- Humour through exaggeration: a man's singing is so terrible it wrecks the whole world.
- Irony: music is supposed to delight; this "power of music" is destructive.
- Sound and rhythm: the poem itself is noisy and lively, full of rhyme, alliteration and onomatopoeia.
- A gentle lesson: people should consider how their actions affect others; enthusiasm without consideration becomes a nuisance.
- Comic justice: the sagacious goat silences the singer, and peace returns.
Foundation first: comic justice
Satire mocks a human fault so that we can see it clearly. Comic justice is a funny punishment that fits the fault. Bhishma Lochan ignores everyone's pleas, so he is silenced by a creature that cannot be reasoned with either: a goat that answers noise with noise. It is rough, and it is funny, because the punishment matches the fault.
Worked examples
Example 1 (3 marks; ICSE 2026, Q7(iv)). How does the poet describe the billy goat which appears at the end of the poem? What does it do to help bring relief to the suffering people?
Model answer. The poet calls the goat sagacious, that is, wise. It lowers its horns and charges straight at Bhishma Lochan, answering his bellow with its own. The blow scatters his song, the singing stops and the world receives the gift of silence.
Why this scores: the description "sagacious" (1 mark); the charge with lowered horns (1 mark); the result, silence (1 mark).
Example 2 (4 marks; ICSE 2025 Improvement, Q6(v)). Give any one example of exaggeration used in the poem. How does exaggeration make the poem more appealing? If you had to give the poem an alternate title, what would you call it? Justify your choice.
Model answer. One example is that his voice is heard from Delhi to Burma. Exaggeration makes the poem funny and vivid, because the absurd pictures make us laugh and show how unbearable the voice is. I would call the poem "The Gift of Silence", because the happy ending is the silence the goat brings, and it is what the suffering creatures wanted most.
Why this scores: an example (1 mark); the effect of exaggeration (1 mark); an alternate title (1 mark); the justification (1 mark). Do not forget the title and its reason.
Example 3 (MCQ with a twist; ICSE 2026 Improvement, Q1(xvi)). In the poem "The Power of Music", which phrase means to be flipped upside-down? (a) Turn turtle (b) Welkin weeps (c) Blast of brutal violence (d) Booming out his broadside
Solution. (a). "Turn turtle" is the idiom for overturning. "Welkin weeps" is the sky weeping, and the other two phrases describe the loudness of the voice.
Doubts cleared
Q. Why is silence called a "gift"? Because after such noise, quiet is precious. It is also given by an unexpected rescuer, which completes the comic reversal.
Q. Is the ending cruel to Bhishma Lochan? It is rough but playful. The goat only stops the song, and the poem treats it as a joke, not as revenge. In the 2026 question, a personal view that pities the singer is also accepted if you give a reason.
Q. What lesson does the poem teach? We should think of others when we do what we love. Enthusiasm without consideration becomes a nuisance.
Mistakes to avoid
- Saying that the goat sings or kills the singer. It charges and scatters the song.
- Writing only "the poem is funny". Say how: exaggeration, sound, irony.
- Giving an alternate title without a reason.
Check yourself
- Who finally stops the singing, and how?
- What is the "gift" the world receives?
- Give one lesson from the poem.
Answers: 1. A sagacious billy goat, which lowers its horns and charges at Bhishma Lochan, scattering his song. 2. Silence. 3. We should consider how our actions affect others; enthusiasm that ignores others' comfort is a nuisance.