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their love with kisses. In this stanza, a kiss is an expression of adults’ love to the
child. It shows a great pleasure of kissing the child. When I kiss your face to make you smile, my darling, I surely understand
what pleasure streams from the sky in morning light, and what delight the summer breeze brings to my body--when I kiss you to make you smile.
In conclusion, the poem presents the poet’s experiences with the child. It shows the poet’s care, love, guidance, and expectations. On the other side, this
poem presents a poet who is humble. He is a poet who is never afraid to learn from the child as stated in this poem that many things he learnt comes from the
child.
3. The Explication of Benediction
At the first time reading Benediction, the writer was sure that this poem carries
the poet’s spirituality. It is obviously seen in its title, Benediction. It has connotation with prayer. Prayer is a way to communicate with God or any other
object of worship. It is understood as spiritual sharing to request safe, blessing, happiness or may be to thank God. Prayer uses words to communicate with God.
The word “Benediction”, which is commonly used in Catholic Churches, is regarded as the highest prayer. Benediction according to Hornby 99 is
“the term to call devotional service during which the congregation is blessed with host
”. Therefore, it is obvious that the poet wants to express his spirituality and hope for
the child in the poem. The spirituality of the poet appears literally in the title as he uses the word “Benediction”.
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As any other poems in The Crescent Moon that is related to the interaction of child and adult, this poem does the same thing. Through seventeen lines that
are presented in a single stanza, this poem depicts a religious relationship among the poet, the child and othe
r. This poem uses the word “bless” to show religious rite. The sentences in Benediction commonly come into two lines. Unfortunately,
the poet does not cut off the sentence perfectly that makes the writer a little bit confused to analyze its meter. However, the sentences in the poem are not merely
a prayer from the poet for the child. It also has some invitation to the reader to pray with him. The imperative sentences can be seen on line 1, 6, 12, 16 and 17.
This poem presents the character in the poem as the addressee to whom the prayer for, in the first three stanzas. In the first line, there is “little heart” to depict
children as weak human beings . The word “little” always has connotation with
something small and weak. Also, it represents the physical appearance of child who is smaller than adult. The other characteristics of the child, which is pure,
also appear in the first line. The child’s pureness is shown in the noun phrase “white soul”. The color “white”, as an adjectives, often symbolizes pureness or
holiness. It also symbolizes the child’s world which is still blank and need to be filled with knowledge, experiences and many things. Thus, the phrase “white
soul” depicts the child’s thought, which is clean. They are unadorned human beings. Then, the
picture of child’s pureness is strengthened through personification. The poet personifies heaven, so that heaven kisses the child. A
kiss, in many side of the world, symbolizes love. The representation of love may be vary, but in this line the poet represents his love to the child. In addition,
42 “heaven” is a place of God. Many good things and good person live in this place.
The combination of kiss and heaven represents the poet’s spirituality to love the child. Therefore, it is obvious that the poet defines two characters of the young
person which is weak and still pure. The child is a gift from God. BLESS this little heart, this white soul that has won the kiss of heaven for
our earth. Every one needs love, so does the young person. Thus, the poet presents it
in the second line. One character that is close to the child or young person is hisher mother. So, the poet presents mother as the representation of someone who
always loves the child. It represents on the sight of mother. Mother is a character that is often defined as the human beings which is full of love. In our daily life,
mother has an important role in child’s development. She teaches children from
nothing to human beings and cares of the children. She suffers from giving birth, works hard to take care of the children, and struggles to teach them. The child
loves to see his mother’s sight. It is an expression of child’s need of love. Before the representation of mother’s sight, there is an expression of the child’s love of
the sun. Sun is warm. It lights up the world everyday. It is a symbol of life. Sun is part of our environment and plays vital role in human life. If there is no sun there
will not be any living creature in the world. Some tribes in the world use sun as the representation of gods. In this poem, the poet told the reader that the child
loves the lights of the sun. It is a representation of child’s love of life, environment and God. The love towards mother and the sun rhyme in anapestic,
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while the iambic gives variation in the beginning of the poem and functions as a bridge to merge those loves.
He loves the light of the sun, he loves the sight of his mothers face.
The poet continues the pureness of the child in the fifth line. It is told that the child has not learned to despise the dust and to find for gold. The word
meaning of despise the dust means underestimate others. The children will see everything as a good thing since they have not learned anything and they are still
pure. In this line, the poet presents two different activities. The difference of those activities represents in its foot. Tagore starts the line with iambic then followed by
anapestic and ended with iambic. The combination of three foot in this line pictured two different things. In this line, the poet told the reader that the child
never find for glory or power as they never underestimate others. He has not learned to despise the dust, and to hanker after gold.
