Night of the Scorpion: Summary and Analysis
A Comprehensive Study Guide for RPSC First Grade English
Introduction to “Night of the Scorpion”
“Night of the Scorpion” is a powerful narrative poem by Nissim Ezekiel (1924-2004), one of India’s foremost English-language poets. This poem, included in RPSC First Grade English exam, is a vivid recollection of an incident from the poet’s childhood when his mother was stung by a scorpion on a rainy night in rural India.
The poem showcases the contrast between rural Indian superstitious beliefs and rational, scientific approaches to medicine and healing. Through this personal narrative, Ezekiel presents a microcosm of Indian society, balancing tradition and modernity, superstition and rationality.
About the Poet
Nissim Ezekiel was born in Mumbai to Jewish parents and is considered a pioneering figure in post-colonial Indian English writing. His poetry often explores the complexities of Indian society, cultural identity, and the urban experience. “Night of the Scorpion” is one of his most anthologized poems, frequently studied in high school literature courses and featured in competitive exams like the RPSC First Grade English test .
Form and Structure
The poem consists of 48 lines written in free verse without a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. This conversational style enhances the narrative quality of the poem, giving it the feel of a personal recollection. The poem can be divided into three distinct parts:
- The scorpion’s attack and the villagers’ reaction (lines 1-14)
- The villagers’ beliefs and rituals (lines 15-36)
- The father’s rational approach and the mother’s selfless response (lines 37-48)
Summary
The poem begins with the speaker recalling a night when his mother was stung by a scorpion during heavy rainfall. The scorpion had sought shelter beneath a sack of rice but left after stinging the mother. The incident brings villagers to the house, who search for the scorpion while chanting prayers and offering traditional wisdom about suffering and karma.
The speaker’s father, described as a “sceptic, rationalist,” tries various remedies including modern medicine and even burning the wound with paraffin. A holy man performs religious rites. After twenty hours of pain, the poison’s effect diminishes, and the mother recovers. Her first words express gratitude that it was she who was stung rather than her children, revealing her selfless maternal love.
Key Themes in “Night of the Scorpion”
Understanding the central themes of “Night of the Scorpion” is essential for RPSC First Grade English exam preparation. The poem explores several interconnected themes that reflect both personal experiences and broader social contexts:
1. Tradition vs. Modernity
The poem juxtaposes traditional Indian beliefs (represented by the villagers) against modern, rational thought (represented by the father). This clash is at the heart of the poem and reflects wider tensions in Indian society during post-colonial times.
Evidence: “My father, sceptic, rationalist, / trying every curse and blessing, / powder, mixture, herb and hybrid.” The father represents scientific thinking but still tries both traditional and modern methods.
2. Superstition and Faith
The villagers’ response to the crisis is deeply rooted in religious beliefs and superstitions about karma, sin, and purification through suffering. The poem neither wholly endorses nor rejects these beliefs but presents them as part of the cultural fabric.
Evidence: “May the sins of your previous birth / be burned away tonight, they said. / May your suffering decrease / the misfortunes of your next birth, they said.”
3. Maternal Love and Sacrifice
The mother’s closing statement reveals the depth of maternal love and self-sacrifice. Despite her pain, her primary concern is for her children’s safety.
Evidence: “My mother only said / Thank God the scorpion picked on me / And spared my children.”
4. Pain and Suffering
The poem explores different perspectives on suffering – as punishment, as purification, as karmic balance, and as a maternal sacrifice. This theme is central to understanding the poem’s philosophical dimensions.
Evidence: “May the poison purify your flesh / of desire, and your spirit of ambition, / they said” and “My mother twisted through and through, / groaning on a mat.”
5. Community and Collective Response
The villagers’ quick gathering shows the close-knit nature of rural Indian communities and their collective response to crisis.
Evidence: “The peasants came like swarms of flies / and buzzed the name of God a hundred times” and “More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours, / more insects, and the endless rain.”
Figures of Speech in “Night of the Scorpion”
Nissim Ezekiel employs various literary devices to enhance the poem’s impact and meaning. Identifying these figures of speech is crucial for RPSC First Grade English preparation:
1. Simile
The poem uses explicit comparisons using “like” or “as” to create vivid images.
Example: “The peasants came like swarms of flies” – This comparison emphasizes the large number of villagers and their quick, buzzing movement.
2. Metaphor
Implied comparisons that identify one thing as being another thing, creating powerful imagery.
Example: “flash of diabolic tail” – The scorpion’s tail is compared to something devilish or evil, emphasizing the danger and malevolence.
3. Imagery
The poem creates vivid sensory impressions, particularly visual images.
