This document summarizes and analyzes a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz translated into English by Daud Kamal. It discusses themes of death, reality, and hopelessness. The poem uses literary devices like allusion, synecdoche, and metaphor to describe how all worldly things ultimately meet their end in death, which no one can escape. The night in the opening line refers to suffering that ends in death. Though people try to avoid reality through dreams, death is inevitable for all.

1. Presented by:
Hiba Arif
Aiman Khalid
NUML MULTAN CAMPUS
DIS-ILLUSIONMENT
“I wonder how long the night
will last”
Tu Fu

2. • An influential left-wing intellectual
, revolutionary poet.
• Studied philosophy and
English literature.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz:

3. • Went to jail.
• Inspired by Marxist ideology.
• First Asian poet to be awarded the Lenin Peace
Prize.

4. • Love & Beauty
• Social & Political
Themes of his poems:

5. • Written in Urdu.
• Shoorish e barbat o ney.
• In English, Tumult of instruments part 4.
Original poem:

6. No more effort likely ; talk of soaring high ,over!
We are done throwing net over stars, & invading the moon!
So what other tomorrows can we promise these eyes?
With what other hollow, false dreams can we console a naïve
heart?
Sweet lips , sweet breath or such things no longer a topic of
interest now; a happy heart, a pleasing sight no longer a remedy
for life.
Forget the tales for survival, why bother getting involved in them
now?
What’s still open is the matter of Death; we can discuss it
whenever we want: this is your shroud, this is mine; this is my
grave, that’s yours.
Original poem:

7. ‘I wonder how long the night will last’ is a phrase
used from the Poem named “ Waiting for audience
on a spring night ”
Tu Fu:

8. The flowers along the palace Walls grow dim in the twilight.
Twittering birds fly past to roost.
Twinkling stars move over ten thousand households.
The full moon enters the Ninth constellation.
Wakeful, I hear the rattle Of gold keys in locks.
I hear jade bridle pendants tinkling in the wind.
At the dawn audience I must present a special memorial.
Time and again I wonder how long the night will last.
Waiting for audience on a spring night:

9. • Professor of English literature.
• Translated poems of Ghalib & Faiz.
Daud Kamal:

10. Endeavour Has now been squeezed bone-dry of possibility even the
most intrepid eagle cannot pierce the sky’s ultimate barrier.
All the stars have been lassoed one by one and the moon-goddess
strangled to death by an unrepentant Othello.
No dew drop of grace trembles on the eye’s periphery no diaphanous
dream soothes the heart.
Those ravishing lips are gone free hearts & illuminated minds have
atrophied.
Love you will moulder in your grave & I in mine.
There is no antidote to Death’s scorpion sting.
Translated version of Daud Kamal:

11. • In the start of the poem , this line is giving us the
idea about poem .. what is this poem all about…
• By night ,the poet possibly mean the sufferings. The
sufferings when one dies….that how long these
sufferings will take to end.
“I wonder how long the night will last”

12. Endeavour …………….
the sky’s ultimate barrier.
In these lines , the poet is discussing about the ultimate
reality that no one can deceive Death. For this purpose , he
is referring eagle to be the most fearless and still cannot get
rid of what is destined. By sky’s ultimate barrier the poet
mean, that there is no way out, whomsoever is in this world
will meet his fate i.e. Death.
Even those who think that by passing this barrier they will
be free are actually stupid enough for having such concepts
in their minds.
Explanation: 1

13. All the stars……………..
an unrepentant Othello.
In these lines, it is told that every possible try is been made
but still we cannot promise other tomorrows as this is a
known fact that death is unpredictable. Even stars are in its
hold and are tied together.
The moon-goddess is killed by a shameless Othello. Othello
is tragic hero of Shakespearean play. He is being called here
unrepentant because he killed his own wife. Later on,he gets
to know that she was innocent.
Moon-goddess is used as personification over here for his
wife, Desdemona.
Explanation: 2

14. No dew drop…………..
soothes the heart.
In these lines, the poet is telling that there is no such dream
which can console our hearts because these are not real at
all. Those dreams can cut our connection from this real
world for a little while but at the end this universe is the
ultimate reality. That this world is real and the problems
lying inside are ours and we have to face them and Death as
well ,sooner or latter.
In short , those dreams can not help us getting rid of this
monster of Death.
Explanation: 3

15. Those ravishing lips are gone free hearts &
illuminated minds have atrophied.
In these lines, the poet is describing that when death occurs
everything starts to decay, because it is a known fact that
beauty never lasts forever. Whether it is lips or one’s heart!
Because then everything meets its end and vanishes
completely.
Explanation: 4

16. Love you will moulder in your grave & I in mine.
There is no antidote to Death’s scorpion sting.
In these last lines, the poet sum up by saying LOVE you will
meet your end in your grave & I in mine. No one will be safe
from this poisonous sting of deadly scorpion.
Explanation: 5

17. This poem is of FAIZ AHMED FAIZ . The poem is of Post Modern
Age and is translated by DAUD KAMAL .Poet in this is referring to
the ultimate reality of death that death is unpredictable and
everyone has to face it . He said that Eagle is the The most fearless
but still it cannot get rid of death and the people who are feeling
free are actually stupid everyone has to face the reality of death.
Even stars are also in his hold and are tied together they are also
facing the reality . Poet also tells us about the Othello in his poem
who was a tragic hero in the Shakespearean play and has killed his
wife who was innocent . After that poet is referring us to the reality
of this world which is mortal , dreams are not true and cannot
change the reality of this world when we open our eyes everything
vanishes and we have to face the problems and hardships of this
world.
Summary:

18. • In the end, poet says that everything has to be end ,
everyone has to meet the death and when death
occurs all things will be useless and it is a known
fact that beauty never last forever either its lips or
someone’s heart everything has to be vanished
completely and nothing will remain same. There is
no medicine for the death’s scorpion sting it has to
be happen at any counter.

19. • Theme of death.
• Theme of reality.
• Theme of hopelessness.
• Theme to avoid the world of fantasy that everything has an
end.
Themes of this poem:

20. • Othello was used as “Allusion” because the
reference wastaken from a Shakespearean play.
• Free hearts & illuminated minds were
“Synecdoche”.
• Moon-goddess was used as Metaphor for Othello’s
wife Desdemona.
Literary terms:

21. The End