Summary: The Merchant
The speaker asks his mother to imagine that the speaker is to travel into strange
lands and that his boat is ready and waiting at the landing. He talks about champa
flowers and harvests because champa flowers are a bright yellow and most grains
that are ripe turn a golden colour. They are so beautiful to look at that he thinks they
are comparable to gold.
He also plans to get the pearls from the pearl island shore. He thinks that pearls
tremble on the meadow flowers, drop on the grass and are scattered on the sand in
spray by the sea-waves.
The speaker wants to give his brother two winged horses. He wants to give him two
because he hopes that his brother will invite him to fly with him in the sky amongst
the white clouds. He also wants to bring his father a magic pen. The pen is a magic
pen that without his father’s knowledge will write by itself.
Finally, for his beloved mother, the speaker says wants to place the jewel that cost
seven kings their kingdoms in a casket and give it to her.
The speaker has a wonderful imagination and is very adventurous. He thinks the
flowing streams to be golden—he compares harvests with gold. (Mother, do you
want heaps and heaps of gold?/There, by the banks of golden streams,/fields are full
of golden harvest./And in the shade of the forest path the golden champa flowers
drop on the ground.) He thinks he will find pearls that are as big as the raindrops of
autumn the pearl island shore. (Mother, do you want pearls big as the raindrops of
autumn?/I shall cross to the pearl island shore./There in the early morning light,
pearls tremble on the meadow flowers, pearls drop on the grass, and pearls are
scattered on the sand in spray by the wild sea-waves.) He wants to get a pair of
horses for his brother, a magical pen for his father and a jewel for his mother that is
so precious that it cost seven kings their kingdoms (My brother shall have a pair of
horses with wings to fly among the clouds./For father I shall bring a magic pen that,
without his knowing, will write of itself./For you, mother, I must have the casket and
jewel that cost seven kings their kingdoms.)
The descriptions in the poem bring alive the beautiful things and places that the
speaker is telling us about. We, too, are able to see the marvellous things that he
imagines. This makes the situations seem more real to the readers as well as they get
to share in the imagined wonders in the poem.
POEM THE MERCHANT
A. 1. The speaker is asking his mother to imagine that the speaker is to travel into strange lands and
that his boat is ready and waiting at the landing.
2. He is talking about champa flowers and harvests because champa flowers are a bright yellow and
most grains that are ripe turn a golden colour. They are so beautiful to look at that he things they
are comparable to gold.
3. He plans to get the pearls from the pearl island shore. He thinks that pearls tremble on the
meadow flowers, drop on the grass and are scattered on the sand in spray by the sea-waves.
4. The pen is a magic pen that without his father’s knowledge will write by itself.
5. The speaker wants to give his brother two winged horses. He wants to give him two because he
hopes that his brother will invite him to fly with him in the sky amongst the white clouds.
6. The speaker says wants to place the jewel that cost seven kings their kingdoms in the casket.
B. 1. a. The speaker focusses on the marvelous gifts of nature and compares the value of all natural
and beautiful things with gold.
b. Yes, the speaker thinks that these aspects of nature are as beautiful and valuable as gold.
c. The speaker seems to be a nature- lover and a great admirer of the bounties of nature.
2. a. The speaker’s brother seems to a very adventurous person who enjoys physical activity. He
would also have to be very daring to enjoy riding a flying horse.
b. The speaker has a very loving relationship with his mother.
C. 1. The speaker has a wonderful imagination and is very adventurous. He thinks the flowing streams
to be golden—he compares harvests with gold. (Mother, do you want heaps and heaps of gold?/
There, by the banks of golden streams, / fields are full of golden harvest. / And in the shade of the
forest path the golden champa flowers drop on the ground.) He thinks he will find pearls that
are as big as the raindrops of autumn the pearl island shore. (Mother, do you want pearls big as
the raindrops of autumn?/I shall cross to the pearl island shore. / There in the early morning light,
pearls tremble on the meadow flowers, pearls drop on the grass, and pearls are scattered on the
sand in spray by the wild sea-waves.) He wants to get a pair of horses for his brother, a magical pen
for his father and a jewel for his mother that is so precious that it cost seven kings their kingdoms
(My brother shall have a pair of horses with wings to fly among the clouds. / For father I shall bring
a magic pen that, without his knowing, will write of itself. / For you, mother, I must have the casket
and jewel that cost seven kings their kingdoms.)
2. The speaker and his family seem to be content with the gifts of nature. The speaker is highly
imaginative and adventurous. The mother is very affectionate and loving. The speaker loves all the
members of his family. They care about one another and the speaker wants to surprise his family
members with wonderful gifts that he knows will make them happy.
3. The description bring alive the beautiful things and places that the speaker is telling us about. We,
too, are able to see the marvelous things that he imagines. This makes the situations seem more
real to the readers as well as they get to share in the imagined wonders in the poem.
D. My ship finally reached Dreaming Island. The sky was not its usual blue—it had turned into one huge
mass of solid purple above us. The sun was nowhere to be seen. In fact, it was the moon and the stars
that made the sky look like a cape covered in glitters and sequins. But was only ten in the morning!
As the day progressed, the purple of the sky became more intense and the moon and the stars had
a brilliant shine of their own. I stood bewildered. The sands had the soft smell of wet grass but it had
not rained. The coconut trees were massive and seemed like the giants swaying from one end of the
island to the other. In the distance, I saw a river glisten—there were waves in the river and they made
a roaring noise as they broke on the bank. There were no animals other than some rhinos and some
birds that looked like cranes. The cranes danced on the tip of the rhinos’ noses in joy. The weather was
always windy and there were huge storms that night. In the morning, when I went outside, the entire
island was covered in ice. The storm had left the ice in its wake and the entire island was frozen and
still but for me.
THE MERCHANT POEM
A. Answer in brief.
What kind of gold does the little ‘merchant’ plan to gift his mother?
Ans: The little merchant wants to gift his mother heaps and heaps of gold. This he says he will find by
the banks of streams in the form of rich ripe golden harvest. Besides this he will gather more gold in
the form of the yellow champa flowers that have carpeted the ground.
B. Answer in detail.
Which member of the family is closest to the little ‘merchant’? Why do you think so?
Ans: The child’s mother remains closest to his heart. He is filled with a desire to gift his mother all
things that are precious. He knows that gold and pearls are precious things and wants to give his
mother gold in the form of ripe harvest and champa flowers, in hundreds of baskets. He wishes
to bring his mother pearls from the pearl island shore. Besides this he wants his mother to have
the casket and jewel that kings have lost their kingdoms fighting over. Though the child refers to
his father and brother with love and warmth, it is his mother he addresses and wishes to gift the
most.
C. Read the lines and answer the questions.
Mother, do you want pearls big as the raindrops of autumn?
a. Where does the child plan to get the pearls from?
b. How does he plan to go there?
c. What are these pearls he is referring to?
Ans: a. The child plans to get the pearls from the pearl island shore.
b. He plans to travel in a boat as a merchant.
c. The pearls he is referring to are the dew drops he would find on flowers and on blades of
grass. He would also find them on the shores in the form of spray.
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