BSc BA ADP English Notes Poem The Rebel (D J Enright) Reference Context Explanation

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Poem:

When everybody has short hair,
The rebel lets his hair grow long.

When everybody has long hair,
The rebel cuts his hair short.

When everybody talks during, the lesson,
The rebel doesn't say a word.

When nobody talks during the lesson,
The rebel creates a disturbance.

When everybody wears a uniform,
The rebel dresses in fantastic clothes.

When everybody wears fantastic clothes,
The rebel dresses soberly.

In the company of dog lovers,
The rebel expresses a preference for cats.

In the company of cat lovers,
The rebel puts in a good word for dogs.

When everybody is praising the sun,
The rebel remarks on the need for rain.

When everybody is greeting the rain,
The rebel regret the absence of sun.

When everybody goes to the meeting,
The rebel stays at home and reads a book.

When everybody stays at home and reads a book,
The rebel goes to the meeting.

When everybody says, Yes please!
The rebel says, No thank you.

When everybody says, No thank you,
The rebel says, Yes please!

It is very good that we have rebels
You may not find it very good to be one.

D. J. Enright

English poet born Leamington 1920

Enright  taught English in the universities of Alexandria and Singapore; then returned to England to work in publishing. He built up a considerable British reputation by avoiding rhetorical gestures and putting strict limits on language so that his verbal tone is restrained even when his subjects are interesting. His is a poetry that values irony above passion ans keeps an emotional distance from the reader. He projects an aloof and pedagogic personality in poems that gently mock philistinism, as in 'Buy one Now': This new poem does not work for you. Just drop your mind into it / And leave it to soak / While you relax with the telly / or Go out to the pub.'

Idea of Poem:

The poet has a sensible appreciation for the complex and contradictory attitude of rebels and non-conformists. Every adolescent action is motivated by self-assertion, exhibitionism and individualistic show of defiance and an unstructured urge to be indifferent world. He is therefore, a pseudo rebel. D.J. Enright's portrait of a rebel is keen, subtle and witty. Neither vicious nor dangerous, the rebel-role play-acting is harmlessly motivated by either a sense of inferiority, insecurity or self-exhibition. Serious and solemn in themselves, and funny to their peers, but unfunny to their superiors. A passing phase in a person's growth towards maturity.

Questioning his readers to ponder, the poem remains open-minded, though it closes on a cautionary muted note.

The poem is remarkable for its amusing humour devoid of malice or bitterness. The poet successfully persuades us to develop tolerance for rebels and bear with their eccentric attitude and desire to be different from regimented crowd governed by a mass mind.

Reference: 

These lines have been taken from the poem “The Rebel” written by D.J. Enright.

Context: 

This poem deals with the attitude of a social rebel. Actually a rebellion is a manner to look different from others. Such a social rebel is neither dangerous nor vicious. He does not make the other people's lives miserable. He just wants to look different. Young dissatisfied people may behave like this. But the society should not have social rebels.

Explanation 

Lines 1 - 2 

When everybody has short hair,
The rebel lets his hair grow long.

In these lines the poet expresses the attitude of a social rebel. When every body keeps short and uniform hair, the rebel knowingly grows his hair long. This, he does for the fact that he wants to look different from others.

Lines 3 – 4 

When everybody has long hair,
The rebel cuts his hair short.

In these lines the poet says that the rebel goes against the custom and tradition of the society. When the rest of the society grows long hair, the rebel cuts his hair short. This he does just to have a difference from others.

Lines 5 – 6 

When everybody talks during, the lesson,
The rebel doesn't say a word.

In these lines the poet expresses the thought when every member of the society talks during a lesion or meeting, the rebel keeps silent because he wants to be prominent.

Lines 7 – 8 

When nobody talks during the lesson,
The rebel creates a disturbance.

In these lines the poet says when no-body talks during the lesion or meeting, the rebel creates disturbance by talking loudly just to look distinct.

Lines 9 – 10 

When everybody wears a uniform,
The rebel dresses in fantastic clothes.

These lines show a different position of a rebel. When every person of the society wears simple and uniform clothes, the rebel uses strange and odd clothes. He wants to look distinguished from others.

Lines 11 – 12 

When everybody wears fantastic clothes,
The rebel dresses soberly.

In these lines the poet says when all other members of the society use queer and strange clothes, the rebel dresses himself very seriously and soberly.

Lines 13 – 14 

In the company of dog lovers,
The rebel expresses a preference for cats.

In these lines the poet expresses his idea of a rebel. If some people love dogs as pet animals, the rebel talks about the usefulness of cats. He prefers cats to dogs.

Lines 15 – 16 

In the company of cat lovers,
The rebel puts in a good word for dogs.

If a rebel is in company of those people who love cats, he prefers dogs to cats. He wants to look different at all costs.

Lines 17 – 18 

When everybody is praising the sun,
The rebel remarks on the need for rain.

The poet says if people require the sunlight and praise the sun the rebel is against them. He says that the sun is not required and there is need for rain.

Lines 19 – 20 

When everybody is greeting the rain,
The rebel regret the absence of sun.

When everybody of the society welcomes and requires rain, the rebel says something about the sun. He feels sorry for the absence of the sun. According to him, there is need for the sunlight.

Lines 21 – 22 

When everybody goes to the meeting,
The rebel stays at home and reads a book.

When every members of the society goes to some gathering and attends the meeting, the rebel stays at home and keeps himself busy by reading a book indoors.

Lines 23 – 24 

When everybody stays at home and reads a book,
The rebel goes to the meeting.

When everybody of the society stays at home and reads a book, the rebel tries to find some crowd of the people and wants to attend to them.

Lines 25 – 26 

When everybody says, Yes please!
The rebel says, No thank you.

When every person asks for something, the rebel rejects the same with thanks because he is a person quite different from others.

Lines 27 – 28 

When everybody says, No thank you,
The rebel says, Yes please!

When everybody of the society does not like and does not receive anything and says thanks, for that, the rebel, on purpose, requires that thing and asks for it.

Lines 29 – 30 

It is very good that we have rebels
You may not find it very good to be one.

In these lines the poet concludes that it is very good that we have social rebels in the society. But naturally, it is not good to become a social rebel. The poet further suggests that if we already have the social rebels, we should tolerate them. Without them life will become monotonous and dull.

Written By: Asad Hussain