1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
I wandered lonely as a cloud,
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
(i) What was the poet doing ? In what sense was he like a floating cloud ?
Answer: The poet was wandering idly. Like a cloud freely floating over hills and valleys, he was wandering freely without any purpose. He was as lonely as the cloud in the sky.
(ii) What pleasant sight attracted his attention ?
Answer: A beautiful sight of daffodils attracted his attention. The golden daffodils were in a large number, growing under the trees and spreading along the bank of a lake.
(iii) Why does the poet compare himself to an object of nature and an object of nature to a human being ?
Answer: The poet does so in order to convey the idea that there is an inherent unity between man and nature.
(iv) The poet later uses a simile to describe the beauty of the daffodils. What is that simile ?
Answer: The poet later uses a simile to compare the beauty of the daffodils to the beauty of the twinkling stars in the Milky Way in the sky. He also uses the simile to underline the large number of daffodils, comparable to the numerous stars in the Galaxy.
(v) Whom did the daffodils seem to surpass in vigour and liveliness ?
Answer: The daffodils seemed to dance in the gentle breeze. The waves in the lake, too seemed to dance in the wind. However, their dance was surpassed by the dance of the daffodils in vigour and liveliness.
2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay :
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
(i) Why does the poet compare the daffodils to the stars ?
Answer: The poet compares the daffodils to the stars in order to underline the large number and the beauty of the flowers.
(ii) ‘They stretched in never-ending line’. Explain.
Answer: The poet wants to say that the daffodils growing beside the lake seemed to form an endless line. He wants to emphasize the large number of daffodils.
(iii) Explain the lines :
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
Answer: The daffodils growing beside the lake seemed to form an endless line. They were in a very large number. They tossed their heads to and fro in the breeze as if they were engaged in a lively dance.
(iv) “Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.” What literary device has the poet used here ? Explain.
Answer: Personification. The daffodils are personified as human beings ‘dancing’ and tossing their heads. This personfication underlines the inherent unity between man and nature.
(v) When does the sight of daffodils come to the poet’s mind later in the poem ? What does he get by recollecting that sight of daffodils ?
Answer: When the poet is in a sad mood, the beautiful scene of daffodils seen by him earlier flashes across his mind. This happens when he is all alone. The recollection of the sight of daffodils fills the poet’s mind with joy. His heart begins to dance with the dancing daffodils.
3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee :
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company :
I gazed-and gazed-but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:
(i) How had the poet described the daffodils earlier in the poem ?
Answer: The poet had described the daffodils as golden. They had grown under the trees near the lake. The flowers were beautiful and they tossed their heads in breeze as if in a dance. They were in large numbers.
(ii) Whose waves had the poet in mind ? What did he notice about them ?
Answer: The waves in the lake were in the poet’s mind. He noticed that they were shining and dancing in the breeze.
(iii) Why does the poet compare the dance of the daffodils to that of the waves ?
Answer: The poet compares the dance of the daffodils to that of the waves in order to point out that the dance of the daffodils surpassed the dance of the waves. He wants to say that the dance of the daffodils was more lively than that of the waves.
(iv) Who could not help being happy in the presence of the beautiful objects of nature ?
Answer: The poet feels that no sensitive person could help feeling delighted in the company of such joyful companions (the beautiful objects of nature). He recalls how he continued to gaze at the beautiful scene. He could not think what wealth of joy had brought to him.
(v) What ‘wealth’ has the poet referred to here ? When did he realize its worth ?
Answer: ‘Wealth’ here is referred to the great joy that the poet got by continuously looking at the beautiful sight of daffodils. Whenever the poet felt sad, the beautiful scene of daffodils flashed across his mind and filled it with joy. Then he realized the true worth of the beautiful sight of daffodils.
4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
(i) Who are ‘they’ referred to in the third line here ? When had the poet come across them ?
Answer: They are the beautiful daffodils that the poet had seen earlier.
The poet and his sister Dorothy had come across a large number of golden daffodils ‘ during a walk in the woods.
(ii) What makes the poet become happy again ?
Answer: Whenever the poet lies on his couch in a free or sad mood, the beautiful scene of daffodils seen by him earlier flashes across his mind. This happens when he is all alone. Then the memory of the beautiful scene makes the poet become happy again.
