Sunday
by Rabindranath Tagore
"The weekdays come as fast and thick-
How do they travel, to reach so quick?
But why does Sunday take so long,
Behind the others trudging on?
The weekdays are an unkind lot:
To go back home they have no thought.
But why is Sunday so pursued.
That she stays half the time she should?
The weekdays come with such dull, long faces,
No child can stand such airs and graces.
But when at weekends I get up,
There's Sunday with her face lit up."
Summary of the Poem :
The poem compares Sundays with the other days of the week. Sundays are special days of the week. We can spend out time as we like, doing things we like to do on Sundays.
The weekdays come very fast and many in numbers. They come very quick. But Sunday take longer time to come after other week days in a slow pace.
The other week days are very reluctant to go back home. Sunday comes in a taken for granted manner. It goes back after staying half the time it supposed to stay.
The week days come with sad, gloomy faces. They are very disappointing for the children. But at weekends the poet gets up in the morning only to be welcomed by the Sunday with its glowing faces lit up with light of happiness.
1. Write the difference between Weekdays and Sunday which has been described in the poem by the poet Rabindranath Tagore.
=
2. Reference to context:
a) "The weekdays come so fast and thick-
How do they travel, to reach so quick?
But why does Sunday take so long,
Behind the others trudging on?"
i) Is the speaker happy or annoyed that weekdays come fast and thick?
= The speaker is annoyed that weekdays come fast and thick.
ii) Which words in these lines show that Sunday comes slower than the other days of the week?
= The words are - 'take so long' ; 'trudging on'.
iii) What kind of week would the speaker like?
= The speaker would like to have a week with more Sundays. Sunday should come fast and stay for long in the week which the speaker wishes to have.
b) "The weekdays are an unkind lot:
To go back home they have no thought.
But why is Sunday so pursued.
That she stays half the time she should?"
i) The speaker finds the weekdays 'unkind'. Why are the weekdays unkind?
= The speaker finds weekdays 'unkind' as they do not think of going back home.
ii) What would the speaker like the weekdays to do?
= The speaker like the weekdays to come slowly and stay for a less time and return very fast.
iii) Which word in these lines is similar in meaning with 'to be chased'?
= The word similar in meaning with 'to be chased' is - pursued.
3. There's Sunday with her face lit up. What does the speaker wish to tell us through this line?
= The speaker wishes to tell us that he is happy as the Sunday has come and he was waiting for it for the whole week. As the speaker himself is happy, so it seems that Sunday has a lit-up face.
4. Which day of the week do you like the most? Why?
= I like Sunday the most, as it is a holiday. There is no pressure of going to school and tuition. I just do a little homework and then its all play and fun on that day.
About the Poet :
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was born in Kolkata. He started writing poems when he was eight and had his first book published when he was just sixteen. He was not only a talented poet, but also wrote plays, stories and novels. He painted and composed music too. He started an open-air school at Shantiniketan which is now an international university named Visva-Bharati. In 1913, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature for Gitanjali.