1. A FIGHTER’S LINES
BY MARZUKI ALI

2. Biography of the author…
A lot of his poems have been published in
the Utusan Malaysia, Berita Minggu, Dewan
He was born in 1945 in
Sastera dan Dewan Budaya. He has also
Terengganu, Malaysia. He was
published a few anthologies which include
brought up in Kemaman and
Desir Angin Pantai Timur (1984), Lia
later Sabah. He has been writing
(1988), Mantera (1991), Bangau Payang
poems since 1960’s.His poems
KolekSekoci (1993), Puisi Duyung Puisi
mostly deal with issues regarding
Rakyat (1999), Jentan Satwa Luka(2000),
his hometown, environment and Rimba Hujan Tropika (2008), Bungkau and
patriotism.
Sape Lamanta(2009)He is also active in
theatre direction in Malaysia and Indonesia.
He has set up a theatre group in Terengganu
called ‘Grup Teater Asyik’.Among the plays
he has directed are Naskhah Sophocles
(1991) and Bangsawan Makbeh (1998)
(Source: BPK.MOE. [module] Form 3 Poem,
A Fighter’s Lines)

3. Synopsis of the poem

4. I am old and worn
and have lost all my strength
sufferings
and the history of the fight for
independence
have forced sacrifices
that know no name
or life

5. STANZA 1
(LITERAL
MEANING)
The persona declares that he is old, tired and has no more
strength left in him. He then reflects that sacrifices made
when fighting for independence are countless.

6. STANZA 1
(FIGURATIVE
MEANING)
The persona in the poem is an old soldier. He is tired as he is
old and weak. He and his people suffered in the past in their
fight for freedom of their country and they made many
sacrifices. People lost their lives and some remain nameless
or unknown.

7. from the wheelchair of the
rest of my days
I, body and energy crushed
see and cannot do much
these times are too big a
challenge
for the remnants of my
crippled years
the net of deceit spread
everywhere

8. STANZA 2
(LITERAL MEANING)
The persona is in a wheelchair.
Maybe, he was badly wounded and
crippled when he fought for
independence or he was very sick or
ill. Now he is worried about
challenges and deceit in his country.
That is deceit like cheating and
corruption everywhere. However, he
can only sit and watch what is going
on around him. He cannot fight
anymore because he is powerless.
Nobody listens to him.

9. STANZA 2
(FIGURATIVE MEANING)
The persona, who believes that he
will be in a wheelchair for the rest of
his life says he can only watch the
happenings around him. Physically,
he is helpless and he has no energy
left. He was either seriously injured
when he was a soldier or he is very
ill. He finds that times have changed
and being crippled man, it is too
challenging for him to fight the
injustice he sees around him. He is
troubled by the many lies being told
everywhere.

10. In the name of justice
Wake up and form ranks son
of our
ancestor
Be brave
And erect a wall of people
Stand up heirs of our freedom

11. STANZA 3
(LITERAL MEANING)
The persona wants the younger
generation to be brave and stand
up for their freedom. He wants them
to unite and fight for justice. He tells
them to protect this country from
threats and problems like corruption.

12. STANZA 3
(FIGURATIVE
MEANING)
Being highly-spirited, he calls on the younger
generation to wake up and fight on. They have
to realize that they have to form lines or ranks
irrespective of racial, religious and social
differences to fight courageously for justice . He
want the young people inherited the country’s
freedom to be united to fight injustice and
denounces lies which may threaten.

13. I have no more voice
It is you now who should
speak!

14. STANZA 4
(LITERAL
MEANING)
The persona says nobody
will listen to him because he
is old and powerless now.
He demands that young
people speak up for justice
and freedom.

15. STANZA 4
(FIGURATIVE
MEANING)
The persona feels helpless
that he is not heard. He
urges the younger
generation to fight or
speak up for what is right
because it is now their turn
to do so.

16. THE VERSIFICATION
AND SOUND PATTERNS
THE VERSIFICATION
1) It has 4 stanzas of unequal length
2) Stanza 1 and 2 have 7 lines
3) Stanza 3 has 5 lines
4) Stanza 4 has a couplet (2 lines)
THE SOUND PATTERN
The poem is free or blank verse with no fixed rhyme
scheme and metrical pattern.

17. In this poem, there are two settings arranged.
First is in an independent country. This is
obviously shown in the Stanza 1(Line 4-7), ‘and
the history of the fight for independence have
forced sacrifices that know no name or life.’ The
word ‘history’ connotes that the persona is
reflecting the past he had. The second setting is
an old man sitting on a wheelchair inside his
abode. This can be proven from the Stanza 2
(Line 8), ‘from the wheelchair of the rest of my
days’.

18. Point
of
view
This poem is looking
from the first person
point of view whom
is a retired soldier as
the poem uses the
pronoun I in it.

