Naomi Shihab Nye (Leaving Cert English): Revision Notes
Kindness
Introduction
"Kindness" is one of Naomi Shihab Nye's most celebrated poems, exploring the essential role of kindness in our modern world. The poem examines how we can genuinely incorporate this virtue into our hearts and daily lives.
About the poet: Naomi Shihab Nye is an American poet born in Missouri who graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio with a BA. Her work often focuses on themes of humanity, compassion, and cultural understanding.
Key poem information
Essential Poem Details:
- Central message: True kindness is born out of adversity
- Speaker: Unknown (likely the poet herself)
- Poetic form: Free verse
- Time period: 20th century
- Themes: Coming of age, death, journey, recovery, relationships, spirituality
- Emotions evoked: Empathy, grief, hope, kindness, pain, resilience
Summary
"Kindness" describes how people can practise kindness in their day-to-day lives and explains why we must be kind to all. The poem consists of three sections, each exploring kindness from a different angle.
Initially, the speaker addresses readers directly, revealing what kindness truly feels like. She outlines the basic requirements for understanding kindness - primarily that a person must be selfless and release all desires except the desire to spread kindness.
In the following sections, readers encounter several powerful images. The depiction of an Indian in a white poncho reveals our connection to innocent victims of suffering. In the final stanza, a series of images presents kindness as something that surrounds us, requiring only that we open our inner eyes to recognise this virtue in other human beings.
Central meaning
Nye presents kindness as fundamental to human existence. According to the speaker, to truly understand kindness, one must abandon selfish thoughts and cultivate feelings of humbleness and selflessness in the heart. Only then can a person genuinely explore the meaning of this virtue.
The poem suggests that humans are not inherently unkind - rather, kindness is essential for humanity's survival. A person must be open-minded to discover how kindness has shaped them as a human being.
For example, parents selflessly nurture their children, preparing them for their future journey, demonstrating kindness to their offspring. The speaker emphasises that when someone matures and becomes aware of worldly affairs, they can understand that this basic virtue keeps humanity alive. Recognition of this fact leads to understanding the true value of kindness.
Structure and form
The poem is structured into three stanzas with varying line lengths - there is no specific line count in each section. The first stanza contains seven lines, whilst the following sections have different lengths.
Free verse: The stanzas do not follow a specific rhyme scheme, placing this piece in free verse. Nye uses internal rhyming to maintain verbal flow, whilst several repetitions add rhythmic flow to the lines.
Metre: The syllable count per line varies significantly. Some lines are short with only a few syllables, whilst others are comparably longer. The overall poem is written in iambic metre, though there are metrical variations throughout.
Figurative language techniques
Nye employs several literary devices that create an engaging and powerful reading experience:
Key techniques:
- Paradox: The opening lines appear confusing initially but reveal deeper truth upon reflexion
- Simile: "like salt in a weakened broth" - comparing the future dissolving through kindness
- Anaphora: Repetition of "Before you" at the beginning of each stanza
- Metaphor: "regions of kindness" - implicitly comparing kindness to a desolate landscape
- Repetition: "How you ride and ride" - emphasising the continuous journey
- Imagery: Vivid descriptions of the Indian in white poncho and everyday scenes
- Symbol: "cloth" representing humanity in distress
- Personification: Sorrow is given human characteristics
- Enjambment: Lines flow into each other, maintaining pace and connection
Detailed analysis
Stanza one
The poem opens with "Before you know what kindness really is" - this word establishes the instructional mood of the stanza. The speaker appears to be a wise figure addressing someone confused about kindness.
Key Quote Analysis:
"feel the future dissolve in a moment / like salt in a weakened broth"
This presents a paradoxical idea - one must lose things before understanding kindness. This doesn't mean carelessly discarding possessions, but rather making a conscious decision to release attachment to material things. The simile comparing the future to salt dissolving suggests that kindness softens the mind, allowing future worries to dissolve naturally.
The metaphor of "regions of kindness" portrays kindness as a desolate landscape that requires personal sacrifice to reach. The repeated phrase "How you ride and ride" uses kinetic imagery of a bus journey through this desolate region, representing life's journey towards understanding kindness.
Stanza two
Key Quote Analysis:
"Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness"
This stanza begins similarly to the previous one, introducing the concept of kindness having "tender gravity" - a metaphor comparing the abstract concept to concrete, tender things.
The shocking image of "the Indian in a white poncho" lying dead by the roadside represents unnatural death and society's indifference to suffering. This image suggests that to understand kindness's role in society, one must witness places where this value is absent in humans.
"You must see how this could be you"
These lines explore the universality of death - humans are destined to die, and in our brief lifespan, showing kindness to others impacts both the giver and receiver. The "simple breath" becomes a metaphor for life's fragility.
Stanza three
The final stanza delves deeper into kindness as one of the two deepest elements within the human mind - kindness and sorrow. The speaker suggests that experiencing deep sorrow helps one understand the value of kindness.
Key Quote Analysis:
"Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside"
The metaphor of "thread of all sorrows" represents personal desire as the root cause of suffering. The "cloth" metaphor represents humanity collectively - humans are like threads forming the fabric of humanity.
"Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore"
After understanding suffering, kindness becomes the only logical response. The poem concludes with simple acts of kindness, such as a mother tying her child's shoelaces, showing how kindness manifests in everyday gestures.
Historical context
"Kindness" appears in Nye's poetry collection "Words Under Words: Selected Poems," published in 1955. This poem represents one of Nye's best-known works, addressing the urgent need for kindness in modern society.
The poem responds to increasing materialism and individualism in contemporary life, where people often focus on personal pleasures without considering others' struggles. Nye highlights the importance of maintaining kindness in our present context, suggesting it cannot be removed from human nature - when realisation touches one's heart, they begin valuing kindness above all desires.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- Kindness requires sacrifice - you must release attachment to material possessions and selfish desires to truly understand kindness
- Experience of suffering enables compassion - the poem suggests that experiencing sorrow and witnessing others' pain helps develop genuine kindness
- Kindness is universal and essential - it exists in simple, everyday actions like a mother caring for her child
- Structure supports meaning - the three stanzas represent three stages of understanding kindness, from basic requirements to deep realisation
- Free verse and repetition - Nye uses "Before you" anaphora and varied line lengths to create rhythm and emphasise the instructional tone