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प्रश्न
The title, 'Refugee Blues' encapsulates the theme of the poem. Comment.
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उत्तर
Blues are African-American forms of ballads that originated by the end of the 19th century. They primarily are melancholic and sad and can be called as “the sad black slave's songs”. In this Blue Ballad, Auden narrates the suffering of the Jews by Nazis, their persecution, the holocaust, the concentration camps, the rise of Fuhrer, and Nazism. The poem revolves around a Jewish couple who escaped Nazi Germany and emigrated to the United States of America. These refugees now sing this Blue talking of their agony and pain that they have nowhere to go to.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Answer any two of the following questions in about 30‒40 words:
(a) How does Kamala Das try to put away the thoughts of her ageing mother?
(b) Which is the exotic moment that the poet refers to in 'Keeping Quiet'?
(c) What are the difficulties that aunt Jennifer faced in her life?
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
How do you know
Peace is a woman?
I know, for
I met her yesterday
on my winding way
to the world's fare.
She had such a wonderful face
just like a golden flower faded
before her prime.
(1) How does the poet describe the face of peace?
(2) Do you think there is a way out of the war-ridden world? What is it?.
(3) Name and explain the figure of speech in the following line:
"I met her yesterday
on my winding way."
(4) The poet asks the question and herself answers it. What effect does it create in the extract?
Read the extract and do the activities that follow:
The duke senior and his follower were sitting down to a meal one day when Orlando rushed out from among the trees, his sword in his hand. ‘Stop, and cat no more!’ he cried. The Duke and his friends asked him what he wanted.
‘Food,’ said Orlando. ‘I am almost dying of hunger’. They asked him to sit down and eat, but he would not do so. He told them that his old servant was in the woods, dying of hunger. ‘I will not eat a bite until he has been fed,’ Orlando said.
So the good Duke and his followers helped him to bring Adam to their hiding-place, and Orlando and the old man were fed and taken care of. When the Duke learned that Orlando was a son of his old friend sir Rowland de Boys, he welcomed him gladly to his forest court.
Orlando lived happily with the Duke and his friends, but he had not forgotten the lovely Rosalind. She was always in his thoughts andevery day he wrote poetry about her pinning it on the trees in the forest. ‘These trees shall be my books,’ he said, ‘so that everyone who looks in the forest will be able to read how sweet and good Rosalind is’.
Rosalind and Celia found some of these poems pinned on the trees. At first they were puzzled, wondering who could have written them; but one day Celia came in from a walk with the news that she had seen Orlando sleeping under a tree, and she and Rosalind guessed that he must be the poet. Rosalind was happy to think that Orlando had not forggoten her, because she loved him as much as he loved her.
A1. Complete - (2)
Complete the following sentences:
(i) Rosalind was happy to think _______
(ii) The Duke and his followers helped Orlando to bring _________
(iii) Orlando pinned the poems written about Rosalind on ______
(iv) When the Duke cam to know that Orlando was a son of his old friend, he _________
A2. Write a gist: (2)
Write a gist of the above given extract in about 50 words.
Discuss the following statement in groups of two pairs, each pair in a group taking opposite points of view.
A single event may change the course of the history of a nation.
Suggest a few instances in the poem which highlight humour and irony.
Examine the communication channels in the story between Paul and Bassett.
Why has he compared the three passions to great winds?
What two things are compared in the poem?
'There is no sophistry in my body' – this statement expresses the brutal frankness of the Hawk. Does the poet suggest something through this statement?
Discuss the following in pairs or in small groups.
“Discipline and a questioning spirit can coexist in an individual.”
State whether the following statement is True or False. Correct the false statement by finding evidence from the poem to support your remark.
The poet repents planting the cherry tree.
The cherry tree has inspired the poet to compose the poem. Such poems, describing Nature or aspects of Nature are called ‘Nature poems’. Find out some expressions from the poem that bring out the elements of the beauty of Nature.
