Question

Read the poem.

Where The Mind Is Without Fear
by Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore was an Indian writer who lived during the time that Great Britain ruled over the country of India, one of its colonies. In this poem, he expresses his views on how his people have reacted to that control and his hopes for their future.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

What is a theme of this poem?
a. A mindful life is a peaceful life.
b. A mind open to creativity is the mind of an artist.
c. Great minds think alike.
d. A mind free from restrictions is a mind free to explore the truth.

Answer 1

The theme of 'Where The Mind Is Without Fear' by Rabindranath Tagore is best captured by the option 'd. A mind free from restrictions is a mind free to explore the truth,' which resonates with Tagore's ideals of intellectual freedom and self-determination.

Step-by-step explanation:

The poem Where The Mind Is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore explores the theme of a mind liberated from the shackles of oppression and barriers to knowledge. Tagore, a Nobel laureate and a beacon of Indian literature, uses this poem to articulate his vision of a world where knowledge is free, truth is expressed without fear, and human striving is towards intellectual and moral perfection. He yearns for his country to awaken to a heaven of freedom, where the mind can explore truths without the constraints that colonization and narrow-mindedness have historically imposed.

The most appropriate answer to the student's question about the theme of this poem is d. A mind free from restrictions is a mind free to explore the truth. This is central to Tagore's poetic vision, which aligns with his ideals of freedom, and it is reflected in the poem's expressions of hope for a future without the oppressive control that characterized British rule over India.