Madhavi R

An Angel in Disguise Extra Question And Answers ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature

You are going to go through An Angel in Disguise Extra Question And Answers ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature. Understanding a text meticulously in its entirety is very important for a learner for scoring better in the ICSE English exam. Experts made ample to ensure a thorough critical and line-by-line analysis. Let us find An Angel in Disguise Extra Question And Answers ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature.

Extra Questions

1. Why did the people of the village hate the woman?

~ All the people in the village hated the woman because she was an alcoholic person. She used to beg to the other people for her living. The woman had been despised, scoffed at, and angrily denounced by nearly every man, woman, and child in the village. She died of an addiction to liquor, excessive drinking habits.

2. After her death, why did her neighbour’s attitude change?

The woman died leaving her three poor children. After her death, they were helpless and in poor condition. The neighbours also felt pity and their attitude changed for them as they had no food and clothes. They were alone, had no one to take care of them. Death touches the spring of the common humanity.

3. What was the matter of concern as the woman died?

The woman had three children, who were left helpless and poor after her death. The matter of concern for the villagers was that, who will be taking care of those poor ones. It would be cruel to leave them alone as they were young enough, they could do nothing for themselves, to live.

4. Describe the three children of the woman.

The woman had three poor children. The oldest one was named John. He was twelve years old. He had the capability to earn for his living. The second was Kate, she was a bright and clever one. The last one was Maggie, who was bedridden. She was the youngest and the helpless one. Falling from the window, she got injured in her spine and so she couldn’t leave her bed.

5. What happened to the children after her death?

Death of the woman left her three children poor and helpless. After the death of the drunken woman, the villagers decided to take each of the three children of the woman so that they can be raised properly. As they were young enough to do something for their survival.

6. Who took John? Who took Katy?

Farmer Jones said that he would take John, who was the oldest one among the three, and do well by him. Mrs. Ellis, who had been looking out for a bound girl, concluded that even though Katy was too young to be of much use, she would be adopting her.

7. What happened to Maggie?

Maggie was the youngest of all, who was nearly paralyzed. Falling from the window, she got injured in her spine and so she couldn’t leave her bed. Everyone in the village denied adopting her as she was considered to be the ‘burden’. One of the villagers suggested sending her to the poorhouse.

8. Why was Maggie considered to be a precious burden?

Mr. Joe Thompson felt like a burden to take the little girl home as he knew his wife won’t be ok with it. He even couldn’t leave her alone as he has got a soft heart, he couldn’t be so cruel to her. Besides Maggie was also precious for Joe’s family as she brought love in their family. She was like an angel to them, she changed their life and them too with her sweetness.

9. Why was Maggie bedridden? Which shelter was suggested for her?

Maggie the youngest child of the woman had fallen from a window and had injured her spine which made her bedridden.

Everyone in the village denied adopting her as she was considered to be the ‘burden’. One of the villagers suggested sending her to the poorhouse. They thought it would be the best place for her, they would take care of her properly.

10. Discuss how Maggie felt when she was left alone.

The youngest one Maggie was left alone due to her health. Falling from the window, she got injured in her spine and so she was bedridden and was of no use for anyone. The villagers left her alone in the old hut. She, catching her suspended breath cried to Joe to not to leave her alone. She felt helpless and was frightened, terror was reflected in her little face.

11. Discuss the line ‘It’s so cruel thing to leave her so’.

Joe Thompson said this as he was having pity on her. He was sympathetic to see that the villagers took the other two children and as Maggie was not stable physically, no one was interested to take her. They were ready to leave her alone, with a decision to send her to the poorhouse.

12. What assurance did Joe Thompson give to Maggie?

When Maggie pitifully begged Thompson not to leave her alone, he assured her that she won’t be left alone. When everyone was ready to leave her alone, he wrapped her in his arm, he lifted her gently and took her with him towards his home.

13. Character sketch of Joe Thompson.

Mr Thompson was a kindhearted man, who took the poor, helpless girl to his home when everyone was ready to leave her alone. He is presented as a strong man but has a soft heart. His discussion brings a twist, a change. He had no children and so he loved that poor girl, like his own daughter. He was ready to face his wife’s harsh reaction.

14. How did Mrs Thompson react when she saw Maggie?

Mrs. Thompson is presented as an ill-tempered woman. When she saw her husband bringing the poor girl in their home, she got mad at him. She showed anger and astonishment to Mr. Thompson. She asked him the reason behind bringing her home. She also asked him to leave her to the poorhouse as soon as possible.

15. What reason did Joe give to his wife for bringing the child home?

Joe old his wife how the other villagers were ready to leave this poor girl alone but he couldn’t act so cruel. He had brought Maggie home because she could not walk to the poorhouse. He assured her that he would leave her there the next day speaking to the guardians of the poor house.

16. Discuss the miserable condition of the woman and her children.

The woman was a poor person, though not necessarily a beggar or a charity case because she was an alcoholic person. She used to beg to other people for her living. She had three children’s, who were young enough to work for their food or survival. Their condition was pathetic. She died due to addiction to liquor, leaving her children alone and helpless.

17. Why did he plead to keep Maggie for a day?

Mr. Joe said, his wife that he had just brought Maggie for a single night, he promised to send her to the poor house the very next day. He also said to her, how she was left alone. All the villagers hurried up after the funeral, they left her alone in the old hut, in the hot sun.

18. What did Joe see from the window?

While returning to home, Joe saw a light shining from the window. He considered it to be a good sign. He saw Maggie lying a little raised on the bed and his wife was sitting having her back to the window. They were having conversations without hatred, negativity. He was happy to see that they were developing a bond.

19. What did Joe experience from Maggie’s facial expression?

Joe got positive vibes from the facial expression of the little one. He was relieved and happy to see the positivity, his wife’s hatred was decreasing. He saw the small sweet face filled with childishness. He had pity and love for the little one.

20. What did Maggie tell Joe?

When asked, Maggie said Joe how she used to fall sick very often, the doctor used to come but always late. She said she had a pain when he had lifted her but now she is comfortable. She is having no pain now, she got adjusted in the soft bed.

21. Why did Joe did not see the Guardians of the poor on that day?

Joe did not see the Guardians for Maggie on that day nor on the day following. In fact, he never saw them at all on Maggie’s account because Mrs Thompson had changed, she started loving Maggie. Later they decided to adopt her as their own child as they had none.

22. Who was an angel for Maggie?

Joe Thompson. He came into her life like an angel. He took her to his home, loved her, took care of her when everyone was ready to leave her alone in the old hut. He brought happiness in the sad and miserable life of the poor and bed-ridden child Maggie.

23. What kind of person was Mrs Thompson before? What changed her?

Mrs Thompson was a very ill-tempered and rude person before Maggie came into her life. She doesn’t like children as she did not have her own.

The little bedridden girl came to be the angel of their family. Her sweetness changed Mrs Thompson, her hatred and negativity were changing to love and care for the little one. She later changed her decision and planned to adopt Maggie.

24. What changes did Joe notice in his wife?

Joe noticed that his wife’s attitude towards Maggie had softened and she was taking care of Maggie. Before she hated her, she didn’t want to keep her in her house but later she changed her decision and decided to adopt her. The little one changed her and was successful to make a place in her heart. There was a drastic change in the nature of Mrs Thompson.

25. Discuss the role of the child in Joe’s Family.

Maggie the little one turned to be the angel for Joe’s family. Before her arrival, they had a different nature. Mrs Thompson was ill-tempered, she hated children as she had none. Maggie brought happiness and love into their life. There was a drastic change in the nature of Mrs Thompson, she started loving her, caring for her. Later she decided to adopt her.

26. Discuss how we can say that love can redeem over any other thing in this world.

In the story, Mrs Thompson was portrayed as a hard or stone-hearted, ill-tempered woman, who was mad at her husband as he had brought the little bedridden girl or the sick brat into their home. But later her hatred was redeemed by the love of that little girl. She started loving her, caring for her. The love of the angel redeems her.

Questions And Answers

Who is an angel in disguise in this story explain?

An Angel in Disguise Summary is the story of a little girl, Maggie. An unidentified poor woman dies from excess consumption of alcohol. The village had outcast her due to this addiction. However, the villagers felt sympathetic to her death.

Is Angel in Disguise a real story?

“An Angel in Disguise”, a short story, written by the popular 19th-century American author-cum-editor Timothy Shay Arthur in 1851 is literally based on the theme “love can win over anything in the world”. An unnamed poor woman dies from excess alcohol consumption.

What is the moral of the story an angel in disguise?

An Angel in Disguise features both his characteristic moral message, and his strong views on the consumption of alcohol. … The moral of the story is to not judge a book by its cover, and to give people or things a chance before you push it away.

How is Maggie an angel in disguise?

Maggie proved to be an angel in disguise for the Thompsons as they were a childless couple and Mrs Thompson had become ill tempered woman but Maggie filled her life with happiness and brought a change in her nature with her sweetness and innocence. Therefore, it can be concluded that Maggi was the Angel in disguise.

What message does the story an angel in disguise convey to the readers?

In the story an angel in disguise TS author Lays emphasis on the importance of loving and caring for others and then goes to the prove that love is essential for human survival through this story he points out that the true meaning of compassion kindness and love.

What do you know of the angel in disguise how is the title of the story significance?

Arthur’s story “An Angel in Disguise” is all about a little crippled orphan girl called Maggie and how she brought back joy and happiness to the childless Thompson family. … From both angles, the title is symbolic and suggestive of the theme of the story.

How did the mother died in An Angel in Disguise?

Arthur’s short story “An Angel in Disguise”. The mother had fallen upon the threshold of her own door in a drunken fit, and died.

Who was Joe Thompson An Angel in Disguise?

When there seemed to be no hope for the little girl, Joe reached to her like an angel. He was an angel in disguise for Maggie.

Why is Maggie called a precious burden?

The burden is called precious because she brought about happiness into the lives of the childless couples by giving them a reason to love and care for. Mrs. Thompson carries her as a precious burden in her heart as well as in her arms. … Thompson as she looks to her in love, patience and gratitude.

Line By Line Analysis Of The Heart of the Tree ICSE English Class 9, 10

English is a difficult subject for many people to learn. Some students may become frustrated and give up, but here’s Line By Line Analysis Of The Heart of the Tree ICSE English Class 9, 10 to help you maintain your momentum! This Line By Line Analysis Of The Heart of the Tree will provide all necessary information needed in order to study ICSE English Class 9, 10 successfully at home or school; it includes detailed grammar rules with examples that were used during today’s class discussion on the ICSE Board English Exam.

The Line By Line Analysis Of The Heart of the Tree in English, ICSE Board Class 9, 10 makes it easier to understand the story. Understanding every detail of a story is important for scoring higher on an exam and expert writers have made sure that you know how everything flows together by summarizing perfectly!

Stanza One

What does he plant who plants a tree? A

The poem begins with a Refrain clearly indicating what the poet wants to convey to the readers. The poet begins with a question which he repeats in every stanza. Here he not only asks the direct and immediate benefits of planting trees but also, he indicates the overall and indirect positive aspects of planting trees.

He plants a friend of sun and sky; B

In the second line, he goes on elucidating how planting a tree is akin to planting a friend of Sun and sky. When we plant a tree, we ensure abundant fresh air which helps us to a pollution free atmosphere with a productive rain cycle. Besides planting, trees will ensure healthy earth as it will help us protect the ozone layers obstructing the harmful rays from the sun.

He plants the flag of breezes free; A

In the third line, the poet goes on stating the plant as a flag. He says that he who plants a tree will surely experience tree as a flag as in the strong breeze the branches and the leaves of the tree have a one-way move giving it the shape of a flag.

Figures of Speech used

• Metaphor- Here the plant Is compared with a flag
• Inversion- breezes free

The shaft of beauty, towering high; B

In the fourth line, the poet depicts the plant to be a shaft (pole) which is beautiful. The beauty of a plant is meaningful in many ways. A plant with greenery and a lot of fresh oxygen makes our environment aptly beautiful. Apart from that flowers, fruits, and other advantages which add to the beauty of the plant. Then the poet goes on about the height of the tree which he aptly compares with a Tower.

• Figures of Speech used- Metaphor – “The shaft of beauty” and “towering high”

He plants a home to heaven anigh; B

In the fifth line, the poet goes on describing how planting a tree could make you home and at the same time take you closer (anigh) to heaven.

• Figures of Speech used- Symbolism- Heaven- Sky.
• Figures of Speech used- Metaphor- Plant is compared to home
• Figures of Speech used- Inversion- to heaven anigh

For song and mother-croon of bird C

In the sixth line, the Poet goes on stating the earthly benefits of planting a tree. Planting a tree creates a favorable atmosphere for the beautiful singing birds to make their home and run their beautiful natural life.

• Figures of Speech used- Nil

In hushed and happy twilight heard—C

In the seventh line, the poet focuses on the atmosphere when the birds serenade beautiful songs. The poet sets the time of twilight when the birds solemnize their divine home.