Answer the given question in your own words.
What decision did the Swallow finally make? Was it a wise one? Comment.
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Little things Little drops of water, Thus the little minutes, Little deeds of kindness, |
What important message does the above poem convey?
Find sentences from the play related to the given points.
Loyalty in Irish Nationalism:
- Maybe Sergeant you’ll be on the side of the country yet.
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
- ____________________________
State whether the following statement is True or False:
Lysander and Demetrius fall in love with Helena as a result of the love potion.
Discuss and write 1-2 lines about the following.
How Bushi defeated Yonamine in the wrestling match.
Explain the meaning of the following phrase:
An eagle’s eye
What did Mr. Gizare appreciate the most?
Can you think of a similarity between a raven and a writing desk? Write at least five differences between the two.
Read the poem : ‘Where lies the land...’ by A. C. Clough.
Sayali’s mother did not want her to go on the trip.
There were no human settlements on the moon.
Complete the following diagram.
Using your imagination, write about a beautiful region - its landforms, water bodies, flora and fauna, night sky, people, etc.
Find the meaning of the following words or phrases :
- ridges
- brimming
- eddying
- babble
- fallow
- trout
- netted
What do you notice about the following pairs of words?
- act naturally
- liquid gas
- open secret
- sound of silence
- sweet sorrow
- original copy
- only choice
- growing smaller
Describe the following in one or two lines.
The first little house of the bird.
Listen carefully and guess how the sentence would end.
When the teacher read the answer papers, she was ______.
Why did Marouckla’s stepmother hate her?
Name the following.
Pounced on Dhyan Chand and hurt him.
Describe Gulliver’s home in Lilliput.
What difficulties do the people in the play face in the morning?
Where was the well situated?
What does 'Rangaawali' mean?
Read the following lines from the poem and answer the question that follow.
Let me but live my life from year to year,
With forward face and unreluctant soul;
- Whom does the word ‘me’ refer to?
- What kind of life does the poet want to lead?
Why had Prospero raised a violent storm in the sea?
Hamid’s friends enjoyed the ride in the merry-go-round. But Hamid didn’t go on it. Why?
Read the poem and fill in the blanks with the correct option.
It is better far to rule by ______, than ______.
- soft
- vain
- fear
- joy
- love
- heard
- toiled
- mild
- good
- sand
- life
- harsh
when to fight for a righteous cause
one did gain considerable applause.
When will one get an applause?
What are the characteristics of a courageous man?
Identify the speaker/character.
Don't worry, Madam, it's only a warning.
Rearrange the following jumbled sentences in the correct order.
- Payal’s house was a home for abandoned animals.
- It was a small ball of brown and grey.
- She found an owlet in one corner.
- Payal’s mother picked her up gently.
- Payal’s mother opened the carton.
- One day they got a carton.
How does the coconut tree grow?
Identify and write the sport's name respectively.
- ______
- ______
- ______
- ______
The little bird found a shallow hollow in the ground.
Read the lines and answer the questions given below.
Spring is pretty
but short and sweet
when you can smell the grass
from your garden seat
- How does the poet describe the spring season?
- Which line tells you that the garden is fresh?
- Who does ‘you’ refer to?
Choose the odd one out.
What was the dish served to the old man?
Fruits and shadows are free under the _______.
Answer using Yes or No and pick sentence from the story to support your answer.
Did Robinson’s ship sink?
Answer the following yes or no question.
Did Appu share guava?
Meena was transferred to a______.
______ lies stretching in the river.
Name the places that Tenzin’s family lived in.
Write the word with same meaning.
queue- ______
______ was helpful for his father to drive out the wild animals.
Finally, ______, he got permission to study Science.
The pretty little fir tree was happy with gold leaves but______.
