Asleep in the Valley (D.A.Q)

Asleep in the Valley

Arthur Rimbaud  

D.A.Q 

 

Asleep in the Valley - Questions and Answers (D.A.Q)

1. Justify the title of the verse form "Asleep in the Valley".

Answer: - Arthur Rimbaud's poem "Asleep in the Valley" is a very beautiful poem in which he has presented the reality of war. 

But the writer doesn't reveal a lot of concerning war. He offers a natural description of a depression wherever a slow stream flows. He has targeted a lot of the scenic fantastic thing about the depression than damaging consequence of till the terribly finish of the verse form. 

The poet incomes with the outline of a young soldier who is blissfully sleeping. His body is stretched in the heavy bushes. His feet are among the flowers. These flowers could symbolically consult with respect to the martyr paid naturally as a result of his devotion has snatched his life away. So he is sleeping forever peacefully. 

The soldier could be a victim of war that has been created clear by the expression the two red holes. It exposes how inhumanly the soldier is victimized in war. These red holes are nothing but 'bullet wounds'. So the title of the poem is very appropriate.

2. Why does the poet ask nature to keep the soldier worm?

Answer: - In the line, ‘Ah, Nature, keep him warm; he may catch cold’, the tenderness the poet feels for the dead soldier is obvious. 

The poet implores Nature to keep his body from growing cold. Cold here is symbolic of death. The writer is aware of the soldier is already dead however he needs his readers to attend until the last line of the verse form to work this vital detail out. 

And that is why he uses the phrase ‘catch a cold’ for its colloquial meaning, alluding to contracting the common respiratory infection. So the poet asks nature to keep the soldier warm.

3. Describe the valley and its surroundings where the soldier is lying. 

Answer: - The poem is written like a telescope which focuses on different parts of the valley and zooms in on the details. 

The poet focuses on a panoramic view of the valley, from which he moves to the mountains and then the body of the soldier in the meadow. A small stream is flowing through the valley. There are various types of flowers and bushes in that valley. 

He zooms in on the soldier’s feet which are among the flowers. His pillow is made of fern. Rimbaud waits till the last line of the verse form to reveal that the soldier is dead. His delay in portraying the death of the solider is perhaps to heighten the effect and to shock the readers into seeing the negative impacts of war.

4. What techniques have been used by the poet to subvert the after-effect of war?

Answer: - ‘Asleep in the Valley’ is undoubtedly a war poem. But the after-effect of war is subverted by the poetic techniques of the poet. 

The poet uses subtle techniques to make the war ravaged valley appear bearable. The poet, through this poem, speaks of many things like death, war and life. 

But mostly, he chooses to focus on the life retained after war is waged and destruction is wrought. The poet’s dilemma here is to either choose death or life, and he chooses life. But with the choice comes the inevitable threat of death. 

His poem then entangles itself in a dialogue between life and death and uses ‘sleep’, which encompasses both, to provide the main symbol of the poem. We can also see in this poem, the birth of the Symbolic tradition.

5. What poetic devices have been employed by the poet in the poem Asleep in the Valley?

Answer: - The poet has employed many poetic devices in his poem Asleep in the Valley. 

Some of them are as follows-

‘A small green valley where a slow stream flows/

And leaves long strands of silver’- 

This poem is rhythmical, and full of alliteration. This is the first instance of Alliteration used in the poem. Alliteration is that the incidence of same sounds or same letters adjacently or in shut quarters.

‘Sun-soaked bed’- this is another instance of Alliteration-‘Ah, Nature, keep him warm; he may catch cold’- this is an instance of an Apostrophe. An apostrophe is a figure of speech used to address an inanimate object or an abstract quality. 

This is also an act of Personification. Nature is personified as a human being who is to assume the role of a caretaker for the sleeping soldier-

“In his side there are two red holes”- 

this line is an example of Metonymy. Metonymy is a figure of speech by which the name or meaning of a thing or concept is substituted by its attributes. Instead of writing ‘two bullet holes’, Rimbaud writes ‘two red holes’. Bullets puncture the body and causes bleeding which turns the holes red. Thus, he substitutes the word bullet by red, which represents the quality of the bullet.

 *****

Also Read:

* Asleep in the Valley – M.C.Q

** Asleep in the Valley – S.A.Q

*** H.S. English Suggestion 2021