Summer Sun
by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Poem :
"Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays.
Though closer still the blinds we pull
To keep the shady parlour cool,
Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through.
The dusty attic, spider-clad,
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles,
Into the laddered hayloft smiles.
Meantime his golden face around
He bares to all the garden ground,
And sheds a warm and glittering look
Among the ivy's inmost nook.
Above the hills. along the blue,
Round the bright air with footing true,
To please the child, to paint the rose,
The gardener of the World, he goes."
The Summary of the Poem :
The sun is great. He moves in the sky from one direction to the other with out any rest. In the clear blue sky the sun shines than those of the cloudy days.
We pull the curtains to it our room cool. We don't want to let the sun shines enter into our chambers. Yet the sun enters its golden rays through the slightest openings.
He enters into the spider-clad, dusty attic through the keyhole and fills it with light. The smiling sun rays enter into the laddered hayloft through broken edge of tiles.
Then it rises in to sky with its full face and gives rays to the whole garden. He enters into the innermost shady corner of the ivy plant and makes it warm.
With his steady and balanced way of walking the sun shines above the hills and in the sky. It helps the rose to bloom and makes children happy. He is like the gardener of the world who takes very care of everything.
Making Connections
1. Read these lines and answer the questions that follow.
a. "Great is the sun, and wide he goes
Through empty heaven without repose;
And in the blue and glowing days
More thick than rain he showers his rays."
i. What do you think the poet means by 'empty heaven'?
= I think the poet means to the clear blue sky by 'empty heaven'.
ii. Why are the rays described as 'more thick than rain'?
= The beams of the rays of he sun are thick as the sky is blue and there is no cloud to cover the sun rays.
iii. Why did he shower his rays 'in the blue and glowing days'?
= He showered his rays 'in the blue and glowing days' because he is the care taker of the world and he is the reason of the existence of life on the earth. The light and heat of the sun is like the source of life and happiness in the world. It was summer season. The poet is saying about the summer sun. The summer days remain dry and the sky remains clear and blue. The world becomes filled with huge amount of sun rays.
b. "Yet he will find a chink or two
To slip his golden fingers through."
i. Who 'will find a chink'? Where was he supposed to find 'a chink'?
= The sun will find a chink.
He was supposed to find 'a chink' through the curtains we pull to keep our chambers cool from the heat of the sun.
ii. What do you think the poet means by 'golden fingers'?
= I think the poet means the rays of the sun by 'golden fingers'.
iii. Why was he being kept out?
= He was being kept out to get rid of the heat he provides and make our rooms and chambers warm.
c. "The dusty attic, spider-clad,
He, through the keyhole, maketh glad;
And through the broken edge of tiles,
Into the laddered hayloft smiles."
i. Who did the sun make happy? How did he do this?
= The sun made the spider-clad, dusty attic happy.
He did this by entering into the attic through the keyhole.
ii. How did the sun enter the hayloft?
= The sun entered the hayloft through the broken edge of tiles.
iii. What do these lines tell you about the sun?
= Here in these lines the sun is the bringer of smile to the two gloomy places - the attic and the hayloft. Both the places are dark and gloomy. The sun rays fill them with light and made them happy.
2. Why do think the poet has chosen summer as a setting for the poem?
= In summer, the sky generally remains cloudless and clear. The sun can shine without any hazard. He can reach every nook and corner of the world and make happiness flourish in every sect of the earth. All the activities of the sun can be described vividly. I think this is the reason the poet has chosen summer as a setting for the poem.
3. Do you agree with the poet when he refers to the sun as 'the gardener of the World'? Justify your answer.
= I totally agree with the poet when he refers tot he sun as 'the gardener of the World'.
The sun is the source of light and heat for the earth. Life can not exist on the earth without warmth and light of the sun. Sun light is the main stimuli for photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the main process which provide food to the whole world. Directly or indirectly the sun is the reason behind all the colours, scent and sound of the beautiful world. So it has been aptly said that the sun is 'the gardener of the World'.
About the poet :
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was born in Scotland. He was a lawyer who later became a writer. Stevenson loved to travel. He and his family travelled in their own ship across the Pacific Ocean and visited many islands. The popular novels Treasure Island and Kidnapped were written by him.