In the sixth line, the poet presents his persuasion. It begins with an imperative word “clasp”. The poet asks the reader to hold the child with their
heart and pray for them. The meaning of “hold the child with heart” has a very deep meaning. It means giving every best thing for the child. The poet asks the
readers to hold the child gently. Using heart, the readers have to hold them. The poet does not want something bad happens to the child so he hold himher tight.
Holding hands often symbolizes a protection. Then, the poet asking the reader to pray is represented
in the word “bless”. It asks God’s favor on the child to PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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encounter their willingness to look for gold and under estimate other. So, this line is presented to avoid bad things that can be duplicated by the children from the
society, the poet asks the readers to protect the child and pray for the child.
Clasp him to your heart and bless him.
In short, lines seven to eleven are presented in a sequence order. The journey that the child must face starts on the seventh line. Its unity starts with the
fate of the child to come to the world. There will be many choices of life that they must face, as any other human beings. Thus, the poet represents many choices in
life using “hundred of cross-roads”. In addition, “cross-roads” can be interpreted as the life around the child itself. The situation is confusing. Many problems
appear. Those situations happen at the time the child comes to the world. The poet uses present perfect tense to present the problem.
He has come into this land of an hundred cross-roads.
In order to encounter the confusing situation for the child, the poet presents guidance for the child. The guidance occurs in the eighth and ninth line.
The presence of guidance is symbolized through grasping the child ’s hands to ask
their own way. However, the poet does not know which way is the most appropriate for the child. The best way for the child appears mysteriously as it is
their fate. Every child has its own fate. It is a traditional thought in education that everyone has their own fate. Thus, the mysticism of the poet appears in these
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lines. Guiding the child must not be careless. The poet presents a careful guidance by directing the child to find his way.
I know not how he chose you from the crowd, came to your door, and grasped your hand to ask his way.
In the eleventh and tenth line, the poet draws the result of guidance. The child will follow the person who guides the child, trust the child, and open their
heart for the child. It is shown in the third word of the tenth line. Then, the child would be happier if she come along with them. She will open their heart as
shown that the child will laugh and talk to his guide. There is no doubt in hisher heart.
He will follow you, laughing and talking, and not a doubt in his heart.
As a guide, there is a responsibility towards the person which is guided. In line 12, the presence of the responsibility appears. The poet asks the reader to
keep the child’s trust. In order to do so, the reader is asked to be a good figure for the child, as a teacher who always be a teacher at school and outside the school.
They have to mean their behavior. If they can do it, the child will be in their correct way. However, as a guide the reader must not forget God’s help. In this
line, the poet asks the reader to pray for the child. It is represented in the last two words “bless him”. The power of prayer is really great, so in further line the poet
described it. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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Keep his trust, lead him straight and bless him.
In the thirteenth line, the poet presents the needs of God’s help and the
child’s future. The poet symbolizes prayer in laying hand on other’s head. The poet shows an unlimited power of prayer and God’s help. In addition, these lines
depict a journey which the child does. In the child’s journey, there will be many difficulties that
hit the child’s way. The poet uses the image of a sail to depict the child’s journey. However, the journey will not be as smooth as the child’s
expectation. The poem presents the obstacles in the image of waves and strong wind. The child must not forget God’s help. God’s help represents in a smooth
wind that waft the child’s sail. By the time obstacles appear, praying to God is the best way to bring peace in heart.
Lay your hand on his head, and pray that though the waves underneath grow threatening, yet the breath from above may come
and fill his sails and waft him to the haven of peace.
The sixteenth line asks the readers to take care of the child with heart and soul. It is implicitly mentioned on “forget him not in your hurry”. A hurry person
will not be aware of what happens around. Taking care of child must be patient since they are unique human beings. Never rejecting any child that come to you is
the message of the sixteenth line, just let them come to you. At last, pray for the child so that they are able to sail their journey of life safely and full of bless.
Forget him not in your hurry, let him come to your heart and bless him.
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In conclusion, Benediction shows the poet’s spirituality. It conveys message
n ot to forget God’s help in our daily life. For the child, the poet reminds that the
journey of life will not be going smoothly. Therefore, every obstacles which appears must be solved wisely.
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B. Tagore’s View of Education Reflected in His Poems