(iii) Explain the phrase ‘the bliss of solitude’ in the context in which it has been used.
Answer: The poet had once come across a large number of beautiful daffodils. The sight of the beautiful daffodils had a great impact on his mind. But now whenever the poet lies on his couch in a free or sad mood, the beautiful scene of daffodils seen by him earlier flashes across his mind. But this happens only in solitude. The memory of the beautiful scene of daffodils removes his sadness and makes him happy again. Thus, solitude is a great blessing because in solitude, the poet recollects the beautiful scene of daffodils and feels happy.
(iv) Explain :
“And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.”
Answer: The poet says that whenever he recollects the beautiful scene of daffodils seen by him earlier, it fills his heart with joy. The memory of the beautiful scene makes him so happy that his heart begins to dance with the dancing daffodils.
(v) What do you think is the message of the poet conveyed through these lines ?
Answer: The poet says that whenever he is in a free or sad mood, the beautiful scene of daffodils seen by him earlier flashes across his mind. This happens only in solitude. The memory of the beautiful scene of daffodils fills the poet’s mind with joy. Then his heart begins to dance with the dancing daffodils. Thus, the poet conveys a message that nature has the power to remove our melancholy mood and make us happy.
Daffodils Assignment
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
(i) What does the poet refer to in the previous stanza ? What is the figure of speech used in the first line ? Explain the figure of speech.
(ii) Explain the expression ‘in sprightly dance’.
(iii) ‘Ten thousand saw I at a glance.’ Why does the poet use the number ‘ten thousand’ ? What literary device is used here, and why ?
(iv) What was peculiar about the dance of the daffodils ?
(v) Why does the sight of daffodils come to the poet’s mind later in the poem ?
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set —
Or better still, just don’t install
The idiotic thing at all.
(i) Who are ‘we’ referred to in the first line here ?
Answer: ‘We’ refers to the poet and the persons of his opinion.
(ii) Who are being addressed to by the poet ?
Answer: The poet addresses the parents to convince their children about the negative impact of watching television on their minds.
(iii) What is the idiotic thing ? Why is it called idiotic ?
Answer: Television. It is called idiotic because it makes the viewers dull, stupid and idiotic.
(iv) What is the advice of the poet ?
Answer: The poet advises that children should not be allowed to watch the programmes on the television.
(v) Is there any relevance of this advice in our present-day world ?
Answer: His advice seems to be an exaggerated one. In the present-day world, the new generation gets every type of knowledge, information and entertainment from television. The viewers get visual as well as auditory pleasure. Though Dahl’s viewpoint has been endorsed by several emiment persons, it is generally rejected by the new generation. Thus Dahl’s advice has only a few takers these days.
2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone’s place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
(i) What advice is given by the poet to the parents earlier in the context ?
Answer: The poet advises the parents to convince their children about the negative impact of watching television on their minds. He tells them that television is an idiotic box. It makes the viewers dull and stupid. So children should not be allowed to view the programmes on television.
(ii) How has the poet described the television?
Answer: The poet calls the television ‘an idiot box’ because it makes the viewers stupid and dull. So the children should not be allowed to view the programmes on television.
(iii) What has been observed in every house ?
Answer: It has been observed that children sit or stand before the television set lazily and stare at the screen continuously. They go on watching television until their eyes seem to come out.
(iv) When do eyes pop out ?
Answer: When the children stare at the screen continuously, their eyes seem to pop out.
(v) Which figure of speech has been used in the last two lines, and how ?
Answer: Metaphor : we saw/A dozen eyeballs on the floor.
3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
They sit and stare and stare and sit Until they’re hypnotised by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don’t climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch And wash the dishes in the sink —
(i) Who are being addressed to in the poem ? Why ?
Answer: The parents whose children watch television excessively have been addressed to in the poem. It is the parents who will convince their children about the negative impact of watching television on their minds.
(ii) What is the poet’s main concent ?
Answer: The poet’s main concern is that those children who watch television continuously for a long time tire their eyes. Their eyes seem to bulge out. When they go on staring at the television screen, they seem to be hypnotised. But what they get out of this activity is useless and harmful stuff.