• Figures of Speech used- Alliteration- hushed and happy
• Figures of Speech used-Inversion- In hushed and happy twilight heard
• Personification- Here twilight has been attributed with a human quality.
• Transferred epithet- hushed and happy twilight

The treble of heaven’s harmony—A

In this stanza, the poet acquaints us with the holistic and beautiful aspect of nature. As adduced the poet considers planting a tree is like in close and serene harmony of nature. And this heavenly harmony is turned treble i. e. three times intense.
· Figures of Speech used- Alliteration- The treble/ heaven’s harmony

These things he plants who plants a tree. A

With this last line in the first stanza, the poet reiterates that planting a tree is just not planting a, it is something far more positive than that.
· Figures of Speech used- Alliteration- These things

Stanza Two

What does he plant who plants a tree? A

The first line of the second stanza reiterates the message that the poet wants us to remember. One who plants a tree is just not only planting a tree, rather much and much more vital and auspicious one.

• Figures of Speech used-Nil

He plants cool shade and tender rain, D

Now the poet makes us count on the benefits of planting a tree. One who plants a tree makes sure cool shade and tender rain. Here the poet reflects how planting trees are very vital for maintaining the ecosystem of the earth. Enough trees mean proper and abundant rainfall which makes the key vitality of this earth.

• Figures of Speech used-Periphrasis – He plants cool shade and tender rain

And seed and bud of days to be, A

The poet in this line further adds that how planting a tree will make sure the fertile land and prospect of sowing seed with lush growth and how later buds will come up ensuring the sustainability of the earth.

• Figures of Speech used-Climax- seed and bud

And years that fade and flush again; D

In this line, the poet goes on saying how this lush growth, germination would take place after the dry and scorching period of time. Here the poet basically indicates how the natural cycle of the year continues with every season dominating its part. However, he wants us not to forget that planting trees is the proper way to maintain this healthy cycle.

• Figures of Speech used- Alliteration- fade and flush

He plants the glory of the plain; D

If we have to think of the glory of the plain area, then trees are the true glory of the plain for us. Because the very existence of us is possible if there is the existence of the trees. With oxygen, fruits, flowers, our food, and greenery make the plain beautiful in its true meaning.

• Figures of Speech used-Metaphor – Here the plants are compared with the glory of the plain.

He plants the forest’s heritage; E

In this line, the poet takes us to the understanding that a forestland perpetually sustains because of the new saplings taking over the old one carrying out the heritage of the forest

• Figures of Speech used-Metaphor – Here the plants are compared with the heritage.

The harvest of a coming age; E

The poet is here talking about the transition from tender youth to adulthood which is also a reference to the tree growing from a sapling into a tree.

• Figures of Speech used-Metaphor- Cycle of the plant is compared with the cycle of the humans

The joy that unborn eyes shall see—A

Here the poet reflects that the beauty and the enriching value of planting a tree will be joyously witnessed and appreciated by the unborn eyes that the posterity to come.

• Figures of Speech used-
• Euphemism-Unborn Eyes meaning future generations.
• Alliteration- shall see

These things he plants who plants a tree. A

With this last line in the second stanza, the poet reiterates that planting a tree is just not planting a, it is something far more positive than that.

• Figures of Speech used- Alliteration- These things

Stanza Three

What does he plant who plants a tree? A

Even in the third stanza, the poet begins with the refrain stressing on the point of the importance of planting tree.

• Figures of Speech used- Nil

He plants, in sap and leaf and wood, F

Here the poet talks about the one who plants a tree is actually indicating and ensuring the auspicious, luscious and positive growth of the earth giving a healthy lease to the future generations.

• Figures of Speech used- Climax- in sap and leaf and wood

In love of home and loyalty A

One who plants a tree does this for the sake of the love and loyalty to the near and dear ones.
This little but vital act of planting a tree make a man in the real sense.

• Figures of Speech used-Nil

And far-cast thought of civic good—F

One who plants a tree, he does it without any thought of self-benefit, and rather he considers it to be his civic duty to do good to the people of the society he is a part of.

• Figures of Speech used-Nil

His blessings on the neighborhood, F

One who plants a tree, he does it with a duty and responsibility to his neighbor.This act proves as the act of Blessing to his neighbor.

• Figures of Speech used-Nil

Who in the hollow of his hand G

Here the poet goes on appreciating the one who plants a tree because it is he who with his positive act brings development to the country.

• Figures of Speech used-Alliteration- his hand

Holds all the growth of all our land—G

It is he who plants a tree ensures the agricultural growth of the country thus ensuring the overall positive health of the land.

• Figures of Speech used-Nil

A nation’s growth from sea to sea A

One who plants a tree is the real hero of the nation, the most ideal one because it is he who takes the growth and glory of the nation from sea to sea indicating in different parts of the world.

• Figures of Speech used- Alliteration- Sea to sea

Stirs in his heart who plants a tree. A

In the last line, the poet wants to convey that the key person for a country is the one who cares planting trees because this simple and noble act does the ultimate good to the country to the people in it.

• Figures of Speech used- · Alliteration- his heart

Questions And Answers

What is the summary of the poem the heart of the tree?

The poem ‘The Heart of the Tree’ is poem about the beauty of planting a tree or the satisfaction derived from this practice. In this poem, the poet beautifully describes the actual essence of what a person plants when he plants a tree.

What does the poem the heart of the tree deal with?

the poet here means that trees are significant in maintaining life on earth and a balanced ecosystem. In the second stanza, the poet tells the importance of the tree that will produce seed and bud in the future. Also, it adds to the beauty of the plain. Furthermore, a single plant could turn into a forest.

What is the theme of the heart of the tree?

The poem discusses the usefulness of a tree elaborating on how a tree that is planted benefits not only the nature, a nation, but also contributes to the growth of humankind. One who plants a tree aspires for his nation’s growth. The poem The Heart Of The Tree discusses about the usefulness of planting a tree.

What type of poem is the heart of the tree?

The poem “The Hear of the Tree” is a lyrical poem written in iambic tetrameter.

What does the tree symbolize in the poem the heart of the tree?

The trees here are symbolic of beauty and strength. Trees are also home for the birds. He says that the plants produce the seeds which further develops into a new tree. The poet says that planting a tree today will bloom into a future forest and would be an investment for the future generation.

Is the title the heart of the tree appropriate?

‘The Heart of the Tree’ is an appropriate title because the heart is one of the most important organs of the human body. … According to the poet, the one who plants trees blesses the neighbourhood. The tree is therefore compared to a heart.

Critical Analysis Of The Poem Village Song By Sarojini Naidu UP Board Class 10 English

You are going to go through Critical Analysis Of The Poem Village Song By Sarojini Naidu UP Board Class 10 English. Understanding a text meticulously in its entirety is very important for a learner for scoring better in the UP Board Class 10 English exam. Experts made ample to ensure a thorough critical and line-by-line analysis. Let us find Critical Analysis Of The Poem Village Song By Sarojini Naidu UP Board Class 10 English.

About the poet

Sarojini Naidu was an Indian political activist and poet. A proponent of civil rights, women’s emancipation, and anti-imperialistic ideas, she was an important figure in India’s struggle for independence from colonial rule. Naidu’s work as a poet earned her the sobriquet Nightingale of India by Mahatma Gandhi.

Sarojini Naidu was born in Hyderabad to Aghorenath Chattopadhyay, a Bengali Brahmin who was the principal of the Nizam’s College in Hyderabad. Her parental home was at Brahmangaon in Bikrampur. Sarojini Naidu, having passed her matriculation examination from the University of Madras, took a four-year break from her studies.

Sarojini Naidu also led an active literary life and attracted notable Indian intellectuals to her famous salon in Bombay. Sarojini Naidu was called The Nightingale of India because of her poetry. It has a lyrical quality and often varies the type of meter and rhyme.

Various works of Naidu are:

•1905: The Golden Threshold, published in the United Kingdom.

•1912: The Bird of Time: Songs of Life, Death & the Spring, published in London.

•1917: The Broken Wing: Songs of Love, Death, and the Spring, including “The Gift of India” (first read in public in 1915), etc.

She began life as a poet, in later years when the compulsion of events drew into the national struggle, she plunged into it with all the zest and fire she possessed, whose whole life became a poem and a song and who infused artistry and grace in the national struggle, just as Mahatma Gandhi had infused moral grandeur to it. Sarojini Naidu was the first Indian woman to be president of the Indian National Congress and to be appointed an Indian state governor.

About the poem

“The Village Song” is a poem by Sarojini Naidu about the mindset of two generations, represented by an old woman and her daughter.

The Village Song by Sarojini Naidu is one of the great pieces of Indian poetry showing Indian motherhood and an approach by an Indian girl to her married life. The entire poem talks about the dialogues between an Indian other and daughter regarding her marriage.

The poem opens with a scene of a rural household, where the mother is pleading her daughter not to run off. It’s an occasion of her marriage, the bride is bedecked with beautiful attire and ornaments. Though she is bedecked beautifully, she is not happy. Don’t know why, maybe she is tender aged, or she is showing childlike behaviour she doesn’t want to get married. Seems she is bonded strongly with nature and feels unwilling to be shifted into a marital bond.

In the poem, the poetess wants to tell us that worldly material pleasures are fake ones. The cycle of life that runs in pleasure someday or the other ends in lasting sorrow. A time comes when the material pleasures prove hollow and are overpowered by the ultimate sorrow. As such, while living in the world, we should not be materialistic.

Structure of the poem

HONEY, child, honey, child, whither are you going?
Would you cast your jewels all to the breezes blowing?
Would you leave the mother who on golden grain has fed you?
Would you grieve the lover who is riding forth to wed you?

Mother mine, to the wild forest I am going,
Whereupon the Champa boughs the Champa buds are blowing;
To the köil-haunted river-isles where lotus lilies glisten,
The voices of the fairy folk are calling me: O listen!

Honey, child, honey, child, the world is full of pleasure,
Of bridal-songs and cradle-songs and sandal-scented leisure.
Your bridal robes are in the loom, silver and saffron glowing,
Your bridal cakes are on the hearth: O whither are you going?

The bridal-songs and cradle-songs have cadences of sorrow,
The laughter of the sun to-day, the wind of death to-morrow.
Far sweeter sound the forest-notes where forest-streams are falling;
O mother mine, I cannot stay, the fairy-folk are calling.

“The village song” is a poem divided into four stanzas, each having four lines. The poem has used a definite rhyming scheme AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH used throughout the poem. The poem is filled with full of questions from the mother to her daughter.

The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; you, would, of, bridal are repeated. The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words would, your, they are repeated. There is a poetic device epiphora at the end of some neighboring lines.

Line By Line Analysis Of The Poem The Village Song

Stanza1

HONEY, child, honey, child, whither are you going?
Would you cast your jewels all to the breezes blowing?
Would you leave the mother who on golden grain has fed you?
Would you grieve the lover who is riding forth to wed you?

The scene is set in a rural household where a marriage ceremony is about to begin. Such ceremonies are generally marked by a lot of mirth and merry-making. The bride is bedecked with beautiful attire and nice ornaments to look her best. The first stanza is filled with questions from the mother to her daughter. She asks her daughter if she is determined to abort the marriage, and disappoint the bridegroom who is soon to arrive. She reminds her daughter about the affection she had showered on her in bringing her up. She draws her daughter’s attention to the beautiful jewelry she was wearing for the occasion. She can’t even think of that, seems she is standing for the mother’s will as she is very young. Her mind is still kiddy, she prefers to stay unmarried. To her age, her present free life is far more enjoyable than a dull married life.

Stanza 2

Mother mine, to the wild forest I am going,
Whereupon the Champa boughs the Champa buds are blowing;
To the köil-haunted river-isles where lotus lilies glisten,
The voices of the fairy folk are calling me: O listen!

The daughter replies that the woods beckon her. She wants to the forest where Champa trees are laden with Champa buds and beautiful flowers. The river flowing by the village has tiny islands that are home to the Koil. The lotus and the lilies add to the charm of the surrounding. She is fascinated by nature. All these mean far more enjoyable to the girl than the pleasures of a married life. Thus she prefers pleasure from nature, then a dull married life.

Stanza 3

Honey, child, honey, child, the world is full of pleasure,
Of bridal-songs and cradle-songs and sandal-scented leisure.
Your bridal robes are in the loom, silver and saffron glowing,
Your bridal cakes are on the hearth: O whither are you going?

The mother finds her daughter’s thoughts to be silly and tries to get her attention. She reminds her about the pleasures of the world and wedded life. Bridal songs are beautiful. Motherhood and cradle songs will give much pleasure and fulfill the life. Mother also reminds her of the pleasure and bliss of marital leisure. She reminds her daughter that the sarees have been woven with meticulous care in silver and saffron color. Elaborate meals are being made ready. Saying all these, She tries to console her and tries to stop her back in the wedding happiness.

Stanza 4

The bridal-songs and cradle-songs have cadences of sorrow,
The laughter of the sun to-day, the wind of death to-morrow.
Far sweeter sound the forest-notes where forest-streams are falling;
O mother mine, I cannot stay, the fairy-folk are calling.

