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प्रश्न
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.
- What does Ulysses do?
- Did he enjoy what he was doing? Give reasons.
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उत्तर
- Ulysses, like a grocery shop owner, measures and delivers rewards and punishments to a large number of uncivilized citizens.
- No, he did not enjoy his work. He does not like the idea of ministering variable justice to people who like “drones” or animals just eat, sleep and multiply their kind. He wants to leave such work to his son.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
Who is the narrator in the poem?
Why does the narrator say that the enemy was no threat at all?
Read the given line and answer the question that follow in a line or two.
Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,
So smooth and high, no man could win.
- How safe was the castle?
- What was the firm belief of the soldiers?
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.
Can you call ‘The Castle’ an allegorical poem? Discuss.
What is the creeper compared to?
Identify the figure of speech used in each of the extract given below and write down the answer in the space given below.
“ A creeper climbs, in whose embraces bound
No other tree could live. But gallantly
The giant wears the scarf, and flowers are hung......”
What is the world compared to?
Describe the second stage of life as depicted by Shakespeare.
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.
- Which stage of life is being referred to here by the poet?
- What are the characteristics of this stage?
- How does the boy go to school?
- Which figure of speech has been employed in the second line?
Introduction
The poem ‘Ulysses’ is a dramatic monologue that contains 70 lines of blank verse. Ulysses, the King of Ithaca, gathers his men together to prepare for the journey and exhorts them not to waste their time left on earth. Ulysses has grown old, having experienced many adventures at the battle of Troy and in the seas. After returning to Ithaca, he desires to embark upon his next voyage. His inquisitive spirit is always looking forward to more and more of such adventures.

Complete the summary of the poem, choosing words from the list given below. Lines 1 to 32
Ulysses is (1) ______to discharge his duties as a (2) ______, as he longs for (3) ______. He is filled with an (4) ______thirst for (5) ______and wishes to live life to the (6) ______. He has travelled far and wide gaining (7) _______ of various places, cultures, men and (8) ______. He recalls with delight his experience at the battle of Troy. Enriched by his (9) ______he longs for more and his quest seems endless. Like metal which would (10) ______if unused, life without adventure is meaningless. According to him living is not merely (11) ______to stay alive. Though old but zestful, Ulysses looks at every hour as a bringer of new things and yearns to follow knowledge even if it is (12)______.
| fullest, unquenchable, unattainable, experience, knowledge, king, matters, rust, adventure, unwilling, travel, breathing |
Complete the summary of the poem, choosing words from the list given below. Lines 44 to 70
Ulysses beckons his sailors to (1) ______at the port where the ship is ready to sail. His companions who have faced both (2) ______and sunshine with a smile, are united by their undying spirit of adventure. Though death would end everything, Ulysses urges his companions to join him and sail beyond the sunset and seek a newer (3) ______, regardless of consequences. These brave hearts who had once moved (4) ______ and earth, may have grown old and weak physically but their spirit is young and (5) ______. His call is an inspiration for all those who seek true knowledge and strive to lead (6) ______ lives.
| world, thunder, meaningful, gather, undaunted, heaven |
Read the set of line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough
Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move
- What is experience compared to?
- How do the lines convey that the experience is endless?
Read the set of line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
……for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
- What was Ulysses’ purpose in life?
- How long would his venture last?
Read the set of line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
- Though made weak by time and fate, the hearts are heroic. Explain.
- Pick out the words in alliteration in the above lines.
Explain with reference to the context the following line.
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lees:
Explain with reference to the context the following line.
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
What makes Ulysses seek newer adventures?
List the roles and responsibilities Ulysses assigns to his son Telemachus, while he is away.
Here are a few poetic device used in the poem.
Antithesis- It is a literary device that emphasises the idea of contrast.
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
“Life is hard; be steel; be a rock.”
- How should one face life?
- 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.
- How does free imagination help the world?
- Identify the figure of speech.
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
Yet learning something out of every folly
hoping to repeat none of the cheap follies
What was Napoleon’s reaction on hearing the news of victory?
Literary Devices
Mark the rhyme scheme of the poem. The rhyme scheme for the first stanza is as follows.
| With neck out-thrust, you fancy how, | a |
| Legs wide, arms locked behind, | b |
| As if to balance the prone brow | a |
| Oppressive with its mind. | b |
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
Then off there flung in smiling joy, And held himself erect
