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प्रश्न
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 |
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उत्तर
| lay | hay |
| wall | all |
| thick | trick |
| win | in |
| fear | near |
| load | road |
| bait | gate |
| sold | gold |
| true | through |
| stone | groan |
| air | bare |
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Have you ever visited a fort or a castle?
Who is the narrator in the poem?
How did the enemies enter the castle?
What was the ‘shameful act’?
Read the poem again and complete the summary using the words given in box.
Stanzas 1–3
‘The Castle’ by Edwin Muir is a moving poem on the (1)______ of a well guarded (2)______ The soldiers of the castle were totally stress-free and relaxed. They were (3)______ of their castle’s physical strength. Through the turrets they were able to watch the mowers and no enemy was found up to the distance of (4)______ and so they seemed no threat to the castle. They had (5)______ of weapons to protect them and a large quantity of (6)______ in stock to take care of the well-being of the soldiers inside the castle. The soldiers stood one above the other on the towering battlements (7)______ to shoot the enemy at sight. They believed that the castle was absolutely safe because their captain was (8)______ and the soldiers were loyal.
| half-a-mile | watching |
| castle | brave |
| ration | capture |
| plenty | confident |
Stanzas 4–6
Even by a trick no one but the birds could enter. The enemy could not use a (9)______ for their entry inside the castle. But there was a wicket gate guarded by a (10) ______ He (11)______ in the enemies inside the famous citadel that had been known for its secret gallery and intricate path. The strong castle became(12)______ and thin because of the greedy disloyal warder. The (13)______ was captured by the enemies for (14)______ The narrator (15)______ over the (16)______ of the useless warder and also decided not to disclose this (17)______ story to anyone. He was (18)______ and wondered how he would keep this truth to himself. He regretted not finding any (19)______ to fight with the (20)______ called ‘gold’.
| lamented | shameful |
| wicked guard | bait |
| let | gold |
| weapon | citadel |
| weak | disloyalty |
| helpless | enemy |
How safe was the castle? How was it conquered?
Read the given line and answer the question that follow in a line or two.
All through the summer at ease we lay,
And daily from the turret wall
We watched the mowers in the hay
- Who does ‘we’ refer to?
- How did the soldiers spend the summer days?
- What could they watch from the turret wall?
Read the given line and answer the question that follow in a line or two.
| Oh then our maze of tunneled stone Grew thin and treacherous as air. The castle was lost without a groan, The famous citadel overthrown, |
- Bring out the contrast in the first two lines.
- What is the rhyme scheme of the given stanza?
Our only enemy was gold
Underline the alliterated word in the following line.
A little wicked wicket gate.
Identify the figure of speech used in the following line.
Our only enemy was gold,
Name the bird that sings in the poet’s garden.
Discuss with your partner the different stages in the growth of man from a new born to an adult
Describe the second stage of life as depicted by Shakespeare.
When does a man become a judge? How?
Pick out the word in ‘alliteration’ in the following line.
“and all the men and women merely players”
What has Ulysses gained from his travel experiences?
What does Ulysses yearn for?
How would Telemachus transform the subjects?
Identify the figure of speech employed in the following line.
Thro’ scudding drifts the rainy Hyades Vext the dim sea...
Identify the figure of speech employed in the following line.
And drunk delight of battle with my peers;
Identify the figure of speech employed in the following line.
There lies the port the vessel puffs her sail
Explain with reference to the context the following line.
I am become a name; For always roaming with a hungry heart
What happened to the people who wanted too much money?
The poet says
‘Without rich wanting nothing arrives’ but he condemns ‘the quest of lucre beyond a few easy needs.’ Analyse the difference and write.
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
Tell him to be a fool ever so often
and to have no shame over having been a fool
yet learning something out of every folly
hoping to repeat none of the cheap follies
- Is it a shame to be a fool at times?
- What does one learn from every folly?
Who took the city of Ratisbon by storm?
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
A film the mother eagles eye When her bruised eaglet breathes
- Who is compared to the mother eagle in the above lines?
- Explain the comparison.
The young soldier matched his emperor in courage and patriotism. Elucidate your answer.