The girl’s happiness at the wedding celebration fades away. She says that the happiness of life is not permanent, they will come and fade, they come and go. She feels a life in the lap of Nature gives enduring happiness. She says that the charm of the woods never disappears, the charm of the streams, forest, the songs of the Koil are endless sources of pleasure, they never fade away. Explaining all these to her mother, the daughter concludes that she is leaving the home for the wilderness or pleasure of the forests.

Literary Devices

There are few literary devices used by Sarojini Naidu in the poem “The village song”. They are:-

1. Metaphor: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

” The bridal song ………. cadences of sorrow”
“whereupon the champs laughs…….are blowing”

2. Personification: the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

“The laughter of the sun……morrow”
“honey child, honey child…..world full of pleasures”

3. Alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Breezers blowing
golden grain
mother mine

4. Refrain: honey child

5. Climax:

Your bridal robes are in the loom, silver and saffron glowing,
Your bridal cakes are on the hearth: O whither are you going?

6. Anti-climax:

The bridal-songs and cradle-songs have cadences of sorrow,
The laughter of the sun to-day, the wind of death to-morrow.

Theme of the poem

The theme of the poem is the comparison between the world of human beings that abounds in material pleasure and the world of nature that is contrary to it.

The mother represents the material world. She recount’s some of the features of this human’s material world like jewellery, marriage bridal songs, cradle songs sandal scented leisure. It implies marriage, the birth of children, and a honeymoon. She draws her daughter’s attention to the beautiful jewelry she was wearing for the occasion. She reminds her about the pleasures of the world and wedded life. Motherhood and cradle songs will give much pleasure and fulfil life. Mother also reminds her of the pleasure and bliss of marital leisure. She reminds her daughter that the sarees have been woven with meticulous care in silver and saffron colors.

The daughter represents the world of nature. The blossoming of Champa, the islands in the river resounding with cuckoo’s cooing, the gurgling of streams attracts her. She knows that all those marriage laughter and fun and all the songs will end in sorrow. She feels life in the lap of Nature gives enduring happiness. She says that the charm of the woods never disappears, the charm of the streams, forest, the songs of the Koil are endless sources of pleasure, they never fade away. She ends with a decision to leave the house and go to have natural pleasures.

Questions And Answers

What is the central idea of the poem the village song?

The theme of the poem is a comparison between the world of Human beings that abounds in material pleasures and the world of Nature that is contrary to it. The Mother represents the material world.

What is the name of the river mentioned in the poem village song?

The river Jamuna flows near the girl’s village and she goes to the side of the river to fill her pitchers with water. The boatmen’s song, that allures the girl, is an example of a folk song.

What does Sarojini Naidu depict in the poem village song?

Sarojini Naidu represents the form and spirit of Indian folklore in an artistic way. Explanation: The poetess in the poem “Village Song” shows the life of villagers. She explains that even in this century many women of villages have to go far away to fetch water for their homes.

What do the birds in the poem village song Symbolise?

The birds referred to in the poem like white cranes, owls, and the blackbirds symbolise the eerie setting in the evening. … All the birds mentioned in the poem symbolise the fear and anxiety of the Village girl.

What will be the mother reaction in the poem village song?

The mother will be very worried about the girl thinking her daughter is in danger as she has not returned home even after it is dark. She will wait and weep for her. She will pray to God for her safety as the Jamuna River is deep.

Questions And Answers Of The Poem Television By Roald Dahl ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature

You are going to go through Questions And Answers Of The Poem Television By Roald Dahl ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature. Understanding a text meticulously in its entirety is very important for a learner for scoring better in the ICSE Class 9 English exam. Experts made ample to ensure a thorough critical and line-by-line analysis. Let us find Questions And Answers Of The Poem Television By Roald Dahl ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature.

1. What does the poet want to convince the readers through this poem?

Roald Dahl, the renowned American Poet Novelist, in his poem Television mocks at the ridiculous habit of parents in letting their children spend their time in front of the Television. The poet begins the poem as a warning.No Parents should ever let their children watch the idiotic thing. They grew addicted to it in no time. They eventually lose interest in everything else other than television. The poet wants the parents to realize their folly of allowing their children to sit glued onto the t.v set. Instead, he wished them to be more careful in rearing them up. The children, at a very early age, get used to watching television incessantly and that leads them to an unavoidable dangerous situation. Children lose much of their creative thinking. They swallow junk shows that lie undigested. The pulp is received by them on a daily basis. They are at the verge of an imagination wreck. Books and reading become secondary. Neither could they sustain interest in pursuing anything written. The wild imagination of a child thus becomes a clay pool. Besides all this, watching television has health hazards as well. So Roald Dahl, advises everyone not to install this idiotic thing.

2. ”In almost every house we have been
we have watched them gaping at the screen
They loll and slop1 and lounge about
And stare until their eyes pop out”

Explain the above lines.

The above lines are from the popular poem Television by the renowned poet and novelist Roald Dahl. The poet seems very much concerned
about the young kids who were exposed to television at a very young age. He raises a pointed finger on those parents who let their children watch television for hours so that they won’t bother them any longer. Unaware of the danger behind such an unmindful action, these parents lead a comfortable and seemingly peaceful life at home. They could do their works as the kids would sit silently for hours. Through this poem, the poet mocks the parents and warns them as well. Kids are completely lost in the television and they walk and eat and do every other activity sitting glued onto the television. They would go on watching until their eyes pop out. Children prefer watching television as they have nothing to endeavour themselves. Everything is presented to them in visuals. Their brain eventually stops functioning. They feel no appetite for reading or deciphering. Their creative skills die within. They become good for nothing fellows who could not think for themselves. The poem is an eye-opener for the parents who think that they make their children happy by letting them watch television. They think of it as one of their parental obligations. Those who are busy with themselves find it difficult to give time to their kids find comfort in thinking that they keep their kids engaged and happy by television. They never realize that they are doing irreparable harm to their beloved kids.

3.” Last week in someone’s
place we saw a dozen eyeballs on the floor” Explain

The poet wants the readers to go deep into the gravity of the situation. It is not a figment of his imagination. The poet says that the harms a television may inject in a child are innumerable. At his tender age, he should be told stories to ignite his imagination, he should be given books to read so that he could predict a possible ending of his own. Sitting in front of the television chops up all such possibilities. He thinks mashed up. He reacts seldom. He is more of a sick body than an active child. His childhood no longer lingers in his mind when he grows up. He would not be able to b solve the puzzles of real life. He would thus become a great failure in life as well. The poet wanted to make fun of the situation and warn the parents that they are really spoiling their own kids’ lives. The figure of speech used is hyperbole. It’s a kind of an exaggeration that states the seriousness of the situation. A dozen eyeballs refer to a group of children sitting in front of the television, unmindful of the world outside.

4. How are the parents being benefited by the television?

The poet Roald Dahl, warns the parents about the destruction they cause on their kids. The parents who let their children watch television for hours on end, benefit from it too. They don’t have to get involved with their childish antics. Neither are they worried about their neighbors complaints of breaking window glasses or they would not have to scold the kids for fighting and kicking eachother.No naughty kid would climb on a window and wreck your nerves. Parents would get immense time for themselves. They could peacefully engage in their works. None of them would be interrupted from the flow of their world by the incessant queries of the kids. The parents are at ease while the kids are engaged. They are silent almost all the time.

5. According to the poet what exactly does television do to a younger kid?

The poet Roald Dahl, in his poem titled as television talks about the ghastly threats a kid is exposed to if he is allowed to watch it for long.The kids who watch television slowly become addicted to it. They become senseless as they lose their reasoning power. Everything is presented to them as visuals in quick succession. So they stop thinking for themselves. The inquisitive nature of a kid dies with himself. Their brains rot because of zero use. The imagination that lives vividly in the mind of a kid dies for good. It is junk in their mind. It clogs their thoughts and clutters their mind. Minds, if not cleaned remain as a sick unit and cause psychological ailments. The children always remain dull and blind. They see nothing outside. The children fail to understand the difference in a fantasy and a fairyland. Their brain reduces itself to a mashed cheese. They could no longer think. They only see. The power of discretion dies. The child gets reduced to a live statue without any emotions and feelings. He is in a different world of his own where the serial characters fight and destroy for no sane reasons.

6. What could be the possible reactions the poet anticipates from the parents?

The poet anticipates that the parents may shout that they were right in allowing their kids in watching TV since it gives them happiness. What else should they give their beloved children to get them engaged. How will we keep the children amused if they weren’t allowed television? They would ask the poet for more suggestions as to how to make their kids most delighted. The parents would never admit their folly. The parents would make faces reacting to this warning. They would finalize that they were right. The air of knowing everything make them sound harsh.

7. What answer does the poet have in-store as a reply for them?

The poet points out that before television was invented people did live a contented life. They too had their leisure times. They gave birth to kids as well. Their kids grew too. But how did they manage to spend their time or how did they live at that time or how did their kids get entertained? There is a solid answer for all these queries. They had books. They read and read and read. Books were everywhere. They ate and drank reading books. They woke up with books and books were even beside their pillows while they sleep. They never felt bored. They never lose their connection with books. More books waited for them to be read. They lost themselves in the labyrinth of mysteries and fairytales and adventures. They lived with those characters. The younger ones grew with many spirits. They were never fed up with reading and growing with such tales. Books met their needs.

8. What request does the poet make to the parents?

The poet Roald Dahl, in his poem television talks about the harmful effects of keeping television installed in houses. He says that television is detrimental to the mental and physical growth of kids. He says that there was a time when television was not in vogue and people lived a fruitful life. Kids were imaginative and more creative. They could face life more easily. They have fought and won many battles and have been to places exotic through books. All their needs were met by books and they had a healthy attitude towards life as well. Hence the poet advises parents not to install the television at all. If, installed undo the television as early as possible and instead of it keep bookshelves everywhere with beautiful books. The kids would gradually turn to books one day. Having Nothing to do would make them turn the pages and once their reading is ignited no one can stop them from reading. Maybe, for the time being, they may feel angry for breaking their comfort zones. But when they grow up, definitely they will be truly thankful for the most valuable gift that you have endowed upon them. They will love you more for what you did for them. They will realize how foul and unclean and junk were the things that they have been watching on that idiotic box.

9. Explain ”Great Scots and Gadzooks”

It is an expression used by the poet to show his annoyance at the parents who pretend that they did a wonderful thing in letting the kids watch television

10. How would the children react if the television is uninstalled?

The children may grow tempered. They may shout and yell at the parents for not letting them do something which they are used to do. They would kick and bite you to show their extreme displeasure and uncomfortableness. They would constantly fight and nag with parents for getting back their television. They would feel completely deprived of all their rights and would go on resisting until their wish is granted. But still, the poet tells that kids would soon turn to books having nothing else to do.

11. Figures Of Speech Used In The Poem

Apart from a load of visual images, the poet has used a number of poetic techniques to make his poem more alluring. They are similes, alliteration, and hyperbole. Similes are comparisons that use as or like for example.

His brain becomes as soft as cheese.
“And pirates wearing purple pants”

is an example of alliteration. The consonant”p” recurs throughout the line.
And in its place, you can install. is an example of assonance where a nearby vowel repeats. For example: “i” repeats in, ”in” and ”its”and finally in ”Install”

Synecdoche is a figure of speech used to refer apart by the whole or vice versa
.Ex.. Pair of eyeballs for referring children.

Personification. The poet has attributed human
qualities to the television.

Ex..It kills the imagination dead. Television is supposed to be imagined as someone with hands and legs to perform an action.

Questions And Answers

What did Roald Dahl say about television?

Dahl now opines that by watching television, the brain becomes soft like cheese. Children now believe everything they watch or hear on TV. They cannot find their own logic to analyse and interpret a thing. The power of thinking, the thought process freezes and gets rusty.

What is the theme of the poem television?

The theme of television poem, poem has give the positive message of child and it is one that encourages children to road. Reading is something that helps children concrete without necessarily breaking the mind in a way. It is the allow children use their imagination and have just as much fun.

What is the summary of the poem television?

The poet talks about the importance of books in the lives of the children and most importantly, how this passion for books has been substituted with the addiction for television. The poet makes the television set like an evil which hinders the growth of brains for the children and hampers their creativity.

What are the ill effects of television in the poem television?

According to the poet, watching television regularly damages the sense in the head. Children are drawn away from the reality, the real world around him. He just believes what he watches, without considering the context.

What type of poem is television?

Polysyndeton: Close repetition of conjunctions. In the poem ‘Television’, polysyndeton is used every here and there. “They loll and slop and lounge about” / “They sit and stare and stare and sit” / “And treasure isles, and distant shores” / “And sailing ships and elephants” etc

What is the conclusion of the poem television?

In conclusion, the poem “television” the poet makes the television set like an evil which hinders the growth of brains for the children and the hampers their creativity.

What is the poet attitude towards television?

As revealed in the poem, the poet is disgusted with television as it captures the attention of little children for long hours and makes their brains dull. He sees television in sharp contrast with books which he feels are the only things that can give children the imaginative faculty and pure joy.

How far do you agree with Roald Dahl’s poem television?

