Page 112 - DENG104_ELECTIVE_ENGLISH_I

Unit 10: Indian Weavers by Sarojini Naidu

10.3 Explanation Notes

PART 1 (Stanza I)

Weavers, weaving at break of day ………. a new-born child.
Have you ever noticed the colours we choose for a new born baby’s clothes? Why do you
think we choose these colours? In the first stanza the poet, Sarojini Naidu describes weavers
weaving cloth in the early morning. She asks the weavers why they are weaving a cloth of a
particular colour. They say that the cloth that they are weaving is the colour of a halcyon’s wings.

It is beautiful and blue because it will be used for making the clothes of a newly born child.

PART 2 (Stanza II)

Weavers, weaving at fall of night ……….. veils of a queen
In this stanza the poet asks the weavers why they are weaving a cloth late in the evening. She
asks why it is so bright and colourful. The weavers tell her that the cloth is brightly and richly
coloured like the feathers of a peacock because they are weaving it for a queen. The queen will
use this cloth to make her marriage veil.

PART 3 (Stanza III)

Weavers, weaving solemn and still …………. man’s funeral shroud.
You must have noticed people wearing white clothes to visit a friend who has lost a loved one.
Why do we not wear bright clothes on such occasions? In the above stanza the poet asks the
weavers what they are weaving late in the night. The weavers reply that they are weaving a
thin white cloth to cover a dead body.

Self Assessment

Complete the following summary of the poem by filling in each blank with words from the
box below:

shroud cheerful/gay weavers peacock clouds wedding dress
morning night feather cloth serious blue

The narrator notices _________ busy weaving ________.
They do this from __________ to __________. She wonders why they are weaving such a
__________ fabric, early in the morning. The weavers tell her that they are weaving the __________
cloth for a newborn baby.
At the fall of ___________ they are busy weaving a __________ for the queen. The colour of
that cloth is similar to the feathers of a __________. The weavers are in a __________ mood late
at night as they are weaving cloth for a dead man’s __________. It is white like a __________
and the __________. In short, they weave for different occasions in a person’s life.

10.4 Summary

• The poem describes the different stages of Human life, i.e. Birth, Marriage and Death.
In another way it tells about the life-cycle of a human being which includes Childhood,

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