Summary and Analysis of the Two's Company
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| Two's Company Summary & Analysis |
The poem Two's Companysatirizes people who are sure that there are no such things as ghosts. The persona in the poem is such a person. The humour comes from the contrast between what ‘he’ says at the beginning and what he says and does later. Our ‘hero’ has decided to spend the night in a haunted house just to prove to his friends that there are no such things as ghosts. But as night falls, strange things happen which frighten him. The way he tries to convince himself that there are no ghosts, while at the same time taking care to protect himself is very funny.
Who is the author of Two’s Company?
Raymond Wilson Chambers was born on 12 November 1874. He was a scholar, author from Britain. He was educated at university. He was a librarian at that institution and Assistant Professor in the English Department. He served in World War 1 with the Red Cross in France. His acclaimed 1935 biography, Thomas More, was awarded the James Tait Black memorial prize. He wrote on a wide variety of subjects on English literature, history and culture. He is the editor of Native Americans in the Twentieth Century and Indian lives. Dr. Wilson has published over 50 essays, articles, encyclopaedias, and dictionaries. He is a member of several professional Organisations.
Main Summary of Two’s Company
The brave boy or the main character Two's Company is a satirical poem. The poet satirizes the people who believe that there are no ghosts. The humour is from the contrast between what he, the central character, says at the beginning and what happens at the end. The brave boy or the main character in the poem decides to spend the night in a haunted house to prove to his friends that there are no ghosts. But during his stay in that haunted house, strange things happen which frighten him. The poem ends with the whisper of the ghost near his ear inside the cupboard where the brave boy hides himself to save from the ghosts.
Detail Analysis of Two’s Company
It is a humorous poem. It happens among friends. They talk about a haunted house and one of them is not ready to believe those ghost stories. He then decides to spend the night in that haunted house to prove to his friends that ghost stories are not true.
Stanza -1
In this stanza, the poet brings out the natural crazy behaviour of the young boys. The friends talk among themselves about a haunted house. They believe that there is a ghost in it. But one of them is not ready to believe what they say. He considers their talk as meaningless and gossip. The friends describe to him the sound of the ghost, its cry in pain, and the movement of the ghosts, as it walks they hear the sound of the chains of the ghosts. The main character, the brave boy, does not believe and he decides to prove his friends that they are wrong. So he agrees to stay in that haunted house to prove that ghosts are lies and gossip. They do not exist ‘Tut-tut’. The poet uses this and refers to an unbelievable expression, and Tittle, tattle means the brave boy’s friends and their gossip. In this, the poet speaks not only of the boy’s braveness but also his overconfidence.
Stanza – 2
In these lines, the poet wants to show the natural behaviours of the young boys. They closed their eyes and winked at each other foolishly just for fun and to control their laughter, for they could not accept the opinion of the brave boy. They nudge each other to get each other’s attraction to tease the boy, after their discussion they decide to leave the brave boy alone, now the boy is alone in that haunted house, it is getting dark now, new moon appeared, the poet refers the new moon to hunch back moon, it’s a beautiful comparison to show the shape of the moon. There are owls screeching, crying and hooting, it is a fearful atmosphere. The poet has created the (start) beginning of a different atmosphere to create a sense of fear among the readers.
Stanza - 3
The scene changes from this point. The atmosphere of the brave boy is quite scary. But he is not troubled by any of the strange sounds. He is a brave boy and he is quite happy that he has taken this task to prove to his friends about the fake belief of ghosts. He wants to show how people are fooled by these fake stories. The poet gives a universal message through this poem about the wrong beliefs and superstitions about such things. It is time to become aware of fake stories. Sometimes it could turn people in the wrong direction. Through the brave boy, the poet wants all of us to become sensible, all should believe and accept that ghosts do not exist. The purpose of the poem is to give awareness among people about the false belief in ghosts.
Stanza - 4
In this situation, the poet brings out another strange experience of the brave boy. He could hear strange sounds around him. Sounds of chains, the screaming cry of someone. All create a fearful atmosphere, but the boy does not feel for anything. Though he feels anxiety, he just ignores what he hears, he moves the curtains and sees where nothing could be seen. For him it is a kind of imagination, so he ignores his thoughts about ghosts, he wants to complete his purpose to prove his beliefs.
Stanza - 5
The brave boy hears the sound of a clock, there is no clock in the haunted house, maybe from somewhere far. He hears a strange sound, the boy shuts the door to make it safe for him and turns the lock. Now the boy is slowly losing his courage. He gets scared, all the sounds create a scary surrounding to him. He could feel the absence of anyone, at the same time he could feel the unusual presence of someone outside, he comforts himself by saying that may be a silly joker. The readers could understand the situation of the brave boy as he is scared of ghosts now. The poet slowly turns the casual situation of the boy into a serious one. He transforms the boy’s overconfidence into practical acceptance. He could also accept the belief of ghosts now. The poet gives a message of reality in life.
Stanza - 6
In the final stanza, the poet brings out the natural anxiety of the brave boy. Now he looks for a safe place to hide. He faces many strange incidents and wants to be safe. He wants to escape from the ghosts so He finds a cupboard and comfortably hides inside it. He feels safĂ© inside the cupboard, but to his great shock, the ghost who was inside so long speaks in a soft voice in his ear, introducing itself. “How do you do? I am a ghost. Pray who are you?” The words from the ghosts give a humorous touch to the end of the poem. It is not possible to hear the polite conversation from ghosts. It is very sarcastic from the poet that the brave boy’s challenge becomes a comedy in the end.
Literary Devices Used in The Poem
Humorous poem but composed in a different style. It is a satirical poem to those who believe in ghosts. The rhyming pattern followed in this poem moves the story pretty quickly. Also, it helps to bring out the dramatic atmosphere, and the element of comedy. The whole poem ends in a neat rhyming style which gives a melodious touch to the poem. The irony is the boy who wants to prove his friends about the false stories about ghosts now turns to accept the same story.
The hero contradicts his friends about ghosts but he fails to prove it. The start and the end contract and gives surprising effects to the readers. The tone of the poem is simple with living with the non-living background. The description of each scene and the use of language gives a fearful impact on the readers.
And left him just as dusk was falling With a hunchback moon and screech owls calling.” Dusk falling refers to early evening and by hunchback moon, the poet compares the shape of the new moon with a great sense of imagination. Screech owls calling creates an eerie atmosphere. The fear slowly builds up in the boy.
The ghost’s introduction creates humour as all know no ghost could be polite. It ends the poem with a smile. The message is many are there in our society to contradict what they see and hear. It is our duty to find the truth. We could prove their superstitious faiths to a certain extent with confidence but not with overconfidence. Because beliefs and faiths and superstitions are part and parcel of life. They could not be separated.