The Quarrel

Chapter Summary

The poem ‘The Quarrel’ by Eleanor Farjeon is all about the relationship between the poet and her brother. The brother and sister kept on quarrelling over a minor issue till afternoon and started hating one another. The quarrel included some bitter notes and gradually turned into a big fight that made the environment unpleasant.

The poet here is mainly trying to highlight the situation of a fight that she has with her brother and the end of that fight. The fight got bigger as the brother constantly claimed that he is right and his sister is wrong. The fight become serious over time and both of them started hurting one another.

Then in the afternoon, the situation becomes cool when the brother first came up to the sister and first admitted his mistakes. He patted his sister on her back and tried to normalize the situation. The brother tried to resolve the fight with the poet as he understood that it is not at all possible to stretch the issue or fight overnight.

Poet’s brother then understood that if this fight or quarrel continues overnight then it will have an impact on their relationship and it had already spoiled their moods and the environment. The brother shows generosity by neutralizing the situation and accepting his sister as his friend again at the end of the fight.

About The Quarrel

A quarrel must not last for long, else it can give rise to enmity, and rivalry, and spoil the mood. A quarrel that lasts for a longer period can generally harm a relationship between friends, siblings, or cousins. It usually creates several misunderstandings that can lead to an end of a good relationship. So, it is very important to find a proper solution and bring the quarrel or fight to an end as soon as possible before it ruins a relationship or friendship.

Here, in this poem, The Quarrel, the fight started in the morning between the poet and her brother for no valid reason and continued till the afternoon. The quarrel made the environment very unpleasant and a time came when they bother started hating one another. The brother in the afternoon first admitted his mistakes to neutralize the situation and became friends with his sister again.

Guess the meaning of the underlined Phrases

(i) And somehow we fell out.

A. Fell out: The meaning of fell out is quarrelled.

(ii) The afternoon turned black.

A. Turned black: The meaning of turned black is the situation when someone behaves badly due to a spoiled mood.

What do these lines mean?

(i) One thing led to another

A. The fight continues until the afternoon between the brother and sister one after the other and the environment becomes unpleasant.

(ii) The start of it was slight

A. The reason they both are fighting is a minor issue.

(iii) The end of it was strong

A. The end of the quarrel is not very pleasant as it ended on a bitter note.

(iv) The afternoon turned black

A. The environment of the afternoon became very unpleasant as both the brother and sister moods got spoiled.

(v) Thumped me on the back

A. The above liens highlight an action when the brother patted his sister on her back in a friendly manner.

FAQs

Q1. Why the quarrel between the brother and sister continued until afternoon?

Ans. The reason why the quarrel between the brother and the sister continued until the afternoon is that they started blaming one another for starting the fight first. They also quarrel with each other on the topic of the fight. The brother is claiming that he is right and while on the other side, the sister or the poet is saying that her brother is not right. The fight continued until the afternoon, made the environment very unpleasant, and spoiled both of their moods.

Q2. Who is the speaker of the line, “Oh! come along’! we can’t go on all night in this poem”?

Ans. The poem The Quarrel has gone through a phase of a quarrel between a brother and his sister. The brother of the poet, Eleanor Farjeon, has spoken the above line. The reason for stating these words in order to resolve the matter of the fight they had since the morning.

Q3. What is the reason for the fight between the poet and her brother? How did they become friends again?

Ans. Quarrelling is a very common tendency between every brother and sister. Sometimes the poet and her brother could not recognise why they are quarrelling. The reason is very miner over which they both are quarrelling and fighting until afternoon since the morning. The quarrel does not last for a long time and they became friends in the end.

One day the poet starts quarrelling with her brother and that fight does not have any valid reason. In order to claim themselves right, both are quarrelling with one another. The brother is claiming that what he is saying is right and the poet is trying to prove her brother wrong.

The quarrel continued until afternoon and made the environment unpleasant. A time came when they started hating one another but in the afternoon, the brother first admitted his mistakes. He patted his sister’s back forgot their bitterness and became friends again.

Q4. What is the meaning of the lines “We hated one another/The afternoon turned black./Then suddenly my brother/Thumped me on the back”?

Ans. The fight or quarrel between the poet and her brother become more serious as they started hating one another. The brother then patted his sister on her back and said that they must not extend this fight further as it is spoiling their relationship, moods, and environment. The brother then claimed that it was his mistake and proved his generosity. This melted the poet's heart and she released that she is also fighting for no valid reason.