Example: “giant scorpion shadows on the mud-baked walls” – This creates a threatening visual image that emphasizes fear and the magnification of threat.
Example: “I watched the flame feeding on my mother” – This powerful image suggests both physical and spiritual consumption.
4. Repetition
Words and phrases are repeated for emphasis and rhythmic effect.
Example: “they said” is repeated throughout to emphasize the collective voice of the villagers.
Example: “More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours, more insects” – The repetition of “more” creates a sense of accumulation and overwhelming presence.
5. Paradox
Seemingly contradictory statements that reveal a deeper truth.
Example: “the peace of understanding on each face” contrasts with the chaotic situation, suggesting that suffering is seen as part of a larger cosmic order.
6. Irony
The poem contains situational irony, particularly in the father’s actions.
Example: The father is described as a “sceptic, rationalist” but tries “every curse and blessing,” showing how crisis can cause even rational people to resort to superstition.
7. Personification
Attribution of human qualities to non-human entities.
Example: “I watched the flame feeding on my mother” – The flame is portrayed as a living entity consuming the mother.
Line-by-Line Analysis
Click on each line of the poem to see its detailed analysis, including themes, figures of speech, and contextual meanings. This detailed approach is particularly valuable for RPSC First Grade English exam preparation.
Analysis: The poem begins directly, establishing the personal narrative tone. The speaker is recounting a childhood memory, setting up the poem as both a personal recollection and a cultural snapshot.
Literary devices: The line is straightforward but serves as an effective hook for the narrative that follows.
Analysis: This line establishes the setting and circumstance, explaining why the scorpion entered the house. The detail about “ten hours of steady rain” emphasizes the extreme weather that forced the scorpion to seek shelter indoors.
Literary devices: The personification of the scorpion (“driven him”) gives the creature agency and emphasizes its intrusion into human space as a result of natural forces.
Analysis: This line vividly describes the moment of the sting, using striking imagery to convey both the physical action and its ominous nature.
Literary devices: The metaphor “diabolic tail” associates the scorpion with evil or demonic qualities. The line uses dashes to create a parenthetical phrase that slows the reading and emphasizes the dramatic moment.
Analysis: After stinging the mother, the scorpion leaves the shelter of the house, choosing to face the rain rather than remain inside with humans.
Literary devices: Personification continues as the scorpion makes a choice, “risking” the rain. This suggests a kind of moral decision-making, adding complexity to the creature’s portrayal.
Analysis: The line describes the villagers’ quick response to the crisis, showing community solidarity but also suggesting overwhelming, chaotic presence.
Literary devices: The simile “like swarms of flies” creates a vivid image of numerous people arriving quickly and moving about frantically. The hyperbole “buzzed the name of God a hundred times” emphasizes the repetitive nature of their prayers and invocations.
Analysis: This line reveals the villagers’ belief system – they view the scorpion as an embodiment of evil that can be neutralized through prayer.
Literary devices: Personification and religious symbolism in “the Evil One,” elevating the scorpion from mere creature to a representation of malevolent force.
Analysis: This line creates a powerful visual image of the search party’s lights creating exaggerated, threatening shadows that mimic the source of danger.
Literary devices: Vivid imagery creates an almost cinematic scene. The “giant scorpion shadows” represent a visual manifestation of the fear and threat, magnified beyond its actual size.
Analysis: Despite their efforts, the villagers cannot find the scorpion, adding to the sense of an invisible, lurking threat.
Literary devices: The colon creates a pause that emphasizes the futility of the search. The short, declarative statement “he was not found” uses brevity for emphasis.
Analysis: This brief line captures a cultural gesture of disapproval, concern, or sympathy common in rural India.
Literary devices: Onomatopoeia is suggested in “clicked,” mimicking the sound being described. The brevity of this line following longer descriptions creates emphasis through contrast.
Analysis: This line introduces the villagers’ superstitious belief about how scorpion poison works – that the movement of the scorpion affects the movement of venom in the victim.
Literary devices: This reflects folk belief rather than medical reality, highlighting the theme of superstition versus science. The phrase “they said” distances the narrator from fully endorsing this view.
Analysis: Following from the previous belief, the villagers hope the scorpion will remain motionless to minimize the poison’s effect.
Literary devices: The repetition of “they said” establishes the collective voice of the community and their shared belief system.
Analysis: This line introduces the concept of karma and reincarnation, suggesting the mother’s suffering has spiritual significance in cleansing past sins.
Literary devices: The use of the traditional blessing format “May…” reflects cultural speech patterns. References to “previous birth” introduce Hindu/Buddhist concepts of reincarnation and karma.
