Abou Ben Adhem Themes, Literary Style, Form and Structure, and Analysis
Key Themes
Love for humankind
The predominant theme of the poem is love for humankind.
"... pray thee, then, Write me as one that loves his fellow men."
These lines are the cornerstone of the poem and also express Ben Adhem's core beliefs. Through Ben Adhem, Leigh Hunt points out that loving one's fellow-beings is far nobler and pleasing to God than merely worshipping God.
True nature of devotion to God
Another theme running parallely in the poem is that true love for God is expressed through actions and not mere words or prayer. Through the example of Ben Adhem the poet reminds us that kind deeds must accompany prayers. It is pointless to pray regularly and claim to be a believer, if one is not helpful to others..
Literary Style
Parable
The poem is a parable. It narrates a story containing at strong moral.
Form and rhyme scheme
It is composed of two stanzas each of which are made up of couplets. In couplets, consecutive lines rhyme. Observe this extract from the poem:
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!) a
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, a
And saw, within the moonlight in his room b
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom, b
Use of archaic language
The poet has used archaic language in several places. This adds to the mood of the poem and makes it obvious that the poem is based on an event that took place ages ago.
"What writest thou?"...
... "I pray thee, then,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.
Abou Ben Adhem by Leigh Hunt:-1. Question and Answers RTCs: http://abou-ben-adhem-question-and-answers
2. Context and Summary: http://abou-ben-adhem-context-and-summary
3. Figures of Speech: http://abou-ben-adhem-figures-of-speech
4. Themes, Literary Style, Form and Structure: http://abou-ben-adhem-themes-literary-style
5. Character Analysis: http://abou-ben-adhem-character-analysis
Comments
Post a Comment
This site is all about helping you kids study smart because for Gen Z, studying "hard" is not enough. If you feel there is any way I could improve my posts or if you have any random suggestion that might help make this more kid friendly, please don't hesitate to drop in a comment!
Be sure to check back for my response if you've asked me a question or requested a clarification through the comment section because I do make every effort to reply to your comments here.