I completely agree with the poet on his views expressed in this poem. I also believe that the television is an ‘idiot box’ that needs to be urgently sabotaged for the children who spend too much time gazing at the television screen. The poem is a humorous one which warns us about a serious danger.

How is the poem television a satire?

It is a stinging satire on Television. In this poem Roald Dahl expresses concern over what the modern invention the television set has done to children. He points out that watching TV has become a craze in modem time.

What message is the poet trying to convey through television?

In the poem, the poet is trying to show the parents how unhealthy a television is in our children’s lives and is asking us to uninstall the television set. In place of it, the poet has asked us to install a book shelf with books in it, for the children.

Line By Line Analysis Of Feelings By C J Heck ICSE Class 8 English

English is a difficult subject for many people to learn. Some students may become frustrated and give up, but here’s Line By Line Analysis Of Feelings By C J Heck ICSE Class 8 English to help you maintain your momentum! This Line By Line Analysis Of Feelings By C J Heck will provide all necessary information needed in order to study ICSE Class 8 English successfully at home or school; it includes detailed grammar rules with examples that were used during today’s class discussion on the ICSE Board English Exam.

The Line By Line Analysis Of Feelings in English, ICSE Board Class 8 makes it easier to understand the story. Understanding every detail of a story is important for scoring higher on an exam and expert writers have made sure that you know how everything flows together by summarizing perfectly!

About the Poet

C. J. Heck is an illustrator, author and poet. Her book “Barking Spiders” is a best-selling book of poems written for children ‘who love to listen with their hearts’. She belongs to Florida.

About the Feelings By C. J. Heck

This poem is about a child asking his mother as to why he is being picked upon by other kids of his age and why they say things to hurt me. The kid is curious to know as to why there is so much anger and why others behave the way they do and end up hurting people.

Structure of the Feelings By C. J. Heck

“Mom, why would kids say stuff to hurt me,
most especially, when they’re not true ?
Don’t they even care about feelings?
Can’t they think first, before they hurt you?

She said those that do that are unhappy,
they’re very angry deep down inside,
but they just don’t know how to fix that,
so they pick on kids smaller in size.

Mom said life is too short to stay angry.
If you let it, angry gets bigger each day!
But happy grows faster than angry can,
so be happy, it’s better that way!

Mom said just stand up for my feelings,
but do it nice, and don’t get all mad.
I try, but it sure isn’t easy,
being nice when they’ve made me so sad.”

The rhyming pattern is abcb defe ghih jklk.

Line by line analysis of the Feelings By C. J. Heck

Lines 1- 4

“Mom, why would kids say stuff to hurt me,
most especially, when they’re not true ?
Don’t they even care about feelings?
Can’t they think first, before they hurt you?”

The kid is the speaker in the first stanza. He is asking his mother as to why other kids of his age say things to hurt him. He is shocked when he feels that they do not even care about others’ feelings. The kid asks if it is that difficult to think before acting.

Lines 5- 8

“She said those that do that are unhappy,
they’re very angry deep down inside,
but they just don’t know how to fix that,
so they pick on kids smaller in size.”

The mother is the speaker in this stanza. In this stanza, she is making the kid understand the main reason as to why bullies pick on other weaker and smaller individuals. As per her, the bullies are filled with anger and unhappiness inside. They just don’t know how to deal with all the negative feelings; thus, they bully others.

Lines 9- 12

“Mom said life is too short to stay angry.
If you let it, angry gets bigger each day!
But happy grows faster than angry can,
so be happy, it’s better that way!”

In the third stanza, the child is saying whatever the mother has told him earlier. The mother had said that life is too short to be angry and it is worst to pile up anger and unhappiness within oneself. Happiness, as per her, grows faster and easier than anger. Thus, one should always be happy. Life seems better that way.

Lines 13- 16

“Mom said just stand up for my feelings,
but do it nice, and don’t get all mad.
I try, but it sure isn’t easy,
being nice when they’ve made me so sad.”

In the last stanza, the mother is advising the child to always stand for his own feelings. She has also mentioned that one should not get mad while doing that and do it in a positive way. According to the kid, it is not always easy to be happy and be nice to everybody, that too knowing that the same people would say hurtful words.

Figures of speech used in Feelings By C. J. Heck

1. Alliteration:

This is a figure of speech where closely associated words or corresponding words begin with the same alphabet in a sentence.

“Mom, why would kids say stuff to hurt me”

“She said those that do that are unhappy”

2. Hyperbole:

This is a figure of speech where exaggeration is used. It is mainly used in order to overstate a situation.

“but do it nice, and don’t get all mad.”

Here getting all mad does not mean literally going insane. It instead means being angry.

Important Word Meanings:

1. Pick on: To corner someone deliberately to irritate them (unpleasant treatment).

2. Stand up: To defend or speak up in favour of something.

The theme of the Feelings By C. J. Heck

The central theme of the poem surrounds around the child’s question to his mother as to why others hurt him and pick on him deliberately. He is curious to know why people do not think before they speak. In the last two stanzas, the mother advises him with why people bully and how to handle them calmly without getting mad.

Questions And Answers

What is a feeling summary?

The poet is asking questions to his mom that why kids say stuff to the poet don’t the kids understand that anyone feelings could get hurt. The poet gets hurt because the stuff the older kids say to him were not true.

Line By Line Analysis Of A Lament By Oscar Wilde – English Literature

You are going to go through Line By Line Analysis Of A Lament By Oscar Wilde – English Literature. Understanding a text meticulously in its entirety is very important for a learner for scoring better in the English literature exam. Experts made ample to ensure a thorough critical and line-by-line analysis. Let us find Line By Line Analysis Of A Lament By Oscar Wilde – English Literature.

About the Poet

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on 16th October 1854 in Dublin, Ireland. He was born to Lady Jane Wilde and William Wilde, an Anglo- Irish couple. He was a poet and a playwright. Wilde got baptised in an Anglican church. He is known for his poems and epigrams. Wilde could fluently speak German and French. He studied in Trinity College, Dublin and then in Oxford. Wilde was an excellent student.

After university, he lectured on “English Renaissance in Art” and interior decoration as well. his most famous creation is the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” published in 1891 in a book form. Oscar Wilde was deeply influenced by Catholicism.

Wilde had also worked as a journalist and had a theatrical career as well. He got married to Constance Lloyd in 1884.

He was an important part of the Aesthetic movement and the Decadent movement. Some of his most significant creations are “A House of Pomegranates” (1891), “Poems” (1881), “Ravenna” (1878), “The Sphinx” (1894), “A Woman of No Importance” (1893), “Intentions” (1891), “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” (1898), “An Ideal Husband” (1895), “De Profundis” (1897), “The Importance of Being Earnest” (1895), “The Happy Prince and other stories” (1888) and a lot more.

Wilde passed away at the age of 46 in Paris on November 30, 1900.

About the Poem

The poem ‘A Lament’ is a creation of Wilde, where he has expressed his sorrow and grief for the section of society that works extremely hard day and night just to fulfil their basic needs. Simultaneously, he had also mentioned the other strata which is packed with gold and richness and wealth. This stratum cares about nothing since they live in comfort and luxury and lacks nothing. The poet says that his heart feels for the people who work so hard in so much pain and difficulties and want to build a ladder to reach God. This poem mainly highlights the hardships faced by the common man in their daily lives.

Structure of the Poem

“O well for him who lives at ease
With garnered gold in wide domain,
Nor heeds the splashing of the rain,
The crashing down of forest trees. 

O well for him who ne’er hath known
The travail of the hungry years,
A father grey with grief and tears,
A mother weeping all alone. 

But well for him whose feet hath trod
The weary road of toil and strife,
Yet from the sorrows of his life
Builds ladders to be nearer God.”

“A Lament” is a 12-line poem with the rhyming scheme abba cddc effe. The poem depicts the sorrow and hardships of ordinary people.

Line by Line Analysis of the Poem

Lines 1-4

“O well for him who lives at ease
With garnered gold in wide domain,
Nor heeds the splashing of the rain,
The crashing down of forest trees. –“

In the above lines, the poet is referring to the upper and wealthy class of society. This class is filled with gold. The people here do not care about the rains and the crashing down of forest trees, unlike the poorer section; that gets most affected during a heavy downpour or when trees fall down.

Lines 5-8

“O well for him who ne’er hath known
The travail of the hungry years,
A father grey with grief and tears,
A mother weeping all alone. –.”

The rich do not know what hunger is, since they have never faced the pain of hunger and starvation. The seventh and eighth lines shift focus from the rich to the poorer section who earn their living after doing major hardships. The lines talk about the father who is filled with sorrow and grief and is in tears since he probably was unable to feed his family or probably just because of all the extreme hardships that he and his family had to go through. The eighth line refers to the mother who is crying for the same reason. The overall reason behind this grief is poverty.

Lines 9-12

“But well for him whose feet hath trod
The weary road of toil and strife,
Yet from the sorrows of his life
Builds ladders to be nearer God.”

The poet’s heart reached out for those who earn a living through extremely hard work. The ordinary people walk on their feet on the path of tiredness, conflicts and hard work. The journey is weary enough to make them give up, but they still dream of building ladders from their grief and sorrows to reach God. This shows that they survive on hope, that someday things will be better and the conditions would improve.

Figures of Speech Used in the Poem

1. Consonance
Consonance is a figure of speech in which similar consonants are used in neighbouring words with different vowel sounds.
“A father grey with grief and tears,”
“With garnered gold in wide domain”

2. Alliteration
This is a figure of speech where closely associated words or corresponding words begin with the same alphabet in a sentence.
“With garnered gold in wide domain”
“A father grey with grief and tears,”

3. Transferred Epithet
In this poetic device, human emotion is associated with a non-living object after getting displaced from the person.
“The travail of the hungry years,”
The years are not actually hungry. The poor people are hungry and they live in hunger for years.

“The weary road of toil and strife,”
The life and journey of the poor section is weary and tired. The road, by itself, is not weary.

4. Anaphora
It is a figure of speech, where various sentences or verses begin with the same word.
“A father grey with grief and tears,
A mother weeping all alone. –”

Important Word Meanings

1. Ease: Comfort.
2. Garnered: Stored
3. Heeds: Pays attention.
4. Hath: Have (archaic form)
5. Travail: Painful effort.
6. Trod: Walked on.
7. Toil: Working hard.
8. Strife: Conflict.

The Theme Of The Poem

The poem shows the economic difference prevalent in society. The mood of the poem can be considered to be grief. The central theme of the poem revolves around how one section of the society is packed with gold and wealth, and the other section does not even get proper food to eat or a place to sleep. There is a lack of uniformity in the distribution of wealth.

Questions And Answers

What is the theme of the poem Lament?

The theme of “Lament” is that grief can be experienced in a frozen way and buried under trivia and cliches, such as that “life goes on” after a person dies. The speaker has apparently just lost her husband.

What is Oscar Wilde’s poetry mainly about?

Through his lectures, as well as his early poetry, Wilde established himself as a leading proponent of the aesthetic movement, a theory of art and literature that emphasized the pursuit of beauty for its own sake, rather than to promote any political or social viewpoint.

What is the poem a lament about?

In the poem, ‘A Lament’, the poet is shown grieving over the past glory. In the entire poem, there is no mention of anybody, but the past glory that has in today’s world lost its charm. Lamenting over the lost glory, the poet says that gone are the days when Nature used to delight him with its varied seasons.

What type of poem is lament?

Lament, a non-narrative poem expressing deep grief or sorrow over a personal loss. The form developed as part of the oral tradition along with heroic poetry and exists in most languages.

Textbook Questions And Answers Of Lochinvar By Sir Walter Scott Karnataka Board Class 10

You are going to go through Textbook Questions And Answers Of Lochinvar By Sir Walter Scott Class 10. Understanding a poem meticulously in its entirety is very important for a learner for scoring better in the Karnataka board class 10 exam. Efforts have been made to ensure a thorough and proper Textbook Questions And Answers Of Lochinvar By Sir Walter Scott Class 10.

Textbook Questions Of Lochinvar

Comprehension Questions

Answer briefly the following questions.

1. Who was Lochinvar? Why did he ride to Netherby Hall?
=Lochinvar was a courageous youthful knight who was in love with Ellen.

Ellen was getting married to someone else at Netherby Lobby. Lochinvar went to the hall to guarantee her as his own.

2. What qualities of Lochinvar are highlighted in the first stanza?
=Lochinvar was certain as can be perceived by the way that he came alone and with no weapons other than his broadsword. He was dedicated in adoration and so he went, even ultimately, to guarantee his beloved.

3. Lochinvar rode the horse passionately to meet Ellen. What actions in lines 7 and 8 reveal his hurried movements?
=The lines, “He stayed not for brake, and he stopped not for stone. He swam the Esk river where ford there was none” reveals his hurried movements.

4. What qualities of the bridegroom are listed in stanza 2?
=The bridegroom was a ‘laggard in love’, so timid that he couldn’t even express his love to Ellen, and was a ‘bastard in war’, i.e., cowardly and hardly any competition to brave Lochinvar.

