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Human greed led to the mighty fall of the citadel. Explain.

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प्रश्न

Human greed led to the mighty fall of the citadel. Explain.

संक्षेप में उत्तर
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उत्तर

The loyal soldiers and their brave captain expected enemies from outside the castle. Their arms and army were ready to fight them. But they could not identify the enemy within. The soldiers were proud that no might would tear their castle down. But they were unaware of the • invisible soul-dead enemy within. The ingredients of personal downfall went unnoticed by them. If a person never looks within, the faults that can be their doom go overlooked. Their reality could crumble while they gaze outward and pride themselves on their sureness. This is what happened precisely with the soldiers of the castle. They only focused on the strength of their physical surroundings and what was beyond the castle. Human greed-propelled betrayal from within caused the castle’s downfall.

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Poem (Class 12th)
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अध्याय 1.2: The Castle - Exercise [पृष्ठ २१]

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सामाचीर कलवी English Class 12 TN Board
अध्याय 1.2 The Castle
Exercise | Q 3. c) | पृष्ठ २१

संबंधित प्रश्न

What thoughts come to your mind when you think about a castle? Add your ideas to the list

moat, huge buildings, soldiers, weapons ______,______.


How long had the soldiers been in the castle?


Who was the real enemy?


Our only enemy was gold


Read the poem and complete the table with suitable rhyming words.

 

All through that summer at ease we lay,
And daily from the turret wall
We watched the mowers in the hay
And the enemy half a mile away
They seemed no threat to us at all.

For what, we thought, had we to fear
With our arms and provender, load on load,
Our towering battlements, tier on tier,
And friendly allies drawing near
On every leafy summer road.

Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,
So smooth and high, no man could win
A foothold there, no clever trick
Could take us dead or quick,
Only a bird could have got in.

What could they offer us for bait?
Our captain was brave and we were true…
There was a little private gate,
A little wicked wicket gate.
The wizened warder let them through.

Oh then our maze of tunneled stone
Grew thin and treacherous as air.
The cause was lost without a groan,
The famous citadel overthrown,
And all its secret galleries bare.

How can this shameful tale be told?
I will maintain until my death
We could do nothing, being sold:
Our only enemy was gold,
And we had no arms to fight it with.

lay hay
   
   
   

Identify the figure of speech used in the following line.

A little wicked wicket gate.


Why is the casuarina tree dear to poet’s heart?


Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.

The giant wears the scarf, and flowers are hung

In crimson clusters all the bough among!

  1. Who is the giant here?
  2. Why is the scarf colourful?

Explain the following line with reference to the context.

It is the tree’s lament, an eerie speech,…


Fill in the blanks using the words given in the box to complete the summary of the poem.

Shakespeare considers the whole world a stage where men and women are only (1) ______. They (2)______the stage when they are born and exit when they die. Every man, during his life time, plays seven roles based on age. In the first act, as an infant, he is wholly (3) ______on the mother or a nurse. Later, emerging as a school child, he slings his bag over his shoulder and creeps most (4)______ to school. His next act is that of a lover, busy (5) ______ballads for his beloved and yearns for her (6) ______. In the fourth stage, he is aggressive and ambitious and seeks (7) ______in all that he does. He (8) ______solemnly to guard his country and becomes a soldier. As he grows older, with (9) ______and wisdom, he becomes a fair judge. During this stage, he is firm and (10) ______. In the sixth act, he is seen with loose pantaloons and spectacles. His manly voice changes into a childish (11) ______. The last scene of all is his second childhood. Slowly, he loses his (12) ______of sight, hearing, smell and taste and exits from the roles of his life.

attention treble reluctantly
actors maturity reputation
serious faculties composing
enter promises dependent

Explain the following line briefly with reference to the context.

“Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation”.“They have their exits and their entrances;


Read the given line and answer the question that follow.

Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school.

  1. Which stage of life is being referred to here by the poet?
  2. What are the characteristics of this stage?
  3. How does the boy go to school?
  4. Which figure of speech has been employed in the second line?

What has Ulysses gained from his travel experiences?


Pick out the lines which convey that his quest for travel is unending.


What does Ulysses yearn for?


Identify the figure of speech employed in the following line.

For always roaming with a hungry heart


Identify the figure of speech employed in the following line.

And drunk delight of battle with my peers;


Read the set of line from the poem and answer the question that follow.

… I mete and dole

Unequal laws unto a savage race,

That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and

know not me.

  1. What does Ulysses do?
  2. Did he enjoy what he was doing? Give reasons.

Explain with reference to the context the following line.

How dull it is to pause, to make an end,

To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!


List the roles and responsibilities Ulysses assigns to his son Telemachus, while he is away.


What is Ulysses’ clarion call to his sailors? How does he inspire them?


Here are a few poetic device used in the poem.

Repetition- It is a figure of speech.


Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.

Tell him solitude is creative if he is strong and the final decisions are made in silent rooms.

  1. Can being in solitude help a strong human being? How?
  2. Identify the figure of speech in the above line.

Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.

..........Free imaginations

Bringing changes into a world resenting change.

  1. How does free imagination help the world?
  2. Identify the figure of speech.

Pick out the alliterated words from the poem and write.

And this might stand him for the storms


Fill in the blanks choosing the words from the box given and complete the summary of the poem.

The poet Robert Browning narrates an incident at the French Camp in the war of 1809 between France and Austria, in a (a)______version. He describes the brave action of a (b)______soldier, whose heroic devotion to duty and his (c) ______ in it is inspiring and worthy of (d) ______. During the attack of the French army on Ratisbon, Napoleon was anxious about the (e) ______. Austrians were defending Ratisbon with great (f) ______and courage. Napoleon was watching the war standing on a (g) ______near the battlefield.

All of a sudden a rider appeared from the closed smoke and dust. Riding at great speed, jumping and leaping, he approached the mound where Napoleon stood. As he came closer, the narrator noticed that the rider, a young boy, was severely wounded. But the rider showed no sign of pain and smiling in joy, jumped off the horse and gave the happy news of (h) ______to the emperor.

He exclaimed with pride that the French had (i) ______Ratisbon and he himself had hoisted the flag of France. When Napoleon heard the news, his plans (j) ______up like fire. His eyes (k) ______when he saw that the soldier was severely wounded. Like a caring mother eagle, the emperor asked if he was wounded. The (l) ______soldier replied proudly that he was killed and died heroically.

determination result dramatic
pride admiration softened
wounded mound victory
conquered soared valiant

What was Napoleon’s reaction on hearing the news of victory?


When did the narrator find that the boy was badly wounded?


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