Critical Appreciation of the Poem Abou Ben Adhem
Introduction :
The poem entitled Abou Ben Adhem is one of the most popular, inspirational and moral giving poem written by Leigh Hunt. It imparts as great moral to all that the best service to God is to serve and love humanity. It teaches us that God blesses only those who have sympathetic and merciful attitude towards their fellow beings and are always ready to help them in their distress. The poem is a literary gem based on the spirit of frantemity.
First published in The Amulet (1834) by S.C. Hall, the poem is Hunt’s rendering of a divine encounter between an angel and the Sufi mystic, Ibrahim Bin Adhem. Incidently, the poem draws from Arabian lore where in the Islamic month of Nous Sha’aban, God takes the golden book of mankind and chooses those dear to Him who He will call in the coming year. Thus indirectly, this is also a poem about a ‘blessed death’. It is a fitting tribute then, that the verse “Write me as one who loves his fellow men’ came to be used in Hunt’s epitaph.
Thought-Content :
In the poem, the poet through the example of Abou Ben Adhem who was a noble, holy, kindhearted and religious man, wants to awaken the feelings of love, brotherhood and humanity in us. The poet narrates an incident which took place in his life. Once Abou Ben Adhem was sleeping peacefully in his room. Suddenly he woke up from his sleep because of a dazzling light. He saw an angel writing something in a beautiful golden book. He asked the angel what he was writing. The angel replied in a very calm, sweet and soothing voice that he was writing the name of those who love God truly and sincerely.
’ Abou was a true devotee of God and always followed the ethical values and principles of religious books. So, he curiously asked the angel if his name was in the list of those who love God. At this, the angel denied. This somewhat puzzled Abou but he did not feel depressed and in a cheerful tone requested the angel to include his name in the list of those who love, care and serve their fellow beings.
After writing something in the heavenly book, the angel disappeared. But, the next night, the angel appeared again in Abou’s room with the same dazzling light and showed him the list of those who had been blessed by God. Abou was extremely surprised to see his name on the top of the list. This clearly proves that God is always inclined to those who love and serve their fellow beings.
Moral of the Poem :
Through the poem, the poet wants to convey to us that we should be kind, sympathetic and compassionate towards our fellow beings. We should serve humanity selflessly. If we love our fellow beings, we find ourselves very close to God. God loves and blesses those who love His creatures. In the poem, Abou Ben Adhem is a glaring example to us. Abou was whole heartedly dedicated to the service of mankind, He helped his fellow beings in their sufferings and distress. Ultimately, he won the greatest favour of God as His love and blessings.
This poem also teaches us that if we develop the spirits of love, peace, brotherhood and neighbourhood, we will make great contribution making the earth a place worth living.
The Use of Imageries and Symbols :
The poet seems to be very cautious about the imageries used in the poem. Abou gets up from ‘a deep dream of peace’-which shows that Abou is content with himself, as only a happy joyous child can have a peaceful dream. The peace in the dream is further extended to the conversation with the angel as the poet writes ‘Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold’ making us, aware that it is only in a peaceful environment that revelations, such meeting with angel can happen. Then the poet compares the atmosphere with a lily in bloom’ suggesting its beauty.
‘The book of gold’ symbolises the richness you counter when you love God. It is the richness of the spirit. “Wakening light’ symbolises a state in which you achieve awareness of God.
Supernatural Elements :
The poem contains eerie quality. The poet’s using certain phrases like deep dream of peace, book of gold, the presence in the room, the vision, great wakening light, adds to the supernatural quality of the poem. Abou’s waking up in the middle of the night, the moon light brightening the room, the angel’s writing in a golden book, the vision with a face full of kindness and the angel’s coming again with a great wakening light is magical and unbelievable.
Form and Structure of the Poem :
The form of the poem is parable. It narrates a brief incident to bring home the main idea. The poem imparts us a moral or message that God loves those who love their fellow men. The poem has eighteen lines in total, with first fourteen lines comprising the first stanza and last four lines, the second stanza The first stanza depicts Abou’s first meeting with the aqgel and the second stanza depicts the angel’s coming to Abou for the second time with revelation that Abou has received his place on the top of the list of those people who are blessed by the love of God.
Hunt has written the poem in rhyming pairs of lines (couplets). In other words, line first rhymes with line second (increase, peace), line third with line fourth (room, bloom), line fifth with line sixth (gold, bold) and so on. All of the end rhymes are masculine rather than feminine. In masculine rhyme, only the final syllable of one line rhymes with the final syllable of another line. In feminine rhyme with the final two syllables of another line, as in ringing and singing. The poem also contains internal rhyme, as in line first to three :
‘Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase !)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room)
The meter of the poem varies. Most of the lines ten syllables that frequently consist of five iambs, as in line third and five.
The Use of Archaic or Classical Words :
The poet seems to be very conscious of his choice of language. When Abou rises from his peaceful dreams and meets the angel, the poet consciously frames Abou’s question in classical English as he asks, “what writest thou ?’ Similarly when Abou Requests the angel to include his name in the list of the people who love their fellow beings, he starts with T pray tree’. It is clear that the poet shows his fondness for the classical or archaic Words.
The Use of Figures ojf Speech :
The poet has used the figure of speech simile in the following lines :
‘….. and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold.’’
In the above lines, the poet compares the splendour and freshness of the angel to that of the lily in bloom’.
The poet has used the figure of speech alliteration in the following lines :
- ‘Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace.’
- Answered, ‘The names of those who love the Lord.’
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