Study Material on Poetry

Sub. – English Core (301)                                                                             Class XII

Study Material on Poetry

One out of two extracts based on poetry for 4 Marks

Poem: 1. My Mother at Sixty Six by Poet: Kamala Das

Summary of the poem:

The poet is driving to the airport in Cochin from her parent’s home. Her mother is accompanying her to the airport. The poet is distressed that her mother is ageing. She compares her pale and lifeless face with that of a corpse. The thought of losing her upsets the poet. She wishes to brush aside this painful thought and she looks at the energized children and the sprinting trees that symbolize energy and life. At the airport, the poet and her mother stood apart. The poet yet again compares her mother’s face with the dull late winter moon. Her childhood fear of losing her mother – the inevitable pains her but she tries to conceal her fear by smiling and optimistically saying, “See you soon, Amma.”

Vocabulary:

1)    doze: a short, light sleep

2)    ashen: very pale, like ash

3)    corpse: a dead body

4)    sprinting: here, shooting out of the ground

5)    spilling: here, to move out in great numbers

6)    wan: unnaturally pale, as from physical or emotional distress

7)    ache: pain.

Important Extracts:

(i)                 Driving from my parent's,

home to Cochin last Friday

morning, I saw my mother,                                    

beside me,

doze, open mouthed, her face

ashen like that of a corpse

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. Where was the poet going & when?	1. The poetess, Kamala Das was going to Cochin on Friday morning.
2. What did she see beside her?	2. She saw her mother beside her on the seat. She was dozing with open mouth.
3. Who is ‘I' here?	3. The poetess ‘Kamala Das’.
4. How did her face look like?	4. Her face looked ashen like that of a corpse.

(ii)        and realized with

pain,

that she thought away, and

looked but soon         

put that thought away, and    

looked out at young

trees sprinting, the merry children spilling

out of their homes

Comprehension Questions:	Answers
1. What did the poetess realize?	1.    The poetess realized the deep pain in heart to see her mother’s face like that of a corpse.
2. How did she put away that thought?	2. She put away that thought by looking at the outside world.
3. What did she look out?	3. She looks out at young trees running and the merry children coming out of their homes.
4. What do the children signify?	4. The children signify life, vitality, movement and happiness.

(iii)                         but after the airport's

security check, standing a few yards

away, I looked again at her, wan,

pale

as a late winter's moon and felt that

old

familiar ache, my childhood's fear,

                                               

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. Who is ‘I’ here?	1. The poetess ‘Kamala Das’.
2. Who is ‘Amma’ in the lines?	2. Her mother.
3. What did the poetess say to her?	3. The poetess said to her mother ‘see you soon, Amma’.
4. What did the poetess conduct herself at that time?	4. She smiled, smiled and smiled.

Q.1.    Why does the poet smile and what does she say while bidding goodbye to her mother?

Ans.    She could only keep smiling and tell her ‘see you soon’ knowing full well that she might not see her. It shows her positive attitude.

Q.2.     What does the poet’s mother look like?

Ans.    The poet's mother looks wan and pale which the poet has tastefully compared to a late winter's moon. Just as the late winter’s moon is dull and lacks luster, so is her mother at the end stage of her life. Also, as the late winter moon gets overshadowed by the fog and mist in the sky similarly her mother can get overshadowed by death at any time. Both of them are nearing an end- one of season and the other of life. Just as the late winter’s moon is dull and lacks luster, so is her mother at the end stage of her life. Also, as the late winter moon gets overshadowed by the fog and mist in the sky similarly her mother can get overshadowed by death at any time. Both of them are nearing an end- one of season and the other of life.

Q.3.     What poetic devices has the poet used in the poem?

Ans.    The most used poetic device by the author is simile. She uses it in both cases to describe her mother’s wan look - "ashen like a corpse" and "pale as a late winter's moon.

01. My Mother at Sixty-Six by Kamala Das

1. Simile a) Her face ashen like that of a corpse, b) wan, pale as a late winter’s moon. 2. Repetition a) thought away.....thought away, b) smile and smile and smile. 3. Symbols & Images a) trees sprinting, b) merry children spilling out of their homes, c) winter’s moon 4. Personification a) trees sprinting 5. Metaphor a) merry children spilling out of their homes 6. Free Verse or no rhyme scheme