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:
The Stationmaster’s Supreme Sacrifice by Sanchari Pal (Adapted)
- Thirty-three years ago, on the night of December 2, 1984, Bhopal was hit by a catastrophe that had no parallel in the world’s industrial history. An accident at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal had released almost 30 tons of a highly toxic gas called methyl isocyanate, turning the city into a vast gas chamber. The result was a nightmare; more than 600,000 people were exposed to the deadly gas cloud that left thousands dead and many more breathless, blind and in agonizing pain. Few people know that during the Bhopal gas tragedy a heroic stationmaster risked his own life to save others.
- On the evening of December 3, 1984, Ghulam Dastagir was settling down in his office to complete some pending paperwork. This work kept him in his office till 1am in the night, when he emerged to check the arrival of the Gorakhpur Mumbai Express. As he stepped on to the platform, the deputy stationmaster felt his eyes burn and a queer itching sensation in his throat. He did not know that poisonous fumes leaking from Union Carbide’s pesticide factory were stealthily enveloping the railway station.
- Beginning to choke, Dastagir did not know then that twenty-three of his railway colleagues, including his boss, station superintendent Harish Dhurve, had already died. It was later reported that Dhurve had heard about the deadly gas and had immediately tried stopping the movement of trains passing through Bhopal before collapsing in his office chamber. His suddenly worsening health and years of experience told Dastagir that something was very wrong. Though he did not fully comprehend what was happening, he decided to act immediately when he did not get any response from the station master. He alerted the senior staff at nearby stations, like Vidisha and Itarsi, to suspend all train traffic to Bhopal.
- However, the jam-packed GorakhpurKanpur Express was already standing at the platform and its departure time was 20 minutes away. Listening to his gut instinct, Dastagir summoned his staff and told them to immediately clear the train for departure. When they asked if they should wait until the order to do so came from the head office, Dastagir replied that he would take complete responsibility for the train’s early departure. He wanted to ensure that the train left immediately, without any delay. His colleagues later recalled that Dastagir could barely stand and breathe as he spoke to them. Breaking all rules and without taking permission from anyone, he and his brave staff personally flagged off the train.
- But Dastagir’s work was not done. The railway station was filling up with people, desperate to flee the fumes. Some were gasping, others were vomiting, and most were weeping. Dastagir chose to remain on duty, running from one platform to another, attending, helping and consoling victims. He also sent an SOS to all the nearby railway offices, asking for immediate medical help. As a result, four ambulances with paramedics and railway doctors arrived at the station. It was winter and the gas was staying low to the ground, a thick haze poisoning everything in its path. Besieged by hordes of suffering people, the station soon resembled the emergency room of a large hospital. Dastagir stayed at the station, steadfastly doing his duty, knowing that his family was out there in the ill-fated city. That day all he had for his protection was a wet handkerchief on his mouth.
- Ghulam Dastagir’s devotion to duty saved the lives of hundreds of people. However, the catastrophe didn’t leave him unscathed. One of his sons died on the night of the tragedy and another developed a lifelong skin infection. Dastagir himself spent his last 19 years shuttling in and out of hospitals; he developed a painful growth in the throat due to prolonged exposure to toxic fumes. When he passed away in 2003, his death certificate mentioned that he was suffering from diseases caused as a direct result of exposure to MIC (Methyl Isocyanate) gas. A memorial has been built at platform No.1 to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty on the fateful night of December 3, 1984. However, Ghulam Dastagir, who died later, is not one of them. A forgotten hero whose sense of duty and commitment saved countless lives, Dastagir’s story deserves to be recognized and remembered by our fellow countrymen.
- Why was the accident at Union Carbide unparalleled in the world’s industrial history?
- How was Dastagir affected by the poisonous gas?
- What was the action taken by the station superintendent?
- How did Dastagir and his staff break rules?
- What was the cause of Dastagir’s death?
- Find words from the passage which mean the opposite of the following.
- safeguard (para 1)
- common or familiar (para 2)
- prompt (para 4)
- cause (para 6)