5. What evidence is there in stanza 3 to show that the bridegroom was a coward?
=The bride was a coward person. Just because he couldn’t say a single word to Lochinvar, his father spoke to Lochinvar with his hand on his sword.

6. How did the bride’s father receive Lochinvar? And what did he ask him?
=The bride’s father, with his hand on his sword wanted to know whether Lochinvar had come in peace or war to the hall, or to dance at the bridal.

7. What answer did Lochinvar give the bride’s father?
=Lochinvar answered that he had charmed Ellen for quite a while, and when he had approached Ellen’s dad for authorization to wed her, he had been denied consent. All things considered, for his old love for her; Lochinvar had come to move the last hit the dance floor with her and drink only one cup of wine with her.

8. What quality of love is highlighted by Lochinvar when he says,
a.“Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide?”
=Lochinvar wants to say that he had once adored Ellen, however, after being denied consent to wed her, had quit cherishing her.

b. Does this truly reflect Lochinvar’s love for Ellen?
=No, this does not truly reflect Lochinvar’s love for Ellen.

c. If not, why does Lochinvar tell him what is not true?
=The bride’s father is encircled by his brother’s, family, and numerous others. Thus Lochinvar doesn’t have any desire to uncover his adoration and his expectation of the double. He comprehends he will. be assaulted and murdered. He needs to pick up time till he has the young lady’ close to himself and can give her his sign to getaway.

9. What other lies does Lochinvar tell Ellen’s father?
=Lochinvar tells that his lone reason for coming there was to drink one cup of wine, and dance one hit the dance floor with her, for their old love together. He additionally says that there are numerous other, ladies in Scotland who are lovelier than Ellen and would happily be his better half.

10. How did Ellen express her love for Lochinvar?
=Ellen kissed the cup of wine which Lochinvar took up. After he had tanked the wine and tossed down the cup, she peered down to become flushed and admired sight happily all the rage, and a tear in her eye.

11. What was the impression of the bride-maidens about the pair- Lochinvar, and Ellen?

=Seeing Lochinvar and Ellen dance together nimbly, the lady ladies murmured that it would have been gigantically better if their reasonable cousin had-been coordinated with youthful Lochinvar

12. What mixed feelings are brought out in stanza 5?
=Ellen is glad to see Lochinvar and is happy that he hasn’t failed to remember her,’ but at the same time is pitiful that she needs to numerous someone else.

13. What clues of his plan does Lochinvar give Ellen?
=As they moved and drew close to the entryway, Lochinvar contacted Ellen’s hand and murmured a single word in her ear, flagging her to be prepared to getaway.

14. What brings a smile to Ellen’s face?
=Seeing Lochinvar about whom she had given up all hopes, brings a smile to Ellen’s face.

15. Pick out all the adjectives that describe Lochinvar.
=The adjectives that describe Lochinvar are:

1. young
2. unmarried
3. faithful in love
4. daring in love
5. dauntless in war
6. stately form
7. brave
8. gallant

Close Study

Read the following extracts carefully. Discuss in pairs and then answer the questions given below them.

1. Love swells like the Solway but ebbs like its tide.
a. What is Solway?
=Solway is a river that separates England from Scotland.

b. Who does Lochinvar speak this line too?
=Lochinvar speaks these lines to Ellen’s father.

c. What is the figure of speech used here.
=Personification.

d. Explain the figure of speech.
=Lochinvar’s love for Ellen had been great like the swelling waters of the river Solway, but after getting to “know about her marriage to another person, it had completely died out.

2. Then spoke the bride’s father, his hand on his sword (For the poor craven bridegroom, said never a word).
a. What did the bride’s father speak?
=The lady’s dad had denied consent to Lochinvar to wed Ellen. Consequently, when he saw him at the marriage corridor, he requested to know why he had come. Also, the spouse was a bashful man who didn’t try to address Lochinvar.

b. Why did he keep his hand on his sword?
=He keeps his hand on his sword with the thought that if Lochinvar had said that he had come to take away the bride, the bride’s father wanted to kill him.

c. Why didn’t the bridegroom say even a word?
=He was a coward, he was too afraid to speak to Lochinvar.

Paragraphing Writing

Discuss in pairs/groups of four each the answers to the following questions. Note down the important points for each question and then develop the points into one-paragraph answers.

1. Pick out all the details from the poem which help Lochinvar to hide his real intentions.
=Lochinvar was faced by Ellen’s dad. He asked him regarding what had carried him to Netherby Lobby. Lochinvar answered that the facts previously demonstrated that he had charmed his little girl for long. However, his proposition of marriage had been turned somewhere near him.

He revealed to him that his affection which had swollen like the waters of the Solway had now subsided, that he was not, at this point in adoration with Ellen.

His expectation in visiting the Netherby Corridor was uniquely to move at her wedding and drink a cup of wine to toast to her bliss. He consoled the dad that there were ladies more wonderful than Ellen in Scotland who might readily be his significant other.

2. How did Lochinvar finally win Ellen for himself?
=Lochinvar told Ellen’s dad to understand that he had gone to the wedding in harmony. Before he could be halted he took Ellen by her hand and started to move. He blamed this to peruse her near the entryway where his warhorse was pausing.

Once at the entryway, he murmured something into her ear and afterwards took off with Ellen at such speed that the allies of the Netherby group couldn’t find them. Lochinvar at last figured out how to win Ellen as his lady of the hour.

3. “Only the brave deserve the fair.” Justify the statement with reference to the poem.
=The fearful bridegroom didn’t merit Ellen any lady of the hour as his friend. The sonnet delineates the point briefly. Lochinvar having been infatuated with Ellen wished to numerous her. In any case, her dad didn’t endorse his proposal of marriage.

A weakling was picked to be her man of the hour. Be that as it may, being daring Lochinvar brought the issue into his hands. Then he went to Ellen’s wedding like any serene visitor.

And he deceived the dad to accept that he. had come to wish Ellen well. He decided to move however one hit the dance floor with her. Being both bold and cunning he drove her towards the entryway and took off on his pony holding up there.

The Netherby family was always unable to discover the couple. Consequently, daring are remunerated for their mental fortitude and the weaklings lose what they have.

Questions And Answers

What is the poem Lochinvar about?

It features a brave young knight Lochinvar who risks his life for his love. The poem narrates how Lochinvar successfully abducts his beloved Ellen. Sir Walter Scott, one of the greatest writers to have emerged from Scotland, is the author of this poem.

What is the form of the poem Lochinvar?

Lochinvar is a ballad about romance and courage penned by Sir Walter Scott.

What do we learn about Lochinvar from the poem Lochinvar?

Lochinvar was confident as can be understood by the fact that he came alone and without any weapons other than his broadsword. He was faithful in love and hence came, even at the last minute, to claim his beloved. Lochinvar rode the horse passionately to meet Ellen.

What are the qualities of Lochinvar?

1. Confident as he is carrying only one sword without a shield or any other weapon and also didnt take his army for help which is signifying that he is confident enough on his skills of sword fighting. 3. Valiant: He is so valiant that no obstacle or hardship could save him from reaching the desired goal.

Why was Lochinvar at Netherby Hall?

Lochinvar was going to the Netherby hall in marriage ceremony of fair Ellen. Lochinvar loves Ellen but Ellen’s father has forced Ellen to marry somebody else . Ellen ,that day is getting married at the Netherby Hall . So ,Lochinvar is in a hurry to reach there.

How does Lochinvar persuade Ellen’s father that he is not going to cause trouble?

Ellen’s father didn’t suspect Lochinvar’s intentions because he convinced him by saying that his love for Ellen had, now ebbed like a tide, after he denied his suit. He further said that he had come there only to drink a cup of wine and to dance with his daughter before her marriage.

How did Lochinvar win his bride?

He used this as an excuse to iead her close to the door where his war horse was waiting. Once at the door he whispered something into her ear and then took off with Ellen at such speed that the supporters of the Netherby clan couldn’t catch up with them. Lochinvar finally managed to win Ellen as his bride

Did Lochinvar mean what he said justify?

No, Lochinvar did no mean what he said because he still loved Ellen and he had come to take her away along with him.

How did Ellen’s father receive Lochinvar?

During the marriage ceremony at Netherby Hall, Lochinvar went to see the bride. The bride’s father angrily stopped Lochinvar but he told him that he came there peacefully and to just dance with her and enjoy the party.

What lies does Lochinvar tell Ellen’s father?

The lie that Lochinvar told to Ellen’s Father that allowed him to dance with Ellen is : Lochinvar claims to no longer to love Ellen. Hope it helps!! Feel free to ask for more if you have clarifications!

What is the goal of Lochinvar?

Lochinvar was on quest to regain his beloved, who was about to get married to someone else. He got to the wedding uninvited and asked the bride to dance with him. While they danced together he swooped the bride and eloped with her.

How is Lochinvar a ballad?

Lochinvar is a ballad about romance and courage penned by Sir Walter Scott. The poem ‘Lochinvar’ is set in this Age of Chivalry. It features a brave young knight Lochinvar who risks his life for his love. The poem narrates how Lochinvar successfully abducts his beloved Ellen.

What was Lochinvar carrying with him?

Lochinvar carried with him while riding to Netherby his broad sword. … – He rides on his fine and best horse, armed only with his broad sword and did not carry any other weapon.

Do you think that Ellen really loved Lochinvar?

Ellen is clearly smitten with Lochinvar. And who can blame her? He seems so much more handsome, more dashing than her hapless bridegroom, standing there in silent embarrassment while the gallant knight brazenly pays court to his intended.

How did Helen express her love for Lochinvar?

Ellen kissed the goblet of wine that Lochinvar took up. After he had drunk the wine and thrown down the cup, she looked down to blush and looked up to sight with a smile on her lips, and a tear in her eye.

Critical Analysis of Birches by Robert Frost ISC Class 11, 12

You are going to go through Critical Analysis of Birches by Robert Frost ISC Class 11, 12. Understanding a text meticulously in its entirety is very important for a learner for scoring better in the ISC class 11 English exam. Experts made ample to ensure a thorough critical and line-by-line analysis. Let us find Critical Analysis of Birches by Robert Frost ISC Class 11, 12.

About The Poet

Robert Lee Frost, widely known as Robert Frost was one of the most notable American poets born on 26 March 1874 in San Francisco, California, USA. He is popular for his vivid portrayal of rural life of New England, American colloquial language, and the realistic portrayal of everyday situations of common people.

Born to William Prescott Frost, Jr., an ambitious journalist and mother Isabelle Moodie Frost, his life was never devoid of ups and downs. He moved from job to job, from working in mills to newspaper reporting then to teaching. He also turned farming at hand. He grad ted from high school in 1892 and got enrolled at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, 1892. He later went to Harvard University in Boston but moved out after 2 years– never earning a formal college degree In spite of all these hardships, Robert’s deep interest in poetry bore fruitful results in the year 1894 by the publication of his first poem My Butterfly: An Elegy in The Independent, a weekly journal. He then moved with his wife, Elinor White, with whom he had shared his valedictorian honours to England in 1912. There he met Ezra Pound, who helped him considerably to promote and publish his work. Then came his two most promising works– A Boy’s Will (1913) and North Boston(1914) which established his reputation. His other notable works include The Road Not Taken, The Death of the Hired Man, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Mending Wall, New Hampshire and others.

Robert have been lauded with several accolades ranging from Bollingen Prize (1962) to 4 Pulitzer Prize. Also, he was the first of only five poets to get the opportunity to recite a poem at a U.S presidential inauguration. The American Senate has also passed a resolution in remembrance of the great soul on his 75th birthday.

Robert Frost left for heavenly adobe at the age of 88 on 29 January, 1963 at Boston, Massachusetts and has left behind a great legacy to be remembered.

About The Poem

Birches by Robert Frost is a beautiful poem celebrating youth, nostalgia, spirituality, escapism and transcendental state. C.D Lewis feels that one should begin one’s study of Frost with this poem. Some others have criticized the poem on the basis of the poet’s philosophical stance as it’s a serious weakness. However, this poem is far above the fond ramblings of a nature lover. Through the poem, the poet has attempted to achieve a balance between the two different worlds. Using Birches as an extended metaphor poem aims one to achieve their own harmony.

Originally titled as ‘ Swinging on Birches’– one of Frost’s early publication in 1916 right in the backdrop of World War I. It attempts to comfort us in troubled times, telling us to embrace the subtle pleasures of life and find solace. It reflects a theme if escapism to transcendence.

The first person conversation style, dramatic monologue – takes us into woods and close up to the heaven. The poem can be divided into four categories:

Beginning in the present – When I see (line 1)

· Moving on into the past- Often you must have seen ( line5)

· Re-entering the past- And so I dream ( line 42)

· End with possibility – I’d like to get away ( line 48)

The poem gives us a perfect example of Frost’ blank verse creation. It is one long journey of the speaker’s relation to truth- naturalistic, personal, philosophical. By opting the tree as a vehicle for potential transcendence, a means of temporary escapism, Frost taps into the mythological and biblical repositories in the poem.

