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प्रश्न
Thinking about the Poem
What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
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उत्तर
In the last four lines, the poet inspires us to face the wind, which symbolises the hardships of our lives, courageously. He tells us that the wind can only extinguish the weak fires; it intensifies the stronger ones. Similarly, adversities deter the weak-hearted but make stronger those who have unfaltering will. In such a case, befriending the wind or the hardships of life makes it easier for us to face them.
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संबंधित प्रश्न
When we meet people, we notice their faces more than anything else. The box below contains words which describe the features of a face. Work in pairs and list them under the appropriate headings, then add more words of your own.
| twinkling | shifty | discoloured | short | oval |
| pear-shaped | large | close-cropped | broken | long |
| protruding | gapped | thick | pointed | wide |
| fair | thin | pale | swarthy | staring |
| square | round | untidy | close-set | neat |
| wavy | upturned |
| Shape of face | Complexion | Eyes | Hair | Nose | Lips | Teeth |
"They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won;
For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.
"Great praise the Duke of Marlbro'won,
And our good Prince Eugene."
"Why,'twas a very wicked thing!"
Said little Wilhelmine.
"Nay...nay...my little girl,"quoth he,
"It was a famous victory.
"And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win."
"But what good came of it at last?"
Quoth little Peterkin.
"Why that I cannot tell,"said he,
"But 'twas a famous victory."
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
How does kasper justify the thousands of death in the war?
"They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won;
For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.
"Great praise the Duke of Marlbro'won,
And our good Prince Eugene."
"Why,'twas a very wicked thing!"
Said little Wilhelmine.
"Nay...nay...my little girl,"quoth he,
"It was a famous victory.
"And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win."
"But what good came of it at last?"
Quoth little Peterkin.
"Why that I cannot tell,"said he,
"But 'twas a famous victory."
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
How does the poet describe the scene on the field after the battle?
The boy looked up. He took his hands from his face and looked up at his teacher. The light from Mr. Oliver’s torch fell on the boy’s face, if you could call it a face. He had no eyes, ears, nose or mouth. It was just a round smooth head with a school cap on top of it.
And that’s where the story should end, as indeed it has for several people who have had similar experiences and dropped dead of inexplicable heart attacks. But for Mr. Oliver, it did not end there. The torch fell from his trembling hand. He turned and scrambled down the path, running blindly through the trees and calling for help. He was still running towards the school buildings when he saw a lantern swinging in the middle of the path. Mr. Oliver had never before been so pleased to see the night watchman. He stumbled up to the watchman, gasping for breath and speaking incoherently.
What is it, Sahib? Asked the watchman, has there been an accident? Why are you running?
I saw something, something horrible, a boy weeping in the forest and he had no face.
No face, Sahib?
No eyes, no nose, mouth, nothing.
Do you mean it was like this, Sahib? asked the watchman, and raised the lamp to his own face. The watchman had no eyes, no ears, no features at all, not even an eyebrow. The wind blew the lamp out and Mr. Oliver had his heart attack.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What was strange about the watchman? What happened to Mr Oliver when the watchman raised the lantern to show his face?
I was in for a surprise. When the time came for the broad-jump trials, I was startled to see a tall boy hitting the pit at almost 26 feet on his practice leaps! He turned out to be a German named Luz Long. 1 was told that Hitler hoped to win the jump with him. I guessed that if Long won, it would add some new support to the Nazis’ “master race” (Aryan superiority) theory. After all, I am a Negro. Angr about Hitler’s ways, 1 determined to go out there and really show Der Fuhrer and his master race who was superior and who wasn’t. An angry athlete is an athlete who will make mistakes, as any coach will tell you. I was no exception. On the first of my three qualifying jumps, I leaped from several inches beyond the takeoff board for a foul. On the second jump, I fouled even worse. “Did I come 3,000 miles for this?” I thought bitterly. “To foul out of the trials and make a fool of myself ?” Walking a few yards from the pit, 1 kicked disgustedly at the dirt.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
“I was no exception: – Explain.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
'Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.'
(A Psalm of Life-H. W. Longfellow)
(i) Explain-'Tell me not in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream!' What should not be considered the goal of life?
(ii) What is the beating of the heart compared to? How is the heart described? IV/wt does the beating of the heart remind us of?
(iii) What does the poet mean when lie compares the world to a battlefield? What should our role be in this battle?
(iv) How should we view the past and the future? what advice does the past give in this context?
(v) What do we learn from the lives of great men? What is the final message of the poem ? Give one reason why the poem appeals to you.
Why do the worker ants carry the grubs about?
Why did Gopal’s wife find his activities strange?
What proves that Mr Gessler was not an Englishman?
Describe briefly to the class an improbable dream you have had.
Why do we make swings on trees?
There are four pairs of rhyming words in the poem. Say them aloud.
Multiple Choice Question:
What makes people dance in the fields?
Answer the following question.
Dolma believes that she can make a good Prime Minister because ____________________
_____________________.
Multiple Choice Question:
What are the people always eager to hear?
Answer the following question:
How many prizes did the boy win? What were they?
The words given against the sentences below can be used both as nouns and verbs. Use them appropriately to fill in the blanks.
(i) The boys put up a good athletic____________________________ . (show)
(ii) The soldiers ________________________ great courage in saving people from floods.
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
| Shylock: | Shall I not have barely my principal'? |
| Portia: | Thou shalt have nothing but forfeiture. To be so taken at thy peril, Jew. |
- What is the 'principal' that Shylock asks for?
Why does Portia refuse to give it to him? [3] - What is the 'forfeiture' they are referring to?
What danger ('peril') would Shylock be in if he took the forfeiture? [3] - What further hold does the law of Venice have on Shylock? [3]
- What concession does Antonio offer to Shylock?
On what condition does he make this offer? [3] - Why is Shylock in a hurry to leave the courtroom after the trial?
How far can Shylock be blamed for the outcome of the trial?
Give one reason for your response. [4]
Complete the following sentences by providing a reason.
Macbeth returns to the witches in Act IV Scene i because ______.
In what ways does the speaker’s cultural background clash with the landlady’s expectations in the poem Telephone Conversation? Write your answer in 100-150 words incorporating the following details.
- The speaker’s conversation with the landlady
- The undertones of racial and colour bias in the conversation
