Night of the Scorpion
Welcome to HSLC Guru! On this page you will find a complete study guide for Class 12 Alternative English Chapter 11 — Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekiel, prepared strictly according to the ASSEB (Assam State School Education Board) syllabus. This guide includes a detailed introduction to the poet, a clear poem summary, critical analysis, themes, textbook question answers, MCQs, fill-in-the-blanks, true/false exercises, and a glossary to help you prepare confidently for your HS Final examination.
About the Poet — Nissim Ezekiel
Nissim Ezekiel (1924–2004) was a distinguished Indian Bene-Israel poet, playwright, editor, and art critic who wrote in English. Born in Bombay (now Mumbai), he is widely regarded as the “father of post-independence Indian English poetry” for shaping a modern, urban, and ironic voice for Indian verse. His major collections include A Time to Change (1952), The Unfinished Man (1960), The Exact Name (1965), and Hymns in Darkness (1976). He received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for his collection Latter-Day Psalms. Ezekiel was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1988.
Poem Summary
“Night of the Scorpion” is an autobiographical narrative poem in which the speaker recalls a memorable night from his childhood. On a rainy night, ten hours of steady rain had driven a scorpion to crawl beneath a sack of rice in their hut. Risking the rain again, the creature stung the speaker’s mother and quickly slipped back into the darkness. The mother’s cry of pain brought the neighbouring peasants rushing in like swarms of flies, carrying candles and lanterns that threw giant scorpion shadows on the mud-baked walls.
The villagers buzzed the name of God a hundred times to paralyse the Evil One. They offered a series of superstitious explanations for the misfortune: they said that with every movement of the scorpion the poison moved in the mother’s blood; they hoped the sins of her previous birth would be burned away that night; they wished her present sufferings would decrease the misfortunes of her next birth; they believed the sum of evil would be balanced in this unreal world against the sum of good. They sat around the mother on the floor, their faces lit by candle and lantern light, while more peasants kept arriving and more insects circled around the flame.
The speaker’s father, described as a “sceptic, rationalist”, tried every possible remedy. He used powder, mixture, herb and hybrid; he poured paraffin upon the bitten toe and put a lighting match to it. The speaker watched the flame feeding on his mother. A holy man was also called who performed his rites and tried to tame the poison with an incantation. After twenty hours of suffering, the poison finally lost its sting.
The poem ends with a striking and moving twist. The mother, after enduring such severe pain, says only: “Thank God the scorpion picked on me / and spared my children.” Her selfless words transform the entire experience and reveal the deep, sacrificial love of an Indian mother that towers above all the noise of superstition and the desperate efforts of rationalism.
Critical Analysis
“Night of the Scorpion” is composed in free verse without a fixed rhyme scheme or metre, which gives it the natural flow of a personal recollection. The poem is structured in two unequal stanzas: a long opening stanza of about forty-seven lines presenting the dramatic incident and the villagers’ response, followed by a short closing stanza of three lines containing the mother’s selfless reaction. (In some editions the long passage is read as an 8-line opening movement followed by a 25-line continuation, but the ironic twist always falls in the brief final stanza.) This structural contrast underlines the irony.
The poem is essentially a dramatic narrative with multiple contrasting voices: the buzzing chorus of rural villagers full of superstition and folk belief, the silent practical action of the rationalist father, the chant of the holy man, and the brief, stunning voice of the mother. Ezekiel does not openly take sides; he simply records each response with an even, observant tone. The final ironic twist — the mother’s gratitude that she, not her children, was bitten — overturns the entire elaborate machinery of superstition and remedies and places maternal love at the centre of the poem.
The Indianness of imagery is one of the poem’s strongest features: the mud-baked walls of the hut, the sack of rice, the peasants with candles and lanterns, the paraffin and the holy man’s rites, the giant scorpion shadows on the wall, and the buzzing of God’s name. The atmosphere of monsoon rain and lantern-lit hut establishes a vividly Indian rural setting and gives the poem a unique cultural texture rarely found in earlier Indian English poetry.
Themes
- Maternal love and selflessness — the mother’s final words are the emotional centre of the poem.
- Superstition versus rationalism — the villagers’ chants and beliefs versus the father’s scientific attempts.
- Rural India and folk belief — karma, sin in past birth, balancing of good and evil.
- Suffering and faith — twenty hours of pain endured with patience.
- Indian sensibility — distinctly Indian imagery, setting, and emotional response.
- Family and community — the way villagers gather around in a moment of crisis.
Textbook Question Answers
A. Short Answer Questions (1 mark)
Q1. Who is the poet of “Night of the Scorpion”?
Answer: Nissim Ezekiel.