Q-1. Why does the poet relate the mother’s appearance to that of a corpse?   Ans-1. The poet’s mother was aged. At sixty six it was hard to tell how long she would live. Inside the car she was sleeping, her mouth held open and her skin so colourless like that of a dead body. Q-2. What was the poet’s childhood’s fear? What did the poet realize with pain? Ans-2. The poet realized with pain that her mother had grown terribly old, a thought that she never had in her mind before. Q-3. How does the poet contrast between who travelled with her and what moved outside? Ans-3. The mother was sleeping inside the car with her mouth open. She was similar to a dead body. She was cheerless and approaching death. But outside the car was life in its freshness and vivacity. There were young trees running cheerfully. There were children playing and running merrily. This was a life-death contrast. Q-4. Why does the poet compare her mother to a late winter’s moon? Ans-4. The mother was quite aged. She was cheerless and gloomy. Like the late winter’s moon that could any moment be overshadowed by the fog, the mother remained a victim to imminent death. Q-5. What is the poet’s old, familiar ache? How did it return at the airport? Ans-5. The poet used to separate from her mother in her childhood. Those separations were painful. After so many separations this pain and separations were familiar to the poet. At the airport she faced another separation from her mother and it reminded her of all past separations. Q-6. The poet’s repeated smile seems out of place in a way. In which way is that appropriate? Ans-6. The poet had no reason to smile at the time of separation from her aged mother. She was deeply distressed and pained to separate her mother at such a very old age of the mother. Yet, to make the mother feel ‘there is nothing to worry,’ the poet attempted to be glad, cheerful and reassured by her extended smile.

Poem: 2. An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum by Poet: Stephen Spender

Summary of the poem:

In this poem, Stephen Spender has brought out the miserable condition of the children studying in an elementary school in a slum. The children in the classroom are pale and unhealthy and some are even diseased. Their unkempt and dull hair has been compared to rootless weeds. One of the girls is apparently burdened with the miseries of poverty. One of the boys has inherited his father’s disease and has stunted growth. Another student is sitting unnoticed and he is yearning to play outdoors. The donations given to the school in the form of pictures, paintings and maps are meaningless for the children. They exhibit the world of the elite and the privileged while the children in the slum have a future that is sealed and confined to the slum. Their future is dark and limited. The donations on the walls only add to the frustration of the children. They are tempted to attain what would be unattainable for them. The only hope for them is the support from powerful people like the governor, inspector or an influential visitor. The children in the slum can progress only if they are given good education and the freedom to move into a world of opportunities and progress. The poet also states that history is made only by those people who have the power of knowledge. Hence, educating and letting the children into a free world of opportunities would release them from the suffocating, wretched life in a slum.

Vocabulary

1)         Gusty- here, full of energy, vigour

2)         Weeds - unwanted plants

3)         Pallor - unhealthy, pale appearance

4)         Stunted - underdeveloped

5)         Heir - one who gets the property of a person upon his death

6)         Gnarled - rough, having a weather beaten appearance

7)         Tyrolese valley - a beautiful valley in the Australian mountains 

8)         Capes - here, loose garments 

9)         Wicked - mischievous or tricky

10)     Slyly - cunning

11)     Slag - worthless, useless

12)     Mended - to make something useable by repairing it

13)     Blot - a weak point, blemish

14)     Doom - a disaster 

15)     Catacombs - an underground place used to bury dead people

16)     Azure - a bright, blue colour

Important Extracts

(i)         Far far from gusty waves these children’s faces.

Like rootless weeds, the hair torn round their pallor:

The tall girl with her weighed-down head. The paper-

seeming boy, with rat’s eyes. The stunted, unlucky heir

Of twisted bones, reciting a father’s gnarled disease,

His lesson, from his desk. At back of the dim class

One unnoted, sweet and young. His eyes live in a dream,

Of squirrel’s game, in tree room, other than this.

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. Who is the poet?	1. The poet is ‘Stephen Spender’.
2. Where do these children live?	2. They live in the slum far from the gusty waves.
3. What is the condition of these children?	3. They have pale faces, torn hair scattered on faces, paper seeming, having rat’s eyes with twisted bones.
4. Why is the boy unlucky heir?	4. The boy is an unlucky heir because he is suffering from the hereditary gnarled disease.

(ii)        On sour cream walls, donations. Shakespeare’s head,

Cloudless at dawn, civilized dome riding all cities.

Belled, flowery, Tyrolese valley. Open-handed map

Awarding the world its world. And yet, for these

Children, these windows, not this map, their world,

Where all their future’s painted with a fog,

A narrow street sealed in with a lead sky

Far far from rivers, capes, and stars of words.

Comprehension questions	Answers
1. Who is being described in the lines?	1. A young, sweet boy is described here.
2. What is he doing?	2. He is dreaming the game of squirrel.
3. What does he has in his eyes?	3. He has dreams of other places as well.
4. Why is the class room dim?	4. It is dim because there is no proper facility of light.

