Narrate the story and moral behind the poem The Ballad Of Father Gilligan
Answers
Answer: About W B Yeats
William Butler Yeats (W. B Yeats) was born in the year 1865 at Sandymount in County Dublin, Ireland. His interest in poetry came on at an early age due to his fascination with the Irish legends and occults. His earliest publishing of verse was in the year 1889, though he wrote poetry long before that. He is considered one of the most important figures of the 20th century. He is responsible for the revival of Irish literature alongside many others. His most notable works include ‘When You are Old’, ‘Her Anxiety’ and ‘A Dialogue of Self and Soul’. He was a versatile writer and wrote his poetry in many forms. He received the Noble Prize in Literature in the year 1923. He died in 1939 at the age of 73.
About The Ballad of Father Gilligan
The poem as the title says is a ballad. It tells the story of an old priest, named Peter Gilligan who was tired from the many calls he received from people who were dying.
The setting of The Ballad of Father Gilligan
The setting of the poem is in a countryside. It is not specified where. The setting is seen from the first stanza where ‘green sods’ is mentioned. A more concrete proof would be in the stanzas 7 and 8 where the priest is said to saddle a horse and ride on it very fast. This is only possible in places with relative space to ride fast; namely countryside.
Poetic Devices in The Ballad of Father Gilligan
Stanza:
The poem is made of multiple stanzas of 4 lines each.
Rhyme:
There is regular rhyme throughout the poem. Each stanza has a rhyme scheme of ABCB.
Imagery:
A prime example is the fifth stanza. The whole stanza contains vivid imagery. We see the night sky twinkling with millions of stars, we hear the leaves shaking in the wind, and we watch as the whole world gets covered in darkness. Apart from this, there is also imagery when the priest rides the horse. The whole poem is a bundle of imagery.
Allegory:
The poem seems simple enough but it has hidden depths in it. It has a moral too. Thus it becomes an allegory.
Repetition:
‘die and die’ in the third stanza emphasis the grief of the priest at the news of another man’s suffering. ‘Mavrone! Mavrone!’ in the latter half of the poem too shows the priest’s concern and sincerity towards the man and his job
Summary of The Ballad of Father Gilligan
There is one old priest named Father Gilligan who was very tired. Half of his ‘flock’ were dead and he had to perform a priest’s duty while passing for all of them. On one such day of tiredness, while he was asleep on a chair, another man sent for him. Father Gilligan could bear it no longer and cries out his distress. But then he immediately asks forgiveness from the Lord for his outburst and he kneels and prays for it. He falls asleep in that position. He sleeps for a very long time. Night comes and goes. When Father Gilligan wakes up, a whole day has passed. He immediately gets on a horse and reaches the man’s home for whom he was sent. But the wife, who was shocked to see Father Gillian come to visit them again, says that the man already passed away and that he was happy due comfort Father Gillian had provided before he died. Father Gilligan cries out in joy, saying that God heard his words and sent down an angel to do his job for him.
Analysis of The Ballad of Father Gilligan
The poem is written in multiple stanzas of a very short length. The rhyme scheme and the short length make it a perfect ballad.
The poem starts with the old priest, Peter Gilligan who is very, very tired. Half of his ‘flock’ were dead. Sleeping in their beds and lying down under the green sods are metaphors for them being dead. ‘Flock’ here means parish or the people who depend on the priest. This shows that the priest had a considerable number of people depending on him and he is the only one they can depend on. This combined with the ‘green sods’ gives us an image of a countryside, where people to priest ratio is very high. So, we have a priest in a countryside, presumably a rural area who is very tired.
‘Another poor man sends for the priest’: This shows that the people who sent for him previously, the half of his flock who are dead, are also mostly poor. So this paints us an image of a poor countryside with a single priest.
The priest grieves hearing that another man was going to die. This shows he cares fo
Explanation:
*Answer:
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The poem begins with the introduction of Peter Gilligan, an old priest. He helps his people, who are under his church. Half of his people are in death bed or buried under the ground due to sickness. He treats the sick people and conducts funeral for the dead. He treats them day and night and thus becomes very tired. One day due to his tiredness he is about to sleeps on his chair. The presence of insects indicates it as evening. At that time someone calls for the priest’s help. The priest feels upset about being called. His continuous help to the needy people and his tiredness makes him to get upset. Because of his tiredness he says that he does not have rest, happiness or peace as people under his parish die continuously. Immediately he feels sorry for saying such words. He begs God to forgive him because those words are spoken by his body and not by him.
Father Gilligan kneels down on the floor to get forgiveness from God. He leans on the chair and prays and due to his tiredness he sleeps. Now the insects have gone and the stars begin to appear. As night starts the sky is filled with stars. Due to the flow of wind leaves are falling from the trees. God covers the world with darkness and speaks slowly to mankind.
Chirping of sparrows indicate the early hours of morning time. The insects come once again. At that time Father Gillian wakes up from his sleep. He is shocked to know that he slept for a long time. He blames himself by saying that the person who needed his help might have died. He wakes his horse and rides very fast. He rides rashly over narrow roads and wet lands and reaches the sick man’s house. By seeing the Father, the sick man’s wife wonders that he has come again.
Father Gilligan asks whether the man died and the wife replies that he died an hour ago. In sadness the priest walks to and fro. The woman replies that after the priest leaves he died in a peaceful manner. Hearing such word Father Gilligan kneels on the floor. He says that God has made the stars at night to comfort the souls. God might have sent one of His angels to help him. God is a king in purple colour robes and takes care of all the planets. It shows that god has many big responsibilities. Even with such responsibility God had pity on a simple person like Father Gilligan when he slept. Father Gilligan feels grateful to God for being kind and merciful to him. The poem shows the love and care of God for whom all the lives are equal and important.
Moral behind the story is:
Father Gilligan... Ballads tell a story in rhyme, and in "The Ballad of Father Gilligan," Yeats's speaker relates the story of how on one particular evening, God showed mercy on both a tired old priest and a man at the moment of his death. The theme is God's omnipresence and grace in the lives of the faithful.