26 September 2022
THE BALLAD OF FATHER GILLIGAN - W.B.YEATS
Ballad - A ballad is a poem that tells a story, usually (but not always) in four-line stanzas called quatrains. The ballad form is enormously diverse, and poems in this form may have any one of hundreds of different rhyme schemes and meters. Nearly every culture on earth produces ballads, often in the form of epic poems relating to the culture’s mythology. However, the word “ballad” typically refers to the relatively short lyrical poems produced by European poets starting around the 13th century.
The theme of the poem - The theme is God's omnipresence and grace in the lives of the faithful.
The setting of the poem - The poetry takes place in rural surroundings, an Irish countryside.
The tone of the poem - The poem begins with a sad note and ends hopefully.
The Central Idea of the poem - "The Ballad of Father Gilligan'' is a religious poem that depicts God's mercy even upon the smallest creature on earth. The old priest, Father Gilligan, being tired, did not attend the patient in the parish. He was weary and tired and falls asleep while praying. He woke up at dawn and understood his mistake. He mounted the horse and rode quickly to the patient's door and found that God had sent one of his angels to perform his duty in his absence. Finally, he realized that God was merciful. The priest thanked God for having pity on him.
Points to remember
Old priest Peter Gilligan was busy day and night. People in his Parish were dying in large numbers. As per the custom he had to pray for each sick man at his deathbed. He moved here and there always. He had no rest, no peace, no sleep. He looked distressed. One day he returned home to attend to patients. He was tired and felt drowsy. A man came and requested him to attend.his patient. Peter Gilligan refused to attend. The man returned home. Father requested God to forgive him. He fell asleep being tired. He woke up early in the morning. He remembered about the sick man. He thought that the man might have been dead. He felt guilty. He rode his horse and went to the sick man's house. His wife opened the door. She said– "Father! You come again!" Father asked-"Is the poor man dead? :" She said that- he died after his departure. In fact, the father had not arrived there. But she said that he had come there. Father came to the conclusion that God sent one of his angels to attend the sick man. God was merciful to him. God took pity upon him. He offered his blessings on the least of things.
Homework
Prepare a short profile of William Butler Yeats using the hints given below.
Born: June 13, 1865, Sandy mount, Republic of Ireland
Education: National College of Art and Design
Awards: Nobel Prize in Literature
Works: The Tower (1928), The Winding Stair and Other Poems
Influenced by: T. S. Eliot, John Keats, William Blake,
Death: January 28, 1939, Menton, France
Appreciation
The Ballad of Father Gilligan by the renowned Irish poet William Butler Yeats has a ballad form. In this poem, Yeats narrates a profoundly meaningful story about a priest who is emotionally and physically worn out because half of his parishioners are either dead or on sick-bed due to an epidemic. The theme of the poem is about the presence of God everywhere and his love for all. The poem is also about a miracle that happened in the life of Father Gilligan, an old priest.
The old priest Peter Gilligan was extremely tired because he had been attending sick people in his Parish day and night. People were constantly dying. He was to attend them at their death beds. He had no rest, no respite. He had no time to take food and to sleep. One day he returned home after he had attended to the patients. The next moment a man came and requested him to attend his sick patient. He was on the verge of death. Father Gilligan looked angry and refused straight to move at that moment as he was tired. The man returned. Peter Gilligan prayed to God for his inability to attend to the patient and fell asleep. He woke up the next morning and realised that the patient might have died. He felt guilty and rode his horse to the sickman's house. The sickman's wife opened the door and said "Father! You come again!" Gilligan asked and is the poorman dead ? She said that he died peacefully after he had attended him the previous night. Actually, Peter Gilligan had not attended the patient. But the sickman's wife said that he attended him. Father Gilligan drew the conclusion that God sent one of his messengers to attend to the sick man as he was tired. God was so merciful and caring to his creatures he felt his gratitude for God.
As the title of this poem suggests, it is a ballad. It tells a simple story that could have had its origin in folktales and legends. The poem contains 12 small stanzas. There is regular rhyme throughout the poem. Each stanza has a rhyme scheme of 'abcb'. In this poem, the poet uses the device of metaphor in the 3rd and 4th lines of the 1st stanza when he compares being sick to lying in bed and being dead to lying underground. There are many examples of Alliteration in the poem such as ‘priest Peter, ‘die and die’, ‘Mavrone mavrone the man”, ‘no rest, nor joy, nor peace’,etc. The word ‘And’ is repeated at the beginning of several successive lines, which is an examples of Anaphora. The priest’s riding horse, dawn and dusk with the presence of moths are examples of Visual Images. The chirp of sparrows, the priest’s cry of ‘mavrone, mavrone can be taken as Auditory Images. ‘Stars began to peep’ is an example of Personification. There is an instance of simile in the 2nd line of the 10th stanza when the dead man’s wife says compares him with a bird, saying he was in a similarly happy state when he died. “The Ballad of Father Gilligan” is an atypical poem when seen next to the rest of Yeats’ output. However, it is still a delightful poem. The poem shows the love and care of God for whom all lives are equal and important.
Assignment
Answer the following questions
1. Who was weary night and day? Why was he weary?
2. Who are referred to here as ‘flock’?
3. Why could be half of his flock in their beds or under green sods?
4. Why the evening is referred to as the ‘moth-hour of the eve’?
5. What is the Rhyme Scheme of the poem?
6. What did the priest do at the moth-hour of the eve?
7. Why did the priest pray to God for forgiveness?
8. How did the priest justify his mistake?
9. When did the priest fall asleep?
10. Identify a figure speech applied in the line ‘And stars began to peep’.
11. Why did the priest cry calling ‘mavrone, mavrone!?
12. Why did the priest rode his horse with little care?
13. How dangerous was the way by which the priest rode his horse?
14. Why was the sick man’s wife surprised to see the priest?
15. Pick out various images from these lines.
16. Pick out examples of Alliteration.
17. Who has made the night of stars?
18. What is the significance of the expression ‘night of stars’.
19. Who are the souls who tire and bleed?
20. How was the priest helped in his need?
21. What do the expressions 'wrapped in purple robe’and ‘planets in His care’ indicate?
22. The priest considers himself ‘the least of things’ . What do you understand about his character?
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