(iii)       Surely, Shakespeare is wicked, the map a bad example,

With ships and sun and love tempting them to steal –

For lives that slyly turn in their cramped holes

From fog to endless night? On their slag heap, these children

Wear skins peeped through by bones and spectacles of steel

With mended glass, like bottle bits on stones.

All of their time and space are foggy slum.

So blot their maps with slums as big as doom.

Comprehension questions	Answers.
1. What is the condition of the classroom wall?	1. The creamy layer of walls is falling down.
2. What are the two things mentioned to show a civilized race?	2. The Shakespeare's statue and the high rising dome point out that of a civilized race.
3. What is the specialty of the Tyrolese valley?	3. It is full of coloured flowers and resonating with the bells.
4. Explain: ‘Awarding the world its world’.	4. The rich and the dictators award and divide this world of rich and powerful people.

(iv)       Unless, governor, inspector, visitor,

This map becomes their window and these windows

That shut upon their lives like catacombs,

Break O break open till they break the town

And show the children to green fields, and make their world

Run azure on gold sands, and let their tongues

Run naked into books the white and green leaves open

History theirs whose language is the sun.

(Catacombs – a long underground gallery)

Comprehension questions	Answers
1. What is the world of these children?	1. Their classroom windows are their world.
2. How does the poet present their future here?	2. The poet called that their future is painted with fog.
3. How are these children sealed?	3. The narrow lanes of the slum are sealed by the lead sky which keeps them imprisoned here.
4. Explain: ‘For these children, these windows-are world.	4. They have no access to the outer world of wisdom. Their classroom is their world.
5. What does the map on the wall signify?	5. It signifies a limitless world of opportunities but these are meant for the rich, educated and powerful people rather than the slum children.

02. An Elementary School Classroom in a Slum by Stephen Spender

1. Symbols & Images - gusty waves, paper-seeming boy, weighed down, sour-cream walls, Tyrolese valley, rootless weeds, Squirrel’s game means fun outdoors to escape the dull classroom, Twisted bones, Shakespeare’s head, open-handed map means a map drawn arbitrarily by the people in power and the privileged, civilized dome riding all cities means cities that show civilizational progress and marvellous architecture, ships and sun means adventure and beautiful lands offering opportunity, bottle bits on stones, fog means bleak and unclear, windows means windows of the slum classroom do not open out to opportunities and the wide world instead they show only fog covered slums where they are confined because if the children are not allowed to break open out of these slums the windows will close on them burying them in endless misery, hopelessness and doom them to a death-like existence, cramped holes, green fields means nature, gold sand means golden opportunities, white and green leaves means first- hand knowledge from pages of books and nature, run azure means experience the rich colours of nature, map with slums as big as doom means the grim reality of the lives of slum children 2. Alliteration - Far far from gusty waves, bottle bits, surely Shakespeare, Break O break open till they break the town 3. Simile - like rootless weeds, like bottle bits on stones, these windows that shut upon their lives like catacombs, slum as big as doom 4. Metaphor - rat’s eyes, squirrel’s game, open-handed map, lead sky, slag heap means industrial waste, toxic filth and squalor, spectacles of steel, white and green leaves open, father’s gnarled disease, tree room, future’s painted with a fog, cramped holes, wear skins peeped through by bones, let their tongues run naked into books 5. Pun - reciting – literal meaning the boy is reciting the lesson. Figurative meaning he is more prominently reciting his father’s disease i.e. repeating his father’s disease of twisted bones and deformity which has been passed down through generations - sour cream – literal meaning the neglected walls have turned a dirty yellow. Figurative meaning a dismal place where all dreams turn sour - lead sky – literal meaning sky polluted with industrial fumes and figurative meaning the sky does not open opportunities but weighs down heavily blocking all escape from the slums. 6. Personification - riding all cities 7. No regular rhyme scheme

Q-1. Explain, ‘in tree room, other than this’? Ans-1. The unnoted boy desires to play in the hollows of the tree rather than attending to the lessons in the classroom. He likes the hollows inside the tree. For him, the classroom is very boring. Q-2. Why Shakespeare is wicked and map a bad example? Ans-2. Shakespearean stories are full of fortunate, beautiful, happy, romantic characters and magical places and palaces. When these stories are told in the classroom, the children are attracted to these stories and try to imitate these heroic characters. In this attempt they are forced to steal and then are consequently caught. For this they blame Shakespeare. The map inside the class contains colourful marks of the cities while dark blots are the slum of these children, and hence a bad example. Q-3. What does ‘spectacles of steel’ tell us about the lives inside the huts? Ans-3. It is to be supposed that the slum children, being part of an industrial slum, are engaged in some sort of manufacturing for which they have to wear protector glasses with steel rims. The protector glasses have been overused and transferred from older generations and therefore they are scratched and mended. Q-4. What are catacombs? Is the comparison of the classroom to catacombs apt? How? Ans-4. Catacombs are underground burial places. They are dark and confined with hundreds of dead bodies resting eternally. The classroom deserves to be called a catacomb because it is also dark with children of half dead bodies and half alive minds.

