The Lamplighter
by Robert Louis Stevenson (Roots)
The Poem :
"My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky;
It's time to take the window to see Leerie going by;
For every night at teatime and before you take your seat,
With lantern and with ladder he comes posting up the street.
Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go to sea,
And my papa's a banker and as rich as he can be;
But I, when I am stronger and can choose what I'm to do,
O Leerie, I'll go round at night and light the lamps with you!
For we are very lucky, with lamp before the door,
And Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more;
And O! before you hurry by with ladder and with light;
O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him tonight!
Summary of the Poem :
A lamplighter is a person employed to light and maintain candle or gas street lights. This poem describes the wish of a young child to follow a lamplighter into the same profession.
The young child says that it is evening. The sun has set. His tea is almost ready. He will have his tea sitting beside the window and see the lamplighter Leerie going by. Every night around tea-time Leerie comes and travel in a hurry lighting the street lamps with his seat, lantern and the ladder.
Then the boy tells about the ambitions of his friends - Tom and Maria. Tom wants to be a driver. Maria wants to be a sailor. The father of the child is a rich banker. As the child will grow up, he will choose his career. He wants to be a lamplighter like Leerie. He would love to go round at night and light the lamps with Leerie.
The boy finds themselves fortunate to have a lamp post before their door. Leerie stops at it to light it like many more lamps. The boy wants to interact with Leerie as he does his work. The boy appeals Leerie to nod him while lighting the lamp near the boy's door.
Comprehension
1. Fill in the blanks with words from the poem.
a. My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky;
It's time to take the window to see Leerie going by;
b. Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go to sea,
And my papa's a banker and as rich as he can be;
2. What would you say is the main theme of the poem?
a. a lamplighter called Leerie. [ ]
b. someone who likes to look out of the window every night. [ ]
c. someone who wonders what to be when he grows up. [ ]
d. someone who wants to see a lamplighter go by the street. [✓]
3. Outline all the reasons that the speaker gives for wishing to be a lamplighter.
= Every night around tea-time Leerie comes and travel in a hurry lighting the street lamps with his seat, lantern and the ladder. As the child will grow up, he will choose his career. He wants to be a lamplighter like Leerie. He would love to go round at night and light the lamps with Leerie.
4. a. Who is the speaker in this poem?
= A young child is the speaker in this poem.
b. What can we infer about the speaker from the poem? Support your answer with lines from the poem.
= The speaker is a young innocent child. He is imaginative. He loves to watch the scenes happening around him. He is eager to see the lamplighter lighting the lamp posts at night. "It's time to take the window to see Leerie going by;" He is very simple. He does not have high ambition in life. He wants to become a lamplighter like Leerie. "O Leerie, I'll go round at night and light the lamps with you!"
5. Since we have moved to electrical lamps, we don't need lamplighters anymore. Can you think of two other jobs from olden times which don't exist now?
= Two other jobs from olden times which don't exist now are - Telegram Messenger and Court Jester.
Telegram Messengers used to deliver printed messages transmitted by telegraph.
Court Jesters used to entertain the people of royal houses with their humorous songs, stories, riddles and wearing colourful costumes.
About the Poet :
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), born in Edinburg, was an essayist, poet and author of fiction and travel books. As a child, Stevenson experienced persistent health problems which made him thin and weak for most of his life. He developed a passion for writing when he was quite young, much against the wishes of his father. He travelled frequently and those experiences led to some of his initial works. He became a celebrity when his novels Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde received praise.