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No Men are Foreign Summary Analysis and Explanation
About the Poet James Kirkup
James Kirkup (1918-2009) is the Director of the Social Market Foundation and the former Executive Editor – Politics for The Telegraph. He was a lobby journalist for 16 years. He was a prolific poet and translator. His work includes several dozen poetry collections, six volumes of autobiography.
|Born||23 April 1918, England, United Kingdom|
|Died||10 May 2009, Andorra|
|Genre||Poetry, fiction, journalism|
|Books||I, of all people, No More Hiroshimas|
|Education||Grey College, Durham, Durham University|
No Men are Foreign Introduction
This poem covers various points of similarity between people from all countries. It reminds us that we are all the same for we are all humans related to each other, despite differences in race, geography or language. Hating other people because they are different, or raising arms against each other only show our narrow mindedness. We must consider the entire world as a big family where no one is stranger.
No Men are Foreign Summary of the Poem
The poem tells us that all people are essentially the same. We should not see other people as foreign or strange just because they come from some other country or place. Humanity is the same all over the earth. All divisions based on nation, caste, creed, color, religion or language are baseless since we all have the same basic needs and to fulfill them, we depend on the same resources available on the earth. People everywhere have the same physical, mental and emotional experiences.
They are in no way different or strange even though they wear different clothes, speak different languages and profess different religions. We are all the same with same feelings and emotions. If we harm anyone, we are harming ourselves because we all are related to each other with the same thread of humanity. We must keep in our minds that if we destroy another country, we are destroying our own earth.
Since we are all same, we must not take arms against any one because we only defile our earth by such actions. The dust and smoke caused by war weapons pollute the very air we breathe in. So, all violence of all kinds should be stopped. It will lead us to a better life. Thus, the poet urges us that we should live in peace and harmony and do works for spreading fraternity all around us.
These are important things which enrich humanity. Poetic Devices Used in the Poem Rhyme scheme: The poet does not follow any identifiable rhyme scheme in this poem. It is a free verse. Rhetorical devices: Simile: A single body breathes like ours. They have eyes like ours. Metaphor: The poet uses this device in the third line as he compares his fellow human beings with his own brothers.
For example, Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon He again uses it on the sixth line when he compares war with winter since reduced resources are available at both those sides. For example, Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starved He uses it for the last time in the 18th line when he compares wars with hells. For example, Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence