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A Ballad of Sir Pertab Singh

The poem "A Ballad of Sir Pertab Singh" by Henry Newbolt tells the story of the friendship between Sir Pertab Singh, the Emperor of Jodhpore, and a young English soldier during British rule in India. They form a deep friendship despite being from different countries. When the soldier passes away, Sir Pertab wishes to carry his coffin himself, breaking social norms, as he sees his friend's worth as more important than caste. Priests later chastise Sir Pertab for losing his caste, but he defiantly asserts that a soldier's faith transcends caste boundaries. The poem explores the rigid Indian caste system and Sir Pertab's willingness to rise

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885 views4 pages

A Ballad of Sir Pertab Singh

The poem "A Ballad of Sir Pertab Singh" by Henry Newbolt tells the story of the friendship between Sir Pertab Singh, the Emperor of Jodhpore, and a young English soldier during British rule in India. They form a deep friendship despite being from different countries. When the soldier passes away, Sir Pertab wishes to carry his coffin himself, breaking social norms, as he sees his friend's worth as more important than caste. Priests later chastise Sir Pertab for losing his caste, but he defiantly asserts that a soldier's faith transcends caste boundaries. The poem explores the rigid Indian caste system and Sir Pertab's willingness to rise

Uploaded by

Namrata Singhania
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A BALLAD OF SIR PERTAB SINGH

‘A Ballad of Sir Pertab Singh’ is a ballad written by Sir Henry Newbolt.


As the title suggests, it revolves around the life of an Emperor named
Sir Pertab Singh in India. It sheds light on how things were during the
British rule and the rigid caste system prevalent in India.
Sir Henry Newbolt (1862-1938) was an eminent English poet. In
addition, he was also a notable novelist and barrister. Famous works
of his include ‘Days to Remember’, ‘Submarine and Anti-Submarine’,
and ‘Mordred’.

Theme:The theme of this poem is the tyranny of caste system.


The ballad shuns it, highlighting what a man’s true caste is and ought
to be.

Structure:This poem, as clearly mentioned, is a ballad. It


follows the rules of the ballad by consisting of twenty stanzas that are
quatrains. Each stanza follows the rhyme scheme ‘abcb’

Stanza 1:The ballad narrates the tale of Sir Pertab Singh, who
was an Emperor and King during the British rule in India. During his
first year of rule, a rider visits him in his ‘Rose-red House’.

Stanza 2:This unnamed stranger was a young man, an


Englishman at that. He was a soldier through and through.
Despite the blatant animosity and violent tension existing
between the Indians and the British, Sir Pertab Singh felt drawn
to the fire in this soldier, taking an instant liking to him.

Stanza 3:A deep friendship blossomed between the duo.


They rode together all day and night, with their blood singing in
their veins in joy.
Stanza 4:They shared their tales of romance and tales of
the vasty different lives they’ve shared due to their respective
nationality. Yet, they did not let their differences come in the way
of their friendship as above all, what they loved was a good
soldier, one they found, respected, and admired in one another.

Stanza 5:These days filled with joy, however, were


numbered. A shadow fell over the Emperor’s house and his
friend’s heart. The soldier had passed away.

Stanza 6:The next morning, they buried him in a coffin.


The narrow lid of it covered his face, shutting off those eyes of
his which dreamed big.

Stanza 7:Four people were required to lift his coffin.


However, only three people from his caste could be found in
Jodhpore, the land of King Pertab Singh.

Stanza 8:To solve this issue, the Emperor is advised to


send a Sweeper as the fourth person to lift the coffin as he is of a
lower caste and would not be slandered by touching an ‘alien
bier’, referring to the foreign friend’s casket.

Stanza 9:The Emperor the questioned the need for it.


Despite being the monarch, he proclaimed himself to be of no
caste and declared that he would bear his beloved friend himself.

Stanza 10:Scandalized people forbade him. They advised


him to be wise and not do such a deed for if he ‘lost’ his caste for
touching a deceased man of another caste, it would never be
redeemed throughout his life.

Stanza 11:Pertab Singh aptly replied that God knows


what he had lost that day, referring to his friend. He remains
unmoved in his resolve to carry his friend’s coffin in his own
hands.

Stanza 12:With the whole of Jodhpore present, the King


and the three others bury his beloved friend down the rose-red
steps.

Stanza 13:As the next morning arose, a grief-stricken


Pertab Singh was greeted by a priest.

Stanza 14:As he woke and went out, dressed in white, he


saw a mass of Brahmins assembled there, waiting to have a word
with him.

Stanza 15:They proclaim, anguished, that a fearful thing


had befallen Jodhpore the previous day. They bemoaned this
even as they praised the King.

Stanza 16:Upon them repeating it, a saddened Pertab


Singh misunderstood what they were hinting at. He agrees that a
fearful thing had befallen indeed, that which his own heart and
God knew for his friend had passed away.

Stanza 17:The priests however, correct him. They say


that something even more fearful had occurred the previous day
for their Emperor, with the whole of Jodhpore bearing witness,
had lost his caste on account of touching a man of another
caste.

Stanza 18:The Emperor flew into a rage, his eyes lighting


with flames of fury. He reprimanded the priest, chastising him
that he doesn’t know what he had just spoke.

Stanza 19:He firmly asserts that the he, or the Brahmins


there, did not know of his caste and did not know which caste
was above or below his. He further states how he, a Rajput and a
Kshatriya, and him, a Brahmin, were just dust in the grand
scheme of things of the world.

Stanza 20:He declares that as wide as the world, as free


as the air one breaths and as pure as death is how the Earth’s
noble caste is, that caste that is a soldier’s faith.

Conclusion:This is an awe-inspiring poem on a King who


rose above the rigid caste system in India. His noble act of
stepping forward to bury his friend and honour him, an
Englishman at that, speaks volumes for, in a country which held
bias for its own, he was willing to rise above it for the other, the
one considered the enemy.

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