DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, HYDERABAD

NOTES

Poem: The Tale of Melon City-Vikram Seth

About the poet

Vikram Seth is an Indian poet and Novelist. He has written several novels and
poetry books. He has been awarded with the Padma Shri, Sahithya Academy award,
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith literary Award and Crossword Book Award.
Seth’s collections of poetry such as Mappings and Beastly Tales are notable
contributions to the Indian English language poetry canon.

Summary

A King ruled over a city. He was a just King and was always cool. He ordered that a
triumphal arch should be built across the major thorough fare of his Kingdom. The
workmen built the arch as desired by the King. But, when the King rode through that
arch his crown hit against it and was knocked down. At once a frown appeared on the
calm face of the King. He felt disgraced. He ordered the chief of the builders to be
hanged. The rope and the gallows were arranged for the hanging. But when the chief
of the builders was being led there, he cried out as he passed by the King, “O King! it
was the workmen’s fault. The workmen said in self-defence that the bricks were
defective, not identical in size. The King then sent for the masons who trembled with
fear. They shifted the blame to the architect. The King ordered the architect to be
hanged. The architect then reminded the King that he himself had seen and approved
the plan. Now, the King himself was cornered. He stood confused. He sought the
advice of the wisest man in the state. The wisest man was too old to see or walk. His
voice was broken. He suggested that the arch itself being the real culprit, must be
hanged. The arch had dared to hit the Crown of the King’s head. The arch was taken
to the gallows. Just then a councillor submitted that the arch had just touched the head
of his majesty respectfully, so it would be shameful to hang a thing that had touched
the King’s head. By then the crowd had become restless. They had started grumbling
because they had gathered there to see the hanging. On seeing the mood of the crowd,
the King trembled in fear. He said that the finer points related to guilt could be
postponed but someone had to be hanged immediately. So, the noose was set up a
little high. Each man was measured one after the other. There was only one man that
was tall enough to fit the noose. And that was the King himself. Therefore, the King
was hanged by his own orders. The ministers now faced another problem that the
state must have a king urgently. The messengers heralded the royal proclamation,
“The next person to pass the city gate will choose the ruler of the state”. An idiot
passed by the gate. The guards stopped him and asked who was to be the King of the
state. The idiot replied “A melon” because it was his standard answer to all the
questions. He liked melons so much. The ministers agreed to crown the melon. They
set it down on the throne. This happened many years ago. Now, if anyone asks those
people how they came to have a melon as their king. They say that it was the king’s
own choice what he wanted to be and they had nothing to do with it as long as their
own peace and liberty were disturbed. Thus, the principles of Laissez faire (non-
interference with individual freedom) were well established in that state.

Critical analysis of the poem.

Title

The title ‘The Tale of The Melon City’ tells us both about the time and the plot of the
poem. The poem is based on the kingdom of the fair and cool-headed king of ancient
times. The king wanted an arch to be built in the city to ‘Edify’ the people of his
kingdom. His idea of improving the morality of the people is based on old and
traditional beliefs, which did not have any positive outcomes. In the same manner, his
ministers are of archaic belief too. Ministers chose the traditional way of choosing the
next king instead of taking a rational and practical decision. They let the idiot, who
passed the arch, become the next king and happily crowned the ‘Melon’ on his
suggestion. That is how the city got its name ‘Melon City’.

Themes

‘The Tale of Melon City’ sums up human nature in a humorous manner. The king
sacrificed his own life to keep the people of his kingdom happy. To fill his position,
the melon was announced as the new king. No one seems to question both the
decisions, and they all carried on living their life normally as if nothing had happened
at all. Seth has indicated towards the selfishness, egocentric nature, ignorance and
mob mentality of the people. People don’t care about who rules them, how they rule
them as long as it doesn’t interfere with their freedom and peace. Seth has criticised
the dark side of human nature. People living in Melon City do not have any regard
for a human life. People cannot hold themselves responsible for their actions. Instead
of accepting flaws and finding solutions, society chooses an easy way that is putting
the blame on others. Here in ‘The Tale of Melon City’, accusers passed the blame from
one person to another. The king, without thinking, sentenced the chief of builder to be
hanged. Chief of builders passed the blame to the workmen, workmen to mason, and
so on. The people of the kingdom were more excited to see the execution. The noose
was not hung to punish the culprit, it was hung to decide a culprit. Here the high
noose reflects the king himself and his death, the death of autocracy. This is suggested
in the verses below
“Let us postponed consideration

Of finer points like guilt. The nation

Wants a hanging. Hanged must be

Someone, and that immediately.

