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Corona Says by Vishnu Rai: Summary | Exercise: Questions and Answers | Class 11 English
Corona Says by Vishnu Singh Rai
Table of Contents
GLOSSARY
Corona Says by Vishnu Singh Rai
cursing (v.): uttering offensive words in anger
crown (n.): authority
slaves (n.): people who are legal property of another and is forced to obey them
ego (n.): a person's sense of self importance
endured (v.): went through
ABOUT THE POET
Corona Says
Name: Vishnu Prasad Singh Rai
Nationality: Nepali
Birth: July 10, 1951
Birth Place: Sunsari (Nepal)
He is a retired professor, a well-known creative writer, and a poet.
ABOUT THE POEM
Corona Says by Vishnu Singh Rai
This poem, 'Corona Says', has been composed by the Nepali poet Visnu Singh Rai. There are altogether six different stanzas here in this poem.
The main speaker here in this poem is Corona. Here, this pandemic Corona has been personified as masculine gender. As a speaker, he is speaking to humans. He is continuously claiming, blaming, warning, and even making humans realise their misdeeds against this beautiful planet, its nature, and other creatures.
MAIN THEME
Corona Says by Vishnu Singh Rai
The main theme of this poem is the present-day world crisis of Corona and its devastating impacts on human life. This poem has presented a subtle satire on man's conduct and attitude. COVID-19 is considered a byproduct of man's treatment of nature.
SUMMARY & ANALYSIS
Corona Says by Vishnu Singh Rai
Stop crying,
Oh man,
Stop cursing me
And listen.
I didn’t come here
of my own free will.
I was invited.
Believe me,
I had no choice
but to visit you.
How many lives were lost
Because of me?
You count.
But have you ever counted
How many have died so far
Because of you and your wars?
In the very beginning, we find the speaker speaking to a man. The speaker asks the man to stop crying and cursing him. He denies coming to this planet of his own free will and even taking thousands of lives and destroying the world's economy. He claims that he was invited without having a choice because of humans' bad conduct and attitudes towards nature. Here, the speaker calculates dead people and even blames humans for their destructive wars and their bad impacts.
You call yourself
‘the crown of creation’.
What about the others,
Those who fly in the sky,
Those who live in the ocean,
Those who crawl on the earth,
And those, the sources of your oxygen?
You think they all are your slaves
Who you can sell or kill
At your will.
Don’t blame me.
I just wanted to show you
How clean the blue sky looks
Without dust and smoke.
I wanted you to realise
How caged animals feel
In a zoo.
In the third stanza, the speaker asks the human not to blame him. On his arrival, he intends to show the humans the beauty of a clean and blue sky without any dust or smoke. He makes all the humans realise the clean blue sky without dust and smoke after his arrival. He has shown the mirror of reality to all humans by talking about the feelings of caged animals in a zoo. This is similar to the trapped lives of humans during the period of lockdown.
I came
Not to give you a test.
I came
So that mother Earth
Could have a little rest.
In the next stanza, the speaker further adds that he hadn't come to provide them with a test on this planet. According to him, due to all these bad activities of humans, the mother earth itself is feeling the burden. He claims that he had come to provide little rest to the mother (earth).
You claim that you know everything.
I just wanted you to know yourself
The earth is not your property alone -
It’s as much ours as yours.
Next, the speaker blames humans for their boastful nature and their claim of knowing everything. He wants to make humans realise that the mother (earth) isn't the property of humans alone. According to him, Mother Earth belongs to everyone, not just humans.
Sure,
I will depart one day.
But remember
There’re many others like me.
They’ll come too.
If you don’t get rid of your inflated ego,
You’ll be back to your cave time
That you endured
Long, l o n g, l o n g ago …
SHORT SUMMARY
Corona Says by Vishnu Singh Rai
This poem 'Corona Says' is a subtle satire on man's conduct and attitude that has been composed on the theme of the present world crisis and its devastating impacts on human life. This pandemic 'Corona' has been presented as a by-product of man's treatment of nature.