Q-5. Who will break the town? How does the poet expect to stop that? Ans-5. The poet fears that the children will grow up to become anti-social elements and break the town. He expects to stop this unfortunate occurrence by breaking the classroom and its windows that create these anti-socials. Q-6. Who, according to the poet, create history? Ans-6. According to the poet history is made by those people who speak the language of the Sun. The language of the sun is its warmth and light that make life possible. People can speak this unique language by being as warm, lively and life-giving as the sun. Q.7. The walls of the classroom are decorated with the pictures of Shakespeare, buildings with domes, world maps and beautiful valleys. How do these contrast with the world of these children? Ans.7. The pictures on the walls indicate light, empowerment, happiness, colours, beauty, knowledge while the children in the class room lack all these things in their life. Their life is dark, sad, black and white, dirty and neglected. A contrast is highlighted between the world as shown by the pictures on the walls and the lives of these children.

Poem: 3. Keeping Quiet by Poet: Pablo Neruda

Summary of the poem:

In this poem, the poet has emphasized the need to introspect and bring in the spirit of brotherhood among the people of the world. He wants people to stop talking and stop all movements symbolizing agitation and restlessness till he counts twelve, that is, a short period of time. These moments of silence would be strange and exotic because in our mundane life we are working towards selfish goals, regardless of the other’ requirements and emotions. Hence, this sudden silence would give us an opportunity to introspect. Since we would not speak for a while, barriers between communities would break and a sense of brotherhood would prevail. Man would get an opportunity to realize how he is destroying nature and how he is harming himself. Futile wars against men and nature would be arrested and a new feeling of unity would be experienced. The poet does not want his desire for inactivity to be misunderstood as a state of uselessness. He wants men to learn a lesson from the Earth. The Earth appears to be inactive yet it is selflessly productive. Men too could be productive and progressive without any aggression, selfishness and the urge for destruction.

Important Extracts:

(i)         Now we will count to twelve and we will all keep still.

For once on the face of the Earth let's not speak any language,

let's stop for one second, and not move our arms so much.

Comprehension questions	Answers
1. Name the poem and the poet.	1. The poem is ‘Keeping Quiet’ and the poet is ‘Pablo Neruda’.
2. What does the poet ask us to do?	2. The poet asks us to count to twelve and keep still.
3. What should we not do on the earth for a second?	3. We should not speak in any language on the earth for a second.
4. What is his real purpose in saying all this?	4. His real purpose in saying all this is that we should stop all our activities for a while and have a quiet introspection.

(ii)        It would be an exotic moment without rush, without engines,

            we would all be together, in a sudden strangeness.

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. Who is the poet of these lines?	1. The poet of these lines is Pablo Neruda
2. What kind of moment it will be?	2. When we will be silent and still, it would be an exotic moment.
3. What all of us will feel at that moment?	3. We feel and enjoy sudden strangeness and unusual quietness.
4. Give the meaning of ‘exotic’.	4. Enticing

(iii)       Fishermen in the cold sea would do not harm whales

and the man gathering salt would look at his hurt hands.

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. What would the fishermen not do?	1. They would not harm whales.
2. What would the man gathering salt do?	2. He would look at his hurt hands.
3. Which professions are mentioned in these lines?	3. One is ‘fishing’ and the other is ‘salt gathering’.
4. What transformation will come in the people the poet is talking of?	4. They will come out of their greed, selfishness and cruelty.

(iv)       Those who prepare green wars, wars with gas, wars with fire,

victory with no survivors, would put on clean clothes

and walk about with their brothers in the shade, doing nothing.

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. What are the different wars mentioned in these lines?	1. The wars mentioned are green wars, wars with gas and wars with fire.
2. What do you think is meant by green wars?	2. Green wars (bio-chemical) mean new and fresh wars caused by men all over the world.
3. What advice does the poet impart on the war-mongers?	3. He advises the war-mongers to stop wars and to put on clean clothes and to be in the company of their brothers.

(v)        What I want shouldn't be confused, with total inactivity:

Life is what it is about; I want no truck with death.

