You descend summoned always, and gently holdĬhe vanno al nulla eterno e intanto fugge You send shadows and darkness into the world, Perhaps because you are the image of that fatal quietĪnd the gentle west wind are your escort, The night is described beautifully by describing the fire flies glowing in the dark and the stars shining brightly in the sky.By Ugo Foscolo (Translated by Nick Benson) The poem also mentions the poppy plant which is used for making herbal medicines that induce sleep. Also, the neem tree is being referred to as "the fairy neem" as it is considered to be a sacred tree in Indian villages. We get an idea that this song is based in an Indian village as we can see the description of the spice groves, rice fields and a stream filled with beautiful lotuses, glistening with dew drops. The poem is a lullaby which is sung by a mother to put her child to sleep. When the child falls asleep, the mother bids him good night and as she is gently caressing and patting him to sleep she says the stars seem to be shining with a golden light and she hopes he has pleasant dreams. She says she hopes the child has a sleep as pleasant as the kind of sleep induced by the poppy plant. The mother asks her child to shut his eyes and imagine the fireflies glowing in the dark and flying around the sacred neem tree. She describes the beautiful stream filled with lotuses which glisten with dew drops and across this stream she carries a dream for the child. She says that she carries a dream for the child from the fragrant spice groves and the rice fields. She creates visually beautiful images to make sure the child has pleasant thoughts before falling asleep. The poem is a mother’s song to her child. As the mother gently pats the child to sleep, she hopes he has a sound sleep and pleasant dreams. The stars in the sky seem to shine brightly producing a golden light. This is why the mother refers to it saying she stole from it a lovely dream, implying that she wants her child to have a sound sleep.įinally, the child falls asleep and the mother bids him good night. It is being mentioned here as it is an herbaceous plant and is often used for making herbal medicines that induce sleep. The " poppy-bole" refers to the poppy plant which is known for its bright colourful flowers. The neem tree is referred to as " the fairy neem" because it is considered to be a sacred tree by Indians. The mother tells the child to shut his eyes and imagine the fire flies glowing in the dark and flying around the neem tree in a dance like motion. She wants her child to imagine all these beautiful things before falling asleep so that he sleeps well and has pleasant dreams. The mother’s song has a calming effect on the child.
From the fields of rice she goes across the stream which is filled with beautiful lotuses which are glowing and glistening with dew drops. She speaks about the fragrant spice groves from where she heads towards the rice fields. This stanza is the mother’s description of the various places from where she says she gathers a dream for her child. Since it is being sung to a child, she uses fantasy and a very pleasant and soothing tone. Imagery has been used in the poem as the poet gives a visual description of the various locations using beautiful words. The poem has a rhyming scheme as the end of each line rhymes with the end of the next line.
Each stanza ends with the line "A little lovely dream". The poem consists of three stanzas with the same number of lines in each stanza. From the poem we can infer that it is based in an Indian village as she describes the spice groves, rice fields and a stream. The mother gently caresses the child while singing and says she hopes the child sleeps well and has pleasant dreams. The poem is a mother’s use of imagination and beautiful words which create a calming effect on the child and induce sleep. This is being sung by a mother to her child who describes various picturesque places from where she says she brings her child a little lovely dream. Her poem "Cradle song" is a very gentle and tender song used to lull a child to sleep. Sarojini Naidu, known as "The nightingale of India", was a great Indian poet, orator, politician and administrator.