Poem "Last Lesson of the Afternoon" by D. H. Lawrence, Paraphrasing

Poem "Last Lesson of the Afternoon" by D. H. Lawrence

Paraphrasing

Stanza 1

When will the bell ring, and end this weariness?
How long have they tugged the leash, and strained apart,
My pack of unruly hounds! I cannot start
Them again on a quarry of knowledge they hate to hunt,
I can haul them and urge them no more.

Paraphrase:
A weary teacher eagerly anticipates the end of the lesson.
He compares the students to a pack of disobedient dogs who resist being controlled.
He is too tired to force them to chase after knowledge that they clearly dislike.
He no longer has the energy to push them to learn.

Stanza 2

No longer now can I endure the brunt
Of the books that lie out on the desks; a full threescore
Of several insults of blotted pages, and scrawl
Of slovenly work that they have offered me.
I am sick, and what on earth is the good of it all?
What good to them or me, I cannot see!

Paraphrase:
The teacher can no longer tolerate the mental strain of reviewing the students’ work,

 which he finds carelessly done and full of untidy handwriting. He feels that the 

students’ lack of effort is disrespectful and demoralizing. As a result, he questions

 the value of this entire process, both for himself and for the students.

 

Stanza 3

So, shall I take
My last dear fuel of life to heap on my soul
And kindle my will to a flame that shall consume
Their dross of indifference; and take the toll
Of their insults in punishment? I will not!
I will not waste my soul and my strength for this.
What do I care for all that they do amiss!

Paraphrase:
He asks himself if he should burn his last bit of energy and passion
to fight against the students' apathy and punish them for their poor effort.
But he firmly refuses, he won't waste his inner strength on students
who don’t care. He has stopped caring about their mistakes too.

Stanza 4

What is the point of this teaching of mine, and of this
Learning of theirs? It all goes down the same abyss.
What does it matter to me, if they can write
A description of a dog, or if they can't?
What is the point? To us both, it is all my aunt!
And yet I'm supposed to care, with all my might.

Paraphrase:
He questions the purpose of his teaching and their learning
to him, it all seems pointless and wasted.
Whether they can write a simple description or not doesn't concern him anymore.
The whole exercise feels meaningless, and yet the system expects him to remain

 committed and emotionally invested.

Stanza 5

I do not, and will not; they won't and they don't; and that's all
I shall keep my strength for myself; they can keep theirs as well.
Why should we beat our heads against the wall
Of each other? I shall sit and wait for the bell.

Paraphrase:
He concludes that neither he nor the students care, and that’s just the reality.
He decides to conserve his energy instead of wasting it on them,
and lets them do the same.
There’s no use in continuing the struggle, so he chooses to wait passively for the

bell to end the class.

Central Idea:

In the poem "Last Lesson of the Afternoon", D. H. Lawrence conveys a teacher’s emotional

fatigue and frustration caused by his students' apathy toward learning. The poem highlights

the internal struggle of a teacher who questions the purpose of his efforts in the face of

consistent student disengagement.

Summary:

In "Last Lesson of the Afternoon", D. H. Lawrence presents the inner thoughts of a tired

teacher who feels worn down by his students’ lack of interest and careless work. He compares

them to disobedient hounds and expresses his sense of futility in trying to teach them. As

the school day ends, the teacher decides not to waste more energy on unresponsive

learners and chooses instead to conserve his strength and wait for the bell to ring.

The poem captures the mental and emotional strain of teaching in a disengaged classroom.