Night of the Scorpion

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Nissim Ezekiel wrote the poem. He lived from 1924 to 2004 and was an Indian Jewish poet, actor, playwright, editor, and art-critic. He is a foundational figure in post-colonial India's literary histor…

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The central theme is a mother’s selfless love. At the end, the mother feels thankful that the scorpion stung her instead of her children.

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The poem begins with memory to show that the event was unforgettable. It also helps the speaker present the incident as a vivid childhood experience filled with fear, pain, and emotional truth.

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'Him' refers to the scorpion. Ten hours of steady rain forced the scorpion to crawl beneath a sack of rice.

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'The Evil One' refers to the scorpion. The villagers personify it as evil because of fear and superstition.

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It means to stop the scorpion’s harmful effect by chanting God's name. Here, 'paralyse' means to stop an activity. The villagers believe prayer can block the evil influence.

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The peasants came to help and to perform prayers and blessings. They searched for the scorpion with candles and lanterns, but they did not find him.

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They believe that the scorpion’s movement directly affects the poison in the mother’s body. This shows their superstitious way of understanding the event.