By Nissim Ezekiel
Night of the Scorpion
About the poem
The poem Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekiel is about an incident that the poet has not forgotten in his life . It was a night when a scorpion bit his mother and all the superstitious villagers did irrational things rather than helping her . The poem exposes the superstitions that dominate the minds of Indians and also the motherhood of a lady who just only of her children even in the worst condition. The poem has no rhyme scheme. It has eight stanzas with a different number of lines in each.
I remember the night my mother�was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours�of steady rain had driven him �to crawl beneath a sack of rice.�Parting with his poison – flash�of diabolic tail in the dark room –�he risked the rain again . �
Stanza 1
Context
The given lines have been taken from the poem “Night of the scorpion” written by Nissim Ezekiel. The poem presents a microcosmic view of Indian society with its ethos and superstitions. The given lines describe how the narrator’s mother was stung by a scorpion.
Explanation
The poet says that he remembers well that night when her mother was stung by a scorpion. The poet is of the views that the heavy rain which lasted for 10 hours made the scorpion crawl beneath a sack of rice . After biting his mother with its diabolic (monstrous tail), the scorpion went back to rain outside again. The poet here shows sympathy as well as anger towards the scorpion. He is angry when he talks about its biting and sympathetic when he talks about its going to rain again.
The peasants came like swarms of flies�and buzzed the name of God a hundred times�to paralyze the Evil One.�With candles and with lanterns�throwing giant scorpion shadows �on the sun-baked walls�they searched for him: he was not found.
Stanza 2
Context
The given lines have been taken from the poem “Night of the scorpion” written by Nissim Ezekiel. The poem presents a microcosmic view of Indian society with its ethos and superstitions. The given lines describe there action of the neighbouring peasants to the stinging of the narrator’s mother by a scorpion.
Explanation
Hearing about the incident, the villagers rush to the poet’s home. They buzz the name of God a hundred times to paralyse the Evil One. The villagers began searching for the scorpion and their shadows themselves seemed to be like a giant scorpion on the mud-baked walls. Thus they searched for the scorpion everywhere in the house. But they could not find it.
They clicked their tongues.�With every movement that the scorpion made�his poison moved in mother’s blood, they said.�May he sit still, they said. �May the sins of your previous birth�be burned away tonight, they said�May your suffering decrease�the misfortunes of your next birth , they said
Stanza 3
Context
The given lines have been taken from the poem “Night of the scorpion” written by Nissim Ezekiel. The poem presents a microcosmic view of Indian society with its ethos and superstitions. The given lines point out the peasant’s confused understanding about sin and rebirth.
Explanation
The villagers believe that the poison spreads across the body with the movement of scorpion so if the latter is stopped and paralyzed, the poison effect can also be controlled. Having failed in finding the scorpion, they begin giving their own interpretation to the biting of the scorpion. Some of them said that his mother’s sins which she committed in her previous birth have been forgiven.
May the sum of evil�balanced in this unreal world �against the sum of good �become diminished by your pain… they said.�May the poison purify your flesh �of desire, and your spirit of ambition,�they said and they sat around �on the floor with my mother in the centre,�the peace of understanding on each face.
Stanza 4
Context
The given lines have been taken from the poem “Night of the scorpion” written by Nissim Ezekiel. The poem presents a microcosmic view of Indian society with its ethos and superstitions. The given lines point out the peasant’s confused understanding about sin and rebirth.
Explanation
The others assumed that she is going to die and said that the pain that she is suffering from will decrease the troubles in her next birth. Some others put forward that her good deeds will be balanced against her bad deeds because of the bite of the scorpion. Some others said that the poison will purify and refresh her flesh of desire and her spirit of ambition. All of them seemed to be in peace because of their thoughts.
More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours ,�more insects, and the endless rain. �My mother twisted through and through�groaning on a mat. �
Stanza 5
Context
The given lines have been taken from the poem “Night of the scorpion” written by Nissim Ezekiel. The poem presents a microcosmic view of Indian society with its ethos and superstitions. The given lines tell about the great suffering of the narrator’s mother.
Explanation
More and more people come with candles and lanterns. Their lanterns created more shadows of scorpions on the walls of the room. The rain continued without any end to it in sight. His mother is however crying and rolling on the mat with severe pain but nobody cares for her.
My father, sceptic , rationalist ,�trying every curse and blessing,�powder, mixture, herb and hybrid.�He even poured a little paraffin �upon the bitten toe and put a match to it �I watched the flame feeding of my mother;�I watched the holy man perform his rites �to tame the poison with an incantation.�After twenty hours�It lost its sting ����
Stanza 6
Context
The given lines have been taken from the poem “Night of the scorpion” written by Nissim Ezekiel. The poem presents a microcosmic view of Indian society with its ethos and superstitions. The given lines describe the response of the narrator’s father.
Explanation
his father who is a sceptic, rationalist. He leaves no stone unturned to cure her. He uses powder, mixture, herb and hybrid to help her recover from the pain. He even poured a little paraffin upon the bitten toe and then fires it up. The poet watches the flames. He also watches the holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation. The phrase again refers to superstitious people of his village who believe in irrational measures to cure a person. His mother ultimately recovers from the poison after 24 hours of fire burning on the skin of his mother.
My mother only said�Thank God the scorpion picked on me �and spared my children �
Stanza 7
Context
The given lines have been taken from the poem “Night of the scorpion” written by Nissim Ezekiel. The poem presents a microcosmic view of Indian society with its ethos and superstitions. These concluding lines describe the reaction of the narrator’s mother.
Explanation
The last line is quite emotional and heart touching. It reflects the motherhood of a lady. The poet says that after recovering from the poison, his mother’s words were Thank God the scorpion picked on me and spared my children. Even in such condition, his mother remains more concerned about the safety and health of her children.
This poem represents the attitude of people towards a particular situation. Whenever something unexpected happens, people try to interpret it according to their own little knowledge. If they cannot find any cause underlying an event, they try to imagine some cause even if it has no direct relevance.
Theme of the poem