Nicholas Nye by Walter de la Mare

Nicholas Nye by Walter de la Mare

This poem is about a donkey, named Nicholas Nye, which lives in a meadow (grazing land), in an orchard (garden of fruit trees). It seems that the poet used to visit that place to relax himself and lie down on the wall of the orchard. He would watch the donkey from there.

One day, the poet is inspired to write a poem on the donkey. The poet had a very minute study of the donkey and a lot of sympathy for the poor animal. The poet personifies the donkey in order to treat it in human terms and give equal status to it like that of a human being on this planet, Earth.

We come to know after going through the poem that the donkey was a victim of loneliness. He passed his days and nights in a pasture (grassland, meadow). He had no companion to break the boredom of his dull and monotonous (boring) life.

Nicholas Nye was old, lean (bent down) and thin, lame of a leg and grey coloured donkey.  He was there in the pasture since his birth and no one liked to be his owner because of his lame leg. So he was left to the circumstances only. He lived on by munching (eating) bushes, thistles, darnell and dock, etc. Whenever he felt sleepy, he sprawled there in the blazing (bright and hot) heat of the sun and drowse. Sometimes, he seemed to stoop (bend down) and sigh (take a long breath) as if he wanted to release the tension by calling himself ‘Poor Nicholas Nye’. He did not get sufficient grass there, so his body was weak and without energy. When he brayed at the daybreak, he was unable to create a heavy and energetic sound.

Sometimes, the donkey seemed to smile at the poet. It meant that the poet had developed kinship with the donkey and felt sympathetic to his miserable condition. The poet came back home in the evening leaving the Nicholas alone in the moonlight standing there still (motionless) like a post.

Thus the poem sensitises the students’ empathy (ability to understand the difficulties of others/sympathy) particularly for the domestic animals who are left to their fate (chance/destiny). It also gives the message that we all human beings must have sympathy for the animals also.

Nichlas Nye by Walter de la Mare    Line-to-line Explanation:

Stanza 1 :   Thistle and darnell and dock grew there,
And a bush, in the corner, of may,
On the orchard wall I used to sprawl
In the blazing heat of the day; 

Word-meanings: 1. Thistle:  It is a kind of plant with pink flowers

 2. Darnell         plant with flowers 3. Dock  It is also a plant.   4.  Bush: A thick growth of plants is called a bush 4. Orchard: a group of fruit trees is called an orchard 5. Sprawl: to lie down in a relaxing manner:     5.
5. Blazing: very bright/shining and hot

Explanation: The poet describes a meadow where the plants and bushes like thistle, Darnell and Dock grew in its corner in the month of May. The poet lay (sprawled) there on the wall of the orchard in the shining heat of the sun.

Stanza 2.

Half asleep and half awake,
While the birds went twittering by,
And nobody there my lone to share
But Nicholas Nye.
Word-meanings: 1. Twitter: it is the sound created by birds while they communicate with other birds of their species 2. Lone: loneliness 3. But: Here, it means except

Explanation: The poet lay on the wall of the orchard in a relaxed mode (manner) and he was not fully asleep (half asleep and half awake). The birds went flying here and there twittering.

“And nobody there my lone to share
But Nicholas Nye: Nobody was there in the corner to share the poet’s loneliness except the donkey Nicholas Rye.

Stanza 3

Nicholas Nye was lean and gray,
Lame of leg and old,
More than a score of donkey's years
He had been since he was foaled;
He munched the thistles, purple and spiked,
Would sometimes stoop and sigh,
And turn his head, as if he'd said,
'Poor Nicholas Nye! ' 

Word-meanings: 1. A score: It includes twenty things 2. Foaled: Here it means ‘born’ 3. Munch: chewed 4. Spiked: sharp, pointed  5. Stoop: to bow or bend down 6. Sigh: to take a long breath and release it 6. Lame: a defective leg

Explanation: In this stanza, the poet begins to describe the donkey’s physical structure. Nocholas Nye was thin and bent down with gray coloured hair on his body. Its body leaned a little due to his lame (defective) leg. He was old and had crossed more than twenty years since he was born. He would munch (eat and chew) the pointed leaves and purple flowers of the thistle plant. He would sometimes bend down his head, sigh (take a long breath and then release it) as to feel pity on his own miserable (very bad) condition and turning his head would say ‘Poor Nicholas Nye’.

Stanza 4
Alone with his shadow he'd drowse in the meadow,
Lazily swinging his tail,
At break of day he used to bray,-
Not much too hearty and hale;
But a wonderful gumption was under his skin,
And a clean calm light in his eye,
And once in a while; he'd smile:-
Would Nicholas Nye.
Word-meanings:  drowse:  to feel sleepy, doze  2. Swinging : moving to and fro 3. Bray: sound created by a donkey   4. hearty and hale: hale and hearty: used to show that one is quite healthy  5. Gumption: here it means courage and boldness   6. Calm: peaceful/peace 7. Once in a while: sometimes, not very often

Explanation:  The donkey would stand alone in the meadow and drowse swinging his tail here and there lazily. No other donkey is there to accompany him except his own shadow. The lines lay stress on his loneliness. At the sunrise (break of the day), as it is natural for all donkeys to bray, but his bray was not full of energy and liveliness. It showed that the donkey was not hale and hearty i.e. healthy. In spite of all miseries and poor health, the donkey had one thing special in him. It was his boldness to make a smile showing a curious (keen) and peaceful light in his eyes.

Stanza 5.      Seem to be smiling at me, he would,
From his bush in the corner, of may,-
Bony and ownerless, widowed and worn,
Knobble-kneed, lonely and gray;
And over the grass would seem to pass
'Neath the deep dark blue of the sky,
Something much better than words between me
And Nicholas Nye. 

