Rebel By D.J. Enright
REFERENCE: These lines have been taken from “The Rebel”written by “D.J. Enright.”
CONTEXT: In this poem, the poet talks about the habits of a rebel. He says that a rebel is not ready to follow the set pattern of a society. He has his own attitude towards any idea. He wants to be prominent at any cost.
EXPLANATION:Actually, this poem is a criticism on the behaviour of rebels but the poet’s purpose is not to satirize their behaviour rather he has soft corner for them. He uses humour to depict the portrait of rebel. He believes: “Rebels give colours to this society. It is they who remove uniformity from society.”In the given lines, the poet says that a rebel believes in self assertion. He always makes efforts to be prominent from others. He does so, perhaps he is a neglected person of society. He wants to attract the attention of others. That’s why, he has long hair, when all have short hair. He praises the absence of the sun, when all enjoy the presence of sun. He reads a book when others are ready to go to some meeting. He wears fantastic clothes when others wear simple dress. In short, he has a different personality from the others. The poet says that the presence of rebels causes pleasure in society. They remove the boredom from society. However, there is a point to be noted that no rebel is ready to accept the reality that he is a rebel.