Question

give a character sketch of abou ben adhem and the relevance of the poem in day to day life

Answer 1

In Leigh Hunt’s poem the character of Abou Ben Adhem is a simple yet charming one. In the first place, he seems to be a man of calm and composure.

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

Secondly, Ben Adhem is bold and rather straightforward. That might be resulting from the exceeding peace of mind, as the poet says —

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold

Also, take a look at his questions “What writest thou?” and “And is mine one?”– effortless expressions of his curiosity. Only people with the simplest mind can ask it so easily to a stranger without any preamble.

But Abou is not rude. He is rather very respectful and puts his request “I pray thee, then, Write me as one that loves his fellow men.” The poet comments “Abou spoke more low“. Here, the words ‘pray’ and ‘that’ instead of ‘who’ mark his humble nature.

And, last but not the least, Abou Ben Adhem is a lover of the human race. His name tops the God’s list of people who love God. Actually his love for his fellow men is greater than the others’ love for God. ‘To love man is to love God’ is what they say. Abou has proved it and thus gets a place in the myths.