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Question
Mention the qualities the child in the poem symbolises.
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Solution
A child is guileless. He /she is innocent. He multiplies his joy and halves his sorrow by sharing them with friends. A child does not have lasting anger and is quick to forgive and forget wrongs done to him. His friendship is genuine and laughter natural and spontaneous.
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Fill in the blanks choosing the words from the box given and complete the summary of the poem:
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| relearn | adults | facial |
| personal | fangs | child |
| fakes | superficially | duplicity |
| genuine | unlearn | falsity |
| masks | mirror | pleasantries |
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
There will be no thrice.
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
I have learned to wear my faces Like dresses …
Explain the following lines with reference to the context.
I want to be what I used to be.
Read the given line and answer the question that follow in a sentence or two
When snaps the knee and cracks the wrist….
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Explain the following with reference to the context in about 50–60 word each.
I am just glad as glad can be That I am not them, that they are not me…
Read the poem and complete the table with suitable rhyming words
| e.g. enter | center |
| hockey | |
| admire | |
| romp | |
| deeds | |
| score | |
| please | |
| wrist | |
| demands | |
| stadium |
Underline the alliterated word in the following line.
They do not ever in their dealings…
Find out the rhyme scheme of the given stanza.
One infant grows up and becomes a jockey
Another plays basketball or hockey
This one the prize ring hates to enter
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Complete the summary of the poem by filling in the blanks with the words given below.
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| creations | abundance | savour |
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| lament | pervading | sorrowful |
| ecstasy |
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Answer in a paragraph of about 100−150 words.
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What is Macavity expected to be doing after committing a crime?
Identify the following personalities and their fields of achievement.
| Name | Field | |
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- Mention a remarkable achievement of any of these personalities.
- What quality do you admire the most in each of these achievers?
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- Name a few more popular personalities who have made our nation proud.
- ______.
- ______.
- ______.
- ______.
Which line is repeated in the poem? What is the effect created by this repetition?
Which path should we follow in life?
What does ‘Everest’ in the title stand for?
Read the given line and answer the question that follow.
Honour is a property, common to all: In dignity and pride no one need to be poor.
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- What is their asset?
In what way is every hillock similar to Everest?
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Creative Activity
- Write eight words you associate with success.
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Discuss the following topics in groups of five and choose a representative to sum up the views and share them with the class.
To succeed in life, one must have a single-minded devotion to duty.
The historical background:
The poem is an extract from William Shakespeare’s play King Richard the Second. The play is based on true events that occurred towards the end of the 14th century.
Richard II was crowned the King of England in the year 1367. He continued to be the British Monarch until 1399, when he was deposed by his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, who crowned himself King Henry the Fourth in the same year. Shakespeare’s play is a dramatic rendition of the last two years of King Richard II’s life. In this brief span of time, he was ousted from his royal position and sent to prison, where he died in captivity.
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How are eternal truths and wisdom brought to the reader here?