(iii) Explain the phrase ‘that shocking ghastly junk’.
Answer: When children stare at the television screen in order to watch the programmes, they get hypnotised by the programmes. But what they get is frightening, useless and harmful stuff. The programmes on the television contain horrible and meaningless contents.
(iv) Why do the parents let their children watch television uninterrupted ?
Answer: The parents let their children watch television uninterrupted because they remain quiet and do not disturb them.
They do not climb out of the windows and they do not fight with one another. They leave their parents free to cook lunch or wash utensils lying in the sink.
(v) How does television watching make the children dull ?
Answer: Television watching is a passive activity. It blocks fresh thinking. It rots their minds and fill them with useless thoughts. It destroys their imaginative faculty. It makes children dull as they cannot distinguish between the real and the fantastic. Their brains become soft and they lose the power to think and imagine things.
4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot ?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
(i) Why do the parents let their children watch television for long ?
Answer: The parents let their children watch television for long so that they remain quiet and do not disturb them. They do not climb out of the windows. They also do not fight with one another. They leave their parents free to cook lunch or wash utensils lying in the sink.
(ii) What harm does television watching do to the mental powers of the children ?
Answer: Television watching is a passive activity. It blocks fresh thinking. It rots the minds of the children and fills them with useless thoughts. It destroys their imaginative faculty. It makes children dull as they cannot distinguish between the real and the fantastic. Their brains become soft and they lose the power to think and imagine things.
(iii) How does television watching make children unimaginative ?
Answer: Television watching is a passive activity. It blocks fresh thinking. It rots the minds of the children and destroys their imaginative faculty. It makes the children dull and they lose the power to imagine things. Thus it makes them unimaginative.
(iv) What is the activity, referred to later in the poem, that sharpens the brain ?
Answer: Reading books is a fruitful activity. It makes the minds of the children active. It helps them think new thoughts. It sharpens the brain.
(v) Do you agree with the poet that television kills our imagination ? Why / Why not ?
Answer: The poet is right in saying that television kills our imagination. Television watching is a passive activity. It blocks fresh thinking. It rots our minds and fills them with useless thoughts. It destroys our imaginative faculty. It makes us dull as we cannot distinguish between the real and the fantastic. We lose the power to think and imagine things.
5. Read the extract given below and answer
the questions that follow :
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK – HE ONLY SEES!
(i) What advice has the poet given to the parents earlier in the context ?
Answer: The. poet has advised the parents not to allow their children to watch television.
(ii) Why do the parents let their children watch the television ?
Answer: The parents let their children watch television to get freedom to do domestic chores and to keep them busy so that they may not do any mischief.
(iii) How does the television kill imagination ?
Answer: When we watch television we are not actively engaged with the stuff we watch. We receive the material passively. We do not think or imagine. Slowly television kills our imagination. We accept only what we see.
(iv) What harm does the television do ?
Answer: The television makes us dull, unimaginative. We no longer possess original thinking. We do not go beyond what we see on the screen.
(v) Do you agree with what the poet says ? Why / Why not ?
Answer: We do not fully agree with the poet. Controlled TV watching can be beneficial rather than harmful.
6. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
‘All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,
‘But if we take the set away,’
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children ? Please explain !’
(i) What important lesson does the poet say he has learnt at the start of the poem ?
Answer: The poet says that he has learnt an important lesson about television. It is that television is an idiot-box. It makes the viewers stupid and dull.
(ii) Describe some of the scenes that the poet says he has seen in houses which have televisions.
Answer: The poet says that he saw children sitting or standing before the TV, watching lazily. A week ago he saw a dozen eyeballs of the children lying on the floor due to excessive TV watching (an exaggeration to create humour).
(iii) List the ways in which television viewing affects the mind of a ‘beloved tot’.
Answer: Television watching blocks fresh thinking. It rots the minds of the children and destroys their imaginative faculty. It makes them dull.
(iv) What other activity does the poet recommend to entertain children ? Mention two ways in which this activity would benefit them.
Answer: The poet recommends reading of books on adventure fantasy for the children. Such books would entertain them. Reading of books would sharpen their brain and it would help them think new thoughts. It would also give them entertainment.
