Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
He will be lonely enough
to have time for the work
Advertisements
Solution
- Reference: These lines are from the poem ‘A Father to his Son” written by Carl August Sandburg.
- Context and Explanation: The poet says these words to explain how creative thinkers and those who strive to bring about changes are left alone to fend for themselves. The poet says his son must take advantage of this loneliness to pursue his creative imagination and succeed like Shakespeare, the Wright brothers, Pasteur, Pavlov, and Faraday.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
How long had the soldiers been in the castle?
Why didn’t the narrator want to tell the tale to anybody?
Bring out the contrasting picture of the castle as depicted in stanzas 3 and 5.
Our captain was brave and we were true
They seemed no threat to us at all.
I will maintain until my death
Can you call ‘The Castle’ an allegorical poem? Discuss.
Why is the casuarina tree dear to poet’s heart?
The casuarina tree will be remembered forever. Why?
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
A creeper climbs, in whose embraces bound No other tree could live.
- Which tree is referred to in the above lines?
- How does the tree survive the tight hold of the creeper?
- Why does Toru Dutt use the expression ‘a creeper climbs’?
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
Unto thy honor, Tree, beloved of those
Who now in blessed sleep for aye repose,
Fill in the blanks using the words given in the box to complete the summary of the poem.
Shakespeare considers the whole world a stage where men and women are only (1) ______. They (2)______the stage when they are born and exit when they die. Every man, during his life time, plays seven roles based on age. In the first act, as an infant, he is wholly (3) ______on the mother or a nurse. Later, emerging as a school child, he slings his bag over his shoulder and creeps most (4)______ to school. His next act is that of a lover, busy (5) ______ballads for his beloved and yearns for her (6) ______. In the fourth stage, he is aggressive and ambitious and seeks (7) ______in all that he does. He (8) ______solemnly to guard his country and becomes a soldier. As he grows older, with (9) ______and wisdom, he becomes a fair judge. During this stage, he is firm and (10) ______. In the sixth act, he is seen with loose pantaloons and spectacles. His manly voice changes into a childish (11) ______. The last scene of all is his second childhood. Slowly, he loses his (12) ______of sight, hearing, smell and taste and exits from the roles of his life.
| attention | treble | reluctantly |
| actors | maturity | reputation |
| serious | faculties | composing |
| enter | promises | dependent |
What is the first stage of a human’s life?
Bring out the features of the fourth stage of a man as described by the poet.
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?
Complete the table based on your understanding of the poem.
| Stage | Characteristic |
| crying | |
| judge | |
| soldier | |
| unhappy | |
| second childhood | |
| whining | |
| old man |
‘Ulysses is not happy to perform his duties as a king.’ Why?
‘As tho’ to breathe were life!’ – From the given line what do you understand of Ulysses’ attitude to life?
‘He works his work, I mine’ – How is the work distinguished?
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.
Read the set of line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
- The above lines convey the undying spirit of Ulysses. Explain.
- Pick out the words in alliteration in the above lines.
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?
What is Ulysses’ clarion call to his sailors? How does he inspire them?
Here are a few poetic device used in the poem.
Transferred Epithet- It is a figure of speech in which an epithet grammatically qualifies a noun other than the person or a thing, it is actually meant to describe.
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
“Life is a soft loam; be gentle; go easy.” And this too might serve him.
- Why does the poet suggest to take life easy?
- Identify the figure of speech in the above line.
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
Tell him to be a fool ever so often
and to have no shame over having been a fool
yet learning something out of every folly
hoping to repeat none of the cheap follies
- Is it a shame to be a fool at times?
- What does one learn from every folly?
How according to the poet is it possible for his son to bring changes into a world that resents change?
Why was the rider in a hurry?
