The Lay of Last Ministrel

8/1/2019 The Lay of Last Ministrel

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SUMMARY OF THE LAY OF LAST MINISTREL

The given lines are an extract from the poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel written by Sir Walter Scott. The poem deals with the theme of patriotism. In this Poem the poet believes that love and loyalty towards ones motherland is a natural feeling, and anyone devoid of it, is nothing but a symbol of greed and selfishness. In the first place, the poet wishes to know whether there are such people in the world who have no sense of attachment and allegiance towards their nation, and never feel proud and honoured to speak of the homeland, where they are born and brought up. Then the poet suggests that we should be vigilant of such elementsand always keep an eye on them. They are worthless and deserve to be condemned

in spite of all their wealth, high rank and authority. the poet is referring to the fate of such a person who is completely devoid of the spirit of patriotism. People begin recognizing such elements during their lifetime and they begin losing their name and fame. When such unpatriotic people die, it means a double death for them. In the first place, their body perishes and they are buried. They goback to the same dust from which they were created. At the same time their nameand fame is also lost forever. When such an unpatriotic person departs from thi

s world no eyes are filled with tears and no one mourns over her grief. No homage or tribute is paid to such a person as no one utters a word of praise or appreciation for him. No songs are sung in his memory and no one remembers him afterhis death. Thus, he suffers a death of disgrace and ignominy.

MESSAGE: The message of this poem is that " The Unpatrotic Person suffers a d

eath of disgrace and ignominy."

Lines

BREATHES THERE THE MAN WITH SOUL SO DEAD,

WHO NEVER TO HIMSELF HATH SAID,

THIS IS MY OWN, MY NATIVE LAND!

WHOSE HEART HATH NEER WITHIN HIM BURND,

AS HOME HIS FOOTSTEPS HE HATH TURND,

FROM WANDERING ON A FOREIGN STRAND!

REFERENCE:REFERENCE: The given lines are an extract from the poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel written by Sir Walter Scott. The poem deals with the theme of patriotism.

CONTEXT: The poet believes that love and loyalty towards ones motherland is a natural feeling, and anyone devoid of it, is nothing but a symbol of greed and selfishness. In the first place, the poet wishes to know whether there are such people in the world who have no sense of attachment and allegiance towards their nat

ion, and never feel proud and honoured to speak of the homeland, where they areborn and brought up. Then the poet suggests that we should be vigilant of such elements and always keep an eye on them. They are worthless and deserve to be condemned in spite of all their wealth, high rank and authority. Finally the poet believes that such unpatriotic people face an unceremonious end. They lose, theirreputation during their lifetime, and when they die, it means death for them intwo ways. Firstly they suffer physical death when their body perishes and then

their name is also buried forever. No one shed tears of sorrow at their death, no one pays homage to them and no one sings songs of appreciation for them. In this way, they get a well-deserved death.


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EXPLANATION: In the lines given for contextual explanation, the poet wants to know whether there are unpatriotic people existing on this earth. He wishes to identify such people who are absolutely devoid of the love of the nation. Such people never take due pride in their motherland. If a person remains away from his country for a long time, it is natural that he should feel delighted and satisfied while re-tracing his steps to his own soil. However if such sentiments are notaroused in him, it indicates that the noble feeling of patriotism is not found

in him and he has no affiliation with his own land.

Lines

IF SUCH THERE BREATHE, GO MARK HIM WELL;

FOR HIM NO MINSTREL RAPTURES SWELL;

HIGH THOUGH HIS TITLES, PROUD HIS NAME,

BOUNDLESS HIS WEALTH AS WISH CAN CLAIM;

DESPITE THOSE TITLES, POWER AND PELF,

THE WRETCH, CONCENTRED ALL IN SELF

REFERENCE: The given lines are an extract from the poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel written by Sir Walter Scott. The poem deals with the theme of patriotism.

CONTEXT: The poet believes that love and loyalty towards ones motherland is a natural feeling, and anyone devoid of it, is nothing but a symbol of greed and selfishness. In the first place, the poet wishes to know whether there are such people in the world who have no sense of attachment and allegiance towards their nation, and never feel proud and honoured to speak of the homeland, where they areborn and brought up. Then the poet suggests that we should be vigilant of such elements and always keep an eye on them. They are worthless and deserve to be condemned in spite of all their wealth, high rank and authority. Finally the poet b

elieves that such unpatriotic people face an unceremonious end. They lose, theirreputation during their lifetime, and when they die, it means death for them intwo ways. Firstly they suffer physical death when their body perishes and then


EXPLANATION: In the lines given for elucidation, the poet is sounding a word ofcaution against those who have not the slightest trace of patriotism in them. The poet wishes that such selfish and unscrupulous people should be identified. Weshould always be watchful of such people. It is possible that such elements pos

sess high titles and ranks. They may be exercising great power and authority. They may also be rolling in wealth and having all the luxuries and amenities of li

fe. However, they prove to be the most miserable people since they are too self-centered, and always look to their own gains. They pay no heed to the glory andintegrity of the nation but go on filling their own coffers.

Lines

LIVING, SHALL FORFEIT FAIR RENOWN,

AND, DOUBLY DYING, SHALL GO DOWN


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TO THE VILE DUST FROM WHENCE HE SPRUNG,

UNWEPT, UNHONOURD, AND UNSUNG.

REFERENCE: The given lines are an extract from the poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel written by Sir Walter Scott. The poem deals with the theme of patriotism.

CONTEXT: The poet believes that love and loyalty towards ones motherland is a natural feeling, and anyone devoid of it, is nothing but a symbol of greed and selfishness. In the first place, the poet wishes to know whether there are such people in the world who have no sense of attachment and allegiance towards their nation, and never feel proud and honoured to speak of the homeland, where they areborn and brought up. Then the poet suggests that we should be vigilant of such elements and always keep an eye on them. They are worthless and deserve to be condemned in spite of all their wealth, high rank and authority. Finally the poet believes that such unpatriotic people face an unceremonious end. They lose, theirreputation during their lifetime, and when they die, it means death for them intwo ways. Firstly they suffer physical death when their body perishes and then


EXPLANATION: In the lines given for explanation, the poet is referring to the fa

te of such a person who is completely devoid of the spirit of patriotism. Peoplebegin recognizing such elements during their lifetime and they begin losing their name and fame. When such unpatriotic people die, it means a double death for them. In the first place, their body perishes and they are buried. They go back tothe same dust from which they were created. At the same time their name and fam

e is also lost forever. When such an unpatriotic person departs from this worldno eyes are filled with tears and no one mourns over her grief. No homage or tribute is paid to such a person as no one utters a word of praise or appreciationfor him. No songs are sung in his memory and no one remembers him after his death. Thus, he suffers a death of disgrace and ignominy.

Documents

The Lay of Last Ministrel