Poem The Huntsman (Edward Lowbury) Summary Imp Qs Ref Explanation

Poem The Huntsman (Edward Lowbury) Summary Imp Qs Ref Explanation

To view notes of other Poems. Please Click Here.

Poem:

Kagwa hunted the lion.
Though bush and forest went his spear.
One day he found the skull of a man
And said to it, "How did you come here"?
The skull opened its mouth and said
"Talking brought me here'.

Kagwa hurried home;
Went to the King's chair and spoke;
'In the forest I found a talking skull'.
The king was silent. Then he said slowly
'Never since I was born of my mother
Have I seen or heard of a skull which spoke'.

The king called out his guards.
'Two of you go with him
And find the talking skull;
But if his tale is a lie
And the skull speaks no word,
This Kagwa himself must die'.

They rode in the forest;
For days and nights they found nothing
At last they saw the skull; Kagwa
Said to it: How did you come here?
The skull said nothing. Kagwa implored,
But the skull said nothing.

The guards said 'Kneel down'
They killed him with sword and spear.
Then the skull opened its mouth;
'Huntsman, how did you come here?
And the dead man answered:
'Talking brought me here'

Edward Lowbury

British Born in London. 6 December 1913. Educated at St Paul's School London, and University College, Oxford (Newgate Prise 1934), and Matthew Arnold Memorial Prize (1937). Studied medicine, London Hospital, University of London. Specialist in Pathology, Royal Army Medical Corps 1943-47. He married Alison, daughter of the poet Andrew Young. 3 daughters. Editor, Equator magazine, Nairobi, Kenya 19450-46. Fellow, Royal College of Pathologists, Fellow Royal Society of Literature. 1974 OBE. Between 1934 and 1990 published 22 books of verse. Lowbury's devotion to his art for over half century has produced a substantial body of work distinguished by technical and imaginative richness.

Black eyes, black heads--Kamba, Kikuyu, Nandi Sprout like grapes, expert at hanging around And doing nothing, were they warrior once Now gone to seed.

Idea of Poem:

Based on Kenyan folk-lore, this little cautionary narrative with its turn and counter-turn is a good example, not of black but of sick-humour. Smile appears to disappear wanly. The poem is a blend of funny and unfunny aspects of life, the elements of suspense and irony create a shocking impact.

The Huntsman

The narrative poem “The Huntsman” is based on Kenyan folklore. The poet “Edward Lawbury” advises us through the story of a Kenyan hunter, Kagwa who himself becomes the prey to fate, to avoid the unnecessary talk.

Summary

In this poem, the poet Edward Lawbury has described the tale of a hunter whose too much talking brought him to the death. Kagwa was a hunter. He used to hunt in the far-off forests with his spear. He had a bad habit of talking too much. One day, as he was searching for some hunt in a forest, he came across the skull of a man. Talkative as he was, he talked to the skull. He asked it how it came there. To his amazement, the skull replied in a human voice. The sull told him that it was its too much talking which brought him there.

Kagwa rushed to the king to tell him about this amazing discovery of his. He wanted to impress the King by his meeting with and talking to a skull. He had also the hope of some prize from the king. He met the king and told him the whole story. The King couldn't seem to believe. He was not ready to believe the story until he confirms it.

The king sent his two men to accompany Kagwa to that skull. He ordered them to bring the skull to the court if it spoke like a human. He also ordered the guards to kill Kagwa at the spot if the skull did not speak or it did not exist.

At last, they found the skull and Kagwa asked the skull how it came there. The skull had no effect and it did not speak. Kagwas aksed it again and the skull remained silent.

The guards of the king believed that Kagwa was wrong. Now they had to follow the command of the king. They cut the head of Kagwa there and went away. Now the skull opened his mouth and asked Kagwa how he came there. Kagwa told the skull that talking brought him there.

The poem tells us a strong message. The skull itself represents the consequences of senseless and useless talking. Kagwa represents the foolishness of the people who do not understand the hidden meanings of the words. The poem also illustrates the supreme attitude of the kings and dictators. They do not like common people's talk.

Important Questions 

Question 1: The poem Huntsman is a blend of funny and unfunny aspects of life the elements of suspense and irony create a shocking impact. Do you agree? Explain your answer.

Discuss in detail the use of elements of suspense and irony in the poem.

Write a note on the irony in The Huntsman.

Answer: The poem The Huntsman deals with the elements of suspense and irony. lt is written in a very simple and lucid style. The suspense and irony improve the literary quality of the poem. Suspense means mental and thrill. The poem The Huntsman is full of elements of suspense.

The suspense starts from the very beginning of the poem when Kagwa finds a talking skull. Suspense goes on when Kagwa reaches the court of the king. The readers cannot guess what will happen with Kagwa in the future. But later suspense ends, when readers come to know that Kagwa has died by his talkative nature.

Irony is a literary term, which means the difference between appearance and reality In this poem, the irony of fate is hidden in the first line; Kagwa hunted the lion.This line expresses the brave nature of Kagwa.

Although Kagwa is physically a strong person yet in At the end of the poem he is killed by his foolish talkative nature. So here irony reveals that Kagwa appears to us as a brave person but he dies like a foolish person.

Question 2: Discuss the role of fate in the poem, The Huntsman.

Answer: The poem huntsman delineates the role of fate in man's life in a very attractive way. It also revolves around the more serious and important thing in life, i-e, think before you speak but it also makes it clear that man cannot escape fate.

Kagwa, no doubt was very brave and daring as he hunted lions in the forests all alone but he fell a helpless prey to fate when he could not understand the message of the skull. The skull explicitly told Kagwa that talking brought it there.