Birches shows how the life of an ordinary modern man ( ‘a pathless wood’) is full of worries, anxieties, doubts and confusions:

“ A pathless wood

Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs

Broken across it, and one eye is weeping

From a twig’s having lashes acted it open.”

It is to shove the bitterness of this earthly life that the poet recommends going up in the higher world of imagination, even though momentarily.

Structure Of The Poem

When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.
But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay
As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust—
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.
But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows—
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father’s trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.
So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig’s having lashed across it open.
I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

The poem Birches is written in a blank verse consisting of 59 lines, a stichic – a poem with no stanza breaks. In spite of its no break structure, it can be divided into three parts:

1. Observations and wide portrayal of trees bent in ice- storms.

2. Nostalgia of old swinging techniques

3. The man’s dream of escaping versus his awareness of the claims of both “ earth” and “ heaven” hereby seeking temporary transcendence.

The poem follows iambic pentameter but not the usual da-DUM da-Dum da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM beat. It is unrhymed and a metrical feet that have two syllables, one unstressed followed by stressed. The line length is determined by the rhythm of movement. The rhythm is slow and steady when the poet indulges in moralising:

‘ It’s when I’m weary of considerations,

And life is too much like a pathless wood.’

Literary Devices In The Poem

There are several figures of speech in the poem Birches by Robert Frost. These includes:

1. Sibilance Hissing sounds that come from words with s, z, sh and zh.

Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystall shells (Line 11)

2. Onomatopoeia It is the figure of speech in which the sounds of the words convey the sense. Examples include:

· “…They click upon themselves”( line 8)· As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. (Line 10)

3. Simile– Examples in the poem are:-

· “trailing their leaves on the ground

Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair

Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.”

· “…life is too much like a pathless wood

Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs”

4. Personification

· “ trailing their leaves on the ground”

· “Half grant what I wish and snatch me away”

5. Contrast – There are a no. of contrasts in the poem:

· “Summer or winter, and could play alone”.

· “black branches up a snow-white trunk”

· “both going and coming back”

6. Metaphors

· Life is contrasted to a ‘pathless wood’ ( line 44)

· Confusions in life are likened to ‘ cobwebs’ ( line 45)

7. Symbols – Birches provide the most appropriate symbols in the poem. Their upward movement is symbolic of higher ideals and spiritual aspirations, while their downward movement is suggestive of coming back to the earth to do widely duties, or the world of reality, from which there is no escape. ‘Heaven’ symbolizes the world of fancy or some perfect world. ‘ swinging’ is symbolic of wavering between reality and imagination. “ pathless wood” symbolises directionless voyage of life.

8. Alliteration – The close repetition of the consonant sound is referred to as alliteration. Examples include:

· Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells.

· That would be good both going and coming back.

9. Imagery – There are various imageries in the poem.

· Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away

· ….trailing there leaves on the ground

· … one eye is weeping

Theme Of The Poem

Reality versus Fancy: There are various themes in the poem ranging from memories, nostalgia, nature. Here, we take up the prominent theme of truth and fancy which is evidenced throughout the poem.

Robert Frost is well known for his beautiful nature poems. The poem begins with the narrator thinking of bending the birch trees. The poetic imagination surpasses the thresholds of the material world. The fanciful explanation of his own to the bending but his is one such example. Gradually, he goes on to imagine a lot more things. In the later part of the poem, he raises a wish to escape from this world of chaos but quickly after the thought of escapism, he reconciles to the idea of reality and understands that there is no real escape from life and it’s responsibilities.

The real world might be a place of pain, but it is also the place for love. The imaginary world is innocent but it is solitary and loveless. The point that should we live in the world imagination or in the world of reality is the question emphasised of the poem.

The poet’s desire to go up with the branch of a Birches is symptomatic of our desire to escape from the world of harsh realities. But he does not want to remain in the world of fancy forever:

“ I would like to get away from the earth awhile\ And then come back to it and begin over… … … …. \ Earth’s the right place for love.”

Here, we are reminded of Keats’s similar desire in his ‘Ode to Nightingale’. Even when we ‘escape’ from our troubles we should keep in mind Keats’s message that ‘the poetry of earth is never dead.’

This is what Frost has tried to emphasize in his poem I.e. the dominant theme escapism, on the other hand, it’s subsequent step back to the worldly responsibilities and truth behind life’s existence.

“ That would be good both going and coming back.”

Questions And Answers

What is the meaning of Birches by Robert Frost?

The poem describes the simple act of swinging the birch trees , a common sport among children in rural New England where Frost spent his childhood. The swinging of birches is used as a distraction, a passtime to busy oneself in order to escape the realities and hardships of the adult world

What are birches how are they described in the poem?

The birches signify the speaker’s love of life, earth, and nature. The speaker describes the birches using imagery that is both beautiful and melancholy. He describes how the sun’s warmth melts hard shell of ice around the birch trees, so that the ice cracks and falls in a thousand crystals.

What are the birches in the poem birches?

Whenever the speaker sees stooped birch trees, which stand out against the surrounding upright trees, the speaker likes to imagine that they’re bent this way because a young boy has been holding onto their thin upper branches and then, with the flexible trees in hand, swinging to the ground.

What is the conclusion of the poem birches?

The poem’s concluding line, which at first seems to be a bit of folksy wisdom—“One could do worse than be a swinger of birches”—contains darker possibilities: one could certainly do worse by not making the attempt, that is, by not using one’s imagination, or one might actually escape.

What is the one thing that the act of swinging might symbolize?

For the speaker in “Birches,” swinging on birch trees symbolizes a temporary return to a youthful carefree state. The narrator is reminiscing about his past – when he was a young boy, without a care in the world, who would spend his days swinging on birches and enjoying his happy youthful life.

What is the birches a metaphor for?

The poem, Birches, uses the metaphor of a boy swinging on birches as a metaphor for youth and then corresponding old age. It is a comparison of the joyful abandon of youth with the struggles and burdens that adulthood brings with it.

How does Robert Frost use the central metaphor of birches in his poem birches?

It becomes clear soon that Frost uses birches as a central metaphor for the main theme of the poem. Going up in the air while birch-swinging is suggestive of escaping from harsh realities of the world into the world of fancy, human ideals and aspirations.

Why does Robert Frost capitalize the word truth in birches?

Frost capitalizes the word “Truth” because he is referring to truth as a living, breathing person, not just a concept.

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge Analysis Line By Line West Bengal Board Class 11 English

You are going to go through Composed Upon Westminster Bridge Analysis Line By Line West Bengal Board Class 11 English. Understanding a text meticulously in its entirety is very important for a learner for scoring better in the West Bengal Board class 11 English exam. Experts made ample to ensure a thorough critical and line-by-line analysis. Let us find Composed Upon Westminster Bridge Analysis Line By Line West Bengal Board Class 11 English.

About the poet

William Wordsworth was one of the finest English Romantic poets who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798). Born on April 7, 1770, Wordsworth’s magnum opus is generally considered to be The Prelude, a semiautobiographical poem of his early years that he revised and expanded the number of times. It was posthumously titled and published by his wife in the year of his death, before which it was generally known as “the poem to Coleridge”.

The second of five children born to John Wordsworth and Ann Cookson, William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 in what is now named Wordsworth House in Cockermouth, Cumberland, part of the scenic region in northwestern England known as the Lake District. William’s sister, the poet and diarist Dorothy Wordsworth, to whom he was close all his life, was born the following year, and the two were baptised together. They had three other siblings: Richard, the eldest, who became a lawyer; John, born after Dorothy, who went to sea and died in 1805 when the ship of which he was captain, the Earl of Abergavenny, was wrecked off the south coast of England; and Christopher, the youngest, who entered the Church and rose to be Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. After the death of Wordsworth’s mother, in 1778, his father sent him to Hawkshead Grammar School in Lancashire (now in Cumbria) and sent Dorothy to live with relatives in Yorkshire. She and William did not meet again for another nine years.

Wordsworth made his debut as a writer in 1787 when he published a sonnet in The European Magazine. That same year he began attending St John’s College, Cambridge. He received his BA degree in 1791. He returned to Hawkshead for the first two summers of his time at Cambridge, and often spent later holidays on walking tours, visiting places famous for the beauty of their landscape. In 1790 he went on a walking tour of Europe, during which he toured the Alps extensively, and visited nearby areas of France, Switzerland, and Italy.

In November 1791, Wordsworth visited Revolutionary France and became enchanted with the Republican movement. He fell in love with a French woman, Annette Vallon, who, in 1792, gave birth to their daughter Caroline. Financial problems and Britain’s tense relations with France forced him to return to England alone the following year. The circumstances of his return and his subsequent behaviour raised doubts as to his declared wish to marry Annette. However, he supported her and his daughter as best he could in later life. The Reign of Terror left Wordsworth thoroughly disillusioned with the French Revolution and the outbreak of armed hostilities between Britain and France prevented him from seeing Annette and his daughter for some years.

It was also in 1795 that he met Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Somerset. The two poets quickly developed a close friendship. For two years from 1795, William and his sister Dorothy lived at Race down House in Dorset—a property of the Pinney family—to the west of Pilsdon Pen. They walked in the area for about two hours every day, and the nearby hills consoled Dorothy as she pined for the fells of her native Lakeland. She wrote,

“We have hills which, seen from a distance almost take the character of mountains, some cultivated nearly to their summits, others in their wild state covered with furze and broom. These delight me the most as they remind me of our native wilds.”

In 1797, the pair moved to Alfoxton House, Somerset, just a few miles away from Coleridge’s home in Nether Stowey. Together Wordsworth and Coleridge (with insights from Dorothy) produced Lyrical Ballads (1798), an important work in the English Romantic movement. The volume gave neither Wordsworth’s nor Coleridge’s name as author. One of Wordsworth’s most famous poems, “Tintern Abbey”, was published in this collection, along with Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. The second edition, published in 1800, had only Wordsworth listed as the author, and included a preface to the poems. It was augmented significantly in the next edition, published in 1802. In this preface, which some scholars consider a central work of Romantic literary theory, Wordsworth discusses what he sees as the elements of a new type of verse, one that is based on the ordinary language “really used by men” while avoiding the poetic diction of much 18th-century verse. Wordsworth also gives his famous definition of poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity”, and calls his own poems in the book “experimental”. A fourth and final edition of Lyrical Ballads was published in 1805.[

In 1802, Lowther’s heir, William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, paid the £4,000 owed to Wordsworth’s father through Lowther’s failure to pay his aide. It was this repayment that afforded Wordsworth the financial means to marry. On 4 October, following his visit with Dorothy to France to arrange matters with Annette, Wordsworth married his childhood friend Mary Hutchinson. Dorothy continued to live with the couple and grew close to Mary. The following year Mary gave birth to the first of five children, three of whom predeceased her and William:

Wordsworth remained a formidable presence in his later years. In 1837, the Scottish poet and playwright Joanna Baillie reflected on her long acquaintance with Wordsworth. “He looks like a man that one must not speak to unless one has some sensible thing to say. However, he does occasionally converse cheerfully & well; and when one knows how benevolent & excellent, he is, it disposes one to be very much pleased with him.”

In 1838, Wordsworth received an honorary doctorate in Civil Law from the University of Durham and the following year he was awarded the same honorary degree by the University of Oxford, when John Keble praised him as the “poet of humanity”, praise greatly appreciated by Wordsworth. (It has been argued that Wordsworth was a great influence on Keble’s immensely popular book of devotional poetry, The Christian Year (1827)). In 1842, the government awarded him a Civil List pension of £300 a year.

Following the death of Robert Southey in 1843 Wordsworth became Poet Laureate. He initially refused the honour, saying that he was too old, but accepted when the Prime Minister, Robert Peel, assured him that “you shall have nothing required of you”. Wordsworth thus became the only poet laureate to write no official verses. The sudden death of his daughter Dora in 1847 at age 42 was difficult for the aging poet to take and in his depression, he completely gave up writing new material.

William Wordsworth died at home at Rydal Mount from an aggravated case of pleurisy on 23 April 1850, and was buried at St Oswald’s Church, Grasmere. His widow, Mary, published his lengthy autobiographical “Poem to Coleridge” as The Prelude several months after his death. Though it failed to interest people at the time, it has since come to be widely recognised as his masterpiece.

About the poem

William Wordsworth being a true nature lover, was overawed by the glory, silence and unexplainable grandeur that nature has offered to him. The poem revolves around the time when the speaker visited London and its breathtaking view caught his attention. The poet is crossing the Westminster Bridge in London (Westminster Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge stretching over the River Thames, linking Westminster and Lambeth) at the crack of dawn and is amazed by the serenity and tranquility of the city. Not that he had never seen other beautiful places before but London is one of the many places that has caught the attention of many poets – Wordsworth being one of them. The bridge being a merger between the rich and the poor region of the city, made the port fall head over heals in love with the city.

Background of the poemThe background of the poem stands on a simple yet very powerful thought – Nature vs. Civilization. Standing on the Westminster Bridge, contemplating the fresh sunlight and breeze of early-morning London, making the poet finally declare that he had found the most beautiful place on earth. He found London to be wearing the morning’s beauty like a fine shirt or cape. The time is so early in the morning that everything seemed to be dead silent along with no London fog to obscure the view. The poet was so astonished to have felt the serene breeze of an early London city that he compares its calmness with Nature’s.