Q2. Why did the scorpion crawl beneath the sack of rice?
Answer: It crawled beneath the sack of rice to escape ten hours of steady rain.
Q3. Whom did the scorpion sting?
Answer: The scorpion stung the speaker’s mother.
Q4. How many times did the peasants buzz the name of God?
Answer: A hundred times.
Q5. Why did the peasants buzz the name of God?
Answer: They buzzed the name of God to paralyse the Evil One, that is, the scorpion.
Q6. How is the speaker’s father described in the poem?
Answer: The speaker’s father is described as a “sceptic, rationalist”.
Q7. What did the father pour on the bitten toe?
Answer: The father poured paraffin upon the bitten toe and lit a match to it.
Q8. After how many hours did the poison lose its sting?
Answer: After twenty hours.
Q9. What were the villagers carrying when they came in?
Answer: They came in carrying candles and lanterns.
Q10. What were the mother’s only words at the end of the poem?
Answer: “Thank God the scorpion picked on me and spared my children.”
B. Short Answer Questions (2–3 marks)
Q1. Describe the scene when the peasants entered the hut.
Answer: When the peasants heard of the scorpion bite, they came like swarms of flies, carrying candles and lanterns. The flickering lights threw giant scorpion shadows on the mud-baked walls of the hut. They sat on the floor around the suffering mother and began to buzz the name of God repeatedly. The scene is one of crowded concern, dim light, and superstitious belief.
Q2. What superstitious beliefs do the peasants express?
Answer: The peasants expressed several superstitious beliefs. They said that with every movement of the scorpion, its poison moved in the mother’s blood. They hoped that the sins of her previous birth would be burned away that night. They wished that her present suffering would decrease the misfortunes of her next birth. They also believed that the sum of evil in this unreal world would be balanced against the sum of good.
Q3. How does the father react to the scorpion bite?
Answer: The father, although a sceptic and a rationalist, tried every possible remedy in his desperation. He used powder, mixture, herb and hybrid medicines on the bite. Finally, he poured paraffin upon the bitten toe and lit a match to it. His action shows that even a rationalist can become anxious and try unscientific methods when a loved one suffers.
Q4. What does the holy man do?
Answer: The holy man was called to help the mother. He performed his religious rites and tried to tame the poison with an incantation, that is, a chant or magical formula. His presence represents the spiritual approach to the crisis, alongside the villagers’ superstition and the father’s rationalism.
Q5. Why is the mother’s final reaction important?
Answer: After twenty hours of intense suffering, the mother’s only words are of gratitude that the scorpion stung her and not her children. This selfless statement reveals her deep maternal love and forms the emotional climax of the poem. It overshadows all the noise of superstition and the desperate efforts of the father, placing maternal sacrifice at the heart of the poem.
Q6. What atmosphere does the poet create through imagery?
Answer: The poet creates a vivid Indian rural atmosphere through images of the monsoon rain, the sack of rice, the mud-baked walls of the hut, the peasants with candles and lanterns, the giant scorpion shadows, and the buzzing of God’s name. The lantern-lit, monsoon-drenched setting gives the poem a strong Indian texture and a sense of intimate village life.
C. Long Answer Questions (5–7 marks)
Q1. Discuss “Night of the Scorpion” as a poem of contrast between superstition and rationalism.
Answer: Nissim Ezekiel’s “Night of the Scorpion” is a powerful study in contrast. On one side stand the village peasants who arrive like swarms of flies and gather around the suffering mother. They represent the world of folk belief and superstition. They buzz the name of God a hundred times to paralyse the Evil One. They explain the bite through the doctrine of karma, hoping that the sins of the mother’s previous birth will be burned away and that her present suffering will reduce the misfortunes of her next birth. Their world is shaped by faith, ritual, and the balancing of good and evil. On the other side stands the speaker’s father, described as a “sceptic, rationalist”. He tries powder, mixture, herb and hybrid, and finally pours paraffin on the toe and lights a match. His method is practical but equally desperate. The holy man with his incantation adds yet another voice. Ezekiel records all these voices without taking sides. The final ironic twist comes through the mother, whose selfless words rise above both superstition and rationalism, showing that maternal love is the true answer to suffering. Thus the poem becomes a balanced meditation on the multiple responses of Indian society to crisis.
Q2. Bring out the Indianness of “Night of the Scorpion”.
