Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
The poet does not wish to exchange position with the runners. Why?
Advertisements
Solution
The poet does not wish to break any world record in running. He knows that athletes have no feelings for their fellow players. So, the poet does not want to exchange positions with the runners.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Guess what friendly words these two gentlemen exchange when shaking hands.
Mention the qualities the child in the poem symbolises.
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
‘But now they only laugh with their teeth, While their ice-block-cold eyes…’
- Who are ‘they’?
- Explain: ice-block-cold eyes
- Identify the figure of speech used here.
Why would the referee ask whether there was a doctor in the stands? What stands is he referring to?
Read the given lines and answer the questions that follow in a sentence or two.
Well, ego it might be pleased enough But zealous athletes play so rough…
- What pleases the ego?
- Why are athletes often rough during play?
Read the poem and complete the table with suitable rhyming words
| e.g. enter | center |
| hockey | |
| admire | |
| romp | |
| deeds | |
| score | |
| please | |
| wrist | |
| demands | |
| stadium |
Read the lines given below and answer the question that follow.
And ‘tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes…
- What is the poet’s faith?
- What trait of Nature do we see here?
Explain the following line with reference to the context in about four to five sentence each.
Have I not reason to lament
What Man has made of Man?
Read the following line and identify the figure of speech used in each extract.
What Man has made of Man?
Does Nature affect a person’s thoughts and feelings? Explain.
The poet finds joy in various objects of Nature. Explain.
The poem is set in a ______.
Answer in a paragraph of about 100−150 words.
Do you think the poet wants to say that man is unhappy because he has lost his link with nature and forgotten how to enjoy nature, or because man is cruel to other men?
Listening Activity
Some phrases have been left out in the poem below. First, read the poem. Then, fill in the missing words on listening to the reading or the recording of it in full. You may listen again, if required
To Autumn
O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my ______, there thou may’st rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my ______;
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the ______of fruits and flowers.
“The ______opens her beauties to
The sun, and love runs in her ______;
Blossoms hang round the brows of morning and
Flourish down the ______of modest eve,
Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
And ______strew flowers round her head.
The spirits of the air live on the smells
Of fruit; and joy, with ______, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.”
Thus sang the ______as he sat,
Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his ______.
William Blake
When humanity fails to live in harmony with Nature, its effects are felt around the world. Why and how?
What makes the fakir stare in wonder?
Where can you encounter Macavity?
Read the given lines and answer the question that follow.
He’s the bafflement of Scotland
Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime
— Macavity’s not there!..
- What is ‘Scotland Yard’?
- Why does the flying squad feel disappointed?
Read the given lines and answer the question that follow.
‘It must have been Macavity!’ but he’s a mile away.
- What is Macavity blamed for?
- Where is he?
What does the ladder symbolize?
The poem does not focus on the destination but the journey towards it. Discuss
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.
Discuss the following topic in groups of five and choose a representative to sum up the view and share them with the class.
‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal.’ It is the courage and perseverance that counts.
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 |
What does ‘flesh’ mean here?
How does the king establish that he and his subjects are equal in the end?
Working with your partner, discuss the following adages and share your views with the class. You may need to give your ideas and justify your point of view. Remember to take turns while making your presentation/short speech.
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown
Pick out the alliteration from the following lines:
“Our lands, our lives, and all, are Bolingbroke’s,…”
Based on your reading of King Richard’s speech, answer the following questions in about 100 - 150 words each. You may add your own ideas if required to present and justify your point of view.
Who does the future generations remember easily - the victor or the vanquished? Give reasons. Also, cite relevant references from King Richard’s speech.
