hello namaskar wam in this explanation video I'm going to focus on haunted houses by HW Longfellow which is the first poem in the icsc class 10 syllabus as part of your treasure chest textbook now a couple of things before I start the explanation number one I personally think the poem is quite complex especially the second half of the poem and I personally feel that this poem should have been part of the ISC class 11 or class 12 syllabus this is definitely above the class 10 level as far as the toughness quotient is concerned as far as the complicity quotient is concerned number two please do not expect a 15 20 minute short version Quick Fix kind of a Ki kind of an approach explanation on study with sudh I will do a well researched word by word line by line explanation so that from my side I will try to ensure that there no room for any doubt at the end of the explanation video okay because there are 10 stanzas a 20 minute video will mean that you know you don't even devote two minutes uh you devote just about two minutes to each stanza which I personally feel for a poem of this nature is simply not enough okay so I saw a couple of comments saying that can't you do shorter videos shorter videos is something which you will have to gauge okay so let's get started with the poem detailed explanation okay so let's first talk about the poet and you should always read the box which is something which I always advis my students to um so Henry whiteworth Long Fellow is the name of the poem poet he is considered one of the most prominent American Poets of the 19th century and he reminded Americans of their Roots where they came from I mean when you say of their Roots essentially means that he wrote about where they came from their origin okay now what is this poem about now the poet here talks about all the men who have lived in their houses and died there and he believes that even after their death they still pretty much around you can feel their presence so they are the Phantoms they are the Phantoms the ghost who walks if you have been used to reading Phantom Comics which I don't think student children of your generation are at least we used to so Phantom Comics Phantom is known as the ghost who walks okay so uh the Phantoms who are now living in the haunted houses they roam about doing their work the men who live there now feel the presence of these ghosts at different places in the house however they also feel that as if something is moving in the air okay they feel as if something is moving in the air now this is one of the photographs that I created of a typical haunted house you see the very eerie looking bats hovering around the house the trees which have no vegetation so they are all dried up and this kind of a house which gives you a very um spooky kind of a feeling you would feel scared in a house like this in a mansion like this okay uh there are a whole lot of creepers the clouds Etc okay now at the same time the texture of the poem is not that of a spooky poem it is actually a very sentimental kind of a poem while he's talking about ghost it is not a typical horror kind of a spooky kind of a poem which you would normally associate with the subject of this nature dealing with ghost it is a Sentimental poem please use this particular word in your answers that focuses on the fact that spiritual stuff or spiritual is also permanent that just because somebody dies it doesn't mean that that becomes temporary there is also a sense of permanence of the spiritual so the message is that our loved ones always remain with us even after they are dead and gone because they live on in our thoughts in our memories obviously if let's say your great-grandfather grandfather is no longer with you you always remember the person right so even after they have gone physically their presence does not go away now the amusing fact which I found in my research is that when a party I mean in this particular Point not the next part point is what I want to talk about when a party is organized the number of guests is always more than the people who have invited you have invited to 10 people but there are 14 people why because the other four people actually goes so the unimited guests are the goost so the people sitting by the Fireside cannot see them but the poet can see them now the interesting part which I found in my research is that the second of November okay is observed as the Day of the Dead in many countries on this day uh I mean you have something similar in the Hindu calendar as well uh on this day people remember their loved ones who have passed away and visit their graves now why was Long Fellow called a Fireside poet now this is an aside which you generally for your general knowledge because his poems were meant to be read out as a form of entertainment for the family and the friends gathered by a Fireside I just thought and at this time you just imagine a situation by a Fireside obviously it will be dark you tell these stories about ghost how would people feel they would feel very involved very engrossed at the same time a little scared and kind of imagining even as Long Fellow would read out his poem so just get I why I'm telling you all these things before I start the poem is that I want your frame of mind and your mindset to be inside the poem to be able to imagine and I'll show you a couple of more photographs which will help you go into the poem visually speaking because I don't believe in you know just telling you words and words if you're able to imagine something visually I showed you one photograph I'll show you two more photographs so that you are able to imagine something visually while understanding the poem it will make it more interesting you'll be more involved in the poem now let's go through the summary of the poem what happens in the poem it's about a deserted house that was once full of life it was once full of life means once there are a lot of living beings human beings there but now it is abandoned so all it has is memories of the people who lived there the past inhabitants so now it is described in the poem as a symbol of an earlier time when there was a lot of joy and fun now it is A Haunted House Haunted by the ghosts who are the past inhabitants of the same house now see this Photograph it gives you a sense a full moon the bad you see the windows Etc which