1. THE LAST BARGAIN
WRITTEN BY
RABINDRANATH TAGORE

2. ABOUT AUTHORE
Rabindranath Tagore
7 May 1861 – 7 August
1941) was a South
Asian Bengali polymat
h who worked as a
poet, writer,
playwright, composer,
philosopher, social
reformer and painter.

3. SUMMARY
• he poem "The Last Bargain" by Rabindranath Tagore starts with a speaker calling
out for someone to hire him. He is first approached by the king himself, with
a sword. He comes in a chariot and offers to hire the speaker with his power. The
speaker rejects his offer as he does not want to be a slave. Then comes along
an old man, when it is mid-day. He offers a bag of gold coins to hire the speaker.
The speaker does not want to become a slave to money or any materialistic
possessions. Towards the end of the day, he is approached by a fair maiden who
tries to win him over with her smile. But the speaker understands that these
are temporary things and moves on. He finally meets a child near the wayward sea,
playing with shells. He offers to hire him with nothing, which makes the speaker
a free man as he is not bound by any worldly or temporary things.

4. FIRST STANZA
“Come and hire me,” I cried, while in the morning
I was walking on the stone-paved road.
Sword in hand the King came in his chariot.
He held my hand and said, “I will hire you with my
power,”
But his power counted for naught, and he went away
in his chariot.

5. SECOND STANZA
In the heat of the mid-day the houses stood with shut
doors.
I wandered along the crooked lane.
An old man came out with his bag of gold.
He pondered and said, “I will hire you with my money.”
He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away.

6. THIRD STANZA
It was evening. The garden hedge was all aflower.
The fair maid came out and said, “I will hire you with a
smile.”
Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went
back alone into the dark.

7. FOURTH STANZA
The sun glistened on the sand, and the sea waves
broke waywardly.
A child sat playing with shells.
He raised his head and seemed to know me and
said, “I hire you with nothing.”
From henceforward that bargain struck in child’s
play made me a free man.

8. WORD MEANINGS
Stranza 1
stanza 2
• 1 • Hire
• To take someone to
work for a person or
organisation
• 2 • Stone-paved road
• A road that is made
with stones
• 3 • Sword • A sharp metal knife
• 4 • Chariot
• An open vehicle
pulled by horses
• 5 • Naught • Nothing
• 6 • Appeal • To make a request
1 Crooked Not straight
2 Mid-day Afternoon
3 Wandered
To move about with no
particular purpose
4 Pondered To think deeply
5 Pursuit In search of
6 Lane Streets

9. Stanza 3 Stanza 4
1 Hedge
The boundaries
of a garden which
is filled with
shrubs and trees
2 Aflower Filled with flowers
3 Fair maid
A beautiful
woman
4 Paled
Become white
due to fear or any
extreme emotion
1 Glisten Shining
2 Waywardly
Difficult to
control
3 Henceforward
From now on; In
the future
4 Unperturbed Undisturbed
5 Bargain
To make an
agreement
6 Materialistic
Focusing more
on material
possessions;
Money-
oriented

10. THANK YOU