First person narrative portrays the story through the eyes of Nissim and shows that we are seeking exactly what he did. Ezekiel uses alliteration to describe the moment of the sting: ‘Parting with his poison’. He alludes to evil in the phrase ‘diabolic tail’, comparing the scorpion to the devil. The poem is written in free verse with different line lengths and no rhyme…The theme of the poem is presented through an incident in which the poet’s mother is bitten by a scorpion on rainy night. The villagers on hearing of this unfortunate event, come to see her, praying to god and giving all kinds of justifications for her suffering.
With their prayers and words they try to console the victim…. The victims husband who is otherwise a sceptic and a rationalist also gives in to every curse and blessing. The first part is long and full of activity as we see how the villagers react and act to the scorpion’s bite by engaging in some kind of witch-hunt…IMAGERY Poet communicates an experience. The poet’s communication is received by our senses. The senses consist of seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and touching. The poet has to create an image to stimulate any of these senses. This is called imagery.
It can be defined as the representation of an experience through language. …. Though visual imagery is most often used in poetry, an image may also represent a sound, a smell, a touch or a feeling or sensation. In this poem, the poet has made use of various types of imagery: Visual imagery • scorpion crawling beneath a sack of rice • peasants came like swarms of flies Smell imagery • smell of candles • smell of burning oil in the lanterns Tactile experience • scorpion biting the mother • father pouring paraffin on the toe. Internal sensation • fear • pain Sound imagery • buzzed the name of god a hundred times • they clicked their tongues
