The Poem “Prayer for Strength” is Poem 4 taken from Tulip Series English for students of Class 8 of JKBOSE board for students of Jammu and Kashmir. The poem is written by Rabindranath Tagore. This particular post is about Prayer for Strength Poem 4 Summary and Questions. You will find Difficult words and their meanings, a Summary of the poem Prayer for Strength and Question Answers to the poem Prayer for Strength. In my previous post, I discussed The Bangle Sellers Poem 3 Summary and Questions. So, let’s not waste any more time and get started with today’s post.
Prayer for Strength Poem 4 Summary and Questions
Introduction
The poet through the poem “Prayer for Strength” prays to God to make him strong enough to bear the joys and sorrows of life. He also prays to grant him the strength to help the poor and to make his mind free from everyday issues. Finally, the poet prays to Lord to give him the strength to submit his whole life to God’s will.
Poem 4: Prayer for Strength (By R.N. Tagore)
This is my prayer to thee, my Lord – strike
Strike at the root of penury in my heart.
Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows.
Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service.
Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might.
Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles.
And give me the strength to surrender my strength to Thy Will with love.
Prayer for Strength Poem 4 Words Meanings
| Word | English Meaning | Hindi Meaning | Urdu Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prayer | Request | प्रार्थना | دعا |
| Strike | Hit | प्रहार | مارنا |
| Root | Base | मूल | اصل |
| Penury | Extreme poverty | दरिद्रता | غربت |
| Strength | Power | बल | طاقت |
| Lightly | In a light manner | धीरे से | ہلکے سے |
| Joys | Happiness | खुशियां | خوشیاں |
| Sorrows | Sadness | दुःख | غم |
| Fruitful | Bearing abundant fruits, producing results | लाभदायक | پھل دار |
| Disown | To not own | त्यागना | انکار |
| Insolent | Disrespectful, rude | बदतमीज | گستاخ |
| Might | Power | शक्ति | عظمت |
| Trifles | Things of little value of significance | कम महत्व की चीजें | بہت کم اہمیت کی چیزیں |
| Thee | You (old use) | तेरा | تیرا |
| Surrender | To yield, to give up | आत्मसमर्पण | ہتھیار ڈالنا |
| Thy | Your (old use) | तुम्हारा | تیرا |
Summary of Poem Prayer for Strength in English
The poem “Prayer for Strength” is a prayer written by Rabindranath Tagore. The poet is asking the Lord to provide him with strength so that he can face the challenges of life. The poet prays to Lord to strike and remove the base of poverty in his heart.
He wishes and prays to God to make his heart strong to bear the joys and sorrows of life. The poet also asks the Lord for strength to make his love fruitful in service.
The poet then asks for strength so that he always remains kind to the poor and never disowns them or is weak before the rude and wicked persons. He asks for strength to raise his mind far above petty issues of daily life and at last poet asks the Lord for the strength to surrender himself completely to God’s will with love.
Summary of Poem Prayer for Strength in Hindi
कविता ” प्रेयर फॉर स्ट्रेंथ” रवींद्रनाथ टैगोर द्वारा लिखी गई प्रार्थना है। कवि प्रभु से उसे शक्ति प्रदान करने के लिए कह रहा है ताकि वह जीवन की चुनौतियों का सामना कर सके। कवि भगवान से प्रार्थना करता है कि वह उसके हृदय से गरीबी के आधार पर प्रहार करें और उसे दूर करें।
वह ईश्वर से कामना करता है और प्रार्थना करता है कि वह जीवन के सुख-दुख को सहन करने के लिए अपने दिल को मजबूत करें। कवि अपने प्रेम को सेवा में फलदायी बनाने के लिए भगवान से शक्ति भी मांगता है।
कवि फिर ताकत मांगता है ताकि वह हमेशा गरीबों पर दया करे और कभी भी उनका खंडन न करे या असभ्य और दुष्ट व्यक्तियों के सामने कमजोर न हो। वह अपने दिमाग को दैनिक जीवन के छोटे-छोटे मुद्दों से ऊपर उठाने के लिए शक्ति मांगता है और अंत में कवि भगवान से प्रेम के साथ भगवान की इच्छा के लिए पूरी तरह से आत्मसमर्पण करने की शक्ति मांगता है।
Theme of the Poem Prayer for Strength
The poem “Prayer for Strength” is a prayer made by the poet (Rabindranath Tagore) to Lord. He prays to Lord for a strong heart and wishes the Lord to fill his heart with love and compassion. The poet wants to serve fruitfully and wants strength to help the poor and face rude and dishonest people.
