Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Thinking about the Poem
What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
Advertisements
Solution
In the last four lines, the poet inspires us to face the wind, which symbolises the hardships of our lives, courageously. He tells us that the wind can only extinguish the weak fires; it intensifies the stronger ones. Similarly, adversities deter the weak-hearted but make stronger those who have unfaltering will. In such a case, befriending the wind or the hardships of life makes it easier for us to face them.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?
Why is his finger bleeding? What is his wife’s reaction?
Read the song once again.
I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven
By the gods. Nature then takes me, to adorn
Her fields and valleys.
I am beautiful pearls, plucked from the
Crown of Ishtar by the daughter of Dawn
To embellish the gardens.
When I cry the hills laugh;
When I humble myself the flowers rejoice;
When I bow, all things are elated.
The field and the cloud are lovers
And between them I am a messenger of mercy.
I quench the thirst of the one;
I cure the ailment of the other.
The voice of thunder declares my arrival;
The rainbow announces my departure.
I am like earthly life which begins at
The feet of the mad elements and ends
Under the upraised wings of death.
I emerge from the heart of the sea and
Soar with the breeze. When I see a field in
Need, I descend and embrace the flowers and
The trees in a million little ways.
I touch gently at the windows with my
Soft fingers, and my announcement is a
Welcome song. All can hear, but only
The sensitive can understand.
I am the sigh of the sea;
The laughter of the field;
The tears of heaven.
So with love -
Sighs from the deep sea of affection; Laughter from the colourful
field of the spirit; Tears from the endless heaven of memories.
About the Poet
Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931) was a Lebanese-American artist, poet and writer. His
poetry is notable for its use of formal language as well as insights on topics of life using
spiritual terms. One of his most notable lines of poetry in the English-speaking world is
from Sand and Foam (1926) which reads 'Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say
it so that the other half may reach you.'
Avik, a correspondent for his school magazine, interviews Grandmaster Koneru Bumpy. Let us read :
INTERVIEW WITH KONERU BUMPY
Avik : Good morning, Ma'am! Congratulations on your achievements in the World Grand Prix Women's Chess Championship in Istanbul recently!
Koneru Humpy : Thank you! This is my biggest win in the women's circuit. This is very significant, considering that it has come in an event which had three former world champions.
Avik : Indeed! Please tell us something about yourself, Ma' am!
Koneru Humpy : I was born in Gudivada, near Vijaywada, in Andhra Pradesh on March 31, 1987. I was originally named 'Humpi' {which means champion) by my father Mr Koneru Ashok, who later changed the spelling to Humpy, to give the nrune a Russian flavour. I write my family name , Koneru, before my given name, as is the convention with the Telugu speaking people. I started playing chess when I was 5 years old.
Avik : Who introduced you to the game?
Koneru Humpy : My father acquainted me with the game. He is also my first coach. I first showed interest at the age of 6 years, when I watched him play a game and suggested a move. Indeed it was the move that actually got me into the game.
Avik : Your father left his teaching profession to make you a champion !
Koneru Bumpy : Yes, when I took the 4th place in the Indian Under 8 Championship in 1995, he decided to leave his career and dedicate his time to me.
Avik : And you had won four World Championship at a very early stage.
Koneru Bumpy : Yes, the World Girl Under 10, the World Girls Under 12, the World Girls Under 14 and World Girls Junior Chrunpionships. I acquired my IM title in 1999 and in May 2002, I achieved my 3rd GM Norms in Elekes Memorial Grandmaster Tournrunent in Budapest.
Avik : You held the record from 2002 to 2008 for the youngest woman ever to become a grandmaster!
Koneru Bumpy : Yes, I achieved it at the age of 15 years, 1 month, 27 days, beating Judit Polgar's previous record by 3 months; which was later lost in the Women's World Chess Championship in 2008 to Hou Yifan. I won the World Junior Girls Chess Championship in 2001 and won the edition or North Urals Cup, the Women's Super Tournrunent held in Krasnoturinsk. In 2006, I participated in the Women's World Chess Chrunpionship, but my crunpaign had to end early in the second round. I played in the first board of Monte Carlo Chess Club and won the last two editions of the European Club Cup.
Avik : You have got some awards also !
Koneru Humpy : Yes, Arjuna Award in 2003, Padmashri Award in 2007 and Raja-Lakshmi Award in 2008.
