count, and for every good deed that we do, we are being noted in God’s book and being blessed.
Paraphrase
The poet relates an event in the life of Abou Ben Adhem. Abou was a Pious man. He was the leader of a tribe. He was loving and gentle to his people. He was selfless and did good to everyone.
He had a meeting with an angel who was writing the names of those people who loved God. Abou’s name was not in it.
Abou requested the angel to write his name as one who loved his fellowmen. The angel did so and vanished. The next night the angel came again into his room and showed him the names of those who had been blessed by God’s love. Abou Ben Adhem’s name was at the top of the list.
It means if you want to get God’s love, you should love your fellow beings. Abou was selfless and did good to everyone.
Critical Appreciation
“Abou Ben Adhem” is a poem composed by James Henry Leigh Hunt. The poet was a religious man trained in a Christian hospital. He wrote the poem while still in school. The poem Abou Ben Adhem is written as a religious concept. It consists of 2 stanzas with each having 11 lines. It also contains some archaic terms. The poet used rhymed couplet to communicate the ideas of love, peace and happiness through the poem.
The poem is talking about the religious escapades of a man known as “Adhem”. He sees an angel one night in his room but he remains unruffled. He does not feel scared since he has a firm belief in God. For him, seeing an angel is a happy thing. He is rather interested in knowing what the angel is writing down. The angel informs him that he was drafting a list of people who loved God. Abou wanted to know whether his name was also included. The angel tells him that his name was not on the list. Abou did not feel sad or dejected because of that. He requested the angel to write his name in the list of people who loved God’s creatures i.e his fellowmen. Later on, the angel came back with a list that had Adhem’s name at the very top.
In all, “Abou Ben Adhem” is simply a narrative poem. It tells the story of the man Adhem and his encounter with an angel. The poem sends a message about the power of love, faith and prayer. It shows how some people pray to God. Some pray to love God while others prayer to love their fellow men. In any case, the love of fellow men attracts God’s blessing.
Hunt wrote the poem in rhyming pairs of lines {couplets). In other words, line 1 rhymes with line 2 {increase, peace), line 3 with line 4 {room, bloom), line 5 with line 6 {gold, bold), and so on. All of the end rhymes are masculine rather than feminine. In masculine rhyme, only the final syllable of one line rhymes with the final syllable of another line. In feminine rhyme, the final two syllables of a line rhyme with the final two syllables of another line, as in ringing and singing. The poem also contains internal „ rhyme,” as in lines 1-3.
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, withiin the moonlight in his room
The meter of the poem varies. Most of the lines have ten syllables that frequently consist of five iambs, as in line 3 and 5.
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room, (3)
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:— (5)
In the following lines the poet uses alliteration and assonance in the poem.
Alliteration
Abou Ben (line 1)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace (line 2) like a lily (line 4)
Ben Adhem bold (line 5)
“I pray thee, then (line 14)
Assonance
Ben Adhem (line 1)
deep dream of peace (line 2)
Making it rich (line 4)
And, lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest! (line 20)