I Believe - Questions & Answers on the Poem

Answer: The poem I Believe is a very inspiring and motivating poem. All the first five stanzas of the poem begin with the expression “I believe” and the last stanza with “But I firmly believe”. This very expression strikes the positive keynote of the poem. The poet Sangma motivates the readers with her ideas, and makes us believe that we really can do wonders, if we wish to.

So, the message? Believe in yourself; you can do wonders. Dream bigger but act on the present. Stay focused on what you do.

Answer: Yes, the last stanza of the poem ‘I Believe’ is very much different from the previous ones. But this stanza can be looked at in two different ways.

Firstly, In the first five stanzas of the poem, the poet talks about what she believes regarding her ability. But in the final stanza she reminds us that we should not forget the ground reality. We should not get carried away by our dreams but work hard in the real world to achieve any kind of success.

Secondly, the poet may suggest her own bindings and limitations in this life that are preventing her from doing what she believes she can do. Some critics suggest that the poet, being a woman and coming from an underprivileged community in India, does not have such freedom to pursue what she likes and believes. Rather, she has to abide by the rules made by the society and have to give up on her own dreams.

So, going by the second interpretation, the poetess, in the first five stanzas, has talked about what she believes but in the final stanza expresses her regret that she cannot do all these because of the limitations put by the society on her. She only has to “complete the role assigned” to her here on earth.

Answer: In the poem ‘I Believe’ the poet Brucellish Sangma talks about our potential to reach great heights of success. In this connection she says “I believe if a pebble is thrown upwards / I can pierce the heavens”. Here “Pebble is thrown upwards” symbolizes our desire to achieve higher goals and reach higher positions in life. “Pierce the heavens” means reaching the top or achieving the unachievable. The poet believes if she wants and works accordingly to reach great heights in life, she can definitely do so.

Answer: Brucellish K Sangma’s poem I Believe is a poem that not only highlights the limitless potential of human beings, but also the need of empowerment of women. The poetess herself hails from a mountainous Garo tribe of India. Throughout the poem she talks about her belief that she can reach great heights in life and do extraordinary things that common people cannot. Its all about the self-belief of one’s potential ability to be successful. Actually she hints that the women need to come out of their ordinary and monotonous life and contribute to the greater causes of life.

Even in today’s modern world we often see that the desires and dreams of women are suppressed in a patriarchal society. Often we come across headlines where an underage girl is forced to get married while she wants to study and pursue her dreams. Often we hear that women are forced to leave her outstation job and stay at home after marriage. These occurrences only bring to light how low women’s position is in the so called modern society. Hence, Sangma’s poem is relevant enough in inspiring the issue of women empowerment.

Answer: I don’t think the poet indicates something exact in this context. “Role assigned’ to us is the work that we should do to succeed in our particular field. For students, the role is to study and explore the lessons well. For a doctor, the role is to give the patients a good treatment. For an author, the role is to think on various social issues or eternal truths and convey that through his or her writings. Again, we, in our real life, play more than one role in various stages in the life, or even simultaneously. More generally speaking, the role we are assigned to here on earth is to work well in whatever we do as a passion or profession, to make a contribution for the good of mankind. Stating that, the poet’s main point was that we should complete our duties at hand before we expect any achievement.

Answer:

The poem, as the title itself suggests, is all about inspiring and motivating people to achieve higher goals. The poet has used the words ‘i believe’ repeatedly in the poem. And in the last stanza Sangma brings in more emphasis by using ‘But I firmly believe’. By saying it that way the poet wants to assert that she is really confident about all these she is talking about. Moreover, in this last stanza she brings us down to the ground reality of performing our duties before dreaming big.

But I firmly believe I’ve to complete
The role assigned to me here
Where I dream and breathe.

So the poet believes in her own potential to attain success. But her belief is stronger about the need to work hard, to complete the role assigned to her. Only then she can achieve her goals.

Answer: The poet Brucellish Sangma in her poem ‘I Believe’ has expressed her beliefs and aspirations to inspire others through repeated use of the phrases “I believe” and “I can”. She believes that she can reach great and unachievable heights in this life. She also believes that she can explore this world, draw out the good human qualities, valuable resources and gems from every corner of this world, and adorn and improve herself with those. She believes she can do almost everything she wants and no barrier can stop her in her mission.

Her dream is to achieve great success in what she does and place herself among the great people who have achieved the status of human angels.

Answer: The last line of the poem I Believe by Sangma is really important. ‘Where we dream and breath’ is this earth, the real world where we live. It may also suggest the family or community we belong to.

Throughout the poem the poet has inspired us talking about what she believes she can do in this life. But this final line brings us down to the ground and reminds us of our duties and responsibilities. We should not forget that we have to complete our tasks at hand in order to achieve any success.

So, in short, to make our dream come true, we should concentrate on our works at hand. Moreover, this life is very important, and we are lucky to have got one. So we should not waste it only by dreaming and doing nothing.

Answer: In the first stanza of the poem, ‘angels’ are some heavenly figures, generally beyond our reach. Symbolic enough, it refers to the unattainable height she wishes to reach.

And, in the fifth stanza of ‘I Believe’, the poet-speaker feels she is ‘amidst the human angels’. She is confident that she ‘can do many things’, for she is surrounded by those angels. Here, ‘angels’ are successful and great persons who inspire us and who have got the status of ‘angels’ for their greatness.

So, in short, the first ‘angels’ signifies attaining the unattainable, and the second one refers to the great personalities.

Answer: The poet or the speaker of the poem ‘I Believe’ wants to adorn herself with the ‘priceless gems’ picked up from the ‘earth’s belly’. Actually she wants to explore this world, the natural objects, the human qualities and the great ideas. She then wants to pick up the good ones from those to adorn herself.

She wishes to adorn herself with those priceless gems because she wants to better herself gradually to achieve success in life.

Answer: The poet advises us to believe that we can go to the top and be the best in all the three spheres of the earth. In atmosphere she believes she can ‘pierce the heavens’, ‘touch the silky clouds’ and ‘feel the stars’. In Hydrosphere she believes she can ‘dive into the depths and swim with sharks’. In Lithosphere, she is confident to ‘pick up the priceless gems’ from the ‘earth’s belly’ to adorn herself. The poetess goes on to say that our goal is not only personal happiness, but happiness for all in the very last stanza when she says ‘I’ve to complete / The role assigned to me here / Where I dream and breathe.‘ She does not want to work for her own success only. She wants to work for the humanity, for the people among whom she lives.

Answer: In literature, every single line of every single text is open to interpretations. You can always find meanings, if it makes sense to you. And here, on this particular line, ‘watch angels at play’ typically refers to something unattainable, or at least, difficult to achieve. So, it may suggest achieving great heights of success in what one does. It may suggest reaching higher social position. ‘Angels’ literally refers to the spiritual beings who are beyond our reach. And yes, of course, it may signify the great, successful and virtuous people who have received the status of angels by their virtue and work.