The noose was set up somewhat high.

Each man was measured by and by.”

Other important themes of The Tale of The Melon City are ‘Anger’ and ‘loyalty’. The
king, who is called ‘Just’ and ‘Placid’, loses his calm over the design of the arch. It is
ironic. His anger and irrational decision of hanging the culprits led to a series of
incidents, which in the end, ended with his own life. If the king had acted calmly and
asked to make improvements, the situation could have been avoided. There is an
absence of loyalty in the ministers who are responsible for serving the kingdom. They
did not guide nor stop the king from taking an irrational step. They accepted the
idiot’s decision of crowning a melon without giving it a second thought, which shows
they never cared for the king or people of the kingdom.

Poem’s Tone

The Tale of The Melon City has an ironic tone. Since the beginning of the poem,
many incidents occur that highlight the irony of the situation. It is humorously
presented by Seth.

“In the city of which I sing

There was a ‘just’ and ‘placid’ King.”

The king is described as someone who is fair and calm-minded, which is not true.
The king lacks emotional as well as social intelligence. He makes irrational decisions
that lead to his downfall, something that he does not realise.

The king has positive intentions of improving the morality of his kingdom “To Edify
spectators there”, which he, unfortunately, failed to achieve. The low arch implies the
low morals of the people. The king’s crown fell because it crashed with the low arch
and was completely taken away from him because of his ignorance and base
mentality. The irony of the poem peaks with the verses
 “Thank Goodness we found someone, said

The ministers, for if instead

We had not, the unruly town

Might well have turned against the crown”.

Ministers here show their concern about the public’s reaction and that they will turn
against the king. It makes readers laugh because they actually turned against the king.
They let their king die for the sake of their entertainment. Ministers of the kingdom
are practical enough to understand the kingdom needs ‘king,’ but at the same time,
they crowned the ‘Melon’ as the king. Another instance that adds irony and comic
effect is “Long Live the King, the king is dead”.

Poetic Devices

Following figures of speech/poetic devices have been used in the poem The Tale of
Melon City:

1. Irony: It is a situation in which there is a contrast between expectation and

reality. e.g. in the poem, the king is described as just and placid. But in the
poem, he becomes angry for petty matters. There are many ironical situations
in the poem. e.g., the king is hanged over a petty matter. The people choose a
melon as their king etc.
2. Alliteration: It is the use of the same consonant sound at the beginning of
words that are close together. e.g., “long live the king”, “the workmen went”
etc.
3. Repetition: It is the repetition of words and phrases of poetic effect. e.g.
“Long live the king”.
4. Inversion: It is the reversal of the normal order of the words and phrases in a
sentence for poetic effect. e.g., “Truly, the arch it was that”.
5. Onomatopoeia: It is the formation of a word from a sound associated with
what is named. e.g., “Muttering”, “Quivering” etc.

Short Answer type Questions

1. What happened when the King passed under the Arch?

When the King passed under the arch, his crown struck the arch and fell. The arch was
built too low. The King became furious. A frown appeared on his calm face. He took
it as a disgrace to his royal order and ordered that the Chief of builders must be
hanged for this insult.
2. How was the wise man chosen? Was his advice really wise?

The wisest man was chosen on the criterion that ‘the oldest would be the wisest’. The
old man selected for the role could neither walk nor could see anything. The advice
given by him, to hang the arch was a ridiculous judgement as the arch was lifeless and
thus hanging could not deprive it of its life.

3. Why was the crowd getting restless?

The crowd was getting restless as they had been watching the blame game
unfolding before them. They expected the hanging to happen soon, but it was
averted due to one reason or the other. They wanted someone to be hanged
immediately.

4. What was the problem faced by the ministers after the King’s execution?
After the hanging of the King, the city was without a ruler. The ministers needed to
find a ruler. They had an old, customary method of choosing Kings. So, they sent
out the message that the next person to pass the city gate would choose the new
King.

5. What are the principles of Laissez- faire?

Laissez- fair is a French word which means ‘to leave alone’ or the policy of leaving
things to take their own course of action without any interference. This principle
was well established in ‘the Melon City’ as the King’s death and subsequent role
reversal with a melon did not affect the people’s lives in anyway.

Long Answers

Question 1.

