I hear a sudden cry of pain!
There is a rabbit in a snare:
Now I hear the cry again,
But I cannot tell from where.
But I cannot tell from where
He is calling out for aid!
Crying on the frightened air,
Making everything afraid!
Making everything afraid!
Wrinkling up his little face!
And he cries again for aid;
And I cannot find the place!
And I cannot find the place
Where his paw is in the snare!
Little One! Oh, Little One!
I am searching everywhere
Summary and Analysis
This four-stanza beautiful lyric poem by Irish poet James Stephens explores the theme of entrapment and the desperate search for freedom. It studies the innocent rabbit against the cruelty of the snare and our incapability to help the powerless and set it free. The poet hears the painful cry of an animal and imagines it to be the cry of a rabbit caught in a snare left by a hunter. The poet desperately tries searching for the little one but fails to find it. The poet continues to hear the agonized cry for help from the rabbit but fails to locate it. The repeated refrain of making everything afraid emphasizes the far-reaching impact of its helpless squeal, creating a sense of shared dread. He imagines its pitiful face scrunched in pain and the Little paw caught in the snare and moans at his incompetence to help those in need.
Comprehension
1.Explain crying on the frightened air .
The pain-stricken helpless cries of the rabbit create a sense of intense panic in the atmosphere and the anguished poet, who is unable to find the rabbit senses the urgency of the situation more desperately.
2.What effect does the repetition of last line of each stanza has on readers?
The repetition of the last line of each stanza creates a sense of urgency among the readers to look for the rabbit along with the poet and to set the poor creature free from that cruel snare and ease its suffering.
3.Who is making everything thing afraid?
The pain-stricken cries of the rabbit caught in a snare are making everything afraid. Its cries fill the air with fear making other animals in the surroundings afraid along with it.
4.What is the overall effect of the poem?
The overall effect is one of helplessness and suffering that innocent creatures suffer at the hands of cruelty.
