Grade 11, Literature- Unit-2, Poems Corona Says Summary and Explanation || Vishnu S. Rai

 

Unit-2, Poems

Corona Says

 

Before Reading

Answer these questions

a. What is pandemic? Describe a pandemic that you have heard about in the history.

Ans:-  A pandemic is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has across a large region for instance multiple continents or worldwide affecting a substantial number of individuals. There were lots of pandemic throughtout the history. Among them I have heard about HIV/AIDS, Plague, Swine Flu, Bird Flu, Anthrax, Bird Flu, Ebola, Corona Virus etc. The Swine Flu pandemic broke out in 2009, first identified in Mexico. It is similar to flue virus that affects pigs so it is called Swine flu.

 

b. Is corona virus a pandemic? How?

Ans:- Yes, corona virus is a pandemic. When a disease spreads across large regions, multiple continents or worldwide affecting a large number of people at once is decleared as a pandemic. Corona is also a pandemic as it has affected millions of people across the world.

 

c. Do you think that human behavior is responsible for the pandemic?

Ans:- Yes human behavior is responsible for the pandemic. Global travel, urbanization, deforestation, climate change, human animal contact, shortage of health worker, improper food behavior etc is the causes of pandemic.

 

 

Vishnu S. Rai (1951)

·      Vishnu Prasad Singh Rai born in 1951, Sunsari, Nepal

·      SLC/M.A./M.Ed./TESOL/Ph.D.

·      Educated in India, Nepal, UK, and Switzerland

·      Taught at TU for 3 decades as Professor of English Language Education

·      Writer both in English and Nepali

·      Writen several stories and poems,

·      Known as a poet of human emotions,

 

About the Poem 'Corona Says'

This poem 'Corona Says' is written on the theme of the present world crisis caused by SARS-Cov-2 virus known as Covid-19 and its devastating impacts on human life. This poem satirizes on humans' conduct and attitude. It is viewed as the byproduct/side effect of man's treatment to nature. The speaker of the poem is Corona which is personified and it denes to be responsible for human casualties and economic crisis.

 

Explanation of the Poem:

Corona is making human stop to curse on it. It has not come on its own will. People are blaming it for the devastating and dreadful effects on humans but corona denies it. If human had not invited it, it would not have come on the Earth. Actually, whatever problems people are suffered of are caused by themselves. It had not come on its own choice but it was invited by humans. People say, many people have died because of Corona, but humans are not aware of the death of millions of people because of their own behavior. Human inventions and series of wars have killed millions of people, but they are not ready to admit it. Humans think themselves 'the crown of creation' and boast on their creations but never admit the calamities are caused by their inventions. Assuming themselves the supreme creature, they never think about other creatures' misery caused by their behavior. All the creatures flying in the sky, living on the Earth and Ocean, all the plants are vehemently spoiled for their benefit and happiness. They use them for different purposes and some of them are killed for meat. Corona is forcefully invited by humans so it is useless to blame it for the death toll. It is the counter attack of human interventions on all organisms and plants. Human mobilization, industries, vehicles have made the environment dirty. Only corona can bring purity on the Earth. Only Corona can give freedom and peace to entire creature. Everything except humans was happy during corona pandemic. It is a weapon of nature to snatch human's power. It is lesson to destroy humans' arrogance, monopoly, and intervention. It is to show how happy the nature will be in absence of humans. Corona is just a Trailor, if humans don't change themselves according to the will of nature, there will be pandemics like corona. There will never be peace, hormony and rest, if humans act like this after corona disappears. This is not a final trail instead it is a first warning to correct humans.

 

Understanding the text

a. Who is the speaker in the poem?

Ans: Corona virus is the speaker in the poem.

 

b. Who claim that they are superior to all?

Ans: Humans claim that they are superior to all.

 

c. Why has the speaker come to the Earth?

Ans:- The speaker has come to the Earth because humans have spoilt the nature too much. They have behaved like a master to all the creatures and exploited all the natural resources.

 

d. What positive changes have occurred on Earth after the speaker's visit?

Ans:- After the speaker's visit, sky looked clean and blue without dust and smoke and all the animals felt to be free and happy.

 

Reference to the context

a. What does the speaker mean when he says:

But have you ever counted

How many have died so far

Because of you and your wars?

 

In the lines that follow, the speaker accuses people of starting wars and losing their lives because of themselves. War's aftereffects and effects are even worse than what the epidemic has done. Wars originate from conflicts over territory and resources or from a government's desire to expand its influence, power, and authority. The parties or government involving in wars never think of the consequences people have to face. Wars have caused millions of people to lose their lives and possessions.

 

b. Explain the following:

I will depart one day.

But remember

There’re many others like me.

They’ll come too.

If you don’t get rid of your inflated ego,

You’ll be back to your cave time

That you endured

Long, long, long ago …

 

The speaker in the excerpt warns us to stop acting egotistically. No matter who we are, we must protect nature and should not disobey its laws. By stating the aforementioned sentence, the poet informs us that although the pandemic can be contained, they still run the risk of contracting other deadly diseases as a result of their own behaviors, and they may even be responsible for the demise of human civilization.

 

c. What does the speaker mean in the following lines? Explain.

The earth is not your property alone –

It’s as much ours as yours.

 

The speaker indicates that the earth is the common abode of all living things in the lines provided. They all have an equal right to use the resources that the earth has to provide in order to maintain their way of life. However, because we humans believe we are superior to others, we oppress them and deny them access to resources. The speaker is concerned about the mounting human impact on the environment. Despite the fact that the planet is the common home for all living things, they have managed its natural resources for their own gain. Humans are harming other animals' food sources and habitats in the name of progress and development. In this way, slowly and slowly entire ecosystem is being destroyed.

 

Reference beyond the text

 

a. What human behaviors are responsible for suffering in people’s lives?

All of these human afflictions are mostly a result of human behavior. The human ego, avarice, and ill behaviors are the main causes of the current world's crises. During this crucial time, numerous lives have been lost. The world has had several health issues as a result of their selfishness. Numerous lives have been taken by their so-called egos and wars. Thus, misery in people's lives is a result of human beings themselves.

 

b. How does an epidemic differ from a pandemic? Briefly explain the impact of Corona Virus on human life and environment.

A pandemic is a disease that affects a vast geographic region and a significant amount of the population, as opposed to an epidemic, which is a widespread illness that affects many people in a population. When an agent and susceptible hosts are both present in sufficient numbers and the agent can successfully spread from a source to the susceptible hosts, an epidemic will ensue. One of the biggest threats in the twenty-first century is the coronavirus. Numerous people have lost their lives as a result of this sickness. People all across the world are terrified and living in constant worry. The global economy is in turmoil, and businesses are struggling. Numerous individuals are out of work, homeless, and dying as a result of the lack of food. But due to the impact of Corona Virus, environment is clean and pollution free than before. As peoples are caged inside their houses, many of the industries are closed and the numbers of vehicles on the road is also decreased. Due to this the environment is cleaner and fresher than before.