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Question
What does he desire to unlearn and relearn?
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Solution
The poet desires to unlearn the hypocrisies or unreal things he has learned to keep up appearances. He wants to relearn how to laugh and smile as he had done early during his own childhood days.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
What do you associate with the title of the poem?
Pick out the expressions that indicate conflicting ideas.
Mention the qualities the child in the poem symbolises.
Interpret each of the following expression used in the poem, in one or two line.
hands search my empty pockets
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
There will be no thrice.
This poem is nothing but a criticism of modern life. Justify this statement.
Read the poem again and complete the summary using the words given in the box.
In the poem ‘Confessions of a Born Spectator,’ Ogden Nash talks about how people choose different sports in their lives or decide to become athletes. While admiring the talents of athletes and sportsmen, the poet (i)______he is glad that he is neither a sportsman nor an athlete. Children have different (ii)______and wish to play various games. Each child has in mind something in particular, but the narrator is (iii)______he is not one of the players. Though the narrator (iv) ______the talents of all athletes, he derives satisfaction from watching them, but does not wish to (v) ______places with them. He also sometimes regrets that (vi)______athletes play rough games without caring for the feelings of their sporting rivals. He feels that good sense and caution win over ego. The narrator wholeheartedly offers (vii) ______the modest (viii) ______of athletes. Ultimately the narrator is (ix)______that he himself is not an athlete.
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thanksgiving exchange glad confesses physiques zealous satisfied aims admires |
How does the poet establish the victory of common sense over ego?
Explain the following with reference to the context in about 50–60 word each.
Athletes, I’ll drink to you, Or eat with you, Or anything except compete with you…
Underline the alliterated word in the following line.
They do not ever in their dealings…
If you go to a village, what scenes would you observe?
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?
How does the poet feel while enjoying the beauty of Nature?
Does Nature affect a person’s thoughts and feelings? Explain.
How do people bring grief and sorrow to one another?
Write a letter to the Councillor of your Ward, explaining why a park is necessary in your locality.
Where can you encounter Macavity?
Mention any two qualities of Macavity.
Read the poem once again and complete the summary using the words given in the box.
‘Macavity – The Mystery Cat’ is a humorous poem, where the poet T.S. Eliot describes the mysterious (a) _______of a shrewd vile cat. He commits a crime at every possible opportunity. He is an elusive master (b)______who leaves no evidence after he commits a crime. Even the Scotland Yard, the London (c) ______ agency is unable to arrest him. The Flying Squad is (d) ______ because every time they rush to the crime spot to seize Macavity, he is not there. He breaks the human law as well as the law of (e) ______. He baffles even a (f) ______ with his powers of levitation. Macavity appears tall and thin with (g)______ eyes. He is always preoccupied with some serious (h) ______. His coat is dusty and his (i)______are unkempt. Macavity is a (j) ______in the guise of a cat. He appears to be outwardly (k) ______ but his actions disprove it. Macavity loots the (l)______, ransacks the jewel-case, and breaks the (m)______glass but wonder of wonders he is not to be found anywhere there. He is always a mile away from the scene of crime, happily relaxing or doing difficult (n) ______ sums. He is clever at making up an (o) ______every time he plots a crime. All the notorious cats are nothing but the (p) ______Macavity, the Napoleon of Crime.
| larder | whiskers |
| respectable | criminal |
| devil | thought |
| sunken | division |
| agents | detective |
| alibi | desperate |
| fakir | qualities |
| gravity | greenhouse |
What are the mysterious ways in which Macavity acts?
Give an account of Macavity’s destructive mischief.
Read the given lines and answer the question that follow.
There never was a Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity.
- Which cat is being talked of here?
- How is he different from the rest?
Which line is repeated in the poem? What is the effect created by this repetition?
The poem does not focus on the destination but the journey towards it. Discuss
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.
The following extract is set in the Coast of Wales. King Richard and some of his followers awaited the arrival of the Welsh army [after facing defeat at the hands of his cousin, Bolingbroke], of about 10000 warriors. But to their shock and surprise, they received the message that the army was not coming to their rescue. His followers tried to boost their King’s courage against the news, only in vain. When Richard came face to face with the reality of his terrible fate, he spoke the following verse, famously known as the “Hollow Crown” speech in theatrical circles. In it, King Richard is reminded of the power of Death that overshadows everything else, including the power of rulers, and renders them as powerless as any commoner at a moment’s notice.
What does ‘flesh’ mean here?
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.
What are the causes for King Richard’s grief?
