[اطلق سراب]

Is my team plowing
A.E. HOUSMAN

"Is my team plowing,
That I was used to drive
And hear the harness jingle
When I was man alive?"

Ay, the horses trample,
The harness jingles now;
No change though you lie under
The land you used to plow.

"Is football playing
Along the river shore,
With lads to chase the leather,
Now I stand up no more?"

Ay, the ball is flying,
The lads play heart and soul;
The goal stands, Up, the keeper
Stands Up to keep the goal.

"Is my girl happy,
That I thought hard to leave,
And has she tired of weeping
As she lies down at eve?"

Ay, she lies down lightly,
She lies not down to weep:
Your girl is well contented.
Be still, my lad, and sleep.

"Is my friend hearty,
Now I am thin and pine,
And has he found to sleep in
A better bed than mine?"

Yes, lad, I lie easy,
I lie as lads would choose;
I cheer a dead man's sweetheart,
Never ask me whose

الشرح

Is my team plowing

By A.E.Houseman

This poem is fanciful dramatic work for A.E.Houseman. It is a conversation between a dead man with his still-living friend.

The meaning of the words:

Team: a group of people or animals.

Plow: to turn the land for planted.

Harness: a set of leather bands fastened with l that is used in order to control a horse and attach it to a vehicle that is pulls.

Jingle: to make noise like a bell.

Trample: to step on something heavily so that you crush it with your feet.

Diction:

Some words have multiple meaning like( sleep, bed, and lie).

Sleep: 1) Death.

2) Night sleep.

Lie: 1) to be dead on the ground.

2) To sleep on the bed.

3) Sleep easy.

4) To lie with woman (have a relation).

Bed: 1) furniture.

2) Grave.

………………………………………………………………………………………

Paraphrasing:

Is my team plowing

That I was used to drive

And hear the harness jingle

When I was man alive?

The first stanza the dead man wants to know if his friends still working on the land as they used to do with him, and also if they still hear the sound of the harness as in the past.

Aye, the horses trample

The harness jingle now:

No change though you lie under

The land you used to plow

The living friend answer that yes, everything is still the same, the horses still trampling, the harness still jingling. Nothing changed except that you are ling under the land you used to plow.

Is football playing

A long the river shore,

With lads to chase the leather,

Now I stand up no more?

The dead man is asking another question; he wants to know if they still playing football by the river and if the young man is still chasing the ball after that I could not stand up any more.

Aye, the ball is flying

The lads play heart and soul:

The goal stands up, the keeper

Stands up to keep the goal

The living friend answers that yes, the ball is still flying and the lads are chasing it with their heart and soul. Even if you can not stands up anymore the goal is still standing up and to keeper is also standing up to keep the goal.

Is my girl happy,

That I thought hard to leave,

And has she tried of weeping

As she lies down at eve?

The dead man is asking about his lover that he though it is very deficit to leave her. He also wants to know if she gets tired of crying when she go to bed

Aye, she lies down lightly,
She lies not down to weep:
Your girl is well contented.
Be still, my lad, and sleep.
The living friend answers that his lover is sleeping calmly and she is good. She stooped crying at night and knows she is happy. He asked him not to worry and to sleep well in his grave.
Is my friend hearty,
Now I am thin and pine:
And has found to sleep in
A better bed than mine?
The last question of the dead man is about his living friend how is talking with.
He wants to know if he still feeling with his heart because he is now very sad and tired. He also wants to know if his living friend has a better bed to sleep in than the dead man's.
Yes, lad, I lie easy,
L lie as lads would choose:
I cheer a dead man's sweetheart,
Never ask me whose.
The living friend answers yes, my friend I am sleep well as always wishes to me. He is making his friend's lover happy after he married her.
Theme:
The theme is about life that goes on after our death. It is sad to know that we leave no difference on the life that we leave behind, as if we never existed. This poem has a worrying and annoying point of view about the meaning of our life and our achievements. It is obvious that the poet is optimistic and sad not because he generally left all the ones he loves.
Purpose:
The poet wants to know the reason about our death; he also wants to know how life goes on after anybody's death and if this fact is ok or upsetting. In this poem it is very upsetting to the poet to know that life continued after his death as he never existed.
The speaker:
The speaker is a dead man. He asks his living friend some question from his grave