The Poem 'The Newcomer' written by Brian Patten
Paraphrasing:
Stanza 1:
‘There’s something new in the river,’
The fish said as it swam—
‘It’s got no scales, no fins, and no gills,
And ignores the impassable dam.’
Paraphrase:
The fish noticed a strange new presence in the river. It didn’t look like any fish,
it had no scales, fins, or gills. Yet, it moved freely, even crossing barriers that
fish usually can’t.
Stanza 2:
‘There’s something new in the trees,’
I heard a bloated thrush sing,
‘It’s got no beak, no claws, and no feathers,
And not even the ghost of a wing.’
Paraphrase:
A puffed-up bird in the trees sang about something unfamiliar. This being had
no beak, claws, or feathers not even a trace of wings, yet it was still present in
the treetops.
Stanza 3:
‘There’s something new in the warren,’
Said the rabbit to the doe.
‘It’s got no fur, no eyes, and no paws,
Yet digs deeper than we dare go.’
Paraphrase:
In the underground burrows, the rabbit told the female deer about something
strange. It had no fur, no eyes, and no paws, but it was digging even deeper
than any animal would.
Stanza 4:
There’s something new in the whiteness,’
Said the snow-bright polar bear.
‘I saw its shadow on a glacier,
But it left no pawmarks there'.
Paraphrase:
In the snowy lands, the polar bear spoke of a new presence. It cast a shadow
on the ice, yet it left no footprints behind an eerie and puzzling thing.
Stanza 5:
Through the animal kingdom
The news was spreading fast—
No beak, no claws, no feather,
No scales, no fur, no gills,
It lives in the trees and the water,
In the soil and the snow and the hills,
And it kills and it kills and it kills.
Paraphrase:
All the animals quickly came to know of this mysterious creature. It had none
of the features of birds, fish, or mammals. It existed everywhere, on land, in
water, in forests, and snow. And wherever it went, it brought death and destruction.
Summary:
The poem describes how various animals across different habitats notice a strange,
new presence. This mysterious being has no usual physical features—no eyes, fur,
fins, or claws—yet it moves through rivers, trees, snow, and underground.
It leaves no trace but brings death and destruction everywhere it goes. The
animals are confused and frightened by this invisible, unstoppable force.
Central Idea:
The poem highlights the arrival of an unnatural and dangerous force in the natural
world. Despite having no physical form, it affects every environment and all living
creatures.
Theme:
The main theme is the destructive impact of human activity on nature. The poem
reflects fear, loss, and confusion among animals as they face an invisible enemy.
It also explores the theme of nature's vulnerability and the consequences of
ignoring environmental harm.
A UNDERSTANDING THE POEM
1. Answer the following questions.
a. The animals feel scared and confused about the newcomer. The main emotion
in the poem is fear. b. The repeated word ‘no’ shows that the newcomer is different from all animals.
It creates a strong effect of
strangeness and danger.
c. ‘Not even the ghost of a wing’ means there is not the smallest trace or sign of a
wing. The newcomer is
completely wingless.
d. In the river, humans ignore the dam. In the warren, humans dig deeper than rabbits
dare. These actions
tell us humans have skills and power beyond animals.
These questions are more challenging. Discuss them first.
e. The poem is not fully fair to human beings. It only shows the harmful side of
humans, not the good
things they do.
f. A world where humanity does not ‘kill and kill and kill’ would have no war, no
hunting, and no damage
to nature. Animals and forests would be safe. This would be a better, peaceful world.
2. Answer the following with reference to context.
‘There’s something new in the whiteness,’
a. The snow-bright polar bear says these words to other animals.
b. The speaker also says, ‘I saw its shadow on a glacier, but it left no pawmarks there.’
c. The ‘something new’ that the speaker saw was a human. Its shadow was seen on the glacier.
d. All animals in the animal kingdom heard this news. The fish, thrush, rabbit, and doe also heard it.
3. Describe briefly, in your own words, how the news about the newcomer spreads. By what
means does the poet create the idea that fear is being spread through the animal kingdom?
The news spreads from animal to animal. First the fish tells others, then the thrush, then
the rabbit, then the polar bear. The poet creates fear by using words like ‘no’, by showing
the newcomer has none of the animals’ features, and by ending with ‘it kills and it kills’.
This repetition makes the danger feel strong and real.
B WORKING WITH WORDS
1. Find words in the poem which have a similar meaning to the following:
a. obliterate kills
b. impenetrable impassable
c. airing spreading
d. trace shadow
e. make bold dare
f. swollen bloated
g. disregards ignores
METAPHOR
2. Do you remember reading about similes and metaphors? In the poem
you will find a
metaphor; can you say what it is?
