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प्रश्न
What are the ‘tokens’ that the poet says he may have dropped long ago, and which the animals have kept for him? Discuss this in class .
(Hint Whitman belongs to the Romantic tradition that includes Rousseau and Wordsworth,which holds that civilisation has made humans false to their own true nature.
What could be the basic aspects of our nature as living beings that humans choose to ignore or deny?)
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उत्तर
The tokens mentioned in the poem mean the symbols of the true nature of human beings. These tokens are actually tokens of virtue such as containment, honesty, innocence and the likes of it.
संबंधित प्रश्न
I think I could turn and live with animals, they are
so placid and self-contain’d
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with
the mania of owning things.
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that
lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.
So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they evince
them plainly in their possession
I wonder where they get those tokens,
Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?
(A1) Complete the following sentences with the help of the poem.
(a) The poet wishes he could.............................
(b) Animals do not complain about............................
(c) Animals do not merely discuss.............................
(d) Animals are not crazy about .............................
(A2) The qualities of animals that highlighted by the poet in the poem are
.............................................................................................................
............................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................
(A3) Name and explain the figures of speech.
“I stand and look at them long and long.’’
Notice the use of the word ‘turn’ in the first line, “I think I could turn and live with animals…”. What is the poet turning from?
Do humans kneel to other humans who lived thousands of years ago? Discuss this in groups.
At times, especially when you are frustrated, you wish you were an animal/a bird/a fish/a butterfly and not a human being.
Say which of the above you would choose to transform to and give 3 or 4 reasons for your choice.
I wish I could be a ............................................
We come across many animals in our vicinity. We have also read about different animals in books. Make a list of all animals that fall under various categories. One is given for you.
| Amphibians | Mammals | Wild Animals | Aquatic Animals | Pet Animals |
| frog | cow | lion | octopus | cat |
Match the words given in table A with their meanings in table B.
| No | A Words |
B Meaning |
|
| (i) | whine | (a) | an offence against religious or moral law |
| (ii) | sin | (b) | complain in an annoying way |
| (iii) | evince | (c) | craze |
| (iv) | mania | (d) | failing to take proper care |
| (v) | negligent | (e) | show |
Find adjectives from the poem which refer to positive and negative thinking.
| Positive | Negative |
| 1. ................... | 1. ................... |
| 2. ................... | 2. ................... |
| 3. ................... | 3. ................... |
The poet wishes he could ______.
State whether the following statement is true or false.
Animals are self-reliant.
State whether the following statement is true or false.
Animals quarrel for their possessions.
State whether the following statement is true or false.
Animals do not worship other animals.
State whether the following statement is true or false.
Humans have given up many good qualities.
With the help of the poem find the differences between animals and human beings.
| Human beings | Animals |
| Always complain about their condition | Never complain about anything |
Read the text again, and complete the web, highlighting the good values/habits which we can learn from animals.
Read the following poem and write an appreciation of it with the help of the given points in a paragraph format:
|
Animals I think I could turn and live with animals, they are |
You can use the following points while appreciating the given poem.
- The title and the poet of the poem [1]
- Rhyme scheme [1]
- Figures of speech [1]
- Central Idea/Theme [2]
Mention any two reasons why Walt Whitman appreciates animals more than humans.
'They do not sweat and whine about their condition.' What human traits does the poet condemn in these lines?
