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Question
What pleasantries does the poet use to fake cordiality?
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Solution
The poet says “glad to meet you” when the poet means the visit is disturbing him. When one’s talk is boring, The poet says, “It’s nice talking to you”. He says “Goodbye” when he actually wants to say “good riddance”. The poet says the above to fake cordiality.
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Creative Activity
- Write eight words you associate with success.
- Use the words to write eight lines that mean success to you or how success makes you feel.
- Arrange your lines into a poem.
- Share your poem with the class and post a copy on the notice board.
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.
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“Comes at the last, and with a little pin
Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!”
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War begets war
Read the poem once again carefully and identify the figure of speech that has been used in each of the following line from the poem:
“Bores through his castle wall, and farewell king!”
