Summary | Clouds and Waves | Rabindranath Tagore

 Summary 

               Rabindranath Tagore in his poem ‘Clouds and Waves’ has expressed his tribute to a child’s imagination.

               A little child is called by the folks in the sky and the waves in the sea to join their play from the dawn of day till the night sets in. The child expresses its his/her inability to reach them up. They ask her to come up to the edge of the earth and they would lift her. She refuses the temptations and goes to her mother. She prefers playing with her mother. She tells her they could play the game of the cloud and moon, and the waves and the strange shore. She seems to be blissfully enjoying her playtime with her mother and refusing the tempting invitation from the clouds and the waves who are strangers. The poem reflects an innocent child’s enjoyment is being with her mother who can be a close companion, and playing all the games her child desires. The confidence and trust of the child with the mother than natural allurements has been brought out in this poem.

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What games does the child want to play with his/her mother?

               Rabindranath Tagore in his poem ‘Clouds and Waves’ has expressed his tribute to a child’s imagination. A little child is called by the folks in the sky and the waves in the sea to join their play from the dawn of day till night sets in but the child expresses its inability to reach them up. The child would rather love to play a game with the mother at home. He/she wants to play a game of cloud and moon with the mother where the child would be the cloud and the mother the moon. Then it would cover the mother. In another game the child wants to be the waves and the mother to be the shore. The child wanted to roll on and on upon the mother’s lap which was the shore.

What is the main theme of the poem ‘cloud and Waves’?

               Rabindranath Tagore in his poem ‘Clouds and Waves’ has expressed his tribute to a child’s imagination. The poem brings out the innocence of children and how nothing can lure a child not even allurements of nature. For a child, the togetherness with mother in work and play is the greatest joy. The bonding of a child with the mother is so strong that all the attractions are worthless. The theme of the poem can be deducted as a symphony of love between a child and its mother.

Identify and explain the Hyperbole in the poem

               Rabindranath Tagore in his poem ‘Clouds and Waves’ has expressed his tribute to a child’s imagination. The speaker in the poem is a little child and so it is expected have its limitation in the use of figurative language but the poet has certainly extended the child’s imagination beyond our expectation. The child talks with the clouds high up in the sky and has conservation with the clouds. The child talks with the clouds high up in the sky and had conservation with the clouds. The child also has conversation with the waves. Both these are exaggeration beyond the capacity of a child’s imagination. Hence it is a ‘Hyperbole’.