Who wrote the poem 'Home and Love'?

The poem 'Home and Love' was written by Robert William Service (1874-1958), who was born in Preston, England and published four collections of poetry.

What is the central idea of the poem 'Home and Love'?

Home and love are the two sweetest things in life and they are inseparable. Home without love is bitterness and love without a home is pain, so one must have both to be truly happy.

Why does the poet say Home and Love travel 'hand and glove'?

'Hand and glove' means very close and inseparable. The poet means that home and love always go together — one cannot truly exist without the other.

What is 'Home without Love' and 'Love without Home' according to the poem?

According to the poem, 'Home without Love is bitterness' and 'Love without Home is often pain'. Each alone will seldom do; one must have both.

What message does the poet give to those who have both home and love?

The poet says those who have both home and love are truly blessed and rich. They should sing the whole day long and be happy, for poverty does not matter when one has home and love.

Lesson 6: Home and Love

Detailed Text · A poem by Robert William Service

English · Odisha Board Class 9 · Summary + Textbook Q&A + 25 Quiz

📖 Lesson 6 — Home and Love (Detailed Text · Poem): A sweet, simple poem by Robert William Service about the two little words that mean the most in life — Home and Love. Everything you need — the full poem, central idea, stanza-wise explanation, poet, word-meanings and all textbook answers — is here.

Home and Love

📝 About the Poem

‘Home and Love’ is a short, heart-warming poem by Robert William Service. The poet says that though ‘Home’ and ‘Love’ are small words (just four letters each), no other words in the whole range of language are so sweet and complete. Home and Love go hand in glove — one is incomplete without the other — and a person who has both is truly blessed, even if poor.

✍️ About the Poet

Robert William Service (1874–1958) was born in Preston, England. During his lifetime he published four collections of poetry.

📜 The Poem (full text)

Just Home and Love! the words are small
Four little letters unto each;
And yet you will not find in all
The wide and gracious range of speech
Two more so tenderly complete:
When angels talk in Heaven above,
I'm sure they have no words more sweet
Than Home and Love.

Just Home and Love! It's hard to guess
Which of the two were best to gain;
Home without Love is bitterness;
Love without Home is often pain.
No! each alone will seldom do;
Somehow they travel hand and glove:
If you win one you must have two,
Both Home and Love.

And if you've both, well then I'm sure
You ought to sing the whole day long;
It doesn't matter if you're poor
With these to make divine your song.
And so I praisefully repeat,
When angels talk in Heaven above,
There are no words more simply sweet
Than Home and Love.

📚 Stanza-wise Explanation

Stanza 1: ‘Home’ and ‘Love’ are small words of just four letters each, yet in the whole wide and gracious range of language you will not find two words so tenderly complete. The poet is sure that even when angels talk in Heaven, they have no words sweeter than ‘Home and Love’.

Stanza 2: It is hard to say which of the two is better to have. Home without love is bitterness, and love without a home is often pain. Neither alone is enough; the two travel hand in glove. If you want one, you must have both — Home and Love together.

Stanza 3: If you have both home and love, you ought to sing happily the whole day long. It does not matter if you are poor, for these two make your ‘song’ divine. So the poet praisefully repeats that there are no words more simply sweet than ‘Home and Love’.

💡 Central Idea / Theme

Home and love are the two sweetest and most precious things in life, and they are inseparable — home without love is bitter and love without a home is painful. A person who has both is truly rich and happy, even without money.

📖 Glossary (Word Meanings)

Word / Phrase	Meaning
gracious	pleasant and sweet
tenderly	with gentle and caring feeling
bitterness	a feeling of anger and resentment
seldom	hardly; rarely
hand and glove (hand in glove)	very close to each other; inseparable
divine	resulting from the action of God; heavenly
angels	spiritual beings believed to live with God in heaven and act as His messengers
range of speech	the whole store of words in a language
praisefully	with praise; admiringly

E. Let's understand the Poem

1Which words are important in the first line of the poem?

The two important words in the first line are ‘Home’ and ‘Love’ — “Just Home and Love!”

2Which two words are the sweetest, according to the poet?

According to the poet, the two sweetest words are ‘Home’ and ‘Love’ — sweeter than any other words, even in the speech of angels.

3Do you think that the meanings of ‘Home’ and ‘Love’ are very wide and gracious? Discuss.

