A Short Summary of the Poem "The Toys" by Coventry Patmore
The Toys by Coventry Patmore
About the Poet:
Coventry Patmore worked as an assistant in the printed book department of the British Museum. He also worked as a librarian in the Museum. The beauty and tenderness of family life and the simple joys and sorrows of domestic situations are the subjects of his poetry.
Coventry Patmore worked as an assistant in the printed book department of the British Museum. He also worked as a librarian in the Museum. The beauty and tenderness of family life and the simple joys and sorrows of domestic situations are the subjects of his poetry.
Summary of the Poem:
The present poem is from The Unknown Eros. It was inspired by a moment of anger caused by one of his sons. It shows our true relation to God and strengthens our faith in the mercy and forgiveness of God. The poem describes a sensitive parent's reaction to the harsh way in which he had punished a disobedient son. The father strikes his son for having disobeyed for the seventh time. The father dismisses him from his sight. He uses very harsh language and does not shower love on his son which he usually does. The father makes an observation that he is not as patient as the child's mother who is now dead. He does not have that much patience as his wife had. However, the father feels sorry for the boy and he goes to see him in his bedroom because he feels that the child cannot sleep due to his grief. But when he goes there he realizes that the boy is fast asleep though his lashes are still wet with the sobbing that he had gone through before going to bed. The father feels very sorry for the child and adds his own tears to the wet face of the child. The father notices that the boy had tried to console himself by putting his toys on the table beside his bed. These toys include a box of counters, a red streaked stone, a piece of glass found on the beach, six or seven shells, a bottle with bluebells and two French copper coins. The father prays that night to God saying that in the same way when human beings reached their end, He, that is God, should be able to forgive them for constructing joys out of simple things and being mindless of God's instructions. The poet feels that when we are on death bed we remember how we made our life joyful. In creating joy in our life many times we have disobeyed God's commands. Many times people have not understood very clearly the teaching of religion given in the religious texts. All religions teach us principles and values but very few people live their life according to these values. Actually these values are the commands given by the God but throughout his life man either misunderstood these commands or violates them. The man while creating joy in his life does not think whether something is moral or immoral. At the end God forgives man for his childishness, so the father should also forgive his son for his disobedience.
The present poem is from The Unknown Eros. It was inspired by a moment of anger caused by one of his sons. It shows our true relation to God and strengthens our faith in the mercy and forgiveness of God. The poem describes a sensitive parent's reaction to the harsh way in which he had punished a disobedient son. The father strikes his son for having disobeyed for the seventh time. The father dismisses him from his sight. He uses very harsh language and does not shower love on his son which he usually does. The father makes an observation that he is not as patient as the child's mother who is now dead. He does not have that much patience as his wife had. However, the father feels sorry for the boy and he goes to see him in his bedroom because he feels that the child cannot sleep due to his grief. But when he goes there he realizes that the boy is fast asleep though his lashes are still wet with the sobbing that he had gone through before going to bed. The father feels very sorry for the child and adds his own tears to the wet face of the child. The father notices that the boy had tried to console himself by putting his toys on the table beside his bed. These toys include a box of counters, a red streaked stone, a piece of glass found on the beach, six or seven shells, a bottle with bluebells and two French copper coins. The father prays that night to God saying that in the same way when human beings reached their end, He, that is God, should be able to forgive them for constructing joys out of simple things and being mindless of God's instructions. The poet feels that when we are on death bed we remember how we made our life joyful. In creating joy in our life many times we have disobeyed God's commands. Many times people have not understood very clearly the teaching of religion given in the religious texts. All religions teach us principles and values but very few people live their life according to these values. Actually these values are the commands given by the God but throughout his life man either misunderstood these commands or violates them. The man while creating joy in his life does not think whether something is moral or immoral. At the end God forgives man for his childishness, so the father should also forgive his son for his disobedience.
The poem has religious connotations. The poet takes a very common situation in our domestic life and compares it on a broad level to human life by bringing religious tone in it. The stanzas in the poem are of varying length and do not follow a particular rhyme scheme.
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