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Question
Do you agree with the view that Macbeth is fighting a lost battle against forces beyond his control? Justify your point of view in about 200- 250 words by referring to the Acts studied.
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Solution
The view that Macbeth is fighting a lost battle against forces beyond his control is a compelling interpretation of the play. Several elements within "Macbeth" suggest that his downfall is influenced by supernatural and psychological forces that seem insurmountable.
Firstly, the witches play a pivotal role in setting Macbeth on his tragic path. In Act I, Scene 3, they prophesy that Macbeth will become king, planting the seed of ambition in his mind. This prophecy can be seen as a force beyond his control, as it manipulates his actions and drives him towards regicide. The witches' influence suggests that Macbeth is caught in a web of fate that he cannot escape.
Additionally, Lady Macbeth's manipulation exacerbates Macbeth's internal conflict. In Act I, Scene 7, she questions his masculinity and ambition, goading him into murdering Duncan. Her influence over him demonstrates how external forces can overpower his moral judgment and lead him to commit heinous acts.
As Macbeth succumbs to his ambition, his psychological state deteriorates, further illustrating his battle against uncontrollable forces. By Act V, Scene 3, Macbeth acknowledges the futility of his actions, stating that life is “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” This resignation reflects his recognition of the inevitable consequences of his earlier decisions, driven by forces beyond his comprehension and control.
Moreover, Macbeth's encounters with the apparitions in Act IV, Scene 1, further highlight his struggle against predetermined fate. The apparitions’ cryptic messages give him a false sense of security, leading to overconfidence and ultimately his downfall. This supernatural manipulation underscores the idea that Macbeth is fighting a losing battle against destiny.
In conclusion, Macbeth's struggle against forces beyond his control is evident throughout the play. The witches’ prophecies, Lady Macbeth’s manipulation, and the supernatural influences all contribute to his tragic downfall. Despite his valiant efforts, Macbeth is ultimately a pawn in a larger, uncontrollable scheme, emphasizing the play’s themes of fate, ambition, and the supernatural.
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A verb must be in the same number and person as its subject e.g.
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( d) The horse as well as its rider was hurt by the fall.
(e) Not only India, but also the whole world recognises Gandhiji's
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Working in groups of four, create your own mystery story. You may use the following chart to plan your story.
| Title of 'Solve-it Story' | |
| Main Character | |
| Secondary character | |
| Setting (where and when) | |
| Problem | |
| Main events | |
| Climax | |
| Solution |
Read and enjoy :
Hockey 
Do you know when hockey was first played? Research in Ethiopia has discovered that it has been around for more than four millenia. A tablet in Greece has images of young people playing field hockey. Even in South America, Ireland, Egypt, Scotland and Rome, there are proofs and records of this game. The game in these countries was no different than the other even though it was known by different names. Hundreds of years ago, this game was known as 'Hockie' in Ireland and it is this name that has stuck with the game ever since.
While current field hockey appeared in the mid-18th century in England, primarily in schools, it was not until the first half of the 19th century that it became firmly established. Prior to 1980, women were not permitted to take part in this game. The first club was created in 1849 at Blackheath in south-east London. During the 1600s and 1700s, hockey in England was a little dissimilar and it was more disorganised. People from all over the village would take part in the game. It was not unusual for a team to have 60 - 100 players. It was the goal of the team players to get the ball into the common ground of the rival team. This game required quite a few days to finish. Many players suffered injuries. Even though umpires were present, they were not allowed to say anything without the team members' request.
Ultimaty , good judgment prevailed. Firm regulations were introduced. In England, a headmaster restricted the number of players to thirty for one single team, During the 1860s, England's Eton College laid down some rules for the game. Additional rules were introduced afterthe formation of the Hockey Association in the year 1875.
Football
Football refers to a number of similar team sports, all of which involve (to varying degrees) kicking a ball with the foot in an attempt to score a goal. People from around the world have played games which involved kicking and / or canying a ball, since ancient times. However, most of the modern codes of football have their origins in England.
The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more comm.only known as just 'Football' or 'Soccer'. It is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world
What does he plant who plants a tree? a
He plants a friend of sun and sky;b
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high;
He plants a home to heaven anigh;
For song and mother-croon of bird
In hushed and happy twilight heard____
The treble of heaven's harmony_____
These things he plants who plants a tree.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow:
Bangle sellers are we who bear
Our shining loads to the temple fair...
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,
For happy daughters and happy wives.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Who is the speaker in the poem?
Bangle sellers are we who bear
Our shining loads to the temple fair...
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,
For happy daughters and happy wives.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
What is referred to Rainbow-tinted circles of light ?
Some are Purple and gold flecked grey
For she who has journeyed through life midway,
Whose hands have cherished , whose love has blest,
And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,
And serves her household in fruitful pride,
And worship the gods at her husband's side.
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow:
What fulfills the life of an Indian wife and mother?
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?
Mr. Oliver, an Anglo-Indian teacher, was returning to his school late one night on the outskirts of the hill station of Shimla. The school was conducted on English public school lines and the boys – most of them from well-to-do Indian families – wore blazers, caps and ties. “Life” magazine, in a feature on India, had once called this school the Eton of the East.
Mr. Oliver had been teaching in this school for several years. He’s no longer there. The Shimla Bazaar, with its cinemas and restaurants, was about two miles from the school; and Mr. Oliver, a bachelor, usually strolled into the town in the evening returning after dark, when he would take short cut through a pine forest.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Who was Mr Oliver? Where was he working?
