Poem The Vanishing Village (R. S. Thomas) Summary Imp Qs Ref Explanation

Poem The Vanishing Village (R. S. Thomas) Summary Imp Qs Ref Explanation

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Poem:

Scarcely a street, too few houses

To merit the title; just a way between

The one tavern and the one shop

That leads nowhere and fails at the top

Of the short hill, eaten away

By long erosion of the green tide

Of grass creeping perpetually nearer

This last outpost of time passed.

 

So little happens; the black dog

Cracking his fleas in the hot sun

Is history. Yet the girl who crosses

From door to door moves to a scale

Beyond the bland day’s two dimensions.

Stay, then, village, for round you spins

On a slow axis a world as vast

And meaningful as any posed

By great Plato’s solitary mind.

Introduction

The poem is a sort of elegy for a deserted village. Village, according to the great philosopher, Plato, is basic unit of human civilization. The poet is sad and sorrowful to see the village vanishing but he feels an under-current of life which gives him hope for a better future of the village.

Summary

The poet gives a graphic picture of a deserted village. He tells that there is only one street in the village and even that street comes to an end at the top of the hill. There are only a few houses, one shop and one inn in the village. The name "village " hardly suits the little population. The only street has become covered at the sides with overgrowing greenery such as bushes and grass etc.

 

There is no visible activity in the village. A black dog that is very old and historic lying there moving his fleas away from him. But then there is a girl moving from door to door who seems to be a guarantee for the future of the village.

The poet prays for the better future of the village because according to Plato, the world's greatest philosopher, village is the axis of human life, i.e., it is the basic unit of human civilization and population.

Important Questions

Question No 1. The poem "Vanishing Village" by R. S. Thomas ends at a hopeful note - do you agree?

Ans. The poem "The Vanishing Village" by R. S. Thomas is a sad poem. But it ends at a hopeful note. When we start reading the poem, we begin being influenced by the sad, graphic picture of the disappearing village. We feel sad at the picture of one street, a few houses, one inn and one shop. The street leads to the top of the hill and then comes to an end. Such a deserted picture makes us unhappy and sad at heart. Then we are told by the poet about the overgrowth on the sides of the street/way and it increases the effect of wilderness in our heart. Later, we are told about the old black dog who is "cracking his fleas in the hot sun" and we become more uneasy in our minds. That dog is the "history" - it is a tragic and sad remark. The scene creates pathos and sympathy in us.

But here the gloomy picture comes to an end and a turn comes in the poem - a turn that gives a ray of hope in the darkness of vanishing village. The poet shows us this ray of hope in the words:

... Yet the girl who crosses

From door to door moves to a scale

Beyond the bland day's two dimensions (lines 11-30)

The word "yet" and "beyond" fill the atmosphere with optimism. The girl goes from one door to another door and she becomes a symbol of future. She is not static. She is moving. She is a three-dimensional figure. She has a soul, a spirit in her. She has a future in her, too. She becomes the guarantee of the "presence" of a future, and a better future, for the vanishing village. So we see that the poem ends at a hopeful note.

Questions No 2. Read the poem carefully. Do you share the sad feelings of the poet about the vanishing village?

Ans. Yes, we share the sad feelings of the poet about the vanishing village. Village has a key-role in the life of a country. Village supplies food-grains and other raw-materials for the people of a country of the world. So if a village is being deserted, it shows that man is going to city and city cannot grow food-grains and raw-materials. Village is a basic essential unit of human civilization/population. Naturally when we see the picture of vanishing village in words as "painted" by the poet, we cannot help feeling sad and gloomy at the hard luck of the village. So we share the feelings of sadness shown by the poet about the vanishing/disappearing village.

Question No 3. Write a critical analysis of the poem showing how far the pet has been effective in communication of his ideas. Or Write Critical Analysis of the poem.

Ans. The poet presents a gloomy picture of a village which has been a victim of neglect. Perhaps the majority of persons has gone to cities and life in the deserted village has come almost to a standstill. Still there is an undercurrent of life present which guarantees the better future for the village. The poet has written an elegy of the deserted village with a hope for the betterment in its condition. He wishes to gain our consideration and sympathy by the sad graphic picture of the village and he is successful in getting our full attention.

