from the new dragons book of verse

1. study

11. The poem “The Rabbit” reflects the present day
situation of the world. In these days of
urbanization and industrialization the world is
constantly losing much of its flora and fauna.
Keeping this at the back of his mind, Brownjohn
writes the poem. This is a beautiful poem. It might
look simple; but for a serious student, the
seemingly simple poem yields a rich harvest of
thought-provoking ideas. In the poem, Brownjohn
presents an almost completely urbanized and
industrialized England left with no nature except
the last rabbit and the last “patch of grass‟. The
rabbit and the patch of grass are exhibited for the
public. People flock to see the “only rabbit in
England‟ nibbling grass on the “only patch of
grass‟. England is known for its greenery and
rabbits. The poet visualizes an extreme situation
wherein man has destroyed all rabbits in England
except one which is being exhibited with great
fanfare. “The only Rabbit, The only rabbit in
England”.

13. I Stanza: (Lines 1 to 17) People going to see
the rabbit.
A) People’s excitement at the prospect of
seeing the rabbit. “We are going to see the
rabbit. We are going to see the rabbit.”
B) The question about “which” rabbit. “Which
rabbit, people say? Which rabbit, ask the
children? Which rabbit?”
C) The way the rabbit is being exhibited.
“Sitting behind a barbed-wire fence/Under the
floodlights, neon lights, /Sodium lights,
/Nibbling grass /On the only patch of grass /In
England, in England.‟
The rarity of the rabbit has made it a piece of
exhibition. People flock to see this last living
rabbit in England.

14. I Stanza
1.People‟s excitement.
2.The question about
which rabbit.
3.The way the rabbit is
being exhibited.

15. II Stanza: (Lines 18 to 23) The
modes of transport of the people.
“First we shall go by escalator, Then
we shall go by underground, And then
we shall go by motorway And then by
helicopter way, And the last ten
yards we shall have to go On foot.”
A) Technology that has made life
complicated for man in modern times.
Man has made life miserable not only
for other creatures, but also for his
own self.

16. III& IV Stanza: (Lines 24 to 48) The
scene at the exhibition:
A) The arrival of visitors at the
exhibition.
“And now we are going/All the way to see
the rabbit./We are nearly there, /We are
longing to see it, /And so is the crowd
/Which is here in thousands”
B) The arrangements at the exhibition:
“With mounted policemen. And big
loudspeakers/ And bands and banners…
But soon we shall see it…‟
• The rabbit is here depicted as a
commodity of profit.
• The sarcastic element in presenting a
sad fact with great fanfare.

17. C) The disappearance of the rabbit and its
effect on the visitors.
“….but something has gone wrong!/ Why is
everyone so angry, /Why is everyone jostling/
and slanging and complaining? /The rabbit has
gone‟
“Something has gone wrong‟ is very suggestive.
Something has gone wrong with the world;
something has gone wrong with the thinking of
man; something has gone wrong with the wild
life.
Here the poet poses two thought-provoking
questions:
“And what shall we do?” – a pertinent
question that needs to be answered.
The next question, “What can we do?” hits
the nail on the head. It suggests a realization of
one’s folly.

18. III& IV Stanza:
1.The arrival of the
visitors at the
exhibition.
2.The arrangements at
the exhibition.
3.The disappearance of
the rabbit and its
effect on the visitors

19. V Stanza: (Lines 49 to 56)The soliloquy
of the rabbit.
A) Man’s self-centeredness and callousness
that inevitably end in disappointment.
“It is all a pity, you must be disappointed”.
B) The rabbit’s apprehension.
“Remarking rather sadly to himself, by
/himself, /As he rests in his warren, under
the earth: /”It won’t be long, they are
bound to come, /They are bound to come
and find me, even/ here.”
C) The ironic note at end of the poem.
For humans watching a rabbit nibbling
grass would be a momentary joy, but the
rabbit is facing a life and death question;
yet the poet ironically makes the rabbit
pity humans.

20. V Stanza:
1 .Man’s selfishness
that ends in
disappointment.
2.The rabbit’s
apprehension.
3.The ironic note at the
end of the poem.

21. I Stanza:
People going to see the
rabbit.
A) People’s excitement at the
prospect of seeing the rabbit.
B) The question about “which”
rabbit.
C) The way the rabbit is being
exhibited.

22. II Stanza:
The modes of transport
of the people.
A) Technology that has
made life complicated for
man in modern times.

23. III& IV Stanza:
The scene at the exhibition:
A) The expectant visitors at the
exhibition.
B) The arrangements at the exhibition:
I) Rabbit used as a commodity of profit.
ii) The sarcastic element in presenting a
sad fact with great fanfare.
C) The disappearance of the rabbit.
D) The effect of the rabbit’s
disappearance on the visitors.