Avik : In India, many young chess players are ready to take a break in education and are fully focussed on chess preparations. What are your views?
Koneru Humpy : I don't think that taking up chess as a career and completely neglecting studies will be necessary at an earlier stage. After getting to a certain level in the game, they themselves should decide their preferences i.e. whether to play seriously or not.
Avik : What advice would you offer to parents of enthusiastic and talented chess children?
Koneru Humpy : Parents should not compel children to play chess. If children are genuinely interested in the game, they should encourage them. But they shouldn't hurry to get results.
Avik : How often do you exercise? Do you think daily physical exercise can help a chess player to cope with the pressure and increase the brain's ability to concentrate?
Koneru Humpy : I spend around one hour per day on physical exercise. Exercise is a must for every chess player. As the proverb says, 'a sound mind in a sound body'. Exercise shows a lot of impact on the brain.
Avik : Thank you for talking to me and giving valuable advice.
Koneru Humpy : Thank you.
"My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.
"With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then,
And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory;
Read the lines given above and answer the question that follow.
Kaspar describes the horrors of war but how can his attitude be described?
The village consisted of less than thirty houses, only one of them built with brick and cement. Painted a brilliant yellow and blue all over with gorgeous carvings of gods and gargoyles on its balustrade, it was known as the Big House. The other houses, distributed in four streets, were generally of bamboo thatch, straw, mud, and other unspecified material. Muni’s was the last house in the fourth street, beyond which stretched the fields. In his prosperous days Muni had owned a flock of forty sheep and goats and sallied forth every morning driving the flock to the highway a couple of miles away.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What had Muni owned in his days of prosperity? What did he do every morning?
“Jane,” said the wheelwright, with an impressiveness of tone that greatly subdued his wife, “I read in the Bible sometimes, and find much said about little children. How the Savior rebuked the disciples who would not receive them; how he took them up in his arms, and blessed them; and how he said that ‘whosoever gave them even a cup of cold water should not go unrewarded.’ Now, it is a small thing for us to keep this poor motherless little one for a single night; to be kind to her for a single night; to make her life comfortable for a single night.”
The voice of the strong, rough man shook, and he turned his head away, so that the moisture in his eyes might not be seen. Mrs. Thompson did not answer, but a soft feeling crept into her heart.
“Look at her kindly, Jane; speak to her kindly,” said Joe. “Think of her dead mother, and the loneliness, the pain, the sorrow that must be on all her coming life.” The softness of his heart gave unwonted eloquence to his lips.
Read the extract given below and answer the question that follow.
What brought eloquence to Joe’s lips when he spoke to his wife?
De Levis: Social Blackmail?
H'm ' Canynge: Not at all - simple warning. If you consider it necessary in your interests to start this scandal-no matter how we shall consider it necessary in ours to dissociate ourselves completely from one who so recklessly disregards the unwritten code.
(i) Where are the speakers at present? What is referred to as Social Black-mail?
What is meant by 'dead habit'? What is 'dead habits' compared to and why?
Who was the General Manager of the Taj Hotel ' What role did he play?
Answer the following question.
Kari was like a baby. What are the main points of comparison?
Complete the sentence below by appropriately using anyone of the following:
if you want to/if you don’t want to/if you want him to
He’ll lend you his umbrella______________.
Why were the red chilli kept in the backyard?
Why was the monkey happy/unhappy?
How did father make an attempt to save the Cat for the Second time?
What warning did the teachers give to Patrick?
Multiple Choice Question:
Which of the following words mean the same as ‘stormy wind”?
Read the following line.
Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
Can words crawl into your ear? This is an image. The poet is trying to make an image of what she/he experiences. Now with your partner try and list out some more images from the poem.
Who does not like the rebels?
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
| Brutus: | I did send to you For certain sums of gold, which you denied me; For I can raise no money by vile means: By heaven, I had rather coin my heart, And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash By any indirection. |
- To whom are these words addressed?
Why is Brutus angry with this person? [3] - How does this person feel when he hears these words?
What does he say to defend himself? [3] - Why did Brutus need ‘certain sums of gold’?
Why was he unable to raise these sums of money? [3] - Earlier in this scene, Brutus refers to Lucius Pella.
What had he been accused of?
Who had supported him and how? [3] - Mention any two aspects of Brutus’ character that are revealed in the above extract.
What do you understand about the relationship between Brutus and the person he addresses? [4]