Yes. Although both words are small — just four letters each — their meanings are very wide and gracious. In the whole range of language there are no two words so tenderly complete or so sweet; they carry warmth, care, comfort and belonging.

4How many times does the poet repeat ‘Home and Love’?

The phrase ‘Home and Love’ is repeated several times — it is used in the opening of the stanzas and comes again as a refrain at the end of each of the three stanzas (about six times in all).

5How does the sweetness of home link up with love?

Home and love are inseparable — they travel ‘hand and glove’. A home becomes sweet only when there is love in it; ‘home without love is bitterness’. So the sweetness of a home comes from the love it holds.

6Love without home is —— (a) agony (b) suffering (c) pain.

(c) pain. (“Love without Home is often pain.”)

7Can we separate Home and Love?

No, we cannot. The poet says each alone will seldom do; they go hand in glove. If you win one, you must have both — Home and Love together.

8When do you sing the whole day long?

One sings the whole day long when one has both home and love. With these two, one is so happy that one wants to sing all day — even if one is poor.

9When angels talk in Heaven above…. What do they lack?

Even the angels in Heaven lack any words sweeter than ‘Home and Love’. The poet is sure they have no words more sweet or more simply sweet than these two.

F. Let's appreciate the Poem

1The poet compares home with love. Does he find one better than the other? Why / not?

No, the poet does not find one better than the other. He says it is hard to guess which of the two is best to gain, because each alone will seldom do — home without love is bitterness and love without home is pain. They go hand in glove, so one must have both.

2What does the line ‘The wide and gracious range of speech’ convey?

It conveys the idea of the whole vast and pleasant store of words in a language. The poet says that in all this great range of speech, no two words are as sweet and tenderly complete as ‘Home’ and ‘Love’.

3Which ideas do the angels discuss in Heaven?

The poet imagines that even when the angels talk in Heaven, they can find no words sweeter than ‘Home and Love’. So these two words are the sweetest even in heavenly speech.

4Why does bitterness arise?

Bitterness arises when there is a home but no love in it — ‘Home without Love is bitterness’.

5When does one have a winning position?

One is in a winning position when one has both home and love together. Then one can sing the whole day long and be happy even if poor.

6What are the three important words in the last two lines which convey the poet's ideas?

The three important words are ‘sweet’, ‘Home’ and ‘Love’ — “There are no words more simply sweet / Than Home and Love.”

7What message does the poet have for those who have both home and love?

The poet's message is that those who have both home and love are truly blessed and rich. They should feel happy and ‘sing the whole day long’, for even poverty does not matter when one has home and love.

G & H. Activities & extra practice — useful for exams.

1G Activity-1 (b) Supply the missing words from the second stanza.

Home without love is bitterness. Love without Home is often pain. Somehow they travel hand and glove.

2G Activity-2 Fill in the blanks with suitable words/phrases.

(a) Heaven is a place where angels talk. (b) Love can seldom exist without home. (c) Home and Love are sweet because they contain the wide and gracious range of speech.

3G Activity-3 (Debate) ‘Home is more important than love.’ — points for both sides.

In favour (true): A home gives shelter, safety and a place to grow; without a home even love has no base and becomes painful. Against (false): Love is the feeling that makes a house a real home; a home without love is only bitterness, so love matters more. Balanced view (poet's own): Neither is really greater — ‘each alone will seldom do’; home and love go hand in glove and one must have both.

4H. A short description — Write a few sentences describing a happy home.

A happy home is full of sweetness, love and affection. In it, parents and relations care for one another, and the house is filled with happy memories. Children play childhood games and sports with their friends, and everyone shares joys and sorrows together. Such a home, rich in love, is the sweetest place on earth. (Sample — words used: sweetness, parents and relations, happy memories, friends, childhood games and sports, love and affection.)

5(Value-based / HOTS) Why does the poet say it does not matter if you are poor?

The poet says that if you have both home and love, you are already rich in the things that matter most. Money cannot buy the warmth, care and happiness that a loving home gives. With home and love to ‘make divine your song’, a poor person can still sing happily the whole day long — so poverty does not matter.

6(HOTS) Explain: ‘Somehow they travel hand and glove.’

‘Hand and glove’ means very closely together, inseparable — just as a glove fits a hand perfectly. The poet means that home and love always go together; one cannot truly exist without the other. A home needs love to be sweet, and love needs a home to rest in, so the two always ‘travel’ side by side.