Words (Kaveri Unit 7): Head versus Heart and the Images of Empty Speech
Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked
In Words, Charles Swain separates what reaches the head from what reaches the heart. Many words may impress the mind, but they fail the heart when it needs comfort. He shows this through three images: words as summer birds that depart, as weeds of little worth, and as showy plants that bear no fruit. A few true words, he says, give far deeper joy.
Notice that many words reach the head but are blocked from the heart, while a few true words bring deep joy.
Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.
Understand Words by Charles Swain: Head versus Heart and the Images of Empty Speech
The central contrast. The poem keeps two things apart: the head, which hears and admires speech, and the heart, which needs real comfort. The poet says that "hosts of words" can reach the head and yet never touch the heart. So the poem is not against speaking; it is against speech that is long, showy and insincere.
Image 1: summer birds. Words, like summer birds, depart. A bird of summer is here for a season and then flies away, leaving empty air. Words that are not backed by feeling are equally short-lived. This is a simile, and its point is how quickly empty words vanish.
Image 2: weeds. When the heart, "a pilgrim upon earth", truly needs help, it finds that words are as little worth as weeds. A weed grows without care and has no use. The simile stresses worthlessness at the moment of real need. Calling the heart a pilgrim is a metaphor: a pilgrim travels seeking something sacred, and the heart travels through life seeking comfort.
Image 3: gaudy plants. Words that look impressive but give nothing are like plants that make a gaudy show: all blossom down to the root, yet unable to produce even a particle of fruit. A plant should be judged by fruit, not by colour. Speech should be judged by what it gives, not by how it looks.
The positive side. Against these three pictures the poet sets sincere speech. "A little said, and truly said" can give deeper joy, and the voice that cheers a lonely home often uses the fewest words, yet those few are dear. The reader should notice that the praise is for the quality of words, not their number.
Sound and form. There are six stanzas of four lines each with the rhyme scheme ABAB (heart/depart and care/air are pairs). The repeated phrase "words" and the exclamations that appear towards the end show feeling building up.
What to write in an answer. State the contrast of head and heart, name the three images with their effect, quote the line "A little said, and truly said", and end with the message that sincerity matters more than quantity.
Words by Charles Swain: Head versus Heart and the Images of Empty Speech: key facts
- Three images of empty words
Summer birds they depart Weeds they are worthless Gaudy plants show without fruit - Each image attacks a different weakness of empty speech.
- Head and heart
Head hears and admires many words Heart needs a few true words Result words reach the head but not the heart - The central contrast of the poem.
- Devices to name
Simile like summer birds Metaphor the heart, a pilgrim Rhyme scheme ABAB - Name the device and give a line.
- Message
- Sincerity over quantity
- Judge words by their effect
- A few true words comfort most
- Use in the last line of a long answer.
How to answer Words by Charles Swain: Head versus Heart and the Images of Empty Speech questions
Use this for questions on the meaning of the poem or its images.
- 1Say that the poet contrasts many showy words with a few sincere ones.
- 2Name the image (bird, weed or plant) and quote it.
- 3Explain what it shows: words are short-lived, worthless or fruitless.
- 4Link it to the head and the heart.
- 5Close with the message about sincerity.
Words by Charles Swain: Head versus Heart and the Images of Empty Speech in real life
The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
A few true words
Suppose a classmate fails an important test and cries in the corridor. One friend gives a long speech about hard work and luck. Another sits beside her and says, "I am here, and we will go through it together."
Which friend does the poem favour, and why? Answer in 2-3 lines.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- The long speech reaches the head but not the heart.
- The short, sincere sentence is "a little said, and truly said".
- The second friend gives comfort.
Answer: The poem favours the second friend, because her few sincere words touch the heart, while the long speech only impresses the head.
Memory hook: Count the comfort, not the words.
Tricks to remember Words by Charles Swain: Head versus Heart and the Images of Empty Speech
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
B-W-P
Birds depart, Weeds are worthless, Plants show but give no fruit.
Use it when: To recall the three images in order.
Head is not Heart
Many words reach the head; few true words reach the heart.
Use it when: For the central contrast.
Pilgrim = seeker
Pilgrim heart: it travels looking for comfort.
Use it when: For the metaphor question.
Words by Charles Swain: Head versus Heart and the Images of Empty Speech: solved examples
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.
Example 1: Rhyming pair · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Which pair of words rhymes in the first stanza of the poem?
(a) heart, depart (b) birds, air (c) heart, worries (d) fewer, birds
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Lines 1 and 3 of the ABAB stanza rhyme: heart and depart.
Answer: (a) heart, depart
Example 2: Summer birds · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
What does the simile in the line about summer birds suggest about the life of words? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Summer birds depart (1).
- Words leave only empty air, with no lasting comfort (1).
Answer: The poet compares words to summer birds because both are short-lived. Summer birds fly away at the end of the season and leave only empty air. In the same way, words that are not backed by feeling disappear quickly and give the heart no lasting comfort.
Example 3: Weeds and gaudy plants · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Both weeds and gaudy plants are used as comparisons for words. How do the two images differ in what they stress? Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Weeds stress worthlessness (1).
- Gaudy plants stress show without substance (1).
- Both show empty words in different ways (1).