19. THEMES
PATRIOTISM
The people in this country have
made a lot of sacrifices to fight
for their freedom. They have
achieved independence but now
there are other threats such as
deceit. This affects the country's
safety. The persona calls on the
younger generation to fight for
justice and to speak up against
deceit.
BEING
COURAGEOUS
In the past, people made
many sacrifices and
fought bravely with the
country's enemies for
their freedom. Now, the
persona urges the younger
generation to be brave
and fight against other
threats in the country. He
tells them to stand up and
speak with courage.
UNITY
In the past, people were united
when they fought for
independence. Now, the persona
emphasizes that the younger
generation who has inherited a free
country should unite to preserve
their freedom. They should stand
united by building a wall of people
or forming ranks irrespective of
racial, religious and other social
differences.

20. We must be brave to uphold justice.
The persona urges the younger generation to stand up against the widespread
lies which are rampant in society today. This 'net of deceit' worries his as it can
destroy the solidarity of the people. Therefore, he urges them to stand united and
uphold justice to preserve the freedom and safety of the country.
We must be willing to make sacrifices to preserve our independence.
In the fight for independence, the persona and other soldiers sacrificed and
risked their lives when they fought for independence. Now, he is wheelchairbound because he was either crippled in the war or is now old and sick. Now, he
wants the younger generation to make sacrifices too to preserve their freedom.
We must be united to preserve our freedom.
The persona wants the younger generation to stand united regardless of their
differences to ensure their freedom.

21. LITERARY DEVICES
Personification
Stanza 2, Line 12
“for the remnants of my crippled years”
Year is something inanimate and it is given human quality.
Metaphor
Stanza 2, Line 13
“the net of deceit spread everywhere “
The phrase “the net of deceit” shows the various problems faced by
the country.
Stanza 3, Line 18
“And erect a wall of people”
The phrase “Wall of people” is giving the impression that if the
public get together they can win this battle and stop the deceit from
spreading.

22. LITERARY DEVICES
Alliteration
Stanza 1, Line 6
“that know no name”
Assonance
Occurs internally in the Stanza 3
“And erect a wall of people
Stand up heirs of our freedom”

23. LITERARY DEVICES
Sight Imagery
Old and worn (Stanza 1, Line1)
Portrays an image of an elderly person who is weary and weak.
body and energy crushed (Stanza 2, Line 9)
creates an image of a person who is old, tired and frail.
Net of deceit (Stanza 2, Line 13)
Symbolizes the evil challenges faced by today’s generation.
A wall of people (Stanza 3, Line 18)
A life-like picture is created of a line of people fighting for justice and
freedom.

24. LITERARY DEVICES
Symbols
There are two symbols being highlighted in the poem.
First is the „wheelchair‟ that connotes the disability.
Through this symbol, one manages to imagine the
persona’s condition, the hardships he went through before
for the sake of achieving the country’s independence.
Even though he is now wheelchair- bound, he still has the
will and determination to trigger the younger generation
from their long asleep on how essential it is to retain the
independence achieved from the sacrifices paid by the old
generation like him.

25. LITERARY DEVICES
Symbols
Besides that, another symbol represents in the poem is 'a
wall of people‟ which connotes people uniting. In this
poem, it refers to a need for the younger generation to
unite themselves regardless any races, skin colors or
backgrounds to speak for themselves, prohibit from being
influenced by the deceits being spread nowadays. It is
also essential for the younger generation to erect a wall of
people to maintain the independence achieved by the
persona’s generation efforts.

26. The poem uses simple language and easy to understand.
The poem is written in the style of a monologue.
Generally the mode and tone of the poem are serious.
The poem creates a patriotism and revolution mood.

27. The persona voices out his hopes through various tones. In
S
T
A
N
Z
A
the Stanzas 1 and 2, the persona enhances the tone of
frustration as he shares his disabilities and weariness of not
being able to fight for the country anymore. They are proven
by the line, ‘I am old and worn’. Not only that, the line ‘from
the wheelchair of the rest of my days ‘, also symbolizes his
disability which leads him to feel frustrated. He is worry of the
1
&
2
deceits that spread everywhere nowadays as what he says in
the line, ‘the net of deceit spread everywhere disturbs me’.

28. His tone changes dramatically as in Stanzas 3 and 4, he goes
from frustration to a fighting spirit where he eagerly urges the
S
T
A
N
Z
A
new generation to stand up and eradicate their fear of voicing
out their opinions as stated in the line, ‘In the name of justice
wake up and form ranks sons of our ancestor’ and ‘Be brave’.
Besides that, he also stresses on the needs for the younger
generation to be united and seek for their freedom as he clearly
states in his lines, ‘And erect a wall of people’ and ‘Stand up
3
&
4
heirs of our freedom’. In Stanza 4,, again he empathetically
urges the younger generation to speak after him as now he is no
longer strong to do so hence hopes for their voices to be heard as
he stresses, ‘It is you now who should speak!’.