The Express by Stephen Spender

The Express

by Stephen Spender

After the first powerful plain manifesto
The black statement of pistons, without more fuss
But gliding like a queen, she leaves the station.
Without bowing and with restrained unconcern
She passes the houses which humbly crowd outside,
The gasworks and at last the heavy page
Of death, printed by gravestones in the cemetery.
Beyond the town there lies the open country
Where, gathering speed, she acquires mystery,
The luminous self-possession of ships on ocean.
It is now she begins to sing—at first quite low
Then loud, and at last with a jazzy madness—
The song of her whistle screaming at curves,
Of deafening tunnels, brakes, innumerable bolts.
And always light, aerial, underneath
Goes the elate metre of her wheels.
Steaming through metal landscape on her lines
She plunges new eras of wild happiness
Where speed throws up strange shapes, broad curves
And parallels clean like the steel of guns.
At last, further than Edinburgh or Rome,
Beyond the crest of the world, she reaches night
Where only a low streamline brightness
Of phosphorus on the tossing hills is white.
Ah, like a comet through flame, she moves entranced
Wrapt in her music no bird song, no, nor bough
Breaking with honey buds, shall ever equal

Summary of the poem The Express

The poem "The Express" by Stephen Spender depicts the beauty and majesty of an express train. The poem is quite interesting because the poets generally choose the objects of nature to write poetry on them but Stephen Spender finds beauty in mechanical objects like a train. The poet celebrates the power and majesty of a train journey. The poem begins with the train's departure from the station. It departs by giving a whistle. It is described as a "plain manifesto," and it glides like a queen without much fuss. Plain manifesto is a metaphor here as whistling is compared to a plain manifesto.  It passes through the town, including humble houses and the gasworks, until it reaches the cemetery, symbolizing the page of death painted by gravestones of the cemetery .

As the train moves beyond the town into the open country, it gains speed and acquires a sense of mystery and self-assuredness, likened to ships on the ocean. It begins to "sing" with the whistle screaming at curves, tunnels, brakes, and bolts. The train's wheels maintain an elated rhythm as it steams through the metal landscape, introducing new eras of wild happiness. The speed of the train creates strange shapes of the steam and smoke in the sky and broad curves and  parallels like steel guns on the track of the train.

The journey takes the train to the edge of the world, reaching the high and mountainous place at night where faint phosphorus can be seen tossing on the hills. The illuminating train passes the hills with burning phosphorus. The poem uses the metaphor of a comet moving through flame to describe the train's entranced motion, wrapped in its own music, surpassing the beauty of bird songs or blooming buds.

In summary, the poem "Express" portrays the exhilarating and powerful journey of a train, highlighting its grace, speed, and the emotions it evokes as it travels through different landscapes and creates a symphony of motion.

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is “Plain Manifesto” according to the poet?

Ans: According to the poet, “Plain Manifesto” is ………..

1. Sound of the steam engine.
2. Sound of pistons of the train.
3. Sound of the whistle.
4. Sound of steam from the train.

Correct Answer is 3 sound of the whistle.

2.  What is the black statement of pistons according to the poet?

Ans. According to the poet, the black statement of pistons is …………

1. the colour of the pistons.
2. the speed of the pistons.
3. sound of the pistons.
4. smooth movement of the pistons without noise.

Correct answer is 4 smooth movement of the pistons without noise.

3. The glide of the train is compared to ……

1. walk of a queen.
2. movement of ship.
3. movement of a plane.
4. movement of a bus.

Correct answer is 1- walk of a queen.

4. How does the train moves ahead?

Ans: 

1. It moves smoothly.
2. It moves ahead without bowing to any one and showing any concern.
3. It moves ahead whistling very loudly.
4. It moves ahead making a lot of noise.

Correct answer is 2.- It moves ahead without bowing to anyone and showing any concern.

5. How do the houses appear when the train passes through them?

Ans: When the train passes through houses, they appear………

1. modest.
2. indifferent.
3. bowing to the train.
4. sleeping.

Correct answer is 1.- modest.

6. What is the heavy page of death?

Ans: The heavy page of death is ……….

1. gasworks.
2. cremation ground.
3. back of the church.
4. cemetery.

Correct answer is 4.- cemetery.

7. Where does the train gain speed?

Ans: The train gains speed when it reaches……….

1. the cemetery.
2. the open countryside.
3. the gas work.
4. phosphorous hills.

Correct answer is 2.- the open countryside.

8. How does the train look like when she gains speed?

Ans: When the train gains speed, it looks like………..

1. a comet.
2. a ship on the ocean.
3. a glider.
4. a motorboat.

Correct answer is 2.- a ship on the ocean.

9. When does the train whistle?

Ans: The train whistles …………

1. when it reaches the countryside.
2. when she crosses fields.
3. at each curve.
4. when she crosses the graveyard.

Correct answer is 3.- at each curve. 

10. Where does the train reach at night?

Ans: At night, the train reaches ………..

1. a city on the sea shore.
2. a very high place on the mountains.
3. Edinburg.
4. Rome.

Correct answer is 2.- a very high place on the mountain.

11. What happens when the train crosses a tunnel?

Ans: When the train reaches a tunnel, …………..

1. it increases lights.
2. it creates a deafening noise from  brakes, bolts and machinery.
3. it moves very smoothly.
4. it moves very slowly.

Correct answer is 2.- it creates a deafening noise from brakes, bolts and machinery.

12. How does the train appear in the night when it reaches a mountainous place with burning phosphorus?

Ans: The train appears ………….

1. like a burning train.
2. like a comet.
3. like a comet moving through flames.
4. like a burning train moving through flames.

Correct answer is 3.- like a comet moving through flames.

13. How does the train sing when it reaches the open countryside?

Ans: When the train reaches the open countryside, ………….

1. it sings madly like jazz music.
2. it sings very slowly.
3. it sings loudly.
4. it sings at first slowly, then loudly and then madly like jazz music.

Correct answer is 4.- it sings at first slowly, then loudly and then madly like jazz music.

14. What is the elate metre of her wheels?

Ans: It is ………..

1. the track on which the train moves.
2. the metre which tells the speed of the train.
3. rhythmic movement of wheels.
4. the music created by rhythmic movement of wheels.

Correct answer is 4.- the music created by rhythmic movements of wheels.

15. What are the strange shapes? 

Ans: The strange shapes are ……………

1. shapes of railway track.
2. shapes of forests.
3. shapes created by steam and smoke.
4. shapes of fields.

Correct answer is 3.- shapes created by steam and smoke.

16. What are the broad curves and parallels? 

Ans: The broad curves and parallels are………

1. shapes of railway track.
2. shapes of forests.
3. shapes created by steam and smoke.
4. shapes of fields.

Correct answer is 1.- shapes of railway track

About Stephen Spender

Stephen Spender (1909-1995) was a renowned English poet, essayist, and critic. He was born on February 28, 1909, in London, England. Spender was part of the generation of poets known as the "Thirties poets," which included W.H. Auden and C. Day Lewis. He attended University College, Oxford, and was deeply influenced by the literary and intellectual circles of his time. Throughout his life, Spender was actively involved in political and social causes, particularly during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. He served as a firefighter during the London Blitz and worked as a cultural ambassador for the British Council. As a poet, Spender's works often explored themes of love, alienation, and social justice. His poetry was marked by its clarity, emotional depth, and empathy for the human condition. Aside from his poetic achievements, Spender was also a successful editor and translator. He received numerous accolades during his lifetime, and his literary contributions continue to be celebrated and appreciated long after his death on July 16, 1995.