seem to be either broken and there are some curtains Etc which seem to be in bad shape you see a lot of these kind of shrubs which are there uh on the house and then you have a ghost a typical kind of a ghost just imagine you you are listening to this poem around a fire fire side and suddenly you feel a hand on your shoulder and you look back and you see someone like that okay I just find the thought very amusing and there you see a lot of graves are also there around the house so this is uh an image which has been generated I put the text and you get a sense so just keep this in mind while you are reading the poem understanding the poem okay the poem focuses on the permanence of the memories that the memories are permanent the people have gone away but the memories are permanent and the importance of those memories so the poet is making the point that even though the physical structures May wither with time you seeing the building in a rundown Dil D dilapitated kind of a condition but the memories associated with the people while they lived in that building in that house they live on they persist and they haunt those spaces they even come and stay with you at the dining table when dinner is being served so the poem is basic basically and please note down this phrase it's useful for your answers see whatever phrases I've used out here are phrases and Words which you can use in your answers that's precisely the idea behind telling you all this there are an exploration of nostalgia okay the passage of time and the enduring power of memories please use this entire line so the poet is making the reader think about the transient means nature goes away I mean life goes away you know it's temporary and the weight of the emotions of the past you know because they stay along with you they have a particular I mean it's not a burden it is a weight you like to carry you think about it they may cost you cost you some kind of sadness at some point in time but they may also bring you some nice memories of the Times Gone by you know when you spend time with someone you loved very dearly the rhyme scheme is ABAB there is a comfort associated with the regular rhyming always ABAB it imparts a gentleness that is not associated with the notion of Haunting it's not something which is very jerky okay so Long Fellow says all houses are haunted and that makes it a less menacing out your house is also haunted my house is also haunted so so it's not something which is very unique to a particular house in a particular locality or area okay and it Comforts us because it's an acknowledgment of the fact that our loved ones continue to walk among us they don't leave us even though they have been buried even though you see their graves but they seem to exist around us okay they occupy our living spaces and silently observe us and feel connected to us all the time I hope this makes it easy for you to get into the poem what are the themes of the poem this this is something which you would need for your longer answer especially the last answer memory and the past the poem suggests that the houses have become haunted by the memories of the people who lived and died there these memories Ling like linger like goes creating a sense of the past within the present okay so the connection between the past and the present the inevitability of death everybody has to die at some point of time or the other so he's acknowledging that people who who have lived will eventually become haunted houses because their inhabitants pass away the power of the place okay so that places hold on to the essence of those who have inhabited them that there is a strong connection between the human being and the places that they inhabit so there is a certain sense of power of the place itself so there's a connection between the physical space as in the house and the people who lived there then the nature of the ghost So Long Fellow is portraying the ghost in a very gentle light they're not menacing creatures they're not out to terrify you they're not out there to scare you dar they're harmless ghosts who glide through the houses okay and they're unnoticed by the living people they can't see except the poem and then finally the human nature and its Duality the tussle between this is the second part of the poem which is a little abstract I feel because it also talks about spiritual aspirations now let me come to the text of the poem I hope with the help of the photographs with the help of whatever I told you so far you are in that frame of mind now let's get into the text of the poem there are 10 stanzas in all all houses wherein men have lived and died are haunted houses so he's making a very clear point right at the beginning through the open doors the harmless uh Phantoms on their errands Glide with feet that make no sound upon the floors okay so you see the rhyme scheme died Glide doors floors okay ab ab now haunted means a place which is visited by Ghost and Phantoms essentially means goes okay then erand is a short Journey erand is a short Journey which is to collect or deliver something when you are sent to collect something from someone or to deliver something to someone okay Glide means to move where is Glide yeah Glide is here it means to move easily in a very easy manner okay so these are the three word meanings I wanted to S now please understand and listen to this carefully every house has a history okay it has the memories of the men the people who lived there and the poet is calling them as haunted houses the first line okay houses also are a metaphor please understand this and I'm going slow deliberately houses also are a metaphor for our bodies or life being haunted refers to the influence left on our lives by the people we encounter at different stages we are also one is a house the other thing is also a metaphor that we are like a house and we meet different people at different stages in our life you know you may meet your friends your parents your neighbors your relatives etc etc your classmates everybody now all of them leave a mark on your mind on your personality at different stages of your life okay those memories also stay on with you so they those memories will also haunt you even after like you pass out of there will be some classmate who was there in class eight with you then he or she left and he's no longer