The subject of the poem is related with human life and its mechanical progress. Landscape has been painted in a very realistic manner. The poem makes us remember the poem "The Deserted Village" by Oliver Goldsmith. Goldsmith has been more nostalgic than R. S. Thomas in his memory of sweet Auburn (the name of his village). But Thomas is more witty, brief and epigrammatic in this poem. The theme has been presented in a very serious and objective manner. We may mark the objectivity of such lines as:

" ... leads nowhere and fails at the top" (line 4)

and " ... the black dog

Cracking his fleas in the hot sun

Is history." (lines 9-11)

and " ... the girl who crosses

From door to door ... " (lines 11-12)

Words used in the poem are full of sentiments and passions. The poem is a good lyric having normally 4 feet with two syllables each. But here and there we come across innovations and variations in the meter and rhythm. There is no rhyme except in line 3 and 4 that have "shop" and "top" as rhyming words - may be it is a chance! The division of stanzas is not balanced according to the number of lines but according to the treatment of subject-matter. Reference to Plato in the last lines turns the whole poem into a thought-provoking appeal to the reader. The vocabulary of the poem is simple and direct. The lines are often run-on ones with a lot of enjambment that gives a sort of word-picture of destruction of the village. The poet has been fully effective in the communication of his ideas.

Reference, Context and Explanation

Lines 1-8: Scarcely a street ... of time passed.

Scarcely a street, too few houses

To merit the title; just a way between

The one tavern and the one shop

That leads nowhere and fails at the top

Of the short hill, eaten away

By long erosion of the green tide

Of grass creeping perpetually nearer

This last outpost of time passed.

Reference:

These lines have been taken from "The Vanishing Village" written by R. S. Thomas.

Context:

The poet describes a deserted and neglected village in this poem. There is only one street, a few houses, one inn and a shop in the village. The street leads nowhere. He wishes for the betterment of the village.

Explanation:

The poet tells us in these lines about the deserted village. There are only a few houses in a street which goes on the top of the hill. Later on, the street comes to an end: it leads nowhere. There is also one shop and one inn in the village. The street is overgrown at both sides with greenery. It is the last outpost/hall mark of the village but slowly and steadily this mark is vanishing with the onward rush of time.

Lines 9-13: So little happens ... two dimensions.

So little happens; the black dog

Cracking his fleas in the hot sun

Is history. Yet the girl who crosses

From door to door moves to a scale

Beyond the bland day’s two dimensions.

Reference:

These lines have been taken from "The Vanishing Village" written by R. S. Thomas.

Context:

The poet describes a deserted and neglected village in this poem. There is only one street, a few houses, one inn and a shop in the village. The street leads nowhere. He wishes for the betterment of the village.

Explanation:

Nothing of any importance happens in this disappearing and deserted village. The poet can see a historic and old black dog sitting in the sun and moving its tail to crack/strike at the fleas that are sticking to its skin and disturbing it. The dog is a symbol of the destroyed "present" of the village. But just there is also a "future" _ it is the girl who is going from one door to another. She cannot be captured through the two dimensions of time and space of the gentle "present" day as she is a symbol of future. She guarantees a better future for the village through her third dimensions: her enthusiastic spirit and soul.

Lines 14-17: Stay, then village ... solitary mind.

Stay, then, village, for round you spins

On a slow axis a world as vast

And meaningful as any posed

By great Plato’s solitary mind.

Reference:

These lines have been taken from "The Vanishing Village" written by R. S. Thomas.

Context:

The poet describes a deserted and neglected village in this poem. There is only one street, a few houses, one inn and a shop in the village. The street leads nowhere. He wishes for the betterment of the village.

Explanation:

The poet prays for the life and prosperity of the vanishing village and says that actually village is the basic unit of man's population in this world. The vast and meaningful world moves around the axis of village. Even the great plan of the world of soul and matter thought out by Plato's great mind had importance for such a basic unit.