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Question
Why didn’t the narrator want to tell the tale to anybody?
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Solution
The narrator did not want to tell the shameful act because it will expose the greed of the aged warder. He had sold them all for a bag of gold. They did not have any weapon to fight the invisible enemy within.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Why were the soldiers in the castle fearless?
Did the soldiers fight with the enemies face to face?
Read the poem again and complete the summary using the words given in box.
Stanzas 1–3
‘The Castle’ by Edwin Muir is a moving poem on the (1)______ of a well guarded (2)______ The soldiers of the castle were totally stress-free and relaxed. They were (3)______ of their castle’s physical strength. Through the turrets they were able to watch the mowers and no enemy was found up to the distance of (4)______ and so they seemed no threat to the castle. They had (5)______ of weapons to protect them and a large quantity of (6)______ in stock to take care of the well-being of the soldiers inside the castle. The soldiers stood one above the other on the towering battlements (7)______ to shoot the enemy at sight. They believed that the castle was absolutely safe because their captain was (8)______ and the soldiers were loyal.
| half-a-mile | watching |
| castle | brave |
| ration | capture |
| plenty | confident |
Stanzas 4–6
Even by a trick no one but the birds could enter. The enemy could not use a (9)______ for their entry inside the castle. But there was a wicket gate guarded by a (10) ______ He (11)______ in the enemies inside the famous citadel that had been known for its secret gallery and intricate path. The strong castle became(12)______ and thin because of the greedy disloyal warder. The (13)______ was captured by the enemies for (14)______ The narrator (15)______ over the (16)______ of the useless warder and also decided not to disclose this (17)______ story to anyone. He was (18)______ and wondered how he would keep this truth to himself. He regretted not finding any (19)______ to fight with the (20)______ called ‘gold’.
| lamented | shameful |
| wicked guard | bait |
| let | gold |
| weapon | citadel |
| weak | disloyalty |
| helpless | enemy |
How safe was the castle? How was it conquered?
Identify the figure of speech used in the following line.
How can this shameful tale be told?
Can you call ‘The Castle’ an allegorical poem? Discuss.
To whom does Toru Dutt want to consecrate the tree’s memory?
Identify the figure of speech used in each of the extract given below and write down the answer in the space given below.
“ LIKE a huge Python, winding round and round
The rugged trunk indented deep with scars”,
Fill in the blanks using the words given in the box to complete the summary of the poem.
Shakespeare considers the whole world a stage where men and women are only (1) ______. They (2)______the stage when they are born and exit when they die. Every man, during his life time, plays seven roles based on age. In the first act, as an infant, he is wholly (3) ______on the mother or a nurse. Later, emerging as a school child, he slings his bag over his shoulder and creeps most (4)______ to school. His next act is that of a lover, busy (5) ______ballads for his beloved and yearns for her (6) ______. In the fourth stage, he is aggressive and ambitious and seeks (7) ______in all that he does. He (8) ______solemnly to guard his country and becomes a soldier. As he grows older, with (9) ______and wisdom, he becomes a fair judge. During this stage, he is firm and (10) ______. In the sixth act, he is seen with loose pantaloons and spectacles. His manly voice changes into a childish (11) ______. The last scene of all is his second childhood. Slowly, he loses his (12) ______of sight, hearing, smell and taste and exits from the roles of his life.
| attention | treble | reluctantly |
| actors | maturity | reputation |
| serious | faculties | composing |
| enter | promises | dependent |
What is the first stage of a human’s life?
Explain the following line briefly with reference to the context.
“Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”
Read the poem once again carefully and identify the figure of speech that has been used in each of the following lines from the poem.
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”
- “All the world's a stage”
- “And all the men and women merely players”
- “And shining morning face, creeping like snail”
- “Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,”
- “Seeking the bubble reputation”
- “His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide”
- “and his big manly voice, turning again toward childish treble”
Who does the speaker address in the second part?
‘He works his work, I mine’ – How is the work distinguished?
Read the set of line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
… I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and
know not me.
- What does Ulysses do?
- Did he enjoy what he was doing? Give reasons.
Read the set of line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle Well-loved of me,
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- Bring out the significance of the ‘sceptre’.
Explain with reference to the context the following line.
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
Explain with reference to the context the following line.
He works his work, I mine.
Explain with reference to the context the following line.
We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven;
Explain with reference to the context the following line.
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What is Ulysses’ clarion call to his sailors? How does he inspire them?
Fill in the blanks choosing the words from the box given and complete the summary of the poem.
Lines 1-25
The poet Carl Sandburg gives a vivid description of a father’s worldly (1)______ in directing a son who is at the threshold of his (2) ______.
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| deep desire | manhood | gentleness | mistakes | easy |
| leisure | fool | life | money | repeat |
| tender-flower | rock | challenges | wisdom |
Lines 26-44
Do (15)______often, and do not hesitate to accept your shortcomings, avoid(16) ______to protect self against other people. Solitude helps to be (17)______and(18) ______ are taken in silent rooms. Instead of being one among many, be (19)______, if that is your nature. The son may need lazy days to find his (20)______abilities, to seek what he is born for. He will then know how free imaginations bring (21)______to the world, which (22)______ change. During such resentment, let him know that it is time for him to be on his own, and (23)______to achieve like Shakespeare, the Wright brothers, Pasteur, Pavlov, and Michael Faraday.
| changes | introspect | inherent | work | resents |
| white lies | creative | final decisions | different |
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Pick out the alliterated words from the poem and write.
And this might stand him for the storms
Have you played chess or watched the game carefully?
Now identify the chess pieces and complete the table below. Discuss the role of each piece in the game.
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Why did the rider keep his lips compressed?
Why did Napoleon’s eyes become soft as a mother eagle’s eyes?
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
To see your flag-bird flap his vans Where I, to heart’s desire, Perched him!’