with you but what he said the time you spent you it is still there as part of your Consciousness your memory is loged okay so just like every house has a history similarly every person carries the impact and the memories of past influences or interactions okay through the open doors what what does this mean through the open doors through the open doors suggests that the goals are not restricted by any kind of physical barriers okay they can easily pass through any kind of solid objects like doors I mean they can just pass through them okay they don't have to open the door in that sense and this points to their very please note down this word very ethereal nature very ethereal nature and open doors also conveys openness but open doors also conveys a sense of vulnerability but essentially a sense of Freedom harmless Phantoms is a reference to the goost they are individuals who have been part of our lives and have left behind imprints on our life and it could be all kinds of imprints it could be something which is very important very meaningful sometimes it could just be very subtle it may not be something very important so harmless what does harmless straightaway convey that they are not to be scared of they are not dangerous they are not malicious kind of spirits they exist but they don't threaten you you may feel scared of them but if you happen to see them but they are not there to scare you or threaten you in any way they are not posing a threat to your existence on their errands Glide now Glide as I said is referring to a movement which is rather easy in its nature it's very effortless kind of movement in the air now erand suggests that the ghost seem to have some kind of Unfinished Business which they have not finished so far okay um so the movement seems to suggest that there is some purpose of their movement it is not meaningless movement errand the word errands conveys that they there there's a purpose behind their movement it is not meaningless kind of movement understood feet that make no sound upon the floors it suggests that they don't make their presence felt it's not a very obvious way of because if they're walking on the floor it would make a noise but no okay it is not making any kind of sound so they're not making their presence felt in any way so um it reinforces the idea that the gos are not physical beings and they do not interact uh with the physical world in a way by way of creating sound okay so it's a reference to a sound imagery but sound that does not exist so the first stanza what is it doing it is creating a sense of mystery it is creating a sense of mystery it is creating a sense of intrigue okay you wonder what is happening uh that there are those invisible gos who are present but they do not intrude into your life but they just go about doing some errand some work or the other collecting or delivering something they are doing and you are left wondering at the end of the first answer I mean what work could they possibly be doing what errands they may may be on and by saying all houses the poet is U kind of saying that it is common to everyone it is not specific only to a few houses let's move to stanza 2 we meet them at the doorway on the stair along the passages they come and go impalpable Impressions on the air a sense of something moving to and fro again you see a b a b so what impal impalpable means something that cannot be felt physically something that cannot be felt physically now in this stanza the lines describe the way the humans encounter the ghostly presence inside the house now the first two lines the first two lines convey that they everywhere we meet them at the doorway near the door on the way to the door on the staircase and also the passages they come and go as though you know I mean they continue to occupy this space and they continue to be around everywhere in the house so they are everywhere they're not confined only to a single room or only to the Terrace or only to the you know some kind of an attic no they are everywhere in the doorway on the staircase and in the passages also and there they encounter the living beings impalpable impressions on the air impalpable means impossible to touch physically to feel physically so this reinforces the idea what that the goost are not solid presence they are not something which is can be felt in a way it is like very faint Impressions or feelings in the air okay the essense of something moving to and fr it again reinforces the very delicate nature of the uh ghost a sense of something you know it's not something physical it it's just a feeling a sense of something he's not telling you what that something is you feel that there is a sense of something which is moving to and fro so people may not see the ghost directly but they have a feeling ke I felt something move by my side it's a sense of something okay so the second stanza then it is talking about this very invisible kind of presence which creates a sense of of please note this down a sense of unease it's not a comfort you feel something is there but you can't see it so how would you feel you will feel a sense of unease you will feel a sense of uncertainty okay that's what is the thing so while the ghosts I repeat are not scary but their presence can only be felt but they cannot be seen they are reminder of the you know what happened in this house who lived in the house in the past stanza three there are more guests at the table than the host invited the illuminated Hall is throng with quiet inoffensive goes as silent as the pitches on the wall so you see again a a b b allall wall hose goes okay now uh what is he saying inoffensive what is uh inoffensive means inoffensive means that they are harmless in every respect now here the Gathering inside a haunted house is described and the focus is on the presence of the ghost so the first line there are more guest at the table than the host it creates a sense of again unease there's a sense of surprise because it suggesting that there are unseen and uninvited guests at the dining table they are present as part of the Gathering let me show you a photograph this will give you an idea now you see these are all the ghosts now there would be some guy now this does this this guy seems to be living beings but these all seem to be ghosts okay they're all ghost they're all ghost so they