(v) What does the poet advise readers to do at the end of the poem ? What does he assure them would happen if they followed his suggestion ? What would you say is the central idea in this poem ?
Answer: The poet advises the readers to throw away the television set and in its place install a bookshelf and fill in with books. The central idea of the poem is that excessive TV watching is very harmful. It should be replaced by reading of books.
7. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Have you forgotten ? Don’t you know ?
We’ll say it very loud and slow :
THEY … USED … TO … READ! They’d READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
(i) What is the parents’ response to the poet’s advice to them about their children watching television ?
Answer: The parents’ response to the poet’s advice is not very positive. They will ask the poet that if the television set is removed there will be no means left with them to entertain their children. They do not know how to entertain them.
(ii) What does the poet remind them of ?
Answer: The poet reminds them that as children they used to read and read. The nursery shelves were full of books. They would spend half of their lives reading books. Reading books was the only and the main source of entertainment in the past.
(iii) What did the books which were placed in the rooms of children contain ?
Answer: The books contained wonderful stories about huge monsters, gypsies, queens, princesses, whales and treasure islands.
(iv) Why does the poet use all capital letters in the line : ‘THEY … USED … TO … READ!’ ?
Answer: The poet uses all the capital letters in this line to emphasize the importance of reading as a substitute to watching television. The poet wants to remind the parents that as children they used to read and read and read.
(v) Why does the poet recommend reading of books to the children ?
Answer: The poet recommends reading of books because reading activates the minds of the readers. It helps the children to think about new thoughts. It sharpens their brains and their imaginative faculty. It also entertains the children. It is, in fact, a very fruitful activity.
8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
(i) What anxiety has the poet shown regarding the watching of television by the children ?
Answer: The poet expresses his anxiety by saying that watching of television blocks the fresh thinking of children. It rots the minds of children. It destroys their imaginative facutly. It makes them dull as they cannot distinguish between the real and the fantastic. It hampers their power to think and imagine things.
(ii) What does he want children to do ?
Answer: The poet wants children to give up
watching television and start reading books. The poet exhorts the children to read books which contain wonderful stories. He tells them that books will provide them entertainment.
(iii) In what way is reading of books better than watching television ?
Answer: Reading of books is better than watching television because it activates the minds of the readers. It helps the children to think about new thoughts. It sharpens their brains and their imaginative faculty. It also entertains them. In fact, it is a fruitful activity. On the other hand, television watching is a passive activity. It blocks fresh thinking. It makes the children dull. It destroys their imaginative faculty.
(iv) What kinds of stories captivated the young minds in the past ?
Answer: The stories that told about huge monsters, gypsies, queens, princesses, whales and treasure islands captivated the young minds in the past. The stories about elephants and the cannibals also fascinated the young minds in the past.
(v) Do you agree with the poet that reading is . better than TV watching ? Why / Why not ? Answer: Yes, the poet is right in saying so because reading activates the minds of the readers.
It helps them to think new thoughts. It sharpens their brains and their imaginative faculty. It also provides them entertainment. In fact, it is a fruitful activity. On the other hand, television watching is a passive activity. It blocks fresh thinking and makes children dull. It destroys their imaginative faculty.
9. Read the extract given below and answer
the questions that follow :
And cannibals crouching ’round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it’s Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
(i) Why has the poet recommended reading books to children ?
Answer: Reading of books activates the minds of readers. It helps the children to think about new thoughts. It sharpens their brains and their imaginative faculty. It provides entertainment to the children. It is a fruitful activity.
(ii) What kinds of stories interested the children in the past ?
Answer: The stories about huge monsters, gypsies, queens and princesses, whales and treasure islands interested the children in the past. The stories about elephants and cannibals fascinated the children.
(iii) What dish did the cannibals eat in the stories ?
Answer: The cannibals ate a very sweet smelling dish named after Penelop who was the faithful wife of great Greek hero Odysseus.
(iv) Who was Beatrix Potter ? Why was he popular with children ?
Answer: Beatrix Potter was a British writer who was famous for his animal stories. He was popular with children because he told the stories about Mr Tod and his dirty dog, the squirrel Nutkin, the small pig named Bland or about Mrs Tiggy-Winkle. These stories were very fascinating. They were about camel’s getting the hump on his back or about the monkey losing the rear part of his hairy body.