Answer: “Night of the Scorpion” is one of the finest examples of Indianness in modern Indian English poetry. The setting is a rural Indian hut with mud-baked walls, where ten hours of monsoon rain drive a scorpion to take shelter beneath a sack of rice. The peasants who rush in carry candles and lanterns and throw giant scorpion shadows on the walls. They sit on the floor around the mother and chant the name of God repeatedly. Their explanations are drawn directly from Indian folk belief and the doctrine of karma — sins of past birth, suffering reducing future misfortune, and the balance of good and evil in an unreal world. The remedies — powder, mixture, herb, hybrid, paraffin, and the incantation of a holy man — are all part of village reality. The mother’s selfless final words capture the spirit of the traditional Indian mother who places her children above her own life. Through such images, language, and emotional response, Ezekiel creates a poem that is unmistakably Indian in atmosphere and sensibility, while writing in English.
Q3. Comment on the title and the ironic ending of the poem.
Answer: The title “Night of the Scorpion” focuses attention on a single eventful night and on the creature that sets the action in motion. Yet the scorpion itself disappears after a few lines; the rest of the poem is about human responses to its sting. The title therefore becomes symbolic — the night of the scorpion is also the night of testing, of fear, of belief and of love. The ending of the poem is deeply ironic. After elaborate buzzing of God’s name, lengthy explanations from the peasants, every kind of medicine from the father, and the holy man’s incantation, the mother’s only remark after twenty hours of pain is, “Thank God the scorpion picked on me and spared my children.” Her selfless gratitude makes all the noise of remedies and rituals appear small. The irony lies in the fact that the truly meaningful response to the scorpion bite is neither superstition nor rationalism, but maternal love.
Q4. Examine the structure, language, and style of the poem.
Answer: “Night of the Scorpion” is written in free verse, without rhyme or fixed metre. This gives it the natural rhythm of memory and storytelling. Structurally, the poem is divided into two unequal stanzas. The long opening movement describes the bite, the gathering of peasants, their superstitious comments, the father’s remedies, and the holy man’s rites. The short closing stanza of three lines contains the mother’s selfless words. The structural imbalance highlights the ironic twist at the end. The language is simple, direct, and observational. The poet uses similes such as the peasants coming “like swarms of flies”, and concrete images such as candles, lanterns, mud-baked walls, paraffin, and giant scorpion shadows. Repetition of “they said” emphasises the collective voice of the village. The dramatic narrative style allows several voices to speak — peasants, father, holy man, and mother — making the poem rich and lifelike. The tone is calm and even, which makes the final emotional climax all the more powerful.
Q5. Discuss the theme of maternal love in “Night of the Scorpion”.
Answer: Maternal love is the central theme of “Night of the Scorpion”. Throughout the long account of the night, the mother is at the centre of attention but remains silent. Around her, the peasants chant, the father acts, and the holy man performs his rites. She suffers in pain for twenty hours as the poison spreads through her body. Yet when the suffering finally ends, her only words are not of relief for herself, but of gratitude that her children were spared. This single sentence transforms the entire poem. It shows that the mother values her children’s safety more than her own life and pain. Her love is sacrificial, quiet, and absolute. Ezekiel’s portrayal captures the traditional Indian mother whose identity is bound up with her children, and whose deepest joy is their wellbeing. Maternal love thus emerges as the supreme value of the poem, more powerful than superstition, rationalism, or ritual.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
Q1. The poet of “Night of the Scorpion” is —
(a) A. K. Ramanujan (b) Kamala Das (c) Nissim Ezekiel (d) Sarojini Naidu
Answer: (c) Nissim Ezekiel
Q2. The scorpion crawled beneath —
(a) A heap of straw (b) A sack of rice (c) A wooden box (d) A bed
Answer: (b) A sack of rice
Q3. The scorpion was driven indoors by —
(a) Cold (b) Smoke (c) Ten hours of rain (d) Hunger
Answer: (c) Ten hours of rain
Q4. The peasants came in like —
(a) Swarms of flies (b) A flock of birds (c) A line of soldiers (d) Shadows
Answer: (a) Swarms of flies
Q5. The peasants buzzed the name of God —
(a) Ten times (b) Fifty times (c) A hundred times (d) A thousand times
Answer: (c) A hundred times
Q6. The father is described as —
(a) A priest (b) A teacher (c) A sceptic, rationalist (d) A farmer
Answer: (c) A sceptic, rationalist
Q7. The father poured on the toe —
(a) Water (b) Oil (c) Paraffin (d) Milk
Answer: (c) Paraffin
Q8. The poison lost its sting after —
(a) Ten hours (b) Twelve hours (c) Twenty hours (d) Twenty-four hours
Answer: (c) Twenty hours
Q9. The holy man tried to tame the poison with —
(a) A herb (b) An incantation (c) A prayer book (d) A talisman
Answer: (b) An incantation
Q10. The mother thanked God because —
(a) She survived (b) The scorpion was killed (c) The scorpion picked on her and spared her children (d) Rain stopped
Answer: (c) The scorpion picked on her and spared her children
Fill in the Blanks
Q1. Ten hours of steady ______ had driven the scorpion to crawl beneath a sack of rice.