Answer: Weeds stress that words are worthless when the heart needs real help. Gaudy plants stress appearance without substance: they are full of blossom but give not a particle of fruit. One image shows uselessness, the other shows showy emptiness, and together they attack insincere speech.
Example 4: Head and heart · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Explain the difference the poet draws between words that reach the head and words that touch the heart. Answer in 40-50 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Hosts of words reach the head (1).
- A few true words reach the heart (1).
- Sincerity brings deeper joy (1).
Answer: Hosts of words may impress the listener's mind and still leave the heart cold. A few sincere words, "a little said, and truly said", reach the heart and give deeper joy. The poet therefore values the sincerity of speech over the number or grandeur of the words used.
Example 5: Is the poet against speech? · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
A reader says, "Charles Swain thinks all speech is useless." Do you agree? Answer in 100-120 words.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Reject the claim with evidence (2).
- Show the praise for few true words (2).
- Show the three attacks on empty words (1).
- Expression (1).
Answer: I do not agree. The poet is not against speech; he is against empty, showy speech. He compares such words to summer birds that depart, to weeds of little worth and to plants that make a gaudy show but bear no fruit. These images show that words which only reach the head fail the heart. Yet he also praises speech of the right kind. A little said, and truly said, can give deeper joy, and the voice that cheers a lonely home uses the fewest words, though those few are dear. So the poem judges speech by sincerity and effect, not by length. His quarrel is with words that pretend to feel, not with words that comfort.
Where students lose marks in Words by Charles Swain: Head versus Heart and the Images of Empty Speech
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Saying the poet wants silence
Stanzas 3 and 4 praise a few words.
Wrong working
The poet thinks we should never speak.
Right working
The poet values a few sincere words more than many empty ones.
Do this: Quote "A little said, and truly said".
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks
Mistake: Calling every image a metaphor
Words "like" summer birds is a simile.
Wrong working
"Like summer birds" is a metaphor.
Right working
"Like summer birds" is a simile; "the heart, a pilgrim" is a metaphor.
Do this: Look for like or as.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Mixing up head and heart
The poem says words reach the head but not the heart.
Wrong working
Hosts of words reach the heart.
Right working
Hosts of words reach the head; a few true words reach the heart.
Do this: Write the pair in one sentence.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Writing a summary and no message
The board asks for the idea.
Wrong working
Only retelling each stanza.
Right working
Retell briefly, then state that sincerity matters more than quantity.
Do this: End with the message.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks
Exam tips
- Name the device and quote it in the same sentence.
- Use the words head and heart in every long answer.
- Remember the rhyme scheme is ABAB with heart/depart as an example.
- Quote only short phrases from the poem.
- End with the message about sincerity.
Practice questions on Words by Charles Swain: Head versus Heart and the Images of Empty Speech
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Which image shows that words give no fruit?
(a) summer birds (b) weeds (c) gaudy plants (d) a feastHint
Think of blossom without fruit.
Answer
(c) gaudy plants
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Why is the heart called "a pilgrim upon earth", and what does it find when it turns to words? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
A pilgrim is a traveller who seeks.
Answer
A pilgrim travels in search of something sacred. The heart is called a pilgrim because it moves through life seeking comfort and meaning. When it looks to words for that comfort, it often finds that they are worth no more than weeds.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How does the poet use the idea of a feast to make his point about words? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
If words could satisfy the chest.
Answer
The poet says that if words could satisfy deep feelings, the whole world could hold a feast of them. But when words are put to the test, they often satisfy the least. The image shows that plenty of speech does not meet the real needs of the heart.
Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
The poem ends with an image of plants. Why is this a strong ending? Answer in 40-50 words.
Hint
Think of show and fruit.
Answer
The last stanza sums up the poem in one picture. A plant covered with blossom but giving no fruit looks impressive and is useless. The image leaves the reader with the thought that sound or show matters little unless it gives something of real value.
Q5 · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Suppose you must advise a friend who writes long, flowery messages to others but is never sincere. Using the poem, write the advice in 100-120 words.
Hint
Use the three images and the praise of few words.
Answer
I would tell my friend that long, flowery words are like summer birds: they come and go and leave nothing behind. People who really need comfort find them as worthless as weeds, and a message full of show is like a plant that has blossom to the root but no fruit. Swain says that a little said, and truly said, brings deeper joy. So I would advise my friend to write fewer words but to mean each one. A short, honest line about what the other person is going through will touch the heart, while a long speech will only reach the head.
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.Who wrote Words?Show answer
Charles Swain.
2.Which Kaveri unit has this poem?Show answer
Unit 7.
3.What are words compared to in the first stanza?Show answer
Summer birds.
4.What is the heart called?Show answer
A pilgrim upon earth.
5.What is the rhyme scheme?Show answer
ABAB.
6.Which words reach the head?Show answer
Hosts of words.
Words by Charles Swain: Head versus Heart and the Images of Empty Speech: frequently asked questions
What is the main idea of Words?
Sincere speech matters more than showy speech; a few true words comfort more than many empty ones.
What is the difference between head and heart in the poem?
The head hears and admires many words; the heart needs a few true ones to be comforted.
Which devices are asked about?
Simile, metaphor and rhyme scheme, with a quoted line.
How are the poem and the feature Carrier of Words linked?
Both are in Unit 7 and both deal with communication; the poem warns against empty words.