The Last Bargain – Class 8 English NCERT Solutions

Explore the solutions for “The Last Bargain,” Class 8 English NCERT. This profound poem by Rabindranath Tagore teaches children that true happiness and freedom cannot be bought with money or power. It shows that sometimes the most meaningful things in life come without any cost, just like a child’s pure love and innocent smile. The poem encourages students to understand the value of genuine relationships over material possessions.

Summary of the Poem

In English:
“The Last Bargain” is a beautiful poem that tells the story of a person seeking work. Throughout the day, he encounters four different people who offer to hire him. First, a powerful king offers him power, then an old man offers money, and later a beautiful maiden offers her smile. The speaker rejects all these offers. Finally, at the seashore, he meets a child playing with shells who offers to hire him with nothing. Surprisingly, this becomes the best bargain as it sets him free from the bonds of power, wealth, and attraction.

हिंदी में सारांश:
“द लास्ट बारगेन” एक सुंदर कविता है जो एक ऐसे व्यक्ति की कहानी बताती है जो काम की तलाश में है। दिन भर में, उसकी मुलाकात चार अलग-अलग लोगों से होती है जो उसे काम पर रखना चाहते हैं। पहले एक शक्तिशाली राजा उसे सत्ता का प्रस्ताव देता है, फिर एक बूढ़ा आदमी धन का प्रस्ताव देता है, और बाद में एक सुंदर युवती अपनी मुस्कान का प्रस्ताव देती है। वक्ता इन सभी प्रस्तावों को ठुकरा देता है। अंत में, समुद्र तट पर, उसकी मुलाकात एक बच्चे से होती है जो सीपियों के साथ खेल रहा है और बिना कुछ दिए उसे काम पर रखने का प्रस्ताव देता है। आश्चर्यजनक रूप से, यह सौदा सबसे अच्छा साबित होता है क्योंकि यह उसे शक्ति, धन और आकर्षण के बंधनों से मुक्त कर देता है।

Word Meanings from the Poem

Working with the Poem – Questions and Answers

1. How did the speaker feel after talking to the child on the beach?

After meeting the child on the beach, the speaker experienced a profound sense of liberation and joy. Unlike his previous encounters with the king, the wealthy old man, and the beautiful maiden, the child’s offer to hire him “with nothing” made him truly free. The speaker realized that this simple, unconditional interaction with the child, free from any expectations or material bonds, was the most valuable bargain. The child’s innocent offer, made while playing with shells by the sea, represented pure happiness without any strings attached, making the speaker feel genuinely happy and liberated from worldly attachments.

2. The old man offered the speaker a lot of money. Why did he turn down the offer?

The speaker turned down the old man’s offer of money for several insightful reasons:

• He realized that monetary compensation would create a temporary and artificial bond, making him dependent on wealth.
• The speaker understood that true satisfaction and happiness cannot be purchased with gold coins.
• The careful way the old man counted each coin showed how material wealth comes with calculations and conditions.
• The speaker recognized that once the money was spent or the work was done, he would again be left searching for meaning and purpose.
• Most importantly, accepting money would have bound him in a transactional relationship rather than providing genuine fulfillment.

3. Who is the speaker in the poem?

The speaker in the poem is a seeker – someone who appears to be looking for work but is essentially searching for meaning and true fulfillment in life. While on the surface they might seem like a daily wage seeker, their reactions to various offers reveal that they are actually seeking something deeper than just employment. The speaker represents every individual who is on a journey to find genuine purpose and happiness in life, beyond material gains and superficial attractions.

4. “The king, sword in hand” suggests: i) wealth ii) power iii) more power than wealth Mark the appropriate item in the context of stanza 1.

The correct answer is (ii) power. The image of the king holding a sword in his hand clearly symbolizes authority and power rather than wealth. The sword is a traditional symbol of military might and ruling power. This is further reinforced when the king says, “I will hire you with my power,” directly indicating that he is offering power as the bargaining chip, not wealth. The fact that his “power counted for naught” later in the poem shows that the poet was specifically addressing the worthlessness of political and military power in the search for true fulfillment.

5. Find in the poem, lines that match the following. Read both one after another. i. I have nothing to give you except goodwill and cheer. ii. Her happiness was no more than sorrow in disguise. iii. The king’s might was not worth much.

The matching lines from the poem are:

• For “I have nothing to give you except goodwill and cheer” – “I hire you with nothing” (spoken by the child)
• For “Her happiness was no more than sorrow in disguise” – “Her smile paled and melted into tears”
• For “The king’s might was not worth much” – “But his power counted for naught”