24. V Stanza:
The soliloquy of the rabbit.
A) Man’s self-centeredness
and callousness that
inevitably ends in
disappointment.
B) The rabbit’s apprehension.
C) The ironic note at the end
of the poem.

25. Points to be remembered:
1.The people excitedly go to
see the only rabbit.
2. They travel through
different modes to reach
their destination.
3. They are shocked to know
that the rabbit had
disappeared under the ground.
4. The scared rabbit fears
that it would be hunted sooner
or later.

27. Line 1 – repetition
emphasizing how
keen people are to
see the rabbit. It
heightens
suspense.

28. Line 3 – people and
children are ignorant
to the fact that this
is the only rabbit left
on the planet! The
rest are extinct.

29. Line 5 – Could
this be an
ironic question
meaning ‘Why
do you ask?’

30. Line 6 – There aren’t any more
to see – rabbits are extinct.
This is the only specimen left.
Line 7 – Or in the world.
Line 8 – Sitting comfortably or
being kept as a prisoner like an
object to be seen. This rabbit
is super-protected from the
people outside….or from running
away?

31. Lines 9-10 – The rabbit is
not just surrounded by one
type of lighting but by three
which are extremely bright
and powerful, making sure
he is visible, emphasizing his
importance/existence.
Line 12- Something is
terribly wrong.
Line 13 – Repetition either
to show pride or disbelief.

32. Line 16 – This must be a big
thing. Something big is going
to happen.
Line 18 – There is climax in
the use of transport vehicles
which take us through this
long journey. It is almost like
a pilgrimage.
Line 22 – And the anti-climax
is that as soon as we have
almost reached it, we have to
walk the last few yards.
Line 24 – The suspense to see
the rabbit is unbearable.

33. Line 28 – This is a big affair – so
much preparation and anticipation.
Lines 30-31 – It seems that it is on a
national scale like when the Pope
visits Malta. This rabbit has become
a VIP. There is a similarity to a huge
rock concert – where people drive
themselves into a frenzy. So this
rabbit must be something important.
Line 32 – It’s also a huge celebration.
It can also be a demonstration –
celebrating what? It could also be a
protest – protesting against what?

34. Line 33 – So it must be
something really worth it
and important.
Line 35 – It is really doing
nothing.
Line 38 – Again an anti-
climax.
Line 39 – All the festive
atmosphere has been
shattered.

35. Line 42 – Nature has defeated
man’s attempt at dominating
nature. All man’s technologically
advanced security measures have
been foiled by the simple,
instinctive needs of the rabbit!
Line 46 – Shame on him for
leaving all these people
disappointed.
Line 49 – Sarcasm. The poet is
poking fun at (mocking) the
readers.

36. Line 53 – The
rabbit is all alone –
Metaphor.
Line 54 – He is
hidden away from
the eyes of men.

37. Line 55 –The rabbit is being
personified. He is much more than
the human beings above him who
are hunting him down! He has
feelings. The direct speech by the
rabbit reveals to us that he has
feelings – something human beings
seem to lack. He is not enjoying
the attention!

38. Line 56 – The poem ends with
a warning. If we keep on
going like this, we will destroy
every single thing and
creature on our beautiful
planet. What we will end up
with will be our ridiculous
obsessions which always lead
to disappointment.

40. Summary
The poet builds an atmosphere of expectation in the
first five lines through repetition and by asking
constantly about “which rabbit”. This rabbit is very
special because it is the only one left in England or on
the planet. It is sitting behind a barbed wire fence,
under the floodlights, neon lights and sodium lights on
the only patch of grass left. The environment has been
totally destroyed and everywhere has been built up.
In the third stanza, the poet describes a mood of
celebration. All preparations have been made in honour
of the rabbit (“crowd[s]”; “mounted policemen”;
“loudspeakers”; “bands and banners”). In the third
stanza there is a change into a festive feeling whereas
in the fifth stanza there is disappointment, sadness and
humans feeling stupid.

41. Direct speech is used for the reader to
sympathise with the rabbit. The rabbit is
not enjoying the attention and simply wants
to live in peace.
The use of repetition creates an effect of
anticipation and leads to a climax.
The poet uses capital letters in “WHICH
rabbit” and “what CAN we do?” sarcastically,
as we cannot do anything. Man is out of
control and helpless against nature.
The poet uses a fast rhythm in this poem to
emphasize how fast people were travelling,
their eagerness to see the rabbit – creating
anticipation and building a climax which
suddenly falls flat towards the end, making
the anti-climax more effective. In this way,
the irony of the situation and the poet’s
sarcasm come out even stronger.