Poem 5 In the Street of the Fruit Stalls Explanation of Stanzas

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In this post, I am sharing In the the Street of the Fruit Stalls Poem Explanation of all stanzas with reference to the context. This is the 5th poem in 11th English Book 3 and was written by Jan Stallworthy. At the end of this post, i have also included the main idea of this poem. These notes have been taken from Kips notes. I have shared very good quality notes for the students of Class 11. If you need only 1st Year English poem 5 Explanation of stanzas, you will find them below. However, relevant notes of this poem are also available at the bottom of this post. Students can get Complete 1st Year English Book 3 notes at this link and complete English Book 1 notes by going here. Furthermore, Class 11 Books of all subjects are also available here.

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1st Year English, In the Street of the Fruit Stalls Poem Explanation of all Stanzas

Reference

These Lines have been taken from the poem, “In the Street of the Fruit Stalls” by Jan Stallworthy.

Context

The poet paints a gloomy picture of the world which is threatened with the darkness of war, poverty and misery. However, the poet says that all these threats have failed to crush man’s love for pleasures of life.

Explanation of Stanza No.1

The poet describes a market scene. It is a dark night. Dewdrops are falling softly. The street is full of fruit stalls. The balanced flames of candles have faintly brightened the dark atmosphere. The wicks of lights make the stalls glitter. The fruits like melon, guava and mandarin are lying in pyramid-shaped piles. They look like large balls and bombs that are fired by cannons. They shine reflecting red and yellow colors. The poet describes that a place that is to gratify and satisfy our senses reminds us of shells and bombs. Even a market scene reminds us war-like conditions. He says necessities of life are rare and explosive martial is in abundance.

Critical Appreciation

The poet uses colour images to give a picture of the dark street. He uses the smile of the cannon balls to imply the threat of war. The rhyme scheme in these lines is a, a, b, a, b.

Explanation of Stanza No.2

The children having black complexion enter the street. They have little money to spend that is one coin. Though they have not sufficient money to spend, they have desires. The lantern light brightens their dark faces. The sight of fruits like melon, guava and mandarin attracts their attention. These fruits are supernatural things for these poor children. They seem to them moon packed to the peel and sun with rough uneven surface. The poet has depicted various fruits very beautifully. He has used a figure of speech metaphor. He calls different fruits the sun and the moon.

Critical Appreciation

The metaphors of the moon and the sun are used to lend light to the depiction of the dark street. The rhyme scheme in these lines is a, b, c, b, c.

Explanation of Stanza No.3

The children are attracted by the beauty of these fruit. They buy them, peel them or break their rinds open. They start enjoying the juice coming out. The juice wets their mouths, fingers, noses and chins. It is a source of joy for them. They are so overjoyed that their faces lit up like lanterns. They seem totally unaware of the surroundings which is painful for the poet. They forget all sorrows and sufferings of life. It seems as if they had got all the wealth they were searching for.

Critical Appreciation

The poet uses the simile of lantern to describe the glow and happiness on the children’s faces after they manage to get some fruit. The rhyme scheme in these lines is a, a, b, a, b.

Main Idea of the Poem In the Street of the Fruit Stalls

This is the symbolic poem in which the poet has described some facts of human nature and human life. The World is threatened with war, misery and poverty. In spite of these sorrows and sufferings man still loves pleasure. The poet has symbolized this attractive world as fruit stall. People enjoy the marvelous gifts of nature and are least conscious of disturbing surroundings.