Discuss ‘The Tale of Melon City’ as a humorous as well as an ironical poem with the
help of examples from the poem.
Answer:
‘The Tale of Melon City’ is truly a very humorous as well as an ironical poem. It is
humorous that the arch was constructed to ‘edify’ people. The oldest man of the city
was considered to be the wisest, which is both ironical and humorous. It was ordered
that whosoever fitted the gallous shall die, which again humorous. Then, it is highly
funny and unbelievable that the king himself was hanged because the blame fell on
him.
The selection of the new king, a melon, is extremely humorous. It is highly ironical
how one can order death sentence for a minor offence. The King himself was so
indecisive. Then, the process of selection of the new king adds both to the humour
and irony. Finally, it is seen that people were living happily under a king who did
not govern. The whole poem revolves around fun and laughter.

Question 2.
How did the city come to be named Melon City? Describe the events that led to its
naming.
Answer:
The king of a city ordered an arch to be made which, on completion, was found to be
too low. When the king rode under this arch, he lost his crown due to its low height.
The king ordered the chief builder to be hanged but the latter pointed out that it was
someone else’s fault. This blame game went on till it was found that the king himself
had to be hanged by his own order. The city was without a king after the king’s
execution. The ministers decided that the next man to pass the city gate would be their
king. As it happened the next man to pass was an idiot. He said that a melon should
be king. He said so because he was very fond of melons. The ministers put a melon on
the throne. Thereafter the city was known as Melon City.

Question 3.

Which part of the poem do you find most humorous? Narrate the incident and say
what part it plays in the story.
Answer:
In my opinion, the most humorous part is the selection of a new king. The last of the
incidents where the ministers decide that whoever will be able to pass the city gates
would be hailed as their king. As luck would have it, the man who passed the gate
was an idiot who was extremely fond of melons. For every question asked, his
answer would be ‘melon’. On asking, who should be the king, he said that a ‘melon’
should be the king. So, it was! The ministers promptly put the melon on the throne
and accepted it as their king. The ‘Melon’ becomes crucial to the story as the city
comes to be known as the ‘Melon City.’

Question 4
‘The Tale of Melon City’ consists of a series of humorous incidents. Describe the events
that led to the hanging of the king by his own order.
Answer:
A king ordered an arch to be constructed to ‘edify’ the people. The arch was low and
the king lost his crown when he passed under it. The king ordered the execution of
the chief of the builders, but the latter said it the was the fault of the workers. The
workers laid the blame on the bricks because they were of the wrong size.
So, the masons were called. They blamed the architect, but the architect said that the
king himself had made some alterations. At this the king sought the counsel of the
wisest man in the country. The oldest man alive was brought and he advised that the
arch should be hanged. The arch was not hanged because it had touched His Majesty’s
head. The king said that because the nation wanted a hanging, they will hang whoever
fitted the gallows. By chance, the king himself fitted best and was hanged.

Question 5.
‘The Tale of Melon City’ tells the story of a king who either does not govern or
misgoverns. It is a satire on a ruler who has no concern for justice or welfare of the
people in his kingdom, blame gets shifted from one to the other.
1. Do you think the poem echoes the misgovernance prevailing in modern India?
Write an essay in 100 words giving your suggestions of what steps the people and the
government need to take to put the country on the track of progress and growth.
2. Does the ‘Melon City’ reflect the state of the Indian nation? Is there no concern for
justice or welfare of people? Are these people happy with the king/government that
does not govern?

Answer: The answer to the first two questions is “Yes”, to the last, a big “NO”.
Decades of free India have rarely seen bright spots of good governance. The evils of
misgovernance are all there. Corruption, inflation, crime, sinking economy,
exploitation of natural resources are the various faces of misgovernance and non-
governance. But not anymore. People have had enough. Everyone wants a change.
Every new face when it appears brings hope, which is invariably belied. In a
democracy, people get a chance to change their rulers or law makers every five years.
People with a record of clean service are now entering politics, as candidates from
political families have proved to be failures. The honest public servant gets the
support of the common people. The judiciary stands for the right and the correct. Most
powerful of all is the media. It spreads awareness among people.
Indians do not wish to be governed by a ‘Melon King’ any more.

Attempt the following on your own in the classwork

Short answer questions
1. The noose fitted only one person. Who was this person? Did he deserve this
judgement?
2. The wisest man said that the arch must be hanged. Then how did the arch escape
the punishment?
3. A blame game started and the King was confused. Who were involved in this?

Long answer Questions.

1. Mob psychology is beyond any reason. Politicians use this in their favour. A
good leader can use the mob to achieve some useful purposes or goals.
Elucidate.
2. Satire can be an effective tool for social reform. Keeping the chapter ‘The Tale of
Melon City in mind express your views on the above statement.

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