are also there as part of the Gathering inside the house and look at the lighting everything kind of gives you a you know it's it's it's a sense of un I don't know why I'm finding it very funny okay so uh so there are more guests at the table as you found out now than the hor invited that more than the number of people who are invited by the hor there are more guests at the different tables and the um so there are a constant unease unseen presence inside the house the illuminated Hall is thronged with quiet inoffensive ghost what does it mean it conveys that the ghosts are many throng suggest that it is a crowd you see there are quite a few ghosts I showed you in that photograph so throng conveys a sense of crowd that you know C be okay so that's what is being conveyed and as silent as silent means that they are very quiet okay they are not very vocal they are not creating a racket they are not creating too much of Noise Okay so they are quiet means they're not intruding into the Gathering of the people who have been invited by the hosts who are living in that building inoffensive also means that they're just present there they're harmless they're not evil creatures in any way they are as silent as the pictures on the wall so you know they are not making a noise for instance in the wall you are seeing these pictures out here right so just like these pictures they are very silent they are not making any kind of noise so it kind of emphasizes the lack of Sound by the ghost that they are blending into the background of the house you know they are not they can the presence can be felt but they cannot be seen and the pictures on the wall there's another interesting meaning the other another interesting meaning is that at one point in time these gos may have been part of these pictures their photograph may have been in these pictures it's quite possible that you know someone like this may have been the person in that photo photograph also so it it shows that the living and the dead please remember this this is an important point that the living people there in that house and the dead people are kind of co-existing there's a sense of coexistence between the people who are dead and the people who are living and this also adds to the sense of intrigue and Mystique of this particular scene okay it also shows that the dead are kind of silently observing the living people now who may have been their grandchildren or great grandchildren or whatever right next stza I hope you're understanding this completely it takes a lot of effort to do very thorough research the stranger at my Fireside cannot see the forms I see nor hear the sounds I hear he but perceives what is while unto me all that has been is visible and clear forms means some kind of shapes okay uh perceive means to see or to feel okay uh now he's talking about the narrator and a visitor now and a contrast is spoken about how the narrator sees or feels perceives and how the visitor sees or perceives so um the VIS Vis who is a stranger okay the this is referring to the visitor to the house so the visitor cannot see the ghost the forms are the ghost this is a reference to the ghost he cannot see the ghost or hear the ghostly sounds that the speaker the narrator of this particular poem is able to experience the visitor that is he the stranger he can only perceive what is visible di he can see the photographs on the wall but he cannot see the other people who I just showed you in the photograph above but the speaker can see and hear not just what is the present what is what is is meaning the present he but perceives what is while unto me all that has been is visible and clear that is but whereas I am concerned I can see what has visible and what is clear that is U but also what has been referring to the past so what has been is a reference to the past tense the ghosts are past inhabitants of the house and the speaker can perceive them that is see and feel them clearly but this visitor the stranger to the house he cannot see that so it shows that the speaker has the ability to feel the supernatural the speaker I repeat has the ability to feel the Supernatural and he also aware of the presence of the past inhabitants of of that particular house so it also makes you wonder that the speaker perhaps is also one of the goals because he's only then he will be capable of seeing the other goost okay it's a little bit of and that's one of the interesting interpretations I found in my research that you feel that the speaker Also may have been one of the ghosts of the who is there inside that particular house stanza five we have no title Deeds to house our lands owners and occupants of earlier dates from graves forgotten stretch their Dusty hands it and hold in mot man still their old Estates now what is he saying now this year now it starts getting a little more complex M me this particular word out here what does it mean it is a legal term it is a legal term which refers to property that cannot be sold or transferred it is like Perpetual permanent ownership it is referring to permanent ownership because it's referring to property that cannot be transferred into some other person's name or it cannot be sold either so it explores what this particular stanza does is to explore the concept of ownership with the history of past residents that that house may have been built by your great great grandfather okay and it kind of you know goes on and it is set from the perspective of the goals so the first line says we so now you realize what I said in the last stanza that the speaker seems to be a ghost himself so now the use of the word we so now the point being made in this particular stanza is that the first line is spoken by we which refers to the ghosts who are inhabiting the house who are there in the doorway the passage etc etc the staircase Etc title Deeds we have no title Deeds title Deeds are legal documents which are used to prove ownership of a property you are aware of that so the statement conveys that the goost in spite of being the former occupants of that particular house they don't o hold any kind of legal ownership anymore because they're dead and gone so they don't hold legal ownership of that house is what is being conveyed through the word we have no title Deeds the second line owners and occupants of earlier dates clarifies