Answer: rain
Q2. The peasants came like swarms of ______.
Answer: flies
Q3. The peasants buzzed the name of God a ______ times.
Answer: hundred
Q4. My father, sceptic, ______, trying every curse and blessing.
Answer: rationalist
Q5. After ______ hours the poison lost its sting.
Answer: twenty
True or False
Q1. The scorpion stung the speaker’s father.
Answer: False
Q2. The peasants believed in the doctrine of karma.
Answer: True
Q3. The father was a deeply religious man with no faith in science.
Answer: False
Q4. The mother thanked God that her children were spared.
Answer: True
Q5. The poem is written in free verse without rhyme.
Answer: True
Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Scorpion | A small poisonous arachnid with a stinging tail |
| Steady | Continuous, unchanging |
| Crawled | Moved slowly on the ground |
| Beneath | Under, below |
| Sack | A large bag made of cloth or jute |
| Risked | Took a chance with danger |
| Diabolic | Devilish, evil |
| Tail | The end part of an animal’s body, here carrying the sting |
| Peasants | Poor villagers, country folk |
| Swarms | Large groups, especially of insects |
| Lanterns | Portable lights with candles or oil inside |
| Buzzed | Made a continuous low humming sound |
| Paralyse | To make unable to move |
| Evil One | Reference to the scorpion or the devil |
| Mud-baked | Made of dried mud |
| Previous birth | Earlier life according to the doctrine of rebirth |
| Misfortunes | Bad luck, suffering |
| Unreal world | The illusory world (maya), as in Hindu thought |
| Sceptic | A person who doubts beliefs |
| Rationalist | One who relies on reason rather than faith |
| Curse | A wish for harm; a strong negative word |
| Blessing | A wish for good |
| Hybrid | A mixture of different kinds; here, mixed medicine |
| Paraffin | Kerosene oil |
| Holy man | A religious or spiritual person |
| Incantation | Magical chant or spell |
| Tame | To control or subdue |
| Sting | The painful effect of poison; the pointed tail of a scorpion |
| Spared | Saved from harm |
| Selfless | Not thinking of one’s own self; full of sacrifice |
Important Lines and Their Significance
1. “I remember the night my mother / was stung by a scorpion.” — These opening lines establish the autobiographical and reflective tone of the poem. The use of memory frames the entire narrative, suggesting that the events of that night left a lasting impression on the speaker.
2. “Ten hours / of steady rain had driven him / to crawl beneath a sack of rice.” — These lines describe the natural cause behind the scorpion’s appearance and create the monsoon atmosphere central to the poem’s Indian setting.
3. “The peasants came like swarms of flies / and buzzed the name of God a hundred times / to paralyse the Evil One.” — The simile compares the peasants to flies and the chant to a buzzing sound, highlighting their numbers and the collective folk faith in the power of God’s name.
4. “May he sit still, they said. / May the sins of your previous birth / be burned away tonight, they said.” — The repeated phrase “they said” emphasises the chorus-like, communal voice of the village and presents the doctrine of karma in simple, prayerful language.
5. “My father, sceptic, rationalist, / trying every curse and blessing, / powder, mixture, herb and hybrid.” — These lines reveal the contradiction at the heart of the father’s character. Although he is rational by belief, his love and fear push him to try every method, both scientific and superstitious.
6. “After twenty hours / it lost its sting.” — This understated statement marks the end of the long ordeal and prepares the reader for the surprising final words of the mother.
7. “Thank God the scorpion picked on me / and spared my children.” — The closing lines form the emotional climax of the poem. Through these few words, Ezekiel captures the absolute selflessness of a mother’s love.
Conclusion
Nissim Ezekiel’s “Night of the Scorpion” stands as one of the finest short narrative poems in Indian English poetry. Through a single childhood memory, the poet brings together superstition, rationalism, ritual, and selfless love within the small space of a rainy night in a village hut. The poem’s strength lies in its quiet, observant tone, its rich Indian imagery, and its ironic ending. While the peasants chant, the father acts, and the holy man performs his rites, it is the silent suffering mother whose final words illuminate the entire poem. Ezekiel reminds us that, in the face of pain, what shines most brightly is not belief or science alone, but the boundless love of a parent for a child.
We hope this complete study guide on Night of the Scorpion by Nissim Ezekiel helps you prepare thoroughly for your Class 12 Alternative English (ASSEB) examination. Keep visiting HSLC Guru for more chapter-wise notes, summaries, and question answers. Best wishes for your exams!