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Question
Fill in the blanks using the words given in the box to complete the summary of the poem:
King Richard the Second, had surrendered to his (a)______cousin, Bollingbroke. He experienced deep distress at the horror of his circumstances. In that desperate situation, he speaks of (b)______, (c)______, (d)______and other things connected with death. He spoke of how people leave nothing behind and can call nothing their own, except for the small patch of (e)______, where they will be buried. King Richard yielded to dejection and talked of all the different ways in which defeated kings suffer how some had been deposed, (f)______in war, (g)______by their wives and so forth. He attributed this loss of lives to (h)______, who he personified as the jester who watches over the shoulder of every ruler, who mocks kings by allowing them to think their human flesh, was like (i)______brass. However, Death penetrates through the castle walls, silently and unnoticed like a sharp (j)______, thus bidding (k)______to him and all his pride forever. Finally, Richard appealed to his soldiers not to mock his mere flesh and blood by showing (l) ______and respect to him. He added that he too needed bread to live, felt want, tasted (m)______and needed (n)______. He concluded thus, urging his men not to call him a (o)______as he was only human, just like the rest of them.
| barren-earth | friends | graves | slain |
| rebellious | poisoned | worms | grief |
| impregnable | epitaphs | death | farewell |
| reverence | king | pin |
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Solution
King Richard the Second, had surrendered to his (a) rebellious cousin, Bollingbroke. He experienced deep distress at the horror of his circumstances. In that desperate situation, he speaks of (b) graves, (c) epitaphs, (d) worms, and other things connected with death. He spoke of how people leave nothing behind and can call nothing their own, except for the small patch of (e) barren earth, where they will be buried. King Richard yielded to dejection and talked of all the different ways in which defeated kings suffer how some had been deposed, (f) slain in war, (g) poisoned by their wives and so forth. He attributed this loss of lives to (h) death, who he personified as the jester who watches over the shoulder of every ruler, who mocks kings by allowing them to think their human flesh, was like (i) impregnable brass. However, Death penetrates through the castle walls, silently and unnoticed like a sharp (j) Pin, thus bidding (k) farewell to him and all his pride forever. Finally, Richard appealed to his soldiers not to mock his mere flesh and blood by showing (l) reverence and respect to him. He added that he too needed bread to live, felt want, tasted (m) grief and needed (n) friends. He concluded thus, urging his men not to call him a (o) king as he was only human, just like the rest of them.
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