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Question
What hides within the crown and laughs at the king’s grandeur?
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Solution
Death hides within the crown and laughs at the king’s grandeur.
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What is the relationship between the narrator and the listener?
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Interpret each of the following expression used in the poem, in one or two line.
hands search my empty pockets
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
‘Most of all, I want to relearn How to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror Shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!’
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Explain the following lines with reference to the context.
I want to be what I used to be.
This poem is nothing but a criticism of modern life. Justify this statement.
Not everybody loves to play and participate in games, sports and other extra-curricular activities. Some of us wish to be mere spectators. List out the activities in which you like to be either a performer or a spectator. Share your views with the class.
| Activities | ||
| performer/player | spectator/audience | |
| e.g. | cricket | magician |
| a. | ||
| b. | ||
| c. | ||
| d. | ||
| e. | ||
The poet does not wish to exchange places with the athletes. How does he justify his view?
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…
Find out the rhyme scheme of the given stanza.
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Another plays basketball or hockey
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That one becomes a tackle or center…
Read the lines given below and answer the question that follow.
And ‘tis my faith that every flower
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Explain the following line with reference to the context in about four to five sentence each.
The birds around me hopp’d and play’d,
Their thoughts I cannot measure.
Explain the following line with reference to the context in about four to five sentence each.
Have I not reason to lament
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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
What scene in nature gives you pleasure? Talk for a minute describing a natural scene that gave you a lot of joy. What did you see, hear, smell or feel, that gave you joy?
What makes the fakir stare in wonder?
Read the given lines and answer the question that follow.
And his footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard’s.
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‘It must have been Macavity!’ but he’s a mile away.
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Explain the following line with reference to the context.
And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake
Who are the ‘deserving ones’?
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.
Fill in the blank with appropriate word from the box and complete the statement suitably:
The fortress was ______and could not be conquered by the enemies.
Bring out King Richard’s feelings when he was defeated.
Explain the following line with reference to the context in about 5 to 8 line:
All murdered – for within the hollow crown
That rounds the mortal temples of a king Keeps Death his court, …”
Pick out the alliteration from the following lines:
“And tell sad stories of the death of kings:”
Pick out the alliteration from the following lines:
“Comes at the last, and with a little pin…”
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.