His talking frivolously brought about the death of that person but Kagwa's fate was also the same. He could have gone directly to his home, he could have told about the talking skull to his close friend or to his wife if he had comprehended the understandable message of the skull.

But it was in the fate of Kagwa to go to the king straight. He went to the king's seat and told the unbelievable thing that he had seen some talking Skull. The king surely could not believe this kind of foolish and absurd tale.

The rulers are often offended easily, especially; when they are busy in an important state matters. The same thing occurred and the king sent Kagwa back royal guards with the order to kill Kagwa if his story proved.

Again we, the readers could not understand fate when the skull did not utter a single word besides the requests of Kagwa. It was really horrible and astonishing but it was the role of fate that is unavoidable. Kagwa had to meet his fate, death, in this way, so he was unable to understand the message of the skull.

Question 3: How did the Hunter get hunted in  The Huntsman?

The Huntsman does discover his blunder but too late. Elaborate.

What is Kagwa's story in The Huntsman?

Answer: The poem The Huntsman explains the uncertainty of human life. It proves that life is full of unexpected turns. Man is playing ball and puppet in the hands of fate.

As flies are to the wanton boys

Are we to gods?

They kill us for their sports

                           Shakespeare

If fate turns hostile, it destroys man. Kagwa fell a victim to a cruel fate. Fate constantly plotted against him and brought about his death.

It is an irony of fate that he was killed with the same spear and sword with which he used to hunt the lions. His hostile fate arranged a meeting with him and the talking skull that proved killing.

How many innocent people like Kagwa fall prey to cruel fate. The irony of the poem is that a brave man who hunted lions more powerful than himself was hunted mercilessly by fate.

Question 4: Discuss the moral lesson or basic theme of The Huntsman

Answer: The poem urges the readers to think about the value and significance of human life. Is It really so worthless and futile? Does the loss of human life bring no remorse(at all? Is man so helpless in front Of unseen savage forces of nature?

These questions naturally lead to certain moral conclusions. Firstly the poem teaches us that we should think before we speak. Secondly, we should not speak too much. Thirdly we should not make haste.

Sometimes by our hasty nature, we become the victim of unexpected dangers, So one should be very careful in his talking and actions. Sometimes a little carelessness results in a horrible disaster.

A man should be very cautious about what he says and to whom he says. He should be ready to face the consequences of his words and deeds. He must accept responsibility for his behavior.

Reference:

These lines have been taken from the poem “The Huntsman” written by Edward Lawbury.

Context:

This poem tells a Kenyan folk-lore. It tells that some-times a hunter becomes hunted himself. Kagwa went hunting and found a talking skull. He came to the king and informed him to the fact. The king ordered to know the reality. When it was found not so, Kagwa was killed. Strange enough it was that after his murder the skull spoke. The story tells us that irresponsible talking can bring destruction. The elements of suspense and irony create a shocking impact.

Explanation:

Stanza 1

Kagwa hunted the lion.
Though bush and forest went his spear.
One day he found the skull of a man
And said to it, "How did you come here"?
The skull opened its mouth and said
"Talking brought me here'.

In these lines the poet says that Kagwa, a famous hunter, hunted lions and tigers through forests and bushes. He used his spear for hunting. One day, while hunting, he found the skull of a man in the forest. The skull was talking. Kagwa asked the talking skull, how it had come there. The skull opened its mouth and replied that talking had brought it there.

Stanza 2

Kagwa hurried home;
Went to the King's chair and spoke;
'In the forest I found a talking skull'.
The king was silent. Then he said slowly
'Never since I was born of my mother
Have I seen or heard of a skull which spoke'.

In this stanza the poet says that after getting the skull, Kagwa went home hurriedly. He appeared before the court of the king and talked about the skull Kagwa told the king that he had found a skull which was talking. On hearing these words the king was surprised so much. He thought that no dead skull ever talked. After that the king said slowly to himself that he had never heard of or seen a skull that talked. He said, since his birth from his mother he had never heard of such a thing.

Stanza 3

The king called out his guards.
'Two of you go with him
And find the talking skull;
But if his tale is a lie
And the skull speaks no word,
This Kagwa himself must die'.

In these lines the poet says, when Kagwa told about the talking skull, the king called out his guards. The king ordered two of the guards to go with Kagwa and find the talking skull. He also told the guards if Kagwa proved a liar, and there was no such thing as the talking skull, Kagwa msut be killed himself.

Stanza 4

They rode in the forest;
For days and nights they found nothing
At last they saw the skull; Kagwa
Said to it: How did you come here?
The skull said nothing. Kagwa implored,
But the skull said nothing.

In the given lines the poet says that Kagwa and two guards of the king rode their horses to the forest. For some days they looked for it but found nothing like a talking skull. But after some more struggle they found a skull. Kagwa asked the skull how he had come there. The skull remained silent. Kagwa again earnestly requested the skull but it did not talk. And they all were surprised.

Stanza 5

The guards said 'Kneel down'
They killed him with sword and spear.
Then the skull opened its mouth;
'Huntsman, how did you come here?
And the dead man answered:
'Talking brought me here'

In the concluding stanza the guards ordered Kagwa to kneel down. The guards killed him with sword and lance. When Kagwa was put to death, the already dead skull opened its mouth and asked the hunter, how he had come there. The dead body of Kagwa replied, talking had brought him there. This simple story has a meaningful moral. It teaches us that irresponsible and worthless talking can bring destruction or death to the talker.