Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekiel

About Author:

Nissim Ezekiel is one the greatest modern Indo Anglican Poets. He was born on December, 16,1924 to a Jewish family in Bombay. He received his early education at Antonio D'souza High School and graduated from Wilson College, Bombay. In 1947 he completed his P.G. in English from university of Bombay. In 1948 he went to UK and took admission in Birbeck College, London. He worked as a professor of English in Bombay University and retired in 1948. He was a visiting professor at the university of Leeds (U.K.) . He visited Australia in 1975 as a Cultural Award winner. 

Ezekiels's Work: 

Ezekiel's first collection of poems 'A Time to Change' appeared in 1952. This poetry collection was published in London. His other volumes are- Sixty Poems (1953); The Third (1959); The Unfinished Man (1960); The Exact Name (1965); Hymns in Darkness (1976); Later Day Psalms was published in 1882. In 1983 he received the prestigious Sahitya Academy Award for Later Day Psalms. Nissim Ezekiel passed away in 2004.

Night of the Scorpion 

I remember the night my mother

was stung by a scorpion. Ten hours
of steady rain had driven him
to crawl beneath a sack of rice.

Parting with his poison - flash
of diabolic tail in the dark room -
he risked the rain again.

The peasants came like swarms of flies
and buzzed the name of God a hundred times
to paralyse the Evil One.

With candles and with lanterns
throwing giant scorpion shadows
on the mud-baked walls
they searched for him: he was not found.
They clicked their tongues.
With every movement that the scorpion made his poison moved in Mother's blood, they said.

May he sit still, they said
May the sins of your previous birth
be burned away tonight, they said.
May your suffering decrease
the misfortunes of your next birth, they said.
May the sum of all evil
balanced in this unreal world

against the sum of good
become diminished by your pain.
May the poison purify your flesh

of desire, and your spirit of ambition,
they said, and they sat around
on the floor with my mother in the centre,
the peace of understanding on each face.
More candles, more lanterns, more neighbours,
more insects, and the endless rain.
My mother twisted through and through,
groaning on a mat.
My father, sceptic, rationalist,
trying every curse andblessing,
powder, mixture, herb and hybrid.
He even poured a little paraffin
upon the bitten toe and put a match to it.
I watched the flame feeding on my mother.
I watched the holy man perform his rites to tame the poison with an incantation.
After twenty hours
it lost its sting.

My mother only said
Thank God the scorpion picked on me
And spared my children.

 Introduction: 

Night of the Scorpion is a free verse poem published in a famous anthology named ‘The Exact Name’. This book appeared in 1965. In the poem Ezekiel gives a vivid and authentic picture of rural India. The poem is composed in a narrative form. The narrator describes a scene when his mother was stung by a scorpion on a rainy day in the village. The Poet talks about two worlds of superstition and scientific temperament. The father represents the rational and skeptical approach whereas the villagers including the holy-man represent the superstitious section of Indian life. The poet exposes the illiteracy, ignorance and blind faith prevalent in the country. The poem concludes on a happy note when the typical Indian mother thanked god that her child was spared of the suffering.

Summary:

Presented poem 'Night of the Scorpion' has a dramatic beginning. The author reminds the night when his mother was stung by a scorpion. A large number of villagers gathered before the house to express sympathy with the victim. They uttered the name of God to provide her relief. With the help of candles and lanterns they tried to search the scorpion but he was not found. They offered many views on the situation. The narrator's father was different from the superstitious villagers. He was a skeptic. He tried every herb to give relief to his wife. A priest uttered mantras to relieve the woman of her pain. After twenty four hours the narrator's mother got complete relief. She thanked God for the safety of her children.

Conclusion: Thus, 'Night of the Scorpion' is a fantastic poem by Ezekiel who is a versatile Indo-Anglican poet. It is he who has prepared grand path for the new poets. He has made a valuable contribution to stylistic felicities in Indo-Anglican poetry.