NO MEN ARE FOREIGN

Introduction
‘No Men Are Foreign’ by James Kirkup is a subtle poem which talks about the impact of war on
the life of the people. Being published in 1966, the poem calls attention to the fact that humans are
all the same, despite the differences in race, geography, or language. The poem’s title itself reflects
the central idea of the poem that ‘No Men Are Foreign’. The title reverberates in the first and the
last line stressing on the poet’s idea of “all men are the same.”
Kirkup made a comparison among the similarities in the human body between the people who
live at different places to state that all are equal. Except for the man-made division in the name of
borders and fences, or languages, or ethnicity, all of us live the same life. When we are alive, we
walk on the same Earth. Similarly, when we die, we are buried on the same earth. People from
different countries enjoy good food during peace and starve during the war and in winter, which
are also common to all. Further, the poet draws similarities between the hands that do hard work
and the eyes that see the same way when we are awake and closes when we are asleep.

Explanation
Stanza 1
Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign
………………………………………………………….
Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.
In the first stanza of ‘No Men Are Foreign’ the poet says that “no men are strange” and “no
country is foreign”. Using a very serious tone, he reiterates that all people are equal under the sky,
for everyone breathes like everyone else. He feels that if borders are removed from Earth, no
country will be foreign, and everyone will be free to move around. Borders are something that
separates countries from one another. The poet iterates that the entire Earth is one and the people
“Beneath all uniforms” who live on this Earth belong to one human race, for we all breathe in
the same way. Further, we all walk upon the same ‘Earth’, and when we die, we will be buried in
the graves on the same Earth.

Stanza 2
They, too, aware of sun and air and water,
…………………………………………………
A labour not different from our own.
The second stanza refers to the similarities between the people from varied countries. By ‘They’
he talks about the people who belong to other countries. ‘They’ too are aware of the ‘sun and air
and water’ which are the same to all on earth. When there is no war, we all do farming and enjoy
the yields of the harvest. In the same way, during wars and winter, we all starve. The poet further
goes on to compare the physical appearances of the people of other countries. Where he says “their
hands are ours” he conveys that people of different countries too have the same hands and work
the same way as we do. Henceforth, he suggests the readers that there is no difference among the
people belonging to different countries.

Stanza 3
Remember they have eyes like ours that wake
…………………………………………………
That all can recognise and understand.
The poet in this stanza calls out the readers to remember that even the foreigners have the same
eyes; God has created the people whom we think to be our enemies with similar appearance like
ours. Like the poet’s country people, they also use it to “wake or sleep”. The line marks the
beginning and the end of a day. Similarly, we are given strength which one can win through love.
Moreover, in every land that is in every country, there is one common thing, that is life. If a person
could recognize this universality, then the poet says there will be no fights or wars between
countries.
Stanza 4
Let us remember, whenever we are told
………………………………………………
Remember, we who take arms against each other
The fourth stanza ultimately reveals the central idea of the poem and the poet’s desire for peace
among nations. He wants the readers, including himself to remember if someone hates the other
in the name of the country; it is his own self that the person hates. By hating “our brothers”, the
fellow human beings, we deprive, betray, and condemn our own selves. The poet strongly
portrays that one should be away from such kind of negativity. Further, he adds, when waging
war against one another, the loss is common to both the side. So, one must understand it before
drawing weapons against one another.
It is the human earth that we defile.
…………………………………………..
Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.
In the last stanza the poet talks of the extended impact of war. War doesn’t affect just the lives
on earth but it makes the Earth dirty. The fire and dust of war defile the pure air which is
common to all the people on earth. Whenever war happens, it leads to a lot of bloodshed and
death. The dead bodies accumulate on the Earth and it makes the innocent earth impure. The fire,
smoke and dust which erupt from the war make the air dirty. Therefore, with all the situations
considered the loss is common to all when we hate our fellow human beings. Since everyone is
created equally on earth, the poet wants people to live in harmony. Finally, he repeats the first
line “Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange” to revitalize the idea that
everything is common and everyone is equal on earth.

Important explanations:
Beneath all uniforms, … — the people of different countries wear various dresses but the human
body is the same beneath them
In every land is common life — in every country, the people are leading the same life, they feel
pain and sorrow similarly
whenever we are told to hate our brothers, … — the selfish people instigate the innocent to
harm each other
Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange — We should not forget that we all
are the citizens of the world. Here, no one is a foreigner and no country is strange. We have
similar body and mind everywhere.
 EXERCISES
A. With reference to the contexts, answer the following questions:
1. Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign
Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes
Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon
Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.

a. What do you understand by the word foreign?

b. Explain: ‘Beneath all uniforms’
c. Who is referred to as ’our brothers’ in this stanza?

2. They, too, aware of sun and air and water,

Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv’d.
Their hands are ours, and in their lines, we read
A labour was not different from our own.

a. Explain: by war’s long winter starv’d

b. Whose hands are being referred in the stanza?
c. Do you find any rhyme scheme in the stanza?

B. Answer the following.

i. Why do you think the poet has used the word remember so many times in the poem?
ii. We should live peacefully as brothers, according to all outstanding people. But people fight over little
things most of the time. How come we can't coexist peacefully with others? What causes us to harm
each other and fight?