The Last Bargain
- 3. THE LAST BARGAIN Written by Rabindranath Tagore
- 4. A bargain is an agreement in which both parties promise to do something for each other. Someone is looking for work, waiting to be hired. He strikes a bargain but thinks it worthless. He tries twice again but doesn't like either. Finally, in the last bargain, when he is hired for nothing whatever, he is happy as never before. What is the bargain, and why is it the best?
- 5. Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was a Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright, and painter. Rabindranath Tagore Was mostly known for his poem i.e.Gitanjali, also known as 'Song Offerings', Collection of Rabindranath Tagore lies not in his poetry, music, dramas, novels, or paintings, but rather with his Jana Gana Mana Indias national anthem.
- 6. Before we recite : The last bargain is a poem describing a story of a man, who is in search of a job.
- 7. Lets recite the poem Stanza - 1 Come and hire me, I cried, while in the morning I was walking on the stone-paved road. Sword in hand the King came in his chariot. He held my hand and said, I will hire you with my power, But his power counted for naught, and he went away in his chariot.
- 8. Stanza - 2 In the heat of the mid-day the houses stood with shut doors. I wandered along the crooked lane. An old man came out with his bag of gold. He pondered and said, I will hire you with my money. He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away.
- 9. Can you relate the term Bargain with one of your day to day life example.
- 10. Lets revise .. Who is the speaker in the poem? The king offered the poet, his _______.
- 11. Stanza - 3 It was evening. The garden hedge was all a flower. The fair maid came out and said, I will hire you with a smile. Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went back alone into the dark.
- 12. Stanza - 4 The sun glistened on the sand, and the sea waves broke waywardly. A child sat playing with shells. He raised his head and seemed to know me and said, I hire you with nothing. From henceforward that bargain struck in childs play made me a free man.
- 14. Word meanings: paved : covered with hard layer chariot : go-cart naught : Nothing, like zero Crooked : Not straight Pondered : to think about something carefully or for a long time Hedge : Boundary formed by grasses or bushes waywardly : Opposite of what is expected
- 15. Summary The Last Bargain is a poem written by the famous and renowned Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. It is a poem about a person looking for a job. The speaker in the poem is searching for a job in which he does not have to lose his freedom. He receives the first proposal from a King. The king offers him power in return for his labor. But he refuses the kings offer. He receives the second offer from a rich man. He offers the speaker lots of gold in return for his labor. But the speaker refuses his offer also. He receives the third offer from a beautiful girl. She says that she will give him smiles in return for his labor. The speaker refuses her offer too. In the end, he finds a child playing on the seashore. The child says that he will offer him nothing in return for his services. The speaker accepts the childs offer as he can still be a free man.
- 16. Lets revise I hire you with nothing. Explain this sentence in your own words. Word meaning: 1. Hedge 2. Paved 3. Pondered
- 17. Home work Imagine you are a king/queen and you have to convince the man to work for you. Write 3 points to convince the man to work with you. Learn the poem and write the summary of the poem in your own words.