(v) The poet refers to some of the animal characters in the stories of Beatrix Potter. Name a few of them.
Answer: Dog, squirrel, pig, camel, monkey.
Television Assignment
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start — oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts.
(i) Who are being addressed to here, and in what context ?
(ii) What action of the parents would evoke protest by their youngsters ?
(iii) What should the parents ignore ?
(iv) Why does the poet use the exclamation – ‘oh boy, oh boy!’ ?
(v) How will the youngsters gain from reading books ?
2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid Will love you more for what you did.
(i) How would the children react in the absence of the television set ?
(ii) How would they come to entertain themselves ?
(iii) What would fill their minds with joy ?
(iv) What change would occur in their minds ?
(v) Why is the poet so much against watching television ? Give two reasons.
Treasure Trove Poems Workbook Answers After Blenheim
After Blenheim Comprehension Passages
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
It was a summer evening,
Old Kaspar’s work was done,
And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun,
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.
(i) What kind of situation is presented here ?
Answer: The situation described here is common place and familiar. It was a summer evening. An old man Kasper having finished his day’s work was sitting before his cottage door. His little granddaughter Wilhelmine was playing near him on the green grass.
(ii) Where was the old man sitting ? What mood was he in ?
Answer: The old man was sitting before his cottage door. He was in a quiet and calm mood.
(iii) Who were two grandchildren of old Kaspar ? What do you think of them ?
Answer: 1. His granddaughter named Wilhelmine.
2. His grandson named Peterkin.
The two grandchildren of Kaspar were inquisitive and curious as they wanted to know about the war fought at Blenheim. They were eager to know why it was fought.
(iv) How did Kaspar react when his grandchildren wanted to know about the war fought at Blenheim ? Whom did people give credit for the victory ?
Answer: Kaspar was puzzled and said that he only knew that the English defeated the French badly and that it was a ‘famous’ victory. He told the children that the people gave credit to the Duke of Marlbrough and the Prince Eugene for the victory.
(v) Why were they confused about the claims of their grandfather about the war ?
Answer: When their grandfather told them that it was a ‘great’ and ‘famous’ victory of the English over the French in a battle fought at a small village named Blenheim, they were confused. They did not understand why their grandfather was calling it a ‘great’ victory when so many people had died in the war. When his granddaughter told him that war was a wicked thing, he tried to correct her by saying that it was a ‘famous’ victory. When his grandson asked him about the outcome of the war, he again repeated that ‘it was a famous victory.’ Thus the children remained confused about the claims of their grandfather.
2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
She saw her brother Peterkin Roll something large and round,
Which he beside the rivulet In playing there had found;
He came to ask what he had found,
That was so large, and smooth, and round.
(i) Whose family has been referred to earlier in the context ?
Answer: The family of an old man, named Kaspar, has been referred to earlier in the context. Kaspar has two grandchildren – a grand daughter named Wilhelmine and a grandson named Peterkin.
(ii) Who was Wilhelmine ? What was she doing ?
Answer: Wilhelmine was the granddaughter of Kaspar. She was playing on the green grass near her cottage.
(iii) What did she see Peterkin doing ?
Answer: She saw her brother Peterkin rolling something that was large and round.
(iv) Why had he come home ?
Answer: He had been playing near a rivulet. While playing he had discovered a thing by the side of a rivulet. The thing was large and round. He did not know what it was. He had brought home that thing by rolling it. He had come home to know what it was.
(v) What did his grandfather tell him ?
Answer: His grandfather looked at the thing, shook his head in sorrow and sighed. He told him that it was somebody’s skull. The person must have died in the battle fought at Blenheim. He called the battle a ‘great victory’. He was proud of the victory won by the English over the French.
3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow : (ICSE 2018)
And then the old man shook his head,
And with a natural sigh
“Tis some poor fellow’s skull,” said he,
“Who fell in the great victory.”
(After Blenheim, Robert Southey)
(i) Who is the old man ? What causes him to sigh ?
