Village Blacksmith is a thought provoking poem that
talks about lives of working class men. This poem is written by the famous
American poet H.W Longfellow. The poet welcomes us to the life of a village
blacksmith. We know that a blacksmith is a metal worker. The type of work he
does every day has made his body metallic. The poet says that the blacksmith’s
his hands are sinewy (powerful) and his muscles are brawny (strong) like iron
bands.
The
blacksmith works tirelessly from morning to evening. Because of his continuous
work in his forge, his hair is crisp and oily. And because of exposure to heat,
the color of his face turned to tan (a brownish color). People who borrowed
money or owe something to others lower their heads. But our smith is not
indebted to any man anything and therefore he can look straightly into others’
eyes.
If we
look at his forge, we will be able to see his bellows (a device constructed to
fill a strong blast of air.) blow and his heavy sledge (hammer) beat like a
sexton ringing the village bell. The works inside the forge is also a treat to
the eyes of children. They (children) love to see flaming forge and they hustle
(make hurry) and jostle (push) to catch the flying sparks that go like chaff (പതിര്) from threshing (ധാന്യംമെതിക്കല്)
floor.
Although
our village blacksmith is a hardworking man, he is suffering from the loss of
his wife. His wife could have died in an accident that occurred in the forge.
When he hears his daughter’s voice in the church choir, which is similar to
that of his wife, he is reminded of her and wipes tears out of his eyes.
All
types of emotions go through the life of blacksmith in this manner. He toils
(works hard), rejoices and feels sorrowful. He finishes his day’s task and
rests peacefully without worries unlike modern man. Modern man is always
worried about his future. But the village blacksmith is not worried about his
life, but he continuous works without any complaints. This is the main theme (ആശയം) of the
poem. Thus the poet asks us to carefully shape our future
in the forge of life like the blacksmith did. We must plan life carefully and
live it without regrets. This is the lesson that we must learn from the life of
the blacksmith. Simile is the poetic device used more frequently in the poem
(as iron bands, like chaff from threshing floor etc).
*Anvil: A heavy block of iron or steel on which hot metals are shaped by hammering.
-Anjoe-
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