📘 Maharashtra State Board – English
Standard IX
Chapter 4.1 – Please Listen!
📖 Paraphrase of the Poem
The poet says that when he asks someone to listen to him and that person starts giving advice, then the person has not really listened to him. When he asks someone to listen and they tell him why he should not feel that way, they are hurting his feelings instead of understanding them. When he asks someone to listen and they try to solve his problem, they fail him, even though they may think they are helping.
The poet says that all he wants is for someone to listen quietly — not to talk, not to advise, and not to take action — just to listen.
He further explains that advice is cheap and easily available. For a small amount of money, one can get advice from newspaper columns such as Dear Abby or from famous personalities like Billy Graham. He says that he is capable of handling his own problems. He may feel discouraged or uncertain, but he is not helpless. When someone does something for him that he can do himself, it increases his fear and makes him feel inferior.
The poet believes that if someone simply accepts his feelings — even if they seem irrational — then he can stop trying to explain himself and begin to understand the real reason behind those feelings.
Once he understands the reason for his irrational feelings, the answers become clear to him, and he no longer needs advice. He says that feelings make sense when we understand the reason behind them.
The poet feels that prayer works in the same way. God does not give advice or try to fix problems. God listens silently and allows people to find their own solutions.
In the end, the poet requests people to listen patiently. If they wish to speak, they should wait for their turn, and then he will listen to them too.
🌸 Appreciation of the Poem
The title of the poem is Please Listen! It clearly reflects the central idea of the poem, which is the importance of listening patiently without interrupting or advising.
The poem is written in free verse, so it does not follow any fixed rhyme scheme or rhythm. The lines are of different lengths, and there is no uniform structure in the stanzas. This free style makes the poem sound like a natural conversation.
My favourite line from the poem is, “God just listens and lets you work it out for yourself.” This line beautifully explains how silent support is sometimes more helpful than advice.
The central idea of the poem is that people often want someone to listen to them without judging or advising them. The poet believes that understanding and silent support help a person more than constant advice. When people are allowed to understand their own feelings, they become stronger and more confident.
One important figure of speech used in the poem is repetition. The line “When I ask you to listen to me” is repeated many times for emphasis. This repetition highlights the poet’s main request.
I like this poem because it is simple and meaningful. It teaches us the value of listening carefully when someone shares their feelings with us.
📝 Warming Up!
Twenty Questions
Form groups of 6–8. One person (leader) chooses one item – a picture, a paragraph or a lesson from any one of the 9th standard textbooks and writes the reference on a slip of paper and folds it. Others ask him/her questions and try to guess what it is, from his/her answers. Follow the rules given below.
The maximum number of questions the rest of the group can ask is 20.
You cannot ask a direct question like ‘What do you have in mind?’
You can ask ‘Wh-’ questions or ‘Yes/no’ questions.
The leader has to give truthful answers.
Ans: Students must perform this activity on their own in class as a group activity.
Agreements and Disagreements
Form pairs. List the things on which you have the same opinion and also the ones on which you have different opinions. Prepare a list of ten things in all and see how far you agree or disagree with your friend. Some useful phrases are given alongside.
You could talk about:
Clothes and latest fashion
Performance of sportsmen and sportswomen
Traffic and transport in your area
Cleanliness and hygiene in your area
Future occupations or careers
Latest news items
TV programmes
Mobile apps
Any subject of your choice
Ans: Students should discuss these topics with their partner and prepare their own list of agreements and disagreements.
📚 Comparison Activity
Invictus
- Rhyming lines – Yes
- Steady rhythm – Yes
- Uniformity in length of lines – Yes
- Uniformity of number of lines in each stanza – Yes
- Figurative language – Yes
Please Listen
- Rhyming lines – No
- Steady rhythm – No
- Uniformity in length of lines – No
- Uniformity of number of lines in each stanza – No
- Figurative language – Very little; mainly conversational style