Word-meanings: 1.Ownerless: without owner  2. Widowed:  The person whose husband or wife has died. Here it means without companion        3.worn: tired 4.   Knobble-kneed: the word is 5.'Neath: the word is beneath that means below, under knobby which means like a knob, the handle fixed on a door. It means twisted and kneed means that the donkey’s knees are twisted and bent due to weakness and tiredness.   

Explanation: The poet says that the donkey seemed to smile at him from the bush in a corner where he often stood. He was so thin that bones were visible from his body. No person owned it and he had no companion of his own species, He looked tired and bent down due to weak body. He was quite alone there in the corner on the grass he would pass night below the deep and dark blue coloured sky.  In the next line ‘Something much better than words between me
And Nicholas Nye.’, the poet seems to suggest that there is an emotional bond between the poet and the donkey, Nicholas Nye and it could not be expressed through words.

Stanza 6:   But dusk would come in the apple boughs,
The green of the glow-worm shine,
The birds in nest would crouch to rest,
And home I'd trudge to mine;
And there, in the moonlight, dark with dew,
Asking not wherefore nor why,
Would brood like a ghost, and as still as a post,
Old Nicholas Nye. 

Word-meanings: 1.  Boughs: /baʊs/ a large branch of a tree 2. glow-worm a beetle, the females and young of which produce a green light from the tail 3. Trudge: to walk slowly with a lot of effort 4. Dew: a drop of water that is formed during night on the leaves of plants, trees and other things 5. Brood: to keep thinking in a worried and trouble manner 6. Wherefore: for what reason 7. Dusk: evening time after the sun-set

Explanation: After the sunset, the time of dusk would come in the long branches of the apple trees in the orchard. As the darkness spread the green glow of the beetles like glowworm would begin to shine. Birds also would crouch (bend down) in their nests to take rest at night. The poet also would trudge (walk in a tired way) to his home. And there in the moonlight that is mixed with darkness and dampness of the falling dews, the donkey Nicholas Rye would stand and brood (think deeply) alone as still (fixed) as a post. Its figure would look like a ghost in the dewy atmosphere if watched from a distance.

   

10. Nicholas Nye: The Poem: Questions & Answers: QA. Answer the following:

1.At what time of day and where would the poet sprawl?

Ans. The poet would lie sprawling there on the wall of the orchard in bright sunlight. It was noon or afternoon when the sun was shining brightly in the sky.

 2.How can you say that Nicholas Nye felt sorry for himself?

Ans. Nicholas Nye would sometimes bend his head, heave (throw out) a deep sigh and turn his head. It seemed as if he felt sorry for his miserable condition.

3.What would Nicholas Nye do in the meadow? How would his mood be?

Ans. Nicholas lived there in the meadow for day and night. It would munch the  grass and the weeds (unnecessary growth) grown over there to satisfy his hunger. His mood would was always sad in spite of his occasional (rare) smiles.

4.How has the poet described Nicholas?

Ans. The donkey was a victim of loneliness. He had no companion to break the boredom of his dull and monotonous (boring) life. Nicholas Nye was old, lean (bent down) and thin, lame of a leg and grey coloured ownerless donkey. He did not get sufficient grass there, so his body was weak and without energy. 

5.Explain the last stanza of the poem, Nicholas Nye.

Ans. After the sunset, the time of dusk would come in the long branches of the apple trees in the orchard. As the darkness spread, the green glow of the glowworm would begin to shine. Birds also would crouch (bend down) in their nests to take rest at night. The poet also would trudge (walk in a tired way) to his home. And there in the moonlight mixed with darkness and dampness of the falling dews, the donkey Nicholas Rye would stand and brood (think deeply) alone as still (fixed) as a post (a pole). Its figure would look like a ghost in the dewy atmosphere if watched from a distance.

QB & QC: for self practice:   QD. Extract ‘A’: And there, in the moonlight, dark with dew,
Asking not wherefore nor why,
Would brood like a ghost, and as still as a post,
Old Nicholas Nye. 

1.What time of day is it?

Ans. It is night.

2. Who is as still as a post? Why?

Ans. Nicholas Nye is as still as a post because it is night and he might be in sleep. Horses and donkeys sleep while standing still.

3. Explain ‘wherefore’?

Ans. Wherefore means for what reason or why. The poet uses this word in the last stanza. When the poet starts moving back to his house, the donkey does not ask the poet as to why (wherefore) he was going leaving him alone in the meadow.

4. Mention the two similes used?

Ans. (i) brood like a ghost (ii) as still as a post

In a simile, ‘as’, ‘as….as’, and ‘like’ are used to show a comparison between two different things.

5. Name the poems and the poet.

Ans. The poem is Nicholas Nye and its poet is Walter de La Mare.

Extract ‘B’    Half asleep and half awake,
While the birds went twittering by,
And nobody there my lone to share
But Nicholas Nye. 

1.Who is uttering these words?   Ans. The poet ‘Walter de la Mare’ is uttering (saying) these words.

2. Who shared the poet’s loneliness?  Ans. Nicholas Nye, the donkey shared the poet’s loneliness.

3. What time of day is it? How do you know?   Ans. It is noon time because there was the blazing heat of the sun. 

4. Explain ‘twittering’.  Ans. ‘Twittering’ is a series of short and high sound made by a bird. When the poet lay on the wall of the orchard, he also listened to the twittering of birds coming from here and there.

5. What is the meaning of the dusk?  Ans. It is the time before night and after sunset when the darkness has not spread everywhere.