English

'They do not sweat and whine about their condition.' What human traits does the poet condemn in these lines?

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Question

'They do not sweat and whine about their condition.' What human traits does the poet condemn in these lines?

Answer in Brief
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Solution

The poet is rather taken aback by the fact that animals do not lament their plight and weep as people do. They have nothing to worry about as they eat and sleep comfortably. The animals are pure, and they don't implore God to grant their wishes or seek forgiveness.

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Animals
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2021-2022 (March) Delhi Set 3

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1. ................... 1. ...................
2. ................... 2. ...................
3. ................... 3. ...................

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Read the poem again and write an appreciation of the poem in a paragraph format with the help of given points.

Points 

  • Title
  • Poet
  • Rhyme scheme
  • Favourite line
  • Theme/Central idea
  • Figures of speech
  • Special features - Type of the poem, language, tone, implied meaning, etc.
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Animals

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are
     so placid and self-containe'd
I stand and look at them long and long.
  They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with
     the mania of owning things.
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that
lived thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.
So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they evince
them plainly in their possession
I wonder where they get those tokens,
Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop
them?
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  1. The title and the poet of the poem   (01)
  2. Rhyme scheme   (01)
  3. Figures of speech   (01)
  4. Central Idea/Theme   (02)

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Mention any two reasons why Walt Whitman appreciates animals more than humans.


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