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Question
The poem does not focus on the destination but the journey towards it. Discuss
Solution
The poet discusses the merits of efforts, duty, and devotion and values of honesty, uprightness, and service-mindedness. He does not have any special appreciation for those who reach great peaks like the Himalayas. He appreciates the process, the journey, and not the destination. When the whole world has a perspective of seeking glory using any foul method of underhand dealing, the poet differs from it. For him, the means are more important than the end. However modest may be one’s position is, it is adorable if attained by competence and merit. Pride is not in heights one reaches but in a life that knows no bending or kneeling. The poet respects one who does not stoop as a king. Thus the poet pays importance to the journey of life, not the destination.
“The journey of life is not meant to be feared and planned; It is meant to be traveled and enjoyed. ”
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The historical background:
The poem is an extract from William Shakespeare’s play King Richard the Second. The play is based on true events that occurred towards the end of the 14th century.
Richard II was crowned the King of England in the year 1367. He continued to be the British Monarch until 1399, when he was deposed by his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, who crowned himself King Henry the Fourth in the same year. Shakespeare’s play is a dramatic rendition of the last two years of King Richard II’s life. In this brief span of time, he was ousted from his royal position and sent to prison, where he died in captivity.
The following extract is set in the Coast of Wales. King Richard and some of his followers awaited the arrival of the Welsh army [after facing defeat at the hands of his cousin, Bolingbroke], of about 10000 warriors. But to their shock and surprise, they received the message that the army was not coming to their rescue. His followers tried to boost their King’s courage against the news, only in vain. When Richard came face to face with the reality of his terrible fate, he spoke the following verse, famously known as the “Hollow Crown” speech in theatrical circles. In it, King Richard is reminded of the power of Death that overshadows everything else, including the power of rulers, and renders them as powerless as any commoner at a moment’s notice.
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