Analysis: This continues the karmic theme, suggesting current suffering can lead to better circumstances in the next life.
Literary devices: Parallel structure with the previous line reinforces the ritualistic nature of these statements. The concept connects to the theme of suffering as purposeful rather than random.
Analysis: This longer line expresses a complex philosophical idea about cosmic balance – that individual suffering contributes to reducing the total evil in the world.
Literary devices: This statement reflects elements of Hindu philosophy regarding karma and dharma. The phrase “unreal world” suggests the concept of maya (illusion) in Hindu philosophy.
Analysis: The villagers interpret suffering as spiritual purification, suggesting physical pain can cleanse spiritual impurities like desire and ambition.
Literary devices: The metaphor of poison as purification creates a paradox – something harmful becomes beneficial in a spiritual sense. This reflects the theme of finding meaning in suffering.
Analysis: This line presents a striking image of community solidarity. The villagers form a circle around the suffering woman, creating a ritual-like scene.
Literary devices: The spatial arrangement described is symbolic – the mother becomes the literal and figurative center of attention. The phrase “peace of understanding” suggests acceptance of suffering within a cosmic order.
Analysis: This line conveys the continuing influx of people and light, creating a sense of mounting intensity as the night progresses.
Literary devices: Anaphora (repetition of “more”) creates rhythm and emphasis. The inclusion of “insects” alongside human elements blurs the boundaries between nature and civilization. The “endless rain” serves as both literal setting and metaphor for continuing adversity.
Analysis: After focusing on the community’s response, the poem returns to the mother’s physical suffering with vivid, painful detail.
Literary devices: The visceral description “twisted through and through” uses alliteration and creates a powerful image of physical agony. The simplicity of “groaning on a mat” emphasizes the primitive conditions and lack of comfort.
Analysis: This line introduces the father as a contrasting figure to the superstitious villagers – he represents modern, rational thought but still tries everything possible, including traditional remedies.
Literary devices: The juxtaposition of “sceptic, rationalist” with “curse and blessing” creates irony, showing how crisis can lead even rational people to try superstitious remedies. The listing of remedies (“powder, mixture, herb and hybrid”) creates rhythm and emphasizes desperation.
Analysis: This describes a dramatic and dangerous folk remedy – burning the wound – showing the father’s desperation.
Literary devices: The casual tone of “even poured” contrasts with the extreme nature of the remedy described, creating understatement. This action symbolizes the fusion of traditional folk remedies with modern materials (paraffin).
Analysis: This powerful line shifts perspective to the child witnessing his mother’s suffering, adding an emotional dimension to the narrative.
Literary devices: Personification of the flame as “feeding” creates a predatory image, suggesting the mother is being consumed by both the poison and the remedies. The image has sacrificial connotations.
Analysis: This line adds another element to the scene – religious ritual – showing how multiple approaches (scientific, folk, and religious) are brought to bear on the crisis.
Literary devices: The verb “tame” personifies the poison as a wild force that can be controlled through spiritual means. The repetition of “I watched” connects this religious response to the previous physical remedy.
Analysis: This line marks the resolution of the physical crisis, noting the time that has passed and the diminishing of pain.
Literary devices: The phrase “lost its sting” works as both literal description and metaphor, suggesting both physical relief and emotional resolution. The brevity of this line after lengthy descriptions of suffering creates emphasis through contrast.
Analysis: The poem concludes with the mother’s selfless statement, revealing maternal love as her dominant concern despite her suffering.
Literary devices: The understatement of “only said” contrasts with the profound sentiment expressed. The mother’s words reveal situational irony – after all the remedies and rituals, her response is gratitude rather than complaint. The personification in “picked on me” suggests the scorpion made a choice, connecting to the agency attributed to it throughout the poem.
Practice MCQs for RPSC First Grade English
Test your understanding of “Night of the Scorpion” with these multiple-choice questions focusing on themes, figures of speech, and analysis of the poem.
Question 1:
Which figure of speech is used in the line “The peasants came like swarms of flies”?
Question 2:
What is the central irony in the father’s character?
Question 3:
Which theme is expressed in the mother’s final statement?
Question 4:
What belief about the scorpion’s poison is expressed by the villagers?
Question 5:
What literary device is used in “I watched the flame feeding on my mother”?
Question 6:
What does the repeated phrase “they said” emphasize throughout the poem?
Question 7:
Which religious or philosophical concept is reflected in the villagers’ statements about suffering?
Question 8:
What is the significance of the “mud-baked walls” in the poem?
Question 9:
Which of these is NOT a figure of speech used in “Night of the Scorpion”?
Question 10:
What does the scorpion symbolize in the poem?