that they are the past owners and occupants of that particular house Graves forgotten what does it mean it conveys a very powerful imagery which is why I showed you the graves in that photograph the second photograph it conveys a powerful imagery because it imagines the ghosts are buried in Graves which are forgotten you have buried them and then you are no longer taking care you're not going there you're not placing flowers Etc and praying at the grave of so and so so they forgot gten grapes so they kind of reach out with their Dusty hands so dusty why Dusty why is the word Dusty been used now these are the kind of questions which can come the word Dusty has been used because you bury them inside the earth so when you're burying them inside the earth you are burying them along with the soil and the mud so they are now inside the earth which is why the use of the word Dusty it also conveys the passage of time with the passage of time there hands have also become Dusty M me I already explained to you that it's a legal term refering to property which cannot be sold or transferred so the line and hold in M me still their old Estates suggests that the ghost despite being dead despite not being there in the title Deeds still cling on to a sense of ownership of their old Estates still hold on I repeat still they their names are not in the title dates but the those still hold on as if they're still in ownership of their old estate the land and the house that they once lived on once inhabited so the stanza essentially is conveying what it is conveying that the ghosts have a please use this phrase have a supernatural have a supernatural claim to that particular house it also talks about the lingering memories of the inhabitants of the house the history of the house and that even after their death even after they have been buried inside those forgotten Graves they feel a sense of attachment towards the house that they once lived in so the line essentially is challenging the concept of ownership you may feel people are dead and gone now the ownership is this thing but they feel that it is like M pain that it cannot be sold or transferred that they still have some kind of a sense of ownership of the even though in titled Deeds their names do not still exist okay so ownership what you're trying to say convey is that ownership is not just a legal document it is also about the lives that once inhabited that particular space see my style of teaching If You Realize by now I also repeat because the more I say it it kind of gets locked in your mind space that much better you know it's almost like teaching and also revising at the same time it kind of gets loged in your mind if you feel it is slow you can always see it at 1.25x kind of speed now the spirit world and my suggestion I am not one to kind of be very bother about likes and all that kind of thing it's uh someone had said some used very interesting phrase huh that likes on a video on YouTube is like food but it's not nutrition okay so what if you really feel you have gained from this video and you would like to help which you should what you should do is to share this video over WhatsApp Etc with your friends classmates you know people who you think because I always believe the more you share you share this video and say that oh I thought I gained from this which I'm pretty sure you would uh confidence uh and you share it that student may classmate may feel that okay he did me a good turn she did me a good turn let me help him or her also with something else so that's what you should do so share this video with your friends is all I say uh this things so that this spirit is spread okay and always remember okay so halfway through the poem the spirit world around this world of sense you see the world word being used two times in the same sentence world of sense is a reference to the spirit world you understood by now we're talking about the world of the spirits the world of sense is a reference to the real world okay ethereal ethereal air ethereal air this one is a reference to the other worldly atmosphere you know the world of the ghost W Mahal what is the atmosphere out there that is what is referring to vs is a reference of passing lightly you know it's a light VA of air you know it's like a light passage of air so this explores now the poem gets complex this explores the con contion between the physical world the world of sense and the world of ghost the spirit world okay now the first line the spirit world around this world of sense Talks Of The Two Worlds as if they exist in parallel as if they kind of coexist it's talking about coexistence so the world of world of sense refers to the physical world that we are obviously aware of which we can perceive through our sense of touch eyes you can hear everything right smell everything touch the spirit world is not something which you are able to perceive it represents the space of the dead people your ancestors most likely so that is a slightly intangible it's a little WG it's a little abstract kind of a world so the spirit world floats like an atmosphere it floats like an atmosphere which is around the earth it is invisible but at the same time it floats like an atmosphere SP everywhere it passes lightly through those Earthly mist and Vapors dens but it is absolutely essential a vital breath of more ethereal air so it is absolutely essential for life to flourish on Earth so the spirit world is unseen but it kind of permeates through the physical world in many senses so everywhere wafts through it talks about the everywhere the pervasiveness of the spirit World WS is generally used is a word used for smell okay so it WS through the Earthly mist and Vapors suggest once again that it is present everywhere you can you know it is present even though you cannot perceive it um Mists and Vapors it also is a metaphor for you know it's almost like there is a veil between the two worlds you know there's a Mist when there's a Mist in Winter for instance early morning you go especially in North India you go you know there is fog there is Mist the visibility is poor it's a s so he has used the word Miss and papers in that kind of sense that there is a Mist because of which you cannot the real world and the other side of the world is the Ethereal world the world of goost you cannot see it