“Jane,” said the wheelwright, with an impressiveness of tone that greatly subdued his wife, “I read in the Bible sometimes, and find much said about little children. How the Savior rebuked the disciples who would not receive them; how he took them up in his arms, and blessed them; and how he said that ‘whosoever gave them even a cup of cold water should not go unrewarded.’ Now, it is a small thing for us to keep this poor motherless little one for a single night; to be kind to her for a single night; to make her life comfortable for a single night.”
The voice of the strong, rough man shook, and he turned his head away, so that the moisture in his eyes might not be seen. Mrs. Thompson did not answer, but a soft feeling crept into her heart.
“Look at her kindly, Jane; speak to her kindly,” said Joe. “Think of her dead mother, and the loneliness, the pain, the sorrow that must be on all her coming life.” The softness of his heart gave unwonted eloquence to his lips.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
Why does the author make the character repeat the phrase, ‘a single night’?
From the day, perhaps a hundred years ago when he sun had hatched him in a sandbank, and he had broken his shell, and got his head out and looked around, ready to snap at anything, before he was even fully hatched-from that day, when he had at once made for the water, ready to fend for himself immediately, he had lived by his brainless craft and ferocity. Escaping the birds of prey and the great carnivorous fishes that eat baby crocodiles, he has prospered, catching all the food he needed, and storing it till putrid in holes in the bank. Tepid water to live in and plenty of rotted food grew him to his great length. Now nothing could pierce the inch-?thick armoured hide. Not even rifle bullets,
which would bounce off. Only the eyes and the soft underarms offered a place. He lived well in the river, sunning himself sometimes with other crocodiles-muggers, as well as the long-? snouted fish-?eating gharials-on warm rocks and sandbanks where the sun dried the clay on them quite white, and where they could plop off into the water in a moment if alarmed. The big crocodile fed mostly on fish, but also on deer and monkeys come to drink, perhaps a duck or two.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What posed a danger to him when he was young?
Sibia sprang.
From boulder to boulder she came leaping like a rock goat. Sometimes it had seemed difficult to cross these stones, especially the big gap in the middle where the river coursed through like a bulge of glass. But now she came on wings, choosing her footing in midair without even thinking about it, and in one moment she was beside the shrieking woman. In the boiling bloody water, the face of the crocodile, fastened round her leg, was tugging to and fro, and smiling. His eyes rolled on to Sibia. One slap of the tail could kill her. He struck. Up shot the water, twenty feet, and fell like a silver chain. Again! The rock jumped under the blow. But in the daily heroism of the jungle, as common as a thorn tree, Sibia did not hesitate. She aimed at the reptile’s eyes. With all the force of her little body, she drove the hayfork at the eyes, and one prong went in—right in— while its pair scratched past on the horny cheek. The crocodile reared up in convulsion, till half his lizard body was out of the river, the tail and nose nearly meeting over his stony back. Then he crashed back, exploding the water, and in an uproar of bloody foam he disappeared. He would die. Not yet, but presently, though his death would not be known for days; not till his stomach, blown with gas, floated him. Then perhaps he would be found upside down among the logs at the timber boom, with pus in his eye. Sibia got arms round the fainting woman, and somehow dragged her from the water.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What was the reaction of the crocodile when he saw Sibia?
Then there it lay in her wet palm, perfect, even pierced ready for use, with the sunset shuffled about inside it like gold—?dust. All her heart went up in flames of joy. After a bit she twisted it into the top of her skirt against her tummy so she would know if it burst through the poor cloth and fell. Then she picked up her fork and sickle and the heavy grass and set off home. Ai! Ai! What a day! Her barefeet smudged out the wriggle— ?mark of snakes in the dust; there was the thin singing of malaria mosquitoes among the trees now; and this track was much used at night by a morose old makna elephant—the Tuskless One; but Sibia was not thinking of any of them. The stars came out: she did not notice. On the way back she met her mother, out of breath, come to look for her, and scolding. “I did not see till I was home, that you were not there. I thought something must have happened to you.” And Sibia, bursting with her story, cried “Something did). I found a blue bead for my necklace, look!”
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What all did Sibia not notice as she went home?
Why did the king refuse to give reward to anyone?
What did the narrator do with the hatchet?
What do you know about ‘That way?
How did Ray communicate with him?
How did Ray tackle the evil-minded shoppers?
What all instructions are given by the adults regarding noise?
Read the newspaper report to find the following facts about Columbia’s ill-fated voyage.
Number of experiments done by scientists: ____________
Multiple Choice Question:
What are hymn books”?
Your partner and you may now be able to answer the question.
From the way the child envies the hawker, the gardener, and the watchman, we can guess that there are many things the child has to do, or must not do. Make a list of the do’s and don’ts that the child doesn’t like. The first line is done for you.
| The child must come home at a fixed time. | The child must not get his clothes dirty in the dust. |
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Now add to the list your own complaints about the things you have to do, or must not do.
What is being compared to a gray overcoat?
Antonio says that trying to reason with Shylock was like ______.
- standing on the beach and ordering the waves to wash away the sands.
- reasoning with a ewe which was crying out in distress at the loss of her lamb.
- trying to soften a rock.
- commanding the pine trees on the mountain side to remain quiet and motionless when battered by strong winds.
Referring closely to the poem, Birches, discuss what differentiates the swinging of birches in the poet's adulthood from that in his childhood.
How does the poem, Crossing the Bar, portray the poet's deep affirmation and faith in God?
Who asks permission to speak at Caesar’s funeral?
Complete the following sentence by providing a reason.
In the short story, Atithi, Motilal Babu and Annapurna choose Tarapada as a prospective groom for their daughter because ______.