Yes. The metaphor in the poem is calling humans
“something new” without scales, fins, beak, claws, fur, etc. The whole description
of the newcomer is a metaphor for human beings.
SILENT LETTERS
3. Some words in English contain silent letters.
a. Go through the poem carefully noting down all the words which
contain silent letters.
Example: bright (gh is silent)
Answer: scales (e is silent), dam (b is silent), ghost (h is silent),
wing (g is silent), knows (k is silent), pawmarks (w is silent),
kingdom (g is silent), hills (l is silent)
b. Circle the silent letters in the following:
i. calm - l
ii. hymn - m
iii. subtle - b
iv. reign - g
c. Put the words from the list below into four columns
(as above), according to the silent letter.
l silent: letter is "l" silent
alms
palm
salmon
almond
calm
should
b silent: letter is "b" silent
dumb
debt
plumber
doubt
subtle
numb
yolk
m silent:letter is "m" silent
condemn
hymn
column
autumn
g silent:letter is "g" silent
feign
foreign
resign
Extra words from list: damned (n silent)
C ). LEARNING ABOUT LANGUAGE
CLAUSES
Clauses are groups of words containing both subject
and predicate. Almost all sentences contain at
least one clause. When a clause stands on its
own, we call this a main clause. However,
a clause is usually part of another sentence
since it qualifies some word in that sentence.
Here are some sentences which consist of a single clause.
That boy is my brother.
Silently, the ship left the harbour.
She can read a book.
Here are some sentences which consist of a double clauses.
That boy is my brother and this girl is my sister.
She can read a book or she can write a letter.
1. Notice that each clause has a subject and a predicate. Can you
divide the sentences above into subject and predicate?
Answer:
That boy is my brother.
Subject: That boy
Predicate: is my brother
Silently, the ship left the harbour.
Subject: the ship
Predicate: left the harbour Silently
She can read a book.
Subject: She
Predicate: can read a book
Longer sentences have more than one clause. They may contain
a main clause and a subordinate clause.
Main clauses do not depend on any other clause. They are also
called independent clauses. They can stand by themselves as
independent sentences.
Examples: That boy is my brother and this girl is my sister.
She can read a book or she can write a letter.
Subordinate clauses are also called dependent clauses.
This is because they are generally not able to stand
alone as the main clause of the sentence. Subordinate
clauses alter, limit, or clarify the ideas of the main clause.
They can function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
They are quite easy to identify because they are normally
linked to the main clause by linking words such as that,
which, and where.
Study the following:
Main clause
The man left the room
They saw the man
We may get some help
She went to the park
Subordinate clause
before the guests arrived
who stole the car
if the men arrive
when the sun began to shine
2. Underline the main clauses in the following sentences.
a. The children went to the park after they had their lunch.
Main clause: The children went to the park
b. Maham went to the library though she didn't want to.
Main clause: Maham went to the library
c. We stopped at the town where my father was born.
Main clause: We stopped at the town
d. When the sun came out, the boys went out to play football.
Main clause: the boys went out to play football
e. After the play was over, the actors met the children.
Main clause: the actors met the children
f. He came when I called.
Main clause: He came
g. The man went where I asked him to go.
Main clause: The man went
h. The trees died because there was no rain.
Main clause: The trees died
i. If Aamir comes, we shall all go to the park.
Main clause: we shall all go to the park
j. The policeman arrested the men who broke into the shop.
Main clause: The policeman arrested the men
Preposition:
A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a
noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. It tells us about
position, time, direction, place, or manner. Examples: in, on, at,
under, over, before, after, with, by, to, from, of.
Prepositional phrase:
A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a
preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun, which is called
the object of the preposition. It acts as an adjective, adverb,
adverial clause, or noun phrase in a sentence.
Examples:
1. The book is on the table.
Prepositional phrase: on the table
Preposition: on, Object: the table
2. She walked through the park.
Prepositional phrase: through the park
Preposition: through, Object: the park
3. We will meet after lunch.
Prepositional phrase: after lunch
Preposition: after, Object: lunch
4. Use these prepositions in sentences of your own. Underline
the prepositional phrases in your sentences.
a. because of
The match was cancelled because of the rain.
b. by means of
We opened the door by means of a key.
c. due to
The flight was late due to bad weather.
d. instead of
I drank tea instead of coffee this morning.
e. in addition to
In addition to English, she can speak Urdu.
f. in front of
The car is parked in front of the house.
g. on behalf of
I am writing this letter on behalf of my father.
h. apart from
Apart from cricket, he likes football too.
i. in need of
The old man is in need of help.
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