because there is some kind of a curtain of mist between the two so that has been used as a metaphor by the poet out here meaning of the last line a vital breath of more ethereal air it means that the spiritual world is described as ethereal air per permitting means it is kind of spreading through the dense mist of our Earthly existence you know there is a dense Mist okay but it kind of you know it is there all around us so uh the last line essentially is talking about a vital breath vital breath means it emphasizes the importance of the spiritual world you know just because you cannot perceive it you cannot say it's not important it is important it is a source of vital breath suggesting that it is actually it has a nourishing quality it is actually giving life it has a lifegiving kind of quality uh ethereal means something which is also spiritual okay when I say lifegiving quality means it is something which is important ethereal means spiritual other worldly it is also spoken about in a very spiritual kind of sense okay so there is an intertwining of the spiritual and the physical and this kind of creates a sense of mystery and wonder you know whenever there is a Mist whenever the visibility is not clear you will wonder what is there I can see the visibility only about 100 meters I don't know whether the road ends there because you can see when you are driving you can see the road only till a particular distance you don't know whether there is a Gorge there whether there is a road there you cannot see whether there's a river flowing you have no idea right so you it is basically suggesting that there is more to reality than what we can perceive and the spiritual World plays an important role in our world I know this is all getting very abstract so I'm trying to explain to you word by word so that there is Clarity at least to what each line means because your questions will be according to that only it's not going to get more tough our little lives are kept in ukup by opposite attractions and desires the struggle of the Instinct that enjoys and the more noble Instinct that aspires this means balance okay so the in the first line This is talking about a state of equal balance between opposing forces so he's saying that the concept of balancing human life that are little lives that our usual lives are pulled in different directions but somehow we maintain a sense of equilibrium H that we kind of there are different tensions homework this project work has to be done we have to have attend some function in the family so there are different pressures but we somehow maintain our equilibrium what creates the sense of balance because we are driven by two opposing forces what are those two opposing forces attractions and desires please understand this it it's a little important not little important it is important it's a little complex attractions means some kind of enticement some kind of you know allurement you know it is some kind of Temptation which has a slightly negative kind of a connotation so it is talking about our instincts of a slightly based nature whereas desires has a positive quality to it because it refers to our aspirations and higher goals you know I want to top my class so that is something which is a desire attraction has a slightly negative connotation to it okay so the struggle of the Instinct that enjoys the third line and the more noble Instinct that aspires the fourth line now these two lines further elaborate on these two opposing forces of attractions and desires so the Instinct that enjoys it kind of represents our desire for pleasure okay and immediate kind of you know that we want gratification we want fulfillment of that desire and that is something which is a slightly base nature it's a slightly Primal kind of a force you know when we just want something which is not considered something which is very positive in its quality so U the more noble Instinct that aspires is the positive quality because it refers to our more lofty goals our as aspirations or Ambitions Etc it is a desire for growth it's a desire to improve oneself and that is what leaves a more lasting impact so our our goal always should be to go after our desires which is of a positive quality than getting tempted by the attractions in our life so basically this stanza is conveying that human life is a pull between oppos desires and attractions keep which side you go whether you get pulled by desires which will take you into something more meaningful in Life or you get pulled by the attractions which will only take you down and only waste your time and I'm sure all of you can relate to something like this so it is two opposite kind of forces Now by talking about both Instinct and more noble Instinct now this is again an important point you realize he talks about Instinct then he talks about the more noble instinct so the poet is acknowledging The Importance of Being Human because some individuals may lean towards enjoyment some individuals may lean towards ambition that this is something which I want to achieve in life so the poet is saying that both of them can coexist and that is the complexity of human nature and this is what shapes us as a human being this is what distinguishes a from B from C right now for example one of the students who one of the candidates who uh has got into the upsc of 2023 he was in he was a police Constable he was insulted and humiliated by his Circle inspector and he thought I am not going to do this so he kind of appeared for the upsc cracked it and now he's going to be an income tax officer that's what counts you know or um the son of uh a handloom weaver who passed away uh due to cancer about six years ago his mother rolls BS for a living coming from you know back of Beyond in Karim Naga District of telengana he sat for the upsc and he's among the top 20 or top 30 17th rank or 27th rank now he's going to be an is Officer he is driven by the desire he's driven driven by the lofty Ambitions of his life he has not got you know pulled by negative energy of attractions so that is what is uh talking about each one of you each one of us also has to be driven by the desires to do something more meaningful in life instead of getting tempted by the attractions in our life so both of them exist in everyone's life and the desire for and that is what we need to go