Structure of the poem

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;

Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802″ is an Italian sonnet, written in iambic pentameter with ten syllables per line. The rhyme scheme of the poem is abbaabbacdcdcd. The poem was actually written about an experience that took place on July 31, 1802 during a trip to France with Wordsworth’s sister, Dorothy Wordsworth.

There are a few literary devices in the poem Composed Upon Westminster bridge by William Wordsworth. These include:

Assonance – Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line.
The sound of /o/ in “Dull would he be of soul who could pass by.” (Line 2)
The sound of /I / in “All bright and glittering in the smokeless air”. (Line 8)
Consonance – Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line.
The sound of /l/ in “splendour, valley, rock, or hill;” (Line 10)
The sound of /h/ in “And all that mighty heart.” (Line 14)
The sound of /s/ in “Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie.” (Line 6)
Enjambment – It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; instead, it rolls over to the next line.

Line 2 – 3

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty.

Hyperbole – Hyperbole is a device used to exaggerate a statement for the sake of emphasis. Wordsworth has used this device in the opening lines poem as he exaggerates about the beauty of London city.

Line 1 – 2

Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

Imagery – Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses.
The river glideth at his own sweet will. (Line 12)
This City now doth, like a garment, wear. (Line 4)
Personification – Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects.

Line 4

This City now doth, like a garment, wear. Here, this city is personified.

Simile – It is a figure of speech used to compare an object or persons with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers.
This City now doth, like a garment, wear. (Line 4) Here, the city has been compared to the garment
Alliteration – Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of identical initial consonant sounds in successive or closely associated syllables within a group of words, even those spelled differently.
A sight so touching in its majesty: (Line 3)
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie (Line 6)
Open unto the fields, and to the sky; (Line 7)a
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. (Line 8)
And all that mighty heart is lying still! (Line 14)
Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! (Line 11)

Theme of the poem

The theme of the poem revolves around the solitary city life in the break of dawn. The poet compares the silence to the silence and calmness that this beautiful nature radiates. The poet considers himself lucky to wake up early in the morning, standing by Westminster bridge and feel the breeze and silence of the otherwise honking city life. The poem, therefore, celebrates the beauty of man-made creations and structures.

Questions And Answers

What is the message of Composed Upon Westminster Bridge?

The theme of the poem “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802” is that peace and tranquility can be found just as much or more in contemplating a cityscape as in contemplating a landscape in the country.

What is the tone of the poem Sonnet Composed Upon Westminster Bridge?

The tone of the whole poem is relaxed and calm. The readers should be reading slowly, so that we can imagine the specifics he wants us to see. It also brings out the mood of gloom and shade, but in a positive way.

Which city is mentioned in the poem Composed Upon Westminster Bridge?

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 is William Wordsworth’s sonnet to the capital city of London, written before the full effects of the industrial revolution had reached the metropolis.

How is Composed Upon Westminster Bridge romantic?

In “Composed Upon Westminster Bridge”, Wordsworth ‘s love and admiration for nature is demonstrated in the way he makes London seem like a part of nature rather than a separate sphere of existence.

What type of poem is upon Westminster Bridge answer?

” Upon Westminster Bridge” is a Petrarchan sonnet. Petrarch was a famous Italian Renaissance poet whose sonnets eventually became well known across Europe.

Is Upon Westminster Bridge an unconventional poem?

Yes, we can say “Upon Westminster Bridge” an unconventional. Actually, as a nature poet, William Wordsworth gets inspiration from nature. But, in this poem the poet takes inspiration from man-made objects.

What details composed upon a Westminster Bridge personify the city?

In the poem ‘Composed Upon Westminster Bridge’ William Wordsworth uses personification to depict the city, the river and the business heart of the city. The line ‘the river glideth at his own sweet will’ refers to the autonomy that Nature has – always used by, but still more powerful than, man.

My Greatest Olympic Prize Extra Questions ICSE Class 9, 10 English

English is a difficult subject for many people to learn. Some students may become frustrated and give up, but here’s My Greatest Olympic Prize Extra Questions ICSE Class 9, 10 English Literature to help you maintain your momentum! This My Greatest Olympic Prize Extra Questions will provide all necessary information needed in order to study ICSE Class 9, 10 English successfully at home or school; it includes detailed grammar rules with examples that were used during today’s class discussion on the ICSE Board English Exam.

The My Greatest Olympic Prize Extra Questions in English, ICSE Board Class 9, 10 makes it easier to understand the story. Understanding every detail of a story is important for scoring higher on an exam and expert writers have made sure that you know how everything flows together by summarizing perfectly!

1. What is Hitler’s Superiority theory?

~Hitler was a dictator, no doubt. But his casual remark to build up the spirit of his athletes had not been taken seriously. He believed in Aryan-superiority theory. He believed that the Germans belonged to the master’s race. He thought that the German athletes would perform better than the other participants in the 1936 Olympic Games. He thought others to be inferior to Germans.

2. Who is Jesse Owens? Why was he expected to win in the long jump?

~ Jesse Owens is an American athlete who won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games that were held in Berlin, Germany.

It was expected of Jesse Owens to win a gold medal in long jump because he had already established a new world record in it only a year before. He had won many awards and medals and he had trained himself for this.

3. Why was Owens not too worried about the match?

~ Jesse Owens was not worried about the Aryan superiority theory. Jesse had trained, sweated, and disciplined himself in the six years. He had already established a new world record in it only a year before. He was sure that he would take one or two of those gold medals too.

4. Explain the line “I have no expectations”.
~ Owens says these lines angrily. As he knew that an angry athlete is prone to make mistakes. Despite knowing this, he got angry that resulted in underperformance which disallowed him to qualify in the jump. He failed twice during the practice of the long jump.

5. Why does Owens dismiss the claim of Hitler?

~Hitler was a dictator, no doubt. But his casual remark to build up the spirit of his athletes had not been taken seriously by Owens as he knew that Hitler thought that the German athletes would perform better than the other participants. He thought others to be inferior to Germans. But Owen was confident as he had practiced hard and had even set the world record the previous year.

6. Why was Owens shocked during the long jump trial?

~ During the long jump trial, the thing which surprised Owens was the performance of that Luz Long, who was a German. He could pass at the first chance in the trials in his practice leaps which would prove more than the Germans were a superior race. Owens was much disappointed and startled, he had started losing confidence.

7. Why did he kick the pit in disgust?

~ When Owens saw Luz performing so good during the trials of long jump, he got nervous and tensed. Being startled he failed twice in the trials in the practice leaps and got mad. He was boiling with anger with Hitler’ s adolescent Aryan hypothesis. So he committed mistakes. His performance during the trials was poor. And out of anger he kicked the pit in appall.

8. Why did Owens lose his confidence?

~When Owens saw Luz performing so good during the trials of long jump, he got nervous and tensed. Out of nervousness, he failed twice during the trials of the practice leaps. His performance was very poor, whereas Luz qualified for the very first time. This is the reason why he started losing his confidence.

9. Why was Owens frustrated? How did he try to encourage himself?

~ Owens knew that an angry athlete always makes mistakes. Despite knowing this, he got angry that resulted in the underperformance which disallowed him to qualify in the jump. He was frustrated as he failed twice during the practice of the long jump whereas Luz got qualified for the first time.

To encourage himself he thought bitterly “Did I come 3000 miles for this? To foul out of the trials and make a fool of myself?”.

10. What does Owens wants to prove to Hitler?
~ Jesse Owens wanted to win the match and show Hitler that he was not inferior, as according to Hitler all other performers are inferior to Germany. If he looses the match, then it would add truth to Hitler’s theory that the German race was superior and his athletes were meant to win.

11. Who encouraged Owens? Who was he?

~ Luz long, the competitor of Owens in the long jump, encouraged Owens when he saw him failing.

Luz Long was an Olympian who embodied the very idea of the Nazi party. A tall, blue-eyed and blond 21-year-old, Long at the time held the European record for the long jump and was expecting along with his country’s leaders to win a gold medal in the upcoming Berlin Olympic games.

12. Why did Owens fail for the first two times in the trial?

~ Jesse Owens was very angry when he saw Luz Long, as he was a German and was kept under wraps by Hitler, who believed in Nazi Aryan – Supremacy. He was mad and startled to see that Luz got qualified for the very first try. And so in the first two jumps Jesse Owens was not even able to qualify as an angry athlete is the one who is sure to make mistakes.

13. Why was Owens so surprised?

~ Owens was surprised to see the performance of the tall blond German athlete, Luz. He was startled to see luz hitting the pit at almost 26 feet on his practice leap. He got tensed and started losing confidence when he saw Luz’s performance, and saw him getting qualified in the very first try.

14. What did Luz do when he saw Owens failing?

~ Long allegedly Luz Long the competitor of Owens in the long jump advised Owens to measure his run from a point a foot behind the takeoff board, thus eliminating the chance that he would foul again and eliminate himself from the competition. He encouraged him and gave him a few basic tips for better performance.

15. What did Owens do to thank Luz?

~ Owens qualified for the finals with the help of Luz long’s advice and the basic tips which he gave him for better performance. His tips helped him to get through the trials after he failed in the first two attempts. Owens went to luz’s room that night to thank him. Luz not only greeted him well but also hosted him for two hours and thus, both became good friends despite being competitors.

16. How did Owens manage to get qualified for the finals?

~ Luz Long being the opponent player of Owens, was friendly with him and even helped him to get qualified for finals. He suggested that Owens should draw a line behind the take-off board and then jump. Because of him Owens got encouraged and managed to get qualified for finals.

17. How did the match end?

~ There was a hand to hand rivalry between Owens and Luz. Besides being friends they were competitors too and both were a good player. But the match ends declaring Owens to be the winner. Owens not only manages to get qualified for the finals but Jesse Owens went on to win four gold medals that year. But Owens feels that Luz Long’s friendship was the greatest Olympic prize which he won in Berlin.

18. What did Owens do to succeed in the match?

~ Owens had trained, sweated, and disciplined himself for six years with the Games in mind. He had his eye especially on the running broad jump as he had set a world record a year ago and it was expected of him to win that Olympic event hands down. He was a bit tensed and startled between and started losing confidence but managed to win with the help of Luz who encouraged him.

19. Give the character sketch of Luz.

~ Luz Long had a lean muscular frame. He was an Olympian who embodied the very idea of the Nazi party. He held the European record for the long jump and was expecting along with his country’s leaders to win a gold medal in the upcoming Berlin Olympic games. He was a good human being and had a true sense of sportsmanship. This was proved when he helped his competitor, even he lost

20. Character sketch of Owens.

~ Jesse Owens is an American athlete who won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympic Games that were held in Berlin, Germany. A hero exhibits the character traits of work ethic, courage, and perseverance. It was expected of Jesse Owens to win a gold medal in long jump because he had already established a new world record in it only a year before. He had won many awards and medals and he had trained himself for this.

21. Describe the match and the friendship of Luz and Owens.

~ Owens saw Luz as his professional opponent since long was brought by Hitler to beat Owens. His anger led to his fowling in the trials. Witnessing the failure Luz helped and advised Owens to focus on the jump. This eased Owens and gave him the opportunity to believe in himself. They slowly developed a bond. Owens went fo luz’s room that night to thank him. Luz not only greeted him well but also hosted him for two hours and thus, both became good friends despite being competitors.

22. What was the reaction of Luz when Owens owns?

~ After winning the competition when Owens landed from his final jump, Luz was the first man there to congratulate him. He shook hands with Jesse firmly, despite the fact that Hitler was watching them from the stands. This was a great display of true friendship and sportsman spirit from Luz.

23. Discuss “24- carat friendship felt for Long Luz”.

~ When Owens says that he felt 24-carat friendship for Luz Long, he meant to say that Long’s friendship was pure and true. When Luz was congratulating him after winning the gold in the board jump finals, it was not the fake smile with a broken heart, but a genuine one. Despite being a competitor, Luz was genuinely happy that his friend Owens won the gold medal.

24. What was the actual prize for Owens?

~ Luz Long’s friendship was the greatest Olympic Prize that Owens ever won in his life. Luz Long’s compassion and his personality touched Owens. Luz Long recognized the battle in Owens’ mind and offered him a valuable tip. Despite being a competitor, Luz was genuinely happy that his friend Owens won the gold medal.

25. What was the reaction of Hitler?

~ Hitler reacted angrily and glared at Owens and Luz from the stands not a hundred yards away when he Long congratulated him by shaking hands with him as Long was trained and brought by Hitler in the competition with a hope that he will win the competition.

26. What do you understand of Hitler from the passage?

~ Hitler had secretly nurtured a very strong Nazi youth and had kept him hidden until the day, to frighten other athletes, especially Owens. Hitler would have been fully aware that an angry athlete often errors and that perhaps was what he wanted. His slyness in doing so would allow his athlete to win. Hitler had a thought that all other competitors were inferior to Germany.

