{"id":866945,"date":"2025-08-25T12:14:39","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T06:44:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leverageedu.com\/discover\/?p=866945"},"modified":"2025-08-25T12:14:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T06:44:39","slug":"ncert-notes-class-11-english-woven-words-poem-9-refugee-blues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leverageedu.com\/discover\/school-education\/ncert-notes-class-11-english-woven-words-poem-9-refugee-blues\/","title":{"rendered":"NCERT Notes Class 11 English Woven Words Poem 9: Refugee Blues (Free PDF)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The poem Refugee Blues by W.H. Auden is the ninth poem in the Poetry section of the NCERT Class 11 English Woven Words textbook. This poem is written in the form of a blues song,  which narrates the plight of Jewish refugees fleeing during the rise of Nazi Germany. Through a conversational tone and repetitive structure, the poet highlights themes of displacement, rejection, and despair. This blog provides easy-to-understand NCERT Class 11 English notes with explanations, meanings, and analysis to help students understand the poem\u2019s themes. You can also download the free PDF for quick revision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Explore Notes of Class 11 English Woven Words<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poem 1<\/strong><\/a><\/td>Poem 2<\/strong><\/a><\/td>Poem 3<\/strong><\/a><\/td>Poem 4<\/strong><\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Download PDF of NCERT Notes Class 11 English Woven Words Poem 9: Refugee Blues<\/strong><\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Important Word Meanings in Refugee Blues by W.H. Auden<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the poem Refugee Blues, specific words and phrases convey the refugees\u2019 sense of alienation, loss, and desperation. Understanding these terms clarifies the poem\u2019s tone and message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Word \/ Phrase<\/strong><\/td>Meaning<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Ten million souls<\/td>The large population of the city emphasises its scale and indifference<\/td><\/tr>
Mansions<\/td>Luxurious homes, contrasting with the refugees\u2019 lack of shelter<\/td><\/tr>
Holes<\/td>Squalid, cramped living conditions highlight social inequality<\/td><\/tr>
Atlas<\/td>A book of maps, referencing the refugees\u2019 lost homeland<\/td><\/tr>
Fair<\/td>Just or good, describing the refugees\u2019 past perception of their country<\/td><\/tr>
Old yew<\/td>A long-living tree, symbolising continuity and renewal<\/td><\/tr>
Blossoms anew<\/td>Blooms again each spring, contrasting with the refugees\u2019 stagnant situation<\/td><\/tr>
Old passports<\/td>Expired or invalid documents symbolise the refugees\u2019 loss of identity<\/td><\/tr>
Officially dead<\/td>Declared nonexistent by authorities due to lack of valid papers<\/td><\/tr>
Committee<\/td>A bureaucratic group, representing institutional indifference<\/td><\/tr>
Offered me a chair<\/td>A polite but empty gesture, implying no real help<\/td><\/tr>
Daily bread<\/td>Basic necessities like food, suggesting competition for resources<\/td><\/tr>
Thunder rumbling<\/td>A metaphor for the threat of war or Nazi persecution<\/td><\/tr>
Hitler over Europe<\/td>The Nazi regime\u2019s dominance, spreading fear and death<\/td><\/tr>
Poodle in a jacket<\/td>A pampered pet, contrasting with the refugees\u2019 rejection<\/td><\/tr>
Quay<\/td>A platform by the water, where the refugees observe the freedom they cannot have<\/td><\/tr>
Fish swimming<\/td>Creatures moving freely, unlike the restricted refugees<\/td><\/tr>
At their ease<\/td>Freely and comfortably, highlighting the birds\u2019 freedom from human politics<\/td><\/tr>
A thousand floors<\/td>An exaggeratedly large building, symbolising unattainable opportunities<\/td><\/tr>
Happiness<\/td>A metaphorical destination of peace and safety, unreachable for the refugees<\/td><\/tr>
Great plain<\/td>A vast, open area, emphasising exposure and vulnerability<\/td><\/tr>
Ten thousand soldiers<\/td>A large military force, symbolising the threat of persecution<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Line-by-Line Explanation of NCERT English Woven Words Poem 9: Refugee Blues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here is the line-by-line analysis of each stanza of the poem Refugee Blues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 1\u20133:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Say this city has ten million souls, <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet there\u2019s no place for us, my dear, yet there\u2019s no place for us.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speaker addresses their partner, describing a city with a vast population, where wealth (mansions) and poverty (holes) coexist. Despite this, the refugees find no place to belong, emphasising their exclusion and despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 4\u20136:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Once we had a country and we thought it fair, <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look in the atlas and you\u2019ll find it there: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speaker recalls their homeland, once considered just, still marked on maps but inaccessible due to persecution, highlighting their displacement and loss of home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 7\u20139:<\/strong>
<\/strong>In the village churchyard there grows an old yew,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every spring it blossoms anew: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Old passports can\u2019t do that, my dear, old passports can\u2019t do that.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A yew tree in a churchyard renews itself each spring, symbolising continuity. In contrast, the refugees\u2019 expired passports, symbolising their lost identity, cannot be renewed, underscoring their statelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 10\u201312:<\/strong>