after the more noble Instinct because that is something which is more aspirational that is something that is will take you to a higher level these perturbations this Perpetual jar of Earthly wants and aspirations High come from the influence of an unseen star and undiscovered planet in our sky so these perturbations this Perpetual jar now this introduces a feeling of disharmony a feeling of unease within human beings perturbations essentially means disturbances or disrupt disrupt disruptions or disturbances okay both you can use uh jar suggests A A Clash or a disagreement okay uh so it is talking about a sense of disharmony so uh it is talking about a constant internal struggle so the jar is of Earthly wants you know Z what are the needs okay and the uh the jar is of Earthly wand but the aspirations are high the aspirations where do they come from the aspirations come from you know something which is unseen so the conflict between our Earthly wants this one there will be a conflict yeah I want to attend this party but then you also have to achieve a particular goal my friend Pula gopich the national badminton coach always used to say that you know you cannot aspire to be an Olympic medalist or a world champion in badminton if you also want to attend a party every weekend you also want to take a break and go on a long holiday with your friends and eat junk food every few days uh and then also say but Med used to say that these things cannot coexist you need to make a choice whether you want a medal and thereby make the sacrifices for that or have a fun life then you forget about this these cannot coexist so that is something which each one of you need to think about make correlation of any of these poems or stories with your own life you'll be able to relate to it that much better so what he's saying the poet is saying is that there's always a conflict between our Earthly bonds which is our desire for physical Comfort right or let me just go and see a movie on Netflix right it's okay but you don't realize that you would waste those two two and a half hours and our aspirations high is talking about our Ambitions our you know our goals in life for more meaningful things in life uh come from the influence of an unseen star and undiscovered planet in our sky this is the metaphorical explanation for the conflict an unseen star or an Undiscovered Planet it's representing an unknown kind of a force it's an influence on our Behavior it suggests that you know our intern struggle is not unique everyone goes through this kind of an internal struggle um but what the poet is doing is to use the um imagery of some kind of a Celestial body some kind of an Heavenly Body which is in making this influence on Earth that and that's what you know in astrology we always say know this is there rahu ketu rahu ketu are what they're all celestial bodies as as per um the concept of astrology which is essentially in Hinduism so the influence of these celestial bodies on what will happen in your immediate present and immediate future so it is seen to be associated with Destiny of some kind with fate as seen in astrological science so this suggests that the conflict between your desires and aspirations is part of human life that it would be under some kind of influence so the moment he talks about Celestial stars or undiscovered Planet there's a sense of mistake you know if your astrologer tells you oh because of rahu in your you know in your third house uh your next three months are not looking very good now you don't know what is there how is that influencing you of all why is it not influencing my neighbor why is it not influencing my brother why is it only influencing me you don't know these are unexplained kind of things but the astrologist says that that's what explained and it's only for a period of 3 months you do this it will this thing now according to science scientists will tell you all this is bunam not believable but there will be people who would say that astrological science is also some kind of a science so that's what he's saying the influence of an unseen star or an Undiscovered planet in the sky you don't have any knowledge but they seem to have some kind of influence on what will happen in your life so it all adds a sense of Mystique and Intrigue and suspense uh as far as the poem is particular concerned now there's also a historical context to this because at the time when this poem was written uh you know there was a popular notion that you know celestial bodies have some kind of an influence on human nature human behavior what happens in human life and perhaps this is what Long Fellow is referring to in this particular line in this particular stanza St n and as the Moon from some dark gate of cloud throws Over the Sea a floating Bridge of light across those trim I found this very surprising it started with ghost in at the dining table and then it moves into something totally unrelated I F I found one of the reasons why I delayed doing this particular poem's explanation was that I wanted to kind of I revised it in fact four times so that there is Clarity in my mind while I'm explaining this because I found it very very is as I said complex for want of a better world now as the Moon from some dark gate of cloud throws Over the Sea a floating Bridge of light across whose trembling planks planks is as you know it's a flat piece of wood okay it's a flat piece of wood um realm means in the region okay in the region now in the first line the use of as conveys what it is a simile what is the poet trying to say that he's trying to connect The Moonlight on the sea to a bridge between the physical and the spiritual world the Moonlight as on the sea as a the Moonlight falling on the sea as some kind of a bridge between the physical and the world of spirit as the moon he's introducing the comparison he's introducing the comparison dark gives you again a sense of mystery whatever is dark is essentially mysterious the cloud has some kind of a gate like quality know the cloud is like a gate a gate of cloud uh through which the Moon is passing through that gate you know the clouds are like a gate and the Moon is passing through that so the Moonlight is imagined as some kind of a bridge between the physical and the spiritual worlds it is constructed by light Moonlight is essentially light so