Comprehension Questions	Answer
1. Who does ‘I’ refer to?	1. ‘I’ refers to the poet, Pablo Neruda.
2. What is it that should not be confused with total inactivity?	2. It is the moment of silence and stillness. It should not be confused with total inactivity.
3. With whom does the poet not want to deal with?	3. The poet does not want to have any dealing with death.
4. Explain: ‘no truck with death’.	4. By keeping quiet the poet doesn’t want us to be like dead, we are very much alive on that moment and Earth can prove we are not dead but alive.

(vi)       Perhaps the earth can teach us as when everything seems dead

and later proves to be alive. Now I’ll count to twelve and you keep quiet and I'll go.

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. What can earth teach us?	1. The Earth can teach us how to live on it.
2. When everything seems dead, what remains alive?	2. When everything seems to be dead, Earth remains alive.
3. Why is the narrator willing to count up to twelve?	3. The narrator is willing to count up to twelve as he is preparing to go. He asks us to keep quiet.
4. Trace the word that means –‘living’.	4. Living – alive.

03. Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda

1. Alliteration - Sudden strangeness, hurt hands, clean clothes, we will, we would, wards with 2. Pun - Arms – One meaning of arms is weapons and the other meaning is the hands. 3. Metaphor - ‘put on clean clothes’- cleanse one’s heart, soul and mind. Introspection in silence would bring about a transformation and change man’s violent and exploitative attitude. It would help him to understand that wars are destructive and lead only to destruction and not victory. - In the shade - just as shade protects us from the harsh sun, we will protect and shelter each other as brothers, thus live in peace and harmony. 4. Euphemism - What I want should not be confused with total inactivity…no truck with death- is a softer way of expressing intolerance of death and killer forces. It is a strong anti-war statement. 5. Symbol - Earth can teach us as when everything… as a life force which teaches us that silence is productive. - ‘Fishermen in the cold sea…hurt hands’ is a symbolic image showing how man is ruthlessly destroying nature and harming other species in cold blood for his selfish need and greed. The ‘hurt hands’ – the sore hands of the salt gatherer would make him realize how he is harming himself by his mindless activities. - Brothers – symbol of mankind 6. No regular rhyme scheme

Q-1. What change will keeping quiet bring in the people who wage wars? Ans-1. People who wage wars will make a fresh start. They will metaphorically change their blood stained clothes, that is, cleanse their mind of all hatred and anger, live as brothers and not as enemies, protecting and walking with them in shade - in peace and harmony. Q-2. What lesson will the Earth teach us? How will it teach that lesson? (pts.) Ans-2. The lesson- productivity is best nurtured in silence. The biggest creator, the earth, is silent and productive, unlike man who is destructive and restless. How- by keeping quiet and still for some time, and introspect. Just as earth though apparently still, nurtures life within the dormant seed, we can awaken the productive forces within our beings. Q-3. What are we single-minded about and what are its consequences? Ans-3. In pursuit of money, ambition and success our lives have become hectic, mechanized and monotonous. We fail to introspect and connect with our inner self as well as threaten ourselves with our destructive activities. Q-4. What is the exotic moment that the poet talks about? Why will it appear strange? Ans-4. A moment of quietude and stillness, without rush, without the din of machines, when people will have the time to introspect. It will appear strange as man has never known such a rare tranquil moment which will make him understand universal brotherhood.

Q-5. What is the significance of ‘counting to twelve?’ Ans-5. Twelve is an extended counting. While counting for a longer time one feels more relaxed than counting for a short time such as one or three. As the counting is followed by a relaxed time of silent meditation, one needs to keep his mind at ease by counting steadily for a longer time. The poet is emphasizing on the importance of taking a pause from our busy lives and to introspect within ourselves. He wants us to realize the impact of our deeds and be happy on our achievements. Q.6. What is the ‘sadness’ that the poet refers to in the poem? Ans.6. The ‘sadness’ referred by the poet is the disappointment which engulfs our lives despite the fact that we are busy in completing our tasks for our survival. This is so because we are ruining our lives by our deeds. We are doing such works of destruction that we are digging our own graves of sadness.

Poem: 4. A Thing of Beauty by Poet: John Keats

Summary:

In this poem, the poet has brought out the unlimited joys attained from nature. He feels that a beautiful thing of nature gives us unlimited joy and its beauty never decreases, rather it is everlasting. Despite the paucity of noble people, the increasing number of evils in the world and days of gloom, man finds relief and joy in the beauty of nature. He refers to the sun, the moon, trees, flowers, shrubs and streams as a constant source of joy for men and animals. We get joy by reading the tales of the brave and mighty people of the past but the joy received from nature is limitless and incomparable.