<\/strong>The consul banged the table and said: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018If you\u2019ve got no passport you\u2019re officially dead\u2019; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive.<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A consul declares the refugees \u201cofficially dead\u201d without valid passports, denying their legal existence. The speaker insists they are still alive, highlighting the cruelty of bureaucratic rejection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 13\u201315:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Went to a committee; they offered me a chair; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked me politely to return next year; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But where shall we go today, my dear, but where shall we go today?<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A committee offers a polite but unhelpful gesture, delaying aid. The speaker questions where they can go now, emphasising the urgency of their homelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 16\u201318:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread\u2019; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a public meeting, a speaker warns that refugees will take resources, directly targeting the speaker and their partner, revealing societal hostility and exclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 19\u201321:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was Hitler over Europe, saying: \u2018they must die\u2019;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were in his mind, my dear, we were in his mind.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speaker mistakes thunder for the threat of Hitler\u2019s regime, which decrees the refugees\u2019 death, emphasising the looming danger of Nazi persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 22\u201324:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saw a door opened and a cat let in:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they weren\u2019t German Jews, my dear, but they weren\u2019t German Jews.<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speaker observes pets receiving care and shelter, contrasting with the rejection faced by German Jewish refugees, highlighting the injustice of their exclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 25\u201327:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay, <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saw the fish swimming as if they were free: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the harbour, the speaker sees fish swimming freely, a stark contrast to the refugees\u2019 lack of freedom, despite being so close, underscoring their entrapment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 28\u201330:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees;  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had no politicians and sang at their ease:  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They weren\u2019t the human race, my dear, they weren\u2019t the human race.<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Birds sing freely in a wood, unburdened by human politics, unlike the refugees, who face rejection, emphasising the contrast between nature\u2019s freedom and human oppression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 31\u201333:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors, <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A thousand windows and a thousand doors; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours.<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The speaker dreams of a vast building with countless opportunities, none accessible to them, symbolising the refugees\u2019 exclusion from safety and belonging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 34\u201336:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Went down to the station to catch the express, <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked for two tickets to Happiness; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But every coach was full, my dear, every coach was full.<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeking escape to a metaphorical \u201cHappiness,\u201d the refugees find no place on the train, reinforcing their inability to find peace or refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lines 37\u201339:<\/strong>
<\/strong>Stood on a great plain in the falling snow; <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me.<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a desolate plain, soldiers hunt the refugees in the snow, symbolising the relentless persecution they face, leaving them vulnerable and exposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysis of the NCERT English Woven Words Poem 9: Refugee Blues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The poem Refugee Blues by W.H. Auden is a poignant blues-style narrative that captures the despair and alienation of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. Through a conversational tone, repetitive refrains, and vivid imagery, Auden portrays the refugees\u2019 struggle for belonging, safety, and identity in a hostile world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theme \u2013 Displacement, Rejection, and Despair<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The central theme is the plight of refugees, focusing on their displacement, rejection by society, and despair in the face of persecution. The poem highlights the dehumanising effects of statelessness, bureaucratic indifference, and societal hostility, particularly for Jewish refugees during the Nazi era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symbolism and Meaning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Here, we have mentioned the symbolism used in this poem, along with the meaning behind that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n