Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

So from the world of spirits there descends A bridge of light, connecting it with this, O’er whose unsteady floor, that sways and bends, Wander our thoughts above the dark abyss.

1. What has the poet told us about the world of spirits? (Recall)
2. Where can we ‘meet’ the departed spirits? (Understanding)
3. What is the significance of ‘So’ in Line 1? (Analysis)
4. Which bridge descends from the world of spirits? What has it been compared to? (Analysis)
5. What do we often think of? (Understanding and Analysis)

Answer 1

1. The poet says that the spirit world quietly surrounds our world like the air around us. It is filled with peaceful and harmless spirits of the people who once lived in the houses.
2. We can feel the presence of the spirits in the houses where they once lived. They seem to be at the doorway, on the stairs, in the passages, and even at the dining table. They cannot be seen or touched, but the speaker can sense them more clearly than a stranger.
3. The word ‘So’ is used to compare two ideas. Just as the moonlight forms a bridge of light on the sea, in the same way a bridge of light connects the spirit world with our world.
4. The poet compares the bridge of light from the spirit world to the bridge of moonlight on the sea. Both act as a path that connects our world with the mysterious world and carry our thoughts and imagination there.
5. The poet says that our thoughts and imagination often travel across this bridge of light to the mysterious world beyond. It helps us think about things that we cannot normally see or understand.