The speaker of this poem is Corona, who is seen talking to a man about his opinions about men's conduct related to this nature. He tries his best to persuade that he isn't the real outcome behind this devastation of humanity but the humans themselves. He tries to show the mirror of facts to humans, saying that he didn't arrive here on this planet by his own free will. He claims that he was invited by humans' conduct. He even blames humans for their inhuman wars and their impacts. He talks about the egos of humans who prefer to be superior to this world. He shows the value of other living beings as well as the natural resources on this planet. He talks about pollution and the environment during this crisis. He adds that he has come to give a little rest to Mother Earth. He makes humans realise that the earth isn't their property alone. He informs all the humans about other diseases similar to his and warns about their arrival and humans' steps towards the cave if humans don't get rid of their inflated egos.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Corona Says by Vishnu Singh Rai
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
a. Who is the speaker in the poem?
Answer:
The speaker in the poem is Corona, who has had devastating impacts on human beings' lives in this modern world.
b. Who claim that they are superior to all?
Answer:
The humans of this modern world claim that they are superior to all. Their egos have played a vital role in their thoughts as well as their actions.
c. Why has the speaker come to the Earth?
Answer:
Actually, the speaker hasn't come to Earth by his own free will. He has been invited instead. He has been here to provide a little rest to the mother (earth) and make humans realise that the earth isn't only their property.
d. What positive changes have occurred on Earth after the speaker's visit?
Answer:
We find various positive changes on Earth after the speaker's visit. The positive changes are as follows:
1. The sky is so clean and blue without dust or smoke.
2. Due to the trapped life, humans aren't able to pollute this beautiful planet.
3. Their egos have been transformed into fear.
4. The mother (land) has gotten a little rest from her burden.
5. Humans' bad deeds against nature have become less.
a. What does the speaker mean when he says:
But have you ever counted
How many have died so far
Because of you and your wars?
Answer:
These beautiful lines have been taken from Vishnu S. Rai's wonderful poem, "Corona Says." Here, we find Corona as the main speaker, who is talking to a man of the present world. The speaker is talking to the man about the bad aspects of war. He wants to make the man realise the impacts of inhuman wars. Here, the speaker is blaming humans for killing many people through their wars. He is asking about the calculation of dead people who have been invited by humans' wars.
b. Explain the following lines from the poem "Corona Says':
I will depart one day.
But remember
There’re many others like me.
They’ll come too.
If you don’t get rid of your inflated ego,
You’ll be back to your cave time
That you endured
Long, l o n g, l o n g ago …
Answer:
These beautiful lines have been taken from Vishnu S. Rai's wonderful poem, "Corona Says." Here, we find Corona as the main speaker, who is talking to a man of the present world. Here, the speaker is warning the human about future circumstances. He is informing him about his fellows who are similar to him. He says that one day he will depart from this planet, but if humans don't get rid of their inflated egos, they (fellows) will come too. In that critical situation, humans will be back in the caves as before. That will be the worst situation for humans.
c. What does the speaker mean in the following lines? Explain.
The earth is not your property alone -
It’s as much ours as yours.
Answer:
Here, Corona, as a speaker, is making the human realise that the mother (Earth) belongs to all the creatures, not just the humans. He reminds the humans, saying that the mother (Earth) isn't their property alone. He claims that the earth belongs to other creatures apart from humans.
a. What human behaviours are responsible for the suffering in people's lives?
Answer:
Human actions are the sole cause of all of these people's suffering. Due to human egos and bad deeds, the present world is facing a crisis. Many people have lost their lives during this critical period. Due to their selfish nature, the earth and its people have faced numerous diseases. Their so-called egos and wars have snatched the lives of many people.
b. How does an epidemic differ from pandemic? Briefly explain the impact of Corona Virus on human life and the environment.
Answer:
An epidemic is a widespread disease that affects many people in a population, whereas a pandemic is a disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population.
The coronavirus is considered one of the most unforgettable threats of the twenty-first century. This disease has snatched the lives of people at a very high level. People in the world are panic-stricken and live their lives in mental fear. COVID-19 has created devastating results in humans' history. Due to this pandemic, the environment seems clean but fearful. Corona is a viral disease, and people are applying safety measures in this environment to be safe from this pandemic. People are seen sanitising the environment every time.
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