The poem is a message from the poet to all the people of the society. He wants all people to be kind-hearted and helpful in nature. He wants people to serve humanity, help the poor and stand against the evils of society. The poet gives a message to all of us to think above the petty issues of daily life and surrender all our strength to God’s will.
Rhyme Scheme of the Poem Prayer for Strength
The poem “Prayer for Strength” is a prayer written by Rabindranath Tagore. It has 7 seven lines and there is no fixed rhyme scheme in the poem. The phrase ‘give me strength’ is repeated five times in the poem.
Thinking About the Poem
1. Why does the poet want God to strike at his heart?
Ans. The poet wants God to strike and remove the roots of poverty from his heart. By the poverty of heart, the poet means the absence of love and compassion for others. He wants to be a loving and caring human being. So, he asks God to strike at the root of penury in his heart.
2. What does the poet want the strength for?
Ans. The poet wants the strength to bear the joys and sorrows of life. He also wants strength to make his love fruitful in service. The poet also wants strength to help the poor and face dishonest and rude people. He also wants strength to raise his mind above the daily issues and surrender his strength to God’s will.
3. How can love be made meaningful in one’s life?
Ans. Love can be made meaningful in one’s life if we dedicate our love to serving the poor and needy people. One can make love meaningful in one’s life by using it in the service of mankind.
4. What should be our attitude towards the poor?
Ans. We should own the poor and help them with their needs. We should never look down on poor people. We should always be kind to the poor.
5. What does ‘bend my knees’ signify?
Ans. The phrase ‘bend my knees in the poem means to surrender in front of dishonest and rude and accept his supremacy.
6. Why does the poet want to raise his mind high above ‘daily trifles’?
Ans. The poet wants to raise his mind high above the daily trifles because he wants to fill his life and soul with love and compassion for poor and needy people and wants to surrender his strength to God’s will.
7. Why does the poet ask for strength to surrender his will to God’s will?
Ans. God’s will is the well-being of all his creatures and it can be achieved if one works without selfishness. The poet asks Lord for strength to surrender his will to God’s will because man’s desires are very powerful and they make him weak by heart. They did not let him work according to God’s will.
Language Work
- Give me the strength never to disown the poor;
In this line, the word ‘disown’ is the opposite of own. In this word, dis- is a prefix. Dis- makes a word negative. Make some other words with dis- like disgrace, dislike.
Ans. Some words with dis- as a prefix are disorder, dishonest, disobey, disqualified, displease, disrespect, dismiss, dishonour, disappear, disagree, distrust, discomfort, distracting, etc.
- When the post repeats certain words in the poem, it is called repetition. Read the poem again and find the words and expressions that have been repeated in the poem.
Ans. The words “strike and strength” and the expression “give me strength” are repeated in the poem.
Let’s Write
Write a short note on Rabindranath Tagore.
Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter. He was born on 7 May 1861 in Calcutta. The childhood name of Rabindranath Tagore was Rabindranath Thakur. The pen name of Rabindranath Tagore was Bhanusingha. He was raised mostly by servants because his mother died in his early childhood. He was married to Mrinalini Devi in 1883 and had five children.
The notable works of Rabindranath Tagore are Gitanjali, Ghare-Baire, Gora, Jana Gana Mana, Rabindra Sangeet, Amar Shonar Bangla, etc. He was awarded the Noble Prize in 1913 for his contribution to the field of literature. He died on 7 August 1941 in Calcutta.
Extra Questions Poem 4 Prayer for Strength
- Who is the writer of the poem Prayer for Strength?
Ans. Rabindranath Tagore.
- What does poet R.N. Tagore request in the poem Pray for Strength?
Ans. The poet prays to Lord for strength to help the poor, face the rude, raise his mind above the petty issues and surrender his strength to God’s will.
- How we should treat the poor according to the poet?
Ans. We should never disown the poor and help them in their difficulties.
- What is the message that the poet wants to give to convey to society through this poem?
Ans. The poet wants all human beings to be helping, loving, and kind-hearted.
- Name the prestigious award given to R.N. Tagore and when it was given?
Ans. R.N. Tagore was awarded the prestigious Noble Prize award in the field of Literature for Gitanjali.
- Name some prominent works of Rabindranath Tagore.
Ans. Gitanjali, Ghare-Baire, Gora, Jana Gana Mana, Rabindra Sangeet, Amar Shonar Bangla, etc. are some prominent works of Rabindranath Tagore.
That’s all about Prayer for Strength Poem 4 Summary and Questions. Hope you answers for your query. Do share your iews about this post in the comment section below.
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