27. Discuss how Luz shows the true spirit of sportsmen.

~ Luz Long, a tall handsome German athlete and the competitor of Owens sets a great example of true sportsmanship in the Olympic games. Though he was a German he did not believe in Hitlers’ theory. He was Jesse Owens’ opponent player and could have easily won a gold medal in the running broad jump event. But being a true sportsman, he became friendly with Jesse Owens and helped him, giving some basic tips. He told him to draw a line behind the take-off board and jump from there. This tip worked and the next day Owens won the gold medal.

28. Is the title of the story appropriate?

~ The title of the story “My Greatest Olympic Prize” is quite appropriate.

In the story Owens and Luz were competitors. Though being brought by Hitler, Luz never believed in Hitler’s theory. Being a true sportsman he helped his opponent giving him basic tips to get qualified and helped him to win. Despite being a competitor, Luz was genuinely happy that his friend Owens won the gold medal.

29. Discuss the theme of the story ” my greatest Olympic prize”.

~ True friendship and true sportsmanship are the main themes of the story “My greatest Olympic prize”. Luz shows the quality of being a true sportsman by helping his competitor Owens to get qualified for finals by giving few advice and basic tips. Luz and Owens bonded good. They started bonding a strong friendship. Despite being a competitor, Luz was genuinely happy that his friend Owens won the gold medal.

Questions And Answers

What was Hitler’s theory in my greatest Olympic prize?

“My Greatest Olympic Prize” is the heart-touching experience of Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens. Adolf Hitler believed in the Aryan Superiority theory. He thought that his German athletes belonged to a master’s race and they would perform better than other participants in the 1936 Olympics, Berlin.

How far do you think the title My greatest Olympic prize is justified?

This friendship between Owens and Long was the Greatest Olympic prize for Jesse Owens rather than winning the competition. Hence the title is justified. The athlete Luz Long did not believe in the Nazi Aryan Superiority even though he was a German.

How do the poem * Nine gold medals * and the story * My greatest Olympic prize * appreciate the theme of true sportsmanship?

In the poem Nine Gold Medals , when one of the 9 differently abled racers fell down and started crying in pain in the 100 meter dash , the remaining members participating in the race stopped came back and helped him get back up and moved towards the finish line holding hands all of them at the same time.

What is the summary of my greatest Olympic prize?

“My Greatest Olympic Prize” is a true story of the writer’s life – an autobiographical account of Jesse Owens’ experience of true friendship in the Berlin Olympics 1936 where he won four gold medals. … He was determined to prove Hitler’s theory wrong by taking home one or two of those gold medals.

Analysis, Question And Answers of Night Voices by Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle ICSE Class 8 English Literature

English is a difficult subject for many people to learn. Some students may become frustrated and give up, but here’s Analysis, Question And Answers of Night Voices by Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle ICSE Class 8 English Literature to help you maintain your momentum! This Analysis, Question And Answers of Night Voices will provide all necessary information needed in order to study ICSE Class 8 English successfully at home or school; it includes detailed grammar rules with examples that were used during today’s class discussion on the ICSE Board English Exam.

The Analysis, Question And Answers of Night Voices in English, ICSE Board Class 8 makes it easier to understand the story. Understanding every detail of a story is important for scoring higher on an exam and expert writers have made sure that you know how everything flows together by summarizing perfectly!

About the Poet

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish physician and a renowned writer. He is the creator of the famous detective series of Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr Watson (both the characters appeared in “A Study in Scarlet” for the first time).

He was born on May 22, 1859, to Charles Altamont Doyle and Mary in Edinburg, Scotland. Doyle went to a Jesuit school called Stella Matutina in Austria and had studied there from 1875- 1876. He studied medicine from 1876- 1881 at the University of Edinburg Medical School. He has written various places, historical novels, romances and poetry. He was also involved in politics. He had also served as an advocate. Doyle had interests in architecture and sports as well. he received various awards including the title of Queen’s South Africa Medal (in 1901) and that of Knight Bachelor (in 1902) and many others. He considered himself to be a spiritualist.

Some of his famous works are “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, “The Final Problem”, “The Mystery of Cloomber”, “The White Company”, “The Lost World”, “The Poems”, “A Parable”, etc.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died in the year 1930 on July 7 in Crowborough, East Sussex due to a heart attack.

About the Poem

“Night Voices” is a creepy poem. The first two stanzas seem to be part of an active conversation between a child and his father. In the whole poem, the gender of the child is not clear. But for convenience, the child is referred to as a male child. In the third stanza, things take a turn when the child becomes almost confirmed that something is wrong and wants to leave the place. In the last stanza, the father is portrayed as an eerie and uncanny figure in the poem.

Structure of the Poem

“Father, father, who is that a-whispering?
Who is it who whispers in the wood?
You say it is the breeze
As it sighs among the trees,
But there’s someone who whispers in the wood.

Father, father, who is that a-murmuring?
Who is it who murmurs in the night?
You say it is the roar
Of the wave upon the shore,
But there’s someone who murmurs in the night.

Father, father, who is that who laughs at us?
Who is it who chuckles in the glen?
Oh, father, let us go,
For the light is burning low,
And there’s somebody laughing in the glen.

Father, father, tell me what you’re waiting for,
Tell me why your eyes are on the door.
It is dark and it is late,
But you sit so still and straight,
Ever staring, ever smiling, at the door.”

The poem has a specific pattern to it. The second and fifth line of every stanza ends with the same word. The rhyming scheme is abccb.

Line by Line Analysis of the Poem

Stanza 1

“Father, father, who is that a-whispering?
Who is it who whispers in the wood?
You say it is the breeze
As it sighs among the trees,
But there’s someone who whispers in the wood.”

In the first stanza, a child seems to be scared of something. The child can hear noises coming from the forest nearby. He asks his father about the whispers that could be heard. The father replied that it was just the winds and there was absolutely nothing to be worried about. But the child didn’t seem to be satisfied by this reply and had been pretty much confirmed that there was something or someone in the woods making the noises. The stanza shows the fear in a child of the unknown voices that he could hear.

Stanza 2

“Father, father, who is that a-murmuring?
Who is it who murmurs in the night?
You say it is the roar
Of the wave upon the shore,
But there’s someone who murmurs in the night.”

In the second stanza, the child asked his father about the noises again. This time, he could hear murmurs in the woods. This time, the father replies that those were sounds of the waves hitting the seashore. Even then, the child believed that there had to be someone who was murmuring and it was not just the sounds of waves.

Stanza 3

“Father, father, who is that who laughs at us?
Who is it who chuckles in the glen?
Oh, father, let us go,
For the light is burning low,
And there’s somebody laughing in the glen.”

The child felt that they were being laughed at by someone. He felt someone was smiling and chuckling. He expressed his wish to leave the place since it was already dark and the light was burning low too. Also, he was scared by this mysterious entity laughing at them. This is where things become very suspicious and scary.

Stanza 4

“Father, father, tell me what you’re waiting for,
Tell me why your eyes are on the door.
It is dark and it is late,
But you sit so still and straight,
Ever staring, ever smiling, at the door.”

In the last stanza of the poem, a creepy and uncanny image of the father had been portrayed. Again In the last three stanzas, the child had clearly expressed his fear. In this stanza, it is said that apparently, the father is just waiting for something in the dark place despite knowing that his child is scared. The child is confused as to why his father is sitting there still and with no movement. The father is just sitting and staring at the door with a smile on his face. The poem has a very eerie and mysterious ending to it.

Figures of speech used in the Poem

Alliteration: This is a figure of speech where closely associated words or corresponding words begin with the same alphabet in a sentence.
“Father, father, who is that a- whispering?”
“Father, father, who is that a- murmuring?”
“Father, father, who is that laughs at us?”
“Father, father, tell me what you’re waiting for,”

Glossary

• Wood: Forest.
• Glen: A narrow valley (especially in Ireland or Scotland)

The theme of the poem

The poem has an eerie touch to it. The child is upset and afraid of the noises that he could hear. According to him, the noises came from the woods nearby. He could hear whispers, murmurs, and laughs. As a twist, the father tends to become a suspicious and horror figure by the end of the poem. The poem stays unexplained at the end. By the end of the poem, it was unclear if the child was actually in safe hands or not.

Textbook Solutions

1. What sounds does the child hear in the night?
Ans: The child hears eerie sounds from the woods. He hears whispers and murmurs. The child also feels someone is laughing at him and his father. He hears chuckles from the woods too.

2. Does the child think it is (i) an animal sound or (ii) a human voice? Why do you say so?
Ans: The child thinks it is a human voice. The usage of words “whispers”, “murmurs”, “laughs” by the child shows that he is referring to a human and not some animal. Also when he asks his father about the mysterious entity, he uses “who” instead of “what”, and “who” is usually used to address a human.

3. What explanation does the father give for the sounds?
Ans: For the whispers, the father says that it is the wind or breeze passing through the trees that are making whisper-like sounds. To justify the murmurs, the father says that it is the sound of the waves hitting the seashore

4. Is the child satisfied with the explanations? How do you know?
Ans: The child is not at all satisfied with the explanations that the father gave. This is clearly understood because even after the explanations the child wants to leave the place because he is already convinced that there is someone in the woods. If he were satisfied, he would not have had difficulties with staying at the place.

5. Which lines tell us that the child is afraid of the dark?
Ans: The following lines tell us that the child is afraid of the dark:

“Who is it who murmurs in the night?”
“Oh, father, let us go,
For the light is burning low.”

“It is dark and it is late”

6. Father, father, tell me what you’re waiting for,
Tell me why your eyes are on the door.
It is dark and it is late,
But you sit so still and straight,
Ever staring, ever-smiling, at the door.”
(i) Which lines of the stanza tell us that the child is getting impatient with the father?
(ii) Why do you think the father is sitting ‘so still and straight’?
(iii) What do you think the father is staring at the door and smiling for?
Ans: (i) The lines that tell us that the child is getting impatient with the father are as follows:

“Father, father, tell me what you’re waiting for,
Tell me why your eyes are on the door”

(ii) The reason as to why the father is sitting ‘so still and straight’ is not very clear in the poem. One possibility could be that the father, himself was the horror figure here which the child could not understand initially. Another possibility could be that the father knew something was wrong but he too was somehow a part of it.

(iii) The father stared at the door and kept smiling. That is the scariest part of the poem. It is mysterious and unclear as to why he was doing this, probably he was the actual eerie image that the child should have been afraid of.

7. Does the poem make you feel sad, nervous, or a little scared? Why?
Ans: An eerie mood had been set up by the poet in the poem. It gives eerie vibes. The way the whole ambience had been described by the poet is scary. And finally, the strange behaviour of the father is more mysterious and scarier.

8. Do you think the father answered the child’s questions truthfully? Give a reason for your answer.
Ans: In the first two stanzas, the answers given by the father as justifications were pretty accurate. In the last stanza though, the father was portrayed differently, as if he was the main horror figure. That was when it could be thought that the father probably did not answer the child’s questions truthfully.

9. Fill in the blanks:
There are 5 lines in each stanza.
The 2nd and the5th line in each stanza end with the same word.
The3rd and the 4th line in each stanza end with rhyming words.
Rearrange the words in these lines: (Last word in each line is underlined)

10 Rearrange the words in these lines: (Last word in each line is underlined)
I/ knocking. /I/ Father, / heard/ some/ father, / think

on/ the/ that’s/ porch? / Who/ is/ walking/ it

I/ see. / none/ can/ that/ There’s

dark/ and/ For/ it’s / dreary. / quite

sure/ But/ I’m/ someone / porch. / the/ on/ there’s

Ans: Father, father, I think I heard some knocking.

Who is it that’s walking on the porch?

There’s none that I can see.

For it’s quite dark and dreary.

But I’m sure there’s someone on the porch

11. Find the number of syllables in each line:

Father, father, who is that a- whispering? – 12
Who is it who whispers in the wood? – 9
You say it is the breeze – 6
As it sighs among the trees, – 7
But there’s someone who whispers in the wood. – 11

Questions And Answers

Why is the speaker afraid in the poem Night voices?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in ‘Night Voices’ highlights the fear of a boy who is scared as he feels someone is whispering in the night, there is someone who is murmuring in the night. On the contrary, the child has his childlike fears due to which he is not able to get rid of his fears.

What explanation does the father give for the sounds in the poem Night voices?

The father explains the sounds as the breeze in the trees and the roaring waves on the shore.

What is the summary of Night voices?

Night Voices is one creepy poem. The first two stanzas seem to be a conversation between a young child and his (the gender isn’t clear, but let’s assume it is a young boy for the sake of expediency) father near bedtime. The child asks his father, “who is it who whispers in the wood?”

What is the central idea of the poem Night voices?

The poem highlights the fear of a boy who is scared as he feels someone is whispering in the night, there is someone who is murmuring in the night.

What does the poet hear at night?

Day and night the poet is fascinated by the gentle and pleasant sound of the waves lapping against the shore. He hears this delightful music in his imagination.

What is the mood of the child in the poem Night voices?

The child is getting nervous and uneasy on hearing the noises of the night. He feels that there is somebody outside but his father is unable to allay his fears.