Vocabulary

1)       Bower- a pleasant shady place under trees or climbing plants

2)       Morrow – the following day

3)       Wreathing – covering or to encircle

4)       Spite - desire to offend or annoy someone

5)       Despondence – disheartened, hopeless

6)       Noble – of superior quality, having high moral principles

7)       Pall – a cloud, here, a dark cloud of gloom and sadness

8)       Spirits – the soul where lie our emotions and character

9)       Sprouting – to develop suddenly in large numbers

10)   Shady boon – a shade which is helpful to someone

11)   Rills – streams of running water

12)   Covert – not openly known or displayed

13)   Grandeur – so as to impress

14)   Dooms – last day of existence

15)   Immortal – living forever

16)   Heaven’s brink – the door of God’s home

Important Extracts:

(i)                 A thing of beauty is a joy for ever

Its loveliness increases, it will never
Pass into nothingness; but will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. What is being said by John Keats to be ‘a joy forever’?	1. The poet says that a thing of beauty is a joy forever.
2. What is peculiar about a beautiful thing?	2. A beautiful thing is a source of joy forever. Its loveliness goes on enhancing.
3. What can a beautiful thing do for the human beings?	3. A beautiful thing gives us a sleep full of sweet dreams, health and a peaceful breathing.
4. In what way does beauty keep a bower quiet for us?	4. When we are tired, tensed, the thing of beauty heals our sorrows and restores happiness for us again.

(ii)               Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing

A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o'er-darkened ways

Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. Why are we weaving a flowery band?	1. We are weaving a flowery band so that it can keep us bound to the earth.
2. What dearth does the poet talk of?	2. It is the dearth of noble natures among the human beings.
3. What are the evil things that one possess?	3. We possess malice of disappointment, lack of noble qualities and unhealthier ways.

(iii)             Some shape of beauty moves away the pall

From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon

For simple sheep;

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. What removes away the pall from our evil spirits?	1. Some shape of beauty removes away the pall from our evil spirits
2. Who do germinate a shady boon and for whom?	2. The sun, the moon, the trees and the nature germinate a shady tree and that is a boon for the sheep and the human beings.
3. What is the common thing that the poet points out?	3. The poet points out that nature has endless things of beauty. They give us happiness.

(iv)       and such are daffodils

With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert mak

'Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake.
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. Name the flowers described in these lines?	1. Daffodils and musk-rose are the flowers.
2. What are the other natural ecosystems named here and what do they do?	2. The clear small streams, the green world are the ecosystems mentioned here. They make for themselves a cooling covert.
3. What makes the mid-forest brake rich?	3. The mid-forest brake is made rich by the blooming of beautiful musk roses.
4. Find the word that means – ‘small streams’.	4. Small streams – rills.

(v)               And such too is the grandeur of the dooms

We have imagined for the mighty dead;
All lovely tales that we have heard or read;

An endless fountain of immortal drink,

Pouring unto us from the heaven's brink.

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. Who is ‘mighty dead’ here?	1. The mighty dead is the ancient powerful and brave man who had noble deeds in his past. But now he is dead.
2. What is the immortal drink? Where does it come from to us?	2. Nectar is the immortal drink. It comes to us from the heaven.
3. Explain: ‘Grandeur of the dooms’.	3. Grandeur of dooms’ means the magnificence that we imagine for our mighty dead forefathers on the Doom’s Day.

04. A Thing of Beauty by John Keats

1. Alliteration - Sudden strangeness, hurt hands, clean clothes, we will, we would, wards with, noble natures; cooling covert; band to bind 2. Pun - Arms – One meaning of arms is weapons and the other meaning is the hands. 3. Metaphor - bower quiet; sweet dreams; wreathing a flowery band; pall; endless fountain of immortal drink 4. Imagery - flowery bands, shady boon, daffodils in green world, clear rills, cooling covert, grandeur of dooms, endless fountain of eternal drink 5. Symbol - simple sheep – refers to mankind as Christ is the shepherd 6. Transferred epithet - gloomy days; unhealthy and o’er darkened ways 7. A perfect rhyme scheme of aabbcc

