The Naked King Poem Analysis, short summary, Q-A

The Naked King Poem by Nirendranath Chakravarty 

- short analysis, Questions and Answers

Analysis of The Naked King or The King Without Clothes by Nirendranath Chakravarty

Naked King is a satire that exposes the dangers of blind obedience and fear of authority. The king, who is deceived by cunning tailors, believes he is wearing magical clothes visible only to the wise, but in reality, he is naked. Despite this, his courtiers and subjects pretend to admire the invisible clothes, too afraid to speak the truth. The poem uses the king to represent power and the tailors to symbolize those who manipulate authority for their gain. The people’s silence shows how society often chooses to conform and avoid conflict instead of being truthful. However, an innocent child, unafraid of the consequences, speaks the truth, showing that honesty and courage can come from the simplest voices. Through this story, the poem teaches the importance of questioning authority and speaking up, making it a meaningful commentary on society’s flaws that remains relevant today.

The Naked King Questions and Answers

1. What makes the people applaud the king?

Answer: The people applaud the king out of fear of authority and a desire to conform, pretending to see his invisible clothes to avoid ridicule or punishment.

2. Who is the outstanding person in the story which everyone knows?

Answer: The outstanding person in the story is the child, who is truthful and courageous to say that the king is not wearing any clothes.

3. Where, according to the poet, is that special person today?

Answer: According to the poet, the child perhaps has been put away and confined in a lonely place or in a mountain cave or he might be playing with nature and fallen asleep.

4. What does the poet ask the reader to find and why?

Answer: The poet asks the reader to find the child or the 'special person' because of his truthfulness, simplicity and courage which is rare in the society.

5. Which qualities of that special person is the poet highlighting in the poem? Why?

Answer: The poet highlights the child's courage and innocence because these qualities allow the child to speak the truth when others remain silent.

6. What specific question of that person was appealing to the poet?

Answer: The child's question, "King, where are your clothes?" is appealing to the poet because it reveals the truth others are too afraid to speak.

7. Why doesn't anyone else ask that question to the king? What deeper message does the poet wish to convey to the reader?

Answer: No one else asks because they fear ridicule or punishment and they just flatter the king. The poet conveys that society are not courageous enough and often hides the truth due to fear and conformity.

8. What does the poet ask the reader to find and why?

Answer: The poet asks the reader to find the little child because the world yet again needs his truthfulness, simplicity and courageous behaviour.

 1. "Everyone shouting Bravo, Bravo" 

   a. Who is everyone?

    Answer: "Everyone" refers to the crowd, courtiers and subjects in the king's procession, all of whom are pretending to admire the king’s non-existent clothes.

   b. What reasons prompt them to shout?

     Answer: They shout to show their obedience and avoid being seen as foolish. They fear the consequences of speaking the truth because they are cowards, opportunists, and flatter the king to gain favours.

   c. Explain the lines: Some who have pawned their own wits to others;/ Some are parasites... 

     Answer: The poet suggests that some people have given up their own ability to think to question against the king's nakedness and some others are dependent on the king for their livelihood, often serving those in power without question.

   d. What do some people really think?

     Answer: Some people really think that the king is draped in some extremely fine garment. 

   e. What can everyone see and yet why do they applaud? 

     Answer: Everyone can see that the king is naked, but they applaud out of fear, conformity, and the desire to avoid being seen as foolish.

2. "There wasn't only the flattering crew"

   a. Explain what the poet says in the given line. 

     Answer: The poet says that the crowd not only includes opportunists and fools but also a child who sees the truth and is not afraid to speak it.

   b. What was the role of the child in the group of people?

    Answer:  The child's role is to point out the truth that the king is naked, unlike the adults who are pretending to see the invisible clothes.

   c. What is the difference between the child and the adults who come to see the king's procession?

     Answer: The child is honest and fearless, while the adults who come to see the king's procession are fools, coward, and opportunists who pretending to admire the king.

  d. Explain the phrase: Upon the highroad of reality.

    Answer: This phrase refers to the highroad as the real world, the place where the king should be and from where he observes his subjects.

   e. What difference does the poet find between the last time the king stepped out and now?  

     Answer: The difference that the poet found is that the child who once fearlessly spoke the truth and boldly asked the king, "King, where are your clothes?" the last time the king came out naked, is no longer present now.

3. "Where is he gone?"

   a. What questions arise in the poet's mind about the child?

   Answer: The poet wonders where the child is now, asking why such truthfulness and courage seem to be absent in today’s world.

   b. Why does the poet attribute this question to the child?  

   Answer: The poet attributes this question to the child because the child symbolizes innocence and truth, and the poet longs for such purity in the present world, someone who can bring the truth to the surface.

   c. Why does the poet ask the reader to find him no matter how?

   Answer:  The poet asks the reader to find the child because he represents the honesty and courage that are missing in society today.

   d. Which particular quality of the child has attracted the poet? Why? 

   Answer: The poet is attracted to the child’s "honesty" and "fearlessness," as these qualities enable the child to speak the truth without fear, where other adults did not dare to do so.

   e. Indirectly, what characteristics of man does the poet regret? Why?

   Answer:  The poet regrets mankind’s "hypocrisy" and "fear of truth", as people are more focused on maintaining appearances than being honest and courageous.