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Explain the following with reference to the context in about 50–60 word each. Athletes, I’ll drink to you, Or eat with you, Or anything except compete with you…

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प्रश्न

Explain the following with reference to the context in about 50–60 word each.

Athletes, I’ll drink to you, Or eat with you, Or anything except compete with you…

थोडक्यात उत्तर
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उत्तर

  • Reference: These words are from the poem “Confessions of a Bom Spectator” written by Ogden Nash.
  • Context: The poet says these while contemplating the probability of swapping places with them.
  • Explanation: The poet has limp and bashful spirit which feeds on other people’s heroic deeds. The zealous players maim one another to win laurels. The thrill and excitement of all kinds of sports and games pleases the poet but he is wise enough to stay out and be a spectator because he has modest of physiques. He admits he would rather share a drink with them in a pub or dine with them in a restaurant. He is even ready to buy the most expensive tickets, as expensive as radium, to see them play the rough games but never compete with them.
  • Comment: The poet shows his happiness to treat them with a costly drink since he enjoys being a spectator.
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Poem (Class 11th)
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पाठ 2.2: Confessions of a Born Spectator - Exercises [पृष्ठ ५५]

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सामाचीर कलवी English Class 11 TN Board
पाठ 2.2 Confessions of a Born Spectator
Exercises | Q 5. A. (iii) | पृष्ठ ५५

संबंधित प्रश्‍न

How does the poet compare his face with dresses?


Explain the following lines with reference to the context.

Once upon a time, son They used to laugh with their eyes:


Explain the following line with reference to the context.

I have learned to wear my faces Like dresses …


Read the poem again and complete the summary using the words given in the box.

In the poem ‘Confessions of a Born Spectator,’ Ogden Nash talks about how people choose different sports in their lives or decide to become athletes. While admiring the talents of athletes and sportsmen, the poet (i)______he is glad that he is neither a sportsman nor an athlete. Children have different (ii)______and wish to play various games. Each child has in mind something in particular, but the narrator is (iii)______he is not one of the players. Though the narrator (iv) ______the talents of all athletes, he derives satisfaction from watching them, but does not wish to (v) ______places with them. He also sometimes regrets that (vi)______athletes play rough games without caring for the feelings of their sporting rivals. He feels that good sense and caution win over ego. The narrator wholeheartedly offers (vii) ______the modest (viii) ______of athletes. Ultimately the narrator is (ix)______that he himself is not an athlete.

thanksgiving  exchange glad

confesses physiques zealous

satisfied aims admires


The poet does not wish to exchange places with the athletes. How does he justify his view?


Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow in a sentence or two.

With all my heart I do admire

Athletes who sweat for fun or hire

  1. Whom does the poet admire?
  2. For what reasons do the athletes sweat?

Why do accidents usually happen in the playground? Give your own examples and explain


Find words from the poem that convey the following ideas:

  1. connected together
  2. spread over the surface of the ground in a straggling manner 
  3. make out or understand
  4. slender woody shoots growing from branches or stems of trees

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

And I must think, do all I can,

That there was pleasure there…

  1. What did the poet notice about the twigs?
  2. What was the poet’s thought about then?

Read the following line and identify the figure of speech used in each extract.

And ‘tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes.


Why does the poet think that the birds were happy?


The poet finds joy in various objects of Nature. Explain.


Listening Activity

Some phrases have been left out in the poem below. First, read the poem. Then, fill in the missing words on listening to the reading or the recording of it in full. You may listen again, if required

To Autumn

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained

With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit

Beneath my ______, there thou may’st rest,

And tune thy jolly voice to my ______;

And all the daughters of the year shall dance!

Sing now the ______of fruits and flowers.

“The ______opens her beauties to

The sun, and love runs in her ______;

Blossoms hang round the brows of morning and

Flourish down the ______of modest eve,

Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing,

And ______strew flowers round her head.

The spirits of the air live on the smells

Of fruit; and joy, with ______, roves round

The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.”

Thus sang the ______as he sat,

Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak

Hills fled from our sight; but left his ______.

William Blake


A French proverb goes thus: ‘The dog may be wonderful prose, but only the cat is poetry.’ You may have observed that all animals possess a number of unique qualities. Fill in the columns with words and phrases associated with each of the following animals.

DOG CAT WOLF ELEPHANT
       
       
       
       
       

People admire some of these animal qualities. What are they? Have you noticed some of them in yourself or in others? Share your views with the class.


What makes the fakir stare in wonder?


Where can you encounter Macavity?


What is Macavity expected to be doing after committing a crime?


Read the poem once again and complete the summary using the words given in the box.

‘Macavity – The Mystery Cat’ is a humorous poem, where the poet T.S. Eliot describes the mysterious (a) _______of a shrewd vile cat. He commits a crime at every possible opportunity. He is an elusive master (b)______who leaves no evidence after he commits a crime. Even the Scotland Yard, the London (c) ______ agency is unable to arrest him. The Flying Squad is (d) ______ because every time they rush to the crime spot to seize Macavity, he is not there. He breaks the human law as well as the law of (e) ______. He baffles even a (f) ______ with his powers of levitation. Macavity appears tall and thin with (g)______ eyes. He is always preoccupied with some serious (h) ______. His coat is dusty and his (i)______are unkempt. Macavity is a (j) ______in the guise of a cat. He appears to be outwardly (k) ______ but his actions disprove it. Macavity loots the (l)______, ransacks the jewel-case, and breaks the (m)______glass but wonder of wonders he is not to be found anywhere there. He is always a mile away from the scene of crime, happily relaxing or doing difficult (n) ______ sums. He is clever at making up an (o) ______every time he plots a crime. All the notorious cats are nothing but the (p) ______Macavity, the Napoleon of Crime.

larder whiskers
respectable criminal
devil thought
sunken division
agents detective
alibi desperate
fakir qualities
gravity greenhouse

Explain the following line with reference to the context.

There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair

But it’s useless to investigate…


Give four instances where the poet has used alliteration in the poem.


What does ‘Everest’ in the title stand for?


In what way is every hillock similar to Everest?


Discuss the following topic in groups of five and choose a representative to sum up the view and share them with the class.

‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal.’ It is the courage and perseverance that counts.


Who is Bolingbroke? Is he a friend or foe?


Working with your partner, discuss the following adages and share your views with the class. You may need to give your ideas and justify your point of view. Remember to take turns while making your presentation/short speech.

Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown


Read the poem once again carefully and identify the figure of speech that has been used in each of the following line from the poem:

“And yet not so – for what can we bequeath

Save our deposed bodies to the ground?”


Read the poem once again carefully and identify the figure of speech that has been used in each of the following line from the poem:

“Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!”


Based on your reading of King Richard’s speech, answer the following questions in about 100 - 150 words each. You may add your own ideas if required to present and justify your point of view.

Who does the future generations remember easily - the victor or the vanquished? Give reasons. Also, cite relevant references from King Richard’s speech.


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