Q-1. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever? Ans-1. A thing is said to be a ‘thing of beauty,’ because it is a source of joy forever. When we think of it we should be happy and in its absence too, it should fill our minds with divine memories of it. Q-2. Why do we need to ‘wreathe a flowery band every morning? Ans-2. Wreathing flowery band is symbolic of gathering all good hopes every morning to begin a happy day. It is very necessary for all human beings to wreathe a flowery band every morning to love life in spite of all the sufferings and pains of life around. It means that we get attached to the beautiful things around us and weave a pretty band which binds us with our life, it becomes the reason for us to live. Q-3. Why do people take the ‘unhealthy and over darkened ways for happiness? Ans-3. The pleasure that one gets from bad means appears to be sweeter than those that come from good means. Even though they find happiness there, such happiness will not last. After providing a time of excitement and pleasure, this sort of happiness turns sour and misery. Q-4. How is ‘tree’ a perfect example for a beautiful thing providing shade to the simple sheep? Ans-4. The tree bears the heat of the sun to give shade and cool for anyone who seeks shade and rest under its branches. Its greatness is a degree greater because it gives shade not only for the mighty ones, but also for the simplest of the animals such as sheep. Q-5. What is the ‘grandeur of the dooms of the great people?’ Ans-5. The greatness with which the great people die is the ‘grandeur of the dooms of the mighty dead.’ The poet compares this greatness with that of the beautiful things on account of the fact that the great people die for giving happiness to the rest of the world. Q.6. Why is ‘grandeur’ associated with the ‘mighty dead’? Ans.6. The noble deeds of the brave men who sacrificed their lives are an inspiration for us forever. The beautiful legacy of their bravery is the grandeur which is associated with the mighty dead. Q-7. Who are the mighty dead? Why are they called so? How are they beautiful? Ans-7. The mighty dead are the great people who have sacrificed their lives for the humanity by struggling and dying for others. They are called so because they were selfless and provided happiness for the others. They were mighty because it is more difficult to die for others than living for oneself. They are equally beautiful as they suffered for other people like the daffodils and trees, they provided happiness to others like the clear rills and they burnt for others like the sun. Q-8. Which ‘tales’ does the poet here refer to? Why are they lovely? Ans-8. The poet refers to the really beautiful stories that we have either heard or read. These tales are beautiful because they can leave an indelible happiness in us and each time we recall these stories, we feel our burdens lifted, mind refreshed and life moving happily in spite of all disturbances. A fountain of immortal drink gives us immortality. Similarly, reading and listening to really beautiful tales fill our minds with joy beyond description.

Poem: 5. Aunt Jennifer's tigers by Poet: Adrienne Rich

Summary:

The poet has brought out the desire of a woman for freedom and strength. Aunt Jennifer embroidered bright yellow tigers on a screen. They prance about freely, fearlessly and confidently in the open spaces of a green forest. In contrast, Aunt Jennifer is nervous and frail. She finds it difficult to even pull the ivory needle that she uses to make her embroidery. The wedding ring around her finger is symbolic of the burden of commitments and bindings of married life that take away her freedom and confidence to live life the way she desires. When she dies, her wedding ring will continue to exhibit her burdened life. Unlike her, the tigers have been immortalized and will continue to prance about freely, confidently and fearlessly.

Vocabulary

1)            Prance :  walk or move around with high springy steps

2)            Topaz : a bright yellow coloured stone

3)            Denizens :  here, an animal that lives or is found in a particular place

4)            Sleek : elegant

5)            Chivalric : being courteous esp. to women, an act of a gentleman

6)            Ordeals: extremely severe tests or experiences

7)            Prancing : to move around proudly

8)            Fluttering : to move in quick, irregular motions as if being agitated

Important Extracts:

(i)                 Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,

Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;

They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. Name the poem & the poet.	1. The poem is’ Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers’ and the poet Adrienne Rich.
2. What are Aunt’s tigers doing?	2. They are jumping across a screen.
3. How do the prancing tigers look like?	3. They look like shining topaz denizens.
4. What do the tigers do on seeing men?	4. They don’t fear the men beneath the tree.

(ii)               Aunt Jennifer's fingers fluttering through her wool

Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.

The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band

Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. Why are the fingers fluttering?	1. The fingers are fluttering because she is afraid of the dominance of her husband as well as the family life.
2. What does ‘the massive weight of uncle’s wedding band’ depict?	2. It depicts Aunt’s suffering. The wedding band refers to the engagement ring and also the metal band that keeps her chained.
3. Why did she create animals which were so different from her own character?	3. She bore all the suffering very meekly. So, she created tigers that represent her silent revolt against uncle’s marriage bands and her suffering.

(iii)             When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made

Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

Comprehension Questions	Answers
1. Who is Aunt referred to and what she has mastered by?	1. She is Aunt Jennifer. She has been mastered by her ordeals.
2. Where were the tigers made and who did so?	2. The tigers were made in the panel by aunt.
3. What will the tigers do when Aunt is dead?	3. They will continue jumping across the screen.
4. How do the tigers look?	4. They look like proud and unafraid.

05. Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers by Adrienne Rich

1. Alliteration - Fingers fluttering 2. Symbols & Images - Tiger – symbol of fear and terror created by male world on women and also a symbol of freedom of spirit - Bright Topaz – symbol of bright yellowish brown colour of the tiger skin - Fluttering wool – image used to show extensive oppression of the women - Uncle’s wedding band – symbol of suppression of women in marriage, custom and law - Ringed with ordeals – image to express the struggles of the spirit, racial and religious injustice and the oppression that the women suffer but never complain - Aunt Jennifer- a typical victim of male oppression in an unhappy marriage, who suffers loss of individuality, dignity and freedom, silently. She becomes dependent, fearful and frail. - Embroidery - symbol of creative expression. The artwork expresses the Aunt’s suppressed desires and becomes her escape from the oppressive reality of her life. - Aunt (last stanza) – as opposed to Aunt Jennifer. It shows that she has lost her identity completely, thus lost even her name. 3. Personification - They pace in sleek chivalric certainty – In this line, the poet has given chivalric qualities of men to tigers 4. Metaphor - Ringed with ordeals: even death would not free her as the wedding band, a symbol of oppression, would yet be on her finger 5. Transferred epithet - terrified fingers 6. Perfect rhyme scheme of aa bb cc

Q-1. How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding the tiger’s attitude? Ans-1. The tigers embroidered by Aunt Jennifer are free inhabitants of the vibrant green forests, masters of their domain and movements. They are ‘chivalric’- i.e. noble and majestic, pacing powerfully and confidently, fearless of the hunters. They stand in stark contrast to their frail creator who is timid, fearful of her husband, confined and crushed in an oppressive marriage. Q-2. Why do you think Aunt Jennifer’s hands are ‘fluttering through her wool’ in the second stanza? Why is she finding the needle so hard to pull? Ans-2. Aunt Jennifer struggles to express her dreams through needlework, but her fingers tremble nervously as she tries to pull the light ivory needle because she fears her domineering husband, which has made her physically and emotionally frail. She is weighed down by uncle’s wedding band-a symbol of her suffocating marriage and the compulsions therein, in a patriarchal society. Q-3. What is suggested by the image ‘massive weight of Uncle’s wedding band’? Ans-3. Uncle’s wedding band is heavy as it is a symbol of bondage, of being crushed in an unhappy marriage. It has kept her encircled and trapped in a burdensome marriage in a patriarchal society- a relationship of subjugation and domination. It has restricted her freedom and eroded her individuality. Q-4. Of what or who is Aunt Jennifer terrified even after her death? Ans-4. Even after death, Aunt would carry her fear of her domineering husband as she would yet bear the burden of the wedding band on her finger. The ordeals faced by her in an oppressive marriage would continue to terrify her. Q-5. What are the ordeals Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by, why is it significant that the poet uses the word ringed? What are the meanings of the word ringed in the poem? Ans-5. Aunt Jennifer’s ordeals are those suffered by all women who face physical, mental or emotional trauma at the hands of insensitive husbands in a patriarchal society, restricting a woman’s personal liberty and dignity. The wedding ring has kept her ringed in i.e. trapped in a gender role - a victim of male domination.

Q-6. Why do you think Aunt Jennifer created animals that are so different from her own character? What might the poet be suggesting through this difference? Ans-6. The timid and fearful Aunt Jennifer creates an alternative world of free and fearless tigers to express her longing for freedom, a medium of escape from her grim marriage. The ironical contrast underscores a warning by the poet against acceptance of subjugation by women as it crushes their dreams, individuality and a full life.

1-                                          Alliteration                  [अनुप्रास]

2-                                          Homonym                   [यमक]

3-                                          Pun                             [श्लेष]

4-                                          Simile                         [उपमा]

5-                                          Metaphor                    [रुपक]

6-                                          Personification            [मानवीकरण]

7-                                          Apostrophe                 [सम्बोधन]

8-                                          Hyperbole                   [अतिशयोक्ति]

9-                                          Oxymoron                  [विरोधाभास]

10-                                      Onomatopoeia             [ध्वन्यात्मक]

11-                                      Euphemism                 [प्रेयोक्ति, व्यंजना]

12-                                      Antithesis                    [प्रतिपक्षता]

13-                                      Epigram                      [चुटकुला]

14-                                      Irony                           [व्यंग]

15-                                      Metonymy                   [लक्षणालंकार]

16-                                      Synecdoche                  [उपलक्षण]

17-                                      Transferred Epithet       [वितेषण विपर्यय]

18-                                      Litotes                         [कोमल ढंग से बात कहना]

19-                                      Climax                        [चरमोत्कर्ष]

20-                                      Anticlimax                  [प्रतिचरम]

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