Question

Who are you, reader, reading my poems anhundred years hence?

Answer 1

Sample Response: The speaker’s use of apostrophe to address readers engages them by speaking to them directly. Readers are asked to reflect not only on the joys of the past, but also on the surrounding beauty of the present time. Additionally, readers might reflect on their own futures. They may start to wonder whether the joys of the present day will be understood and felt in a hundred years. This helps readers better relate to the speaker’s emotions.

Answer 2

Tagore tries to converse with all of his readers through this poem. Tagore’s poem talks about time and old age. The voice of the poem is an old man whose audience is of a younger group. The use of apostrophe brings us closer to the old man. Instead of being just an audience, we become part of the poem or its receiver. We are told in everything we see today has its own history and beauty. The entire poem becomes timeless, as the receiver can be anyone at any age.