The Hero
Mother, let us imagine we are travelling, and passing through a
strange and dangerous country.
You are riding in a palanquin and I am trotting by you on a
red horse.
It is evening and the sun goes down. The waste of Joradighi
lies wan and grey before us. The land is desolate and barren.
You are frightened and thinking-"I know not where we have come
to."
I say to you, "Mother, do not be afraid."
The meadow is prickly with spiky grass, and through it runs
a narrow broken path.
There are no cattle to be seen in the wide field; they have
gone to their village stalls.
It grows dark and dim on the land and sky, and we cannot tell
where we are going.
Suddenly you call me and ask me in a whisper, "What light is
that near the bank?"
Just then there bursts out a fearful yell, and figures come
running towards us.
You sit crouched in your palanquin and repeat the names of the
gods in prayer.
The bearers, shaking in terror, hide themselves in the thorny
bush.
I shout to you, "Don't be afraid, mother. I am here."
With long sticks in their hands and hair all wild about their
heads, they come nearer and nearer.
I shout, "Have a care, you villains! One step more and you are
dead men."
They give another terrible yell and rush forward.
You clutch my hand and say, "Dear boy, for heaven's sake, keep
away from them."
I say, "Mother, just you watch me."
Then I spur my horse for a wild gallop, and my sword and
buckler clash against each other.
The fight becomes so fearful, mother, that it would give you
a cold shudder could you see it from your palanquin.
Many of them fly, and a great number are cut to pieces.
I know you are thinking, sitting all by yourself, that your
boy must be dead by this time.
But I come to you all stained with blood, and say,"Mother, the
fight is over now."
You come out and kiss me, pressing me to your heart, and you
say to yourself,
"I don't know what I should do if I hadn't my boy to escort
me."
A thousand useless things happen day after day, and why
couldn't such a thing come true by chance?
It would be like a story in a book.
My brother would say, "Is it possible? I always thought he was
so delicate!"
Our village people would all say in amazement, "Was it not
lucky that the boy was with his mother?"
Literary Analysis
This literary analysis was generated with AI and may contain interpretive differences. Provide your analysis in the comments section.
Summary
Rabindranath Tagore presents a child's daydream of bravery as a vivid little adventure story told directly to "Mother." The imagined journey moves through a lonely landscape, darkening into danger before erupting into an attack and a dramatic rescue. The child cast as protector speaks with complete confidence, while the mother moves from fear to relief, her tenderness giving the fantasy its emotional center. The poem's narrative is simple on the surface, but it is also playful: the danger feels theatrical, almost like the kind of episode a child invents to picture himself as indispensable.
What gives the poem its lasting charm is the tension between fantasy and affection. The boy imagines himself as a heroic escort with horse, sword, and shield, yet the closing lines quietly undercut the fantasy by admitting how unlikely it is. That comic self-awareness does not weaken the poem; it deepens it. The ending suggests a wish to be needed, admired, and remembered, especially by family and village community. Beneath the adventure lies a child's longing to matter, and a mother's comforting presence makes that longing feel both tender and universal.
Theme
- Childhood imagination - The poem turns a simple family journey into an elaborate heroic scene, showing how a child's mind can transform ordinary experience into adventure.
- Love and protection - The imagined rescue centers on the boy's desire to guard his mother, making affection the true force behind the bravado.
- Heroism as fantasy - Sword, horse, and battle all belong to a make-believe world in which courage is performed rather than proven.
- Need for recognition - The ending imagines the amazement of family and villagers, revealing a wish for the boy's bravery to be seen and valued.
- Fear and reassurance - The mother's anxiety and the child's repeated promises of safety create a moving contrast between vulnerability and confidence.
Literary Devices
- Narrative monologue - The poem unfolds as a direct, spoken tale to the mother, which makes the fantasy feel immediate and intimate.
- Imagery - Dark fields, thorny bushes, blood, and rushing figures create a dramatic visual world that supports the child's adventure story.
- Dialogue - The back-and-forth between mother and child gives the poem emotional warmth and dramatizes both fear and reassurance.
- Repetition - The boy's repeated declarations of courage build the heroic pose and also make the fantasy sound childlike and earnest.
- Irony - The final suggestion that such an event might happen "by chance" gently undercuts the grand battle narrative with a playful awareness of make-believe.
- Contrast - The poem contrasts the mother's terror with the child's swagger, heightening both the tenderness and the comic exaggeration.
- Symbolic action - The gallop into battle functions less as realistic action than as a symbol of the child's wish to grow powerful and protective.
Symbolism
- Mother - She stands for safety, love, and the person the child most wants to protect and impress.
- Red horse - The horse suggests youthful energy, fantasy, and the heroic scale the child gives to his role.
- Palanquin - This enclosed carriage symbolizes the mother's vulnerability and the child's imagined duty of escorting her.
- Sword and buckler - These weapons represent the costume of bravery, turning the boy into a figure of make-believe heroism.
- Desolate country - The barren landscape reflects the child's narrative need for danger and the emotional uncertainty of the imagined journey.
- Village people - Their imagined amazement symbolizes the desire for social recognition and public praise.
Tone
Tagore's tone is playful, affectionate, and lightly ironic, treating the child's heroic self-image with warmth rather than mockery. The emotional atmosphere shifts between suspense, anxiety, and relief, but it remains tender throughout because the imagined danger is always framed by the deep bond between mother and child. The result is a mood that feels both adventurous and intimate, with a soft comic glow at the end.
Historical Context
Rabindranath Tagore often wrote in forms that blend lyric feeling, storytelling, and the rhythms of everyday domestic life. His work frequently moves between simplicity and imaginative expansiveness, and this poem reflects that balance by turning a family scene into a playful narrative of courage. It also fits the broader Bengali literary world's interest in rich emotional nuance, family relationships, and the inner lives of children.
The poem draws on the wider tradition of heroic storytelling while gently adapting it to a private, domestic setting. Rather than presenting war or heroism as grand public history, it places those motifs inside a child's affectionate fantasy. That combination of cultural familiarity and intimate imagination is characteristic of Tagore's art.
Similar Poems
- The Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred, Lord Tennyson
- If- - Rudyard Kipling
- Mother to Son - Langston Hughes
- The Tyger - William Blake
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a
Premium Membership.
