Fire-Hymn Subjective Question

1. How did the passer-by get frightened?

Ans. The burning ghat is lit with flames of fire burning dead bodies all around. It is a very fearsome sight. Sight of burning dead bodies creates fear in the mind. At night ghosts move all over the burning ghat and the passers by get panicked due to the fear of unknown.

2. Which event does the expression the burning ghat’ refer to?

Ans. The scene at the burning ghat reminds the poet of the event when the dead body of his new born infant was consigned to flames as the tower of silence was thousands of miles away.

3. Where do you think is the ghat located?

Ans. Generally the burning places are located near the bank of river. In the poem also the poet has made a mention of the word river which indicates that the burning ghat was situated near the bank of river.

4. What does the speaker see/observe in the morning at the ghat?

Ans. The speaker observed that the fire that was lit during the last evening at several places to burn the dead bodies had forgotten to complete its task as some of the bodies were only partly burnt. Besides, the speaker observed that the logs of wood which were burning brightly last evening had got reduced to greyish ash.

5. Why does he say that the redness of the fire is cruel?

Ans. He says so because the red hot fire reduces everything to ashes without any partiality or differentiation. It eats up each and every thing of the dead body and that is the immoral behaviour of the fire.

6. In what sense does the fire forget its dead?

Ans. There are times when the body of a dead person is not completly burnt when it is consigned to flames and some parts particularly the hands, fingers or toes remain partly or half burnt. The fire forgets its dead in the sense that it partially accomplishes its part of burning the dead body.

7. Why does the speaker reveal his religious identity?

Ans. The speaker reveals his religious identity because Zoroastrians usually send the body of a dead person to the tower of silence but he was compelled to consign the dead body of his first born to fire because the nearest tower of silence was thousand of miles away.

8. Why did he consign his first born to the flames?

Ans. He had to consign his first born to flames because the nearest tower of silence was thousands of miles away.

9. What did the fire-hymn say to him?

Ans. The fire-hymn’ said to him “You Stand Forgiven.”

10. What are the different forms and roles of fire at the ghat?

Ans. When the body of a dead person is consigned to fire, high flames erupt initially from the burning wood covering the dead body. Later these flames get reduced to fireballs of burning wood and finally to grey colour ash. These are the various changing forms of fire at the ghat.

11. How does the ghat appear to the common people?

Ans. Ghat is a cremation ground where the dead bodies are disposed off by burning till they get reduced to ashes. In the normal course these ghats have a deserted look as people are scared to visit such places. It is a normal belief amongst the common people that these ghats are inhabited by ghosts who move about freely at the night time.

12. What is the fire’s debauchery?

Ans. The main function of fire is to burn anything which comes in its way or thrown into it. The debauchery of fire is that it carries on its function of burning in an unconcerned manner. Half burnt limbs, unburnt fingers mentioned by the poet in the poem help us to understand the immoral behaviour of the fire and its indulgence in intemperance.

13. What has offended the religious sentiments of the speaker when he was a child?

Ans. The speaker belongs to the Parsi community. Parsis worship fire and do not throw anything into it. But the poet was compelled to consign the dead body of his first born to fire because the nearest tower of silence was thousands of miles away. It had hurt the religious sentiments of the poet when he was young.

14. Why do you think the speaker consigned his first born to the flames?

Ans. The poet has mentioned in the poem that he had lost his first born when the child was of tender age. He had no choice but to consign the body of his son to fire because the nearest tower of silence was thousands of miles away.

15. Why was the speaker ‘broken’ and how did he regard himself rebellious?

Ans. The poet was deeply aggrived by the death of his first born child. Another depressing factor was that he had no choice but to consign the dead body of his son to fire against the norms of Parsi religion because the nearest tower of silence was thousand of miles away. When the poet went to ghat next day to fetch the ashes of his child he found the fingers of the child not fully burnt. He swore at that time to save the fire from the sin of forgetfulness.

16. Why did he swear twice to save the fire from two different sins?

Ans. The poet was greatly disturbed to see that the fire many a times commits the sin of forgetfulness. In the first instance, when he had consigned his first born to flames, he found the unburnt fingers clenched into fist, perhaps due to intense pain. In second instance, when he visited the ghat he found half burnt limbs at several places which made him to think about the immoral behaviour of fire. It was a grave sin and so the poet took an oath to save the fire from the sin of forgetfulness.

17. Though the poem reveals the religious leaning of a Parsi, it still has its human appeal. Justify it with your own comments.

Ans. The poem ‘Fire-Hymn’ reveals the religious leanings of a Parsi and at the same time it has immense human appeal. It appeals to the society to adhere to the moral values and social norms and never attempt to work against them.