Poem at a glance
- Poet: Sukumar Ray (1887–1923); Bengali Ganer Guntho, from Abol Tabol (1923); translated by Sukanta Chaudhuri.
- Singer: Bhishma Lochan Sharma; sings in summer; voice heard from Delhi to Burma.
- People: dazed, trampled, pale and sick; beg him to stop; he sings on.
- Chaos: carts overturn; horses stunned; animals whine and stare with feet in the air; birds "turn turtle while they're winging"; fish dive seeking silence; trees shake and crash; mansions tumble; the sky weeps.
- Goat: a sagacious billy goat lowers its horns and charges; bellow meets bellow; the song is scattered.
- Ending: the gift of silence.
- Devices: hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, irony, mock-heroic style; lively rhyme.
- Specimens: 2025 — NOT an effect: the turtles whine and stare; 2027 — the birds line uses alliteration, like "You're one month on in the middle of May".
Common traps
| Trap | Correct idea |
|---|---|
| The turtles whine and stare | The animals whine and stare; birds turn turtle. |
| The birds line uses a simile | It uses alliteration. |
| The people stop the singer | A goat stops him. |
| The goat is called foolish | It is called sagacious (wise). |
| The poem is free verse | It is lively rhymed verse. |
| The title praises music | It is ironic — the music is destructive. |