Class 11 English Lesson 8: Corona Syas: References to the text

 

Reference to the text

a.      What does the speaker mean when he says:

But have you ever counted

How many have died so far

Because of you and your wars?

 The given lines have been extracted from the poem entitled ‘Corona Says’ by Vishnu Sing Rai. The poem is a satire of human activities that have invited the greatest challenges to humans.

In these lines, the speaker blames human beings themselves are responsible for wars and the loss of their lives. The consequences and effects caused by wars are more terrible than the pandemic has done. Wars are the result of disputes over resources and land, or of a government’s will to increase its influence, power, and authority. The parties or governments involved in wars never think of the consequences that people have to face. Millions of people have lost their lives and properties because of wars. Aftereffects of wars are also causing them to suffer physically and psychologically.

b.     Explain the following:

I will depart one day.

But remember

There’re many others like me.

They’ll come too.

If you don’t get rid of your inflated ego,

You’ll be back to your cave time

That you endured

Long, long, long ago …

The given lines have been extracted from the poem entitled ‘Corona Says’ by Vishnu Sing Rai. The poem is a satire of human activities that have invited the greatest challenges to humans.

In the given extract, the speaker warns us to terminate our egoistic behaviour. No matter who we are, we have to preserve nature and shouldn’t go against the law of nature. By saying the above line, the poet alerts us that the pandemic can be controlled, but they may suffer from other fatal diseases due to their behaviours, and finally, they can be the cause of the extinction of human civilization.

c.      What does the speaker mean in the following lines? Explain.

The earth is not your property alone –

It’s as much ours as yours.

The given lines have been extracted from the poem entitled ‘Corona Says’ by Vishnu Sing Rai. The poem is a satire of human activities that have invited the greatest challenges to humans.

In the given lines, the speaker denotes that the Earth is the common habitat of all living creatures. All of them have an equal right to use the resources available on Earth to sustain their lives. But we human beings are ruling over others, thinking of ourselves as superior, and depriving them of using resources. The speaker is worried about growing human pressure on the natural world. They have controlled all the natural resources for their benefit, although the earth is the common home for all living organisms. In the name of development and progress, humans are destroying the sources of food and habitats of other creatures. In this way, slowly and slowly entire ecosystem is being destroyed.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q_R1ZKCBcQ 

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