HSC Arts Class 12 - Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education Question Bank Solutions

Replace the comparative adjective in the following sentence with their positive form.

My mother can speak more sweetly than anyone else.

Replace the comparative adjective in the following sentence with their positive form.

Gold is not more useful than iron.

Every parent is anxious about the welfare of his/her children. Parents express their anxiety by advising them almost all the time. What kind of advice do you frequently receive from your parents? Fill in the bubbles. Tick the ones you like to follow implicitly and give reasons for the ones you don’t like to follow.

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) ______.

Here the father motivates his son to be like a hard(3) ______and withstand life’s (4)______ and sudden betrayals. (5)______is like a fertile soil. We can make our life fruitful if we are gentle, and take life as it comes. At times(6)______ overtakes harshness. The growth of a (7)______can split a rock. One should have a (8) ______and strong will to achieve. Greed for(9)______has left men dead before they really die. Good men also have fallen prey in quest for (10) ______money. Time for (11)______is not a waste. When you seek knowledge never feel ashamed to be called a(12)______for not knowing, at the same time learn from your (13) ______and never (14)______it.

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.

How would the poet’s advice help his son who is at the threshold of the manhood?

‘A tough will counts.’ Explain.

What happened to the people who wanted too much money?

What has twisted good men into thwarted worms?

How would his being alone help the boy?

Where are the final decisions taken?

What are the poet’s thoughts on ‘being different’?

Why does the poet advise his son to have lazy days?

The poet says

‘Without rich wanting nothing arrives’ but he condemns ‘the quest of lucre beyond a few easy needs.’ Analyse the difference and write.

Here are a few poetic device used in the poem.

Antithesis- It is a literary device that emphasises the idea of contrast.

Here are a few poetic device used in the poem.

Transferred Epithet- It is a figure of speech in which an epithet grammatically qualifies a noun other than the person or a thing, it is actually meant to describe.

Here are a few poetic device used in the poem.

Repetition- It is a figure of speech.

Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.

“Life is hard; be steel; be a rock.”

1. How should one face life?
2. Identify the figure of speech in the above line.

Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.

“Life is a soft loam; be gentle; go easy.” And this too might serve him.

1. Why does the poet suggest to take life easy?
2. Identify the figure of speech in the above line.

Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.

Tell him solitude is creative if he is strong and the final decisions are made in silent rooms.

1. Can being in solitude help a strong human being? How?
2. Identify the figure of speech in the above line.

Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.

Tell him time as a stuff can be wasted.

Tell him to be a fool every so often

1. Why does the poet suggest that time can be wasted?
2. Identify the figure of speech in the above line.