it's constructed from light stretching across the sea floating a floating Bridge of light floating again conveys a sense of impermanent you know floating has a sense of you know being very ethereal and an impermanent kind of a nature the Moonlight path it is not something there permanent it's not something physically there but it is creating a sense of a bridge so the SYM is used to kind of is used to kind of create a sense of wonder a sense of Mystique and mying and the Moonlight is not just a source of light across the sea it is creating some kind of a magical pathway please use this phrase it is creating a sense of magical pathway across the surface of the water across whose trembling plants now the speaker is imagining uh fancies imagination okay he kind of Fanci Miss imaginations uh crowding across the trembling planks of the moonlight moonlight uh uh path why is it a trembling PLS because trembling conveys a sense of uncertainty it conveys a sense of something which is fragile it is not something which is can be completely dependent on kab it can kind of collapse so the bridge while it is very beautiful thanks to the Moonlight it is not entirely very stable our fancies crowd means that the speaker is not just observing the moonlit path their fancies are actively drawn to it their imagination is drawn to it you know he's looking at it and kind of imagining some kind of a world as a bridge so they're eager to explore where it leads and crowd suggests A Rush of uncert curiosity and it desire to venture into the uh unknown you know our Fancy's crowd means there's a sense of thronging once again into the realm of mystery and night it talks about the destination of all those imagination of all those fancies so they are drawn towards the realm of mystery and night night and mystery they're almost like together um it conveys the unknown it conveys the Unseen something which is not clear you cannot see in the darkness and and obviously it's hinting therefore at the spiritual World night again conveys a sense of mistake so the entire stanza complicated and complex stanza it is kind of reinforcing the sense of the imagination okay the Moonlight is interpreted as a bridge I repeat and the use this is very important he has kind of ended after the comma he has put this Dash it's not a hyphen it's a dash it kind of gives you a sense of anticipation k what is he going to write so he has put a dash at the end of the ninth stanza so the last stanza abys abys it is a bottomless whole that's the meaning of this word so from the world of spirit there descends a bridge of light connecting it with this what does the first two what do the first two lines mean so this line uses the moonlit path as a metaphor so that from there he has connected it so so means is kind of connecting it that's why the use of the dash so he's saying that the moonlit path is a metaphor for a bridge between the physical world that is with this connecting with this refering to the physical world and the spiritual world so that there is some kind of a connection between the two worlds that's what he's trying to convey over whose unsteady flow that sways and bends W wander our thoughts above the dark abys so he's saying that this again reinforces the metaphorical Bridge the moonlit path and the unsteady floor why is he talking about it as an unsteady floor that it is an uncertain it's slightly dangerous kind of a connection and dark abyss is a reference again to the unknown nature of the spiritual world and you know in your mind you know certain things are very subconscious mind it's all very abstract so there is a sense of risk danger mistake mystery so it's like a dark abys you are not very clear about what these particular thoughts May mean which may come sometimes in your dreams for instance you may get a lot of thoughts which are not very clear that's what this kind of a dark abyss refers to so the poet is trying to con convey that communication with the ghost could be risky because of the trembling nature of the bridge the bridge which is uncertain it is kind of not very steady it is not permanent so any kind of communication with the GS with the spiritual world could actually be a potential risk because of the uncertain nature of this bridge which is formed by the Moonlight okay with this we come to the end of the poem as I said the last five stanas please revise it again because it's not something which you can understand in the first go it will take time it took me time simly I've already told you as silent as the pictures on the wall wherever you'll find uh the use of as or like alliteration impalpable Impressions the m and the P sound a sense of something haunted houses these are all alliterations personification the moon personified as a Heavenly being imagery both visual imagery auditory imagery Silence of the ghost uh visual imagery harmless Phantoms Floating Bridge of light these are all visual imagery U then the metaphor the spirit world is a metaphor for the realm of the dead or the very intangible intangible means something which is not you know which is very uncertain uh the Earthly wants and aspirations high are metaphors for the conflicting forces that drive human behavior right the bridge of light it is used to establish connection between the two worlds the physical and the spiritual World personification is another poetic device which has been used the clouds are personified as having a dark gate adding a sense of mystery and control to the mystery image of the Moon uh repetition is another literary device used uh all that has been emphasizes the speaker's unique ability to perceive the past within the house then finally enjambment which is where a sentence runs without a pause you know it runs from one sentence to the other and the end of the line and this can again create a sense of anticipation and flow and this has been there in many parts of the poem so with this we come to the end of this particular poem uh I hope I've done Justice to it and uh as I said you will need to just revise it uh a couple of times in order to be able to understand the different themes so you understand the themes and you relate to it take down notes that will make the job of understanding this poem and being able to to answer questions on it that much easier okay tata bye-bye thank you very much God bless you