Answer: The old man is Kasper, a farmer. The memory of the past causes him to sigh. When he went to plough in his field, he dug many skulls out of the earth. They were the skulls of those thousands of men who were killed in the battle of Blenheim.
(ii) What incident prompted the old man to give an account of the Battle of Blenheim ?
Answer: The old man’s grandson had brought somebody’s skull. The person whose skull he brought must have been killed in the battle at Blenheim. The incident prompted the old man to give an account of the Battle of Blenheim.
(iii) How did the battle affect the old man’s family ?
Answer: The old man’s father lived at Blenheim. His house was burnt down and he had to flee with his family. Thus the battle badly affected the oldman’s family.
(iv) Name the two countries that fought each other in the battle. Which army won ? What reason does the old man give for the victory ?
Answer: England and France fought each other in the battle. The English army won the battle. According to the old man, England won the battle due to the joint strategy of the Duke of Marlbrough, Prince Eugene and the English military commanders.
(v) Point out the refrain in the poem. What effect does the refrain have on the reader ? What do you think is the poet’s attitude to war ?
Answer: The refrain in the poem is :
‘It was a famous victory’
It has ironic effect on the readers. The poet is against war because war causes bloodshed, death and destruction on a very large scale.
4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
7 find them in the garden,
For there’s many here about;
And often when I go to plough,
The ploughshare turns them out!
For many thousand men,’ said he,
‘Were slain in that great victory.’
(i) Peterkin had brought something home earlier in the context. What was that ?
Answer: Peterkin had been playing near a rivulet. While playing he had discovered a thing by the side of a rivulet. He had brought it home. The thing was large and round. It was the skull of somebody who must have died in the battle at Blenheim.
(ii) What was told by the old man ?
Answer: The old man told him that it was somebody’s skull. He must have died in the battle fought at Blenheim.
(iii) What is the irony used in the last two lines here ?
Answer: The old man told Peterkin that thousands of men were killed in the battle of Blenheim. The English had won victory over the French in the battle. Kaspar who was on the side of the English boasted of the victory. Though thousands of men were killed in the battle, Kaspar called it a ‘great victory’. The irony lies in the use of the words ‘great victory.’
(iv) How did Wilhelmine react to the old man’s description of the war ?
Answer: The old man told his grandchildren that though thousands of men were killed in the battle of Blenheim, it was a great victory of the English over the French. Wilhelmine, the little girl, disagreed with him and said that war was nothing but ‘a wicked thing’, but the old man tried to correct her by saying that it was a ‘famous victory’.
(v) What do you think of the old man’s point of view ?
Answer: The old man’s point of view is obsolete, conservative and narrow. He admits that thousands of men were killed in the battle of Blenheim. His father’s house was burnt down and he had to flee with his family. He had no place to take shelter. The war caused ruin and destruction in every part of the country. Still he boasted of the victory of the English over the French and repeatedly called it a ‘great’ and ‘famous’ victory. It is ironical to say that though thousands of men died in the war, it was a great victory. Thus the old man’s point of view is conventional and outdated.
5. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
‘Now tell us what ’twas all about,’
Young Peterkin, he cries;
And little Wilhelmine looks up With wonder-waiting eyes;
‘Now tell us all about the war,
And what they fought each other for ?’
(i) What was the curiosity in young Peterkin’s mind ?
Answer: Peterkin who had brought home a large round thing that he had found while playing near a rivulet was curious to know what it was.
(ii) Explain the expression ‘wonder-waiting eyes’.
Answer: The young Peterkin brought home somebody’s skull. He was anxious to know all about the incident connected with the skull. Wilhelmine, too, looked at the skull with surprise and wanted to know all about the war. The expression ‘wonder-waiting eyes’ refers to Wilhelmine’s surprise and her eagerness to get a reply from her grandfather.
(iii) “What they fought each other for ?” This is the most puzzling question in the context of all wars. Explain.
Answer: The young Peterkin and his little sister are eager to know all about the war and what they (the English and the French) fought for. The children want to know the reason for the war. Kaspar simply says that it was the English who defeated the French and that it was a famous victory, but he does not know what they fought for. He simply boasted of the victory. His point of view is conventional and outdated. It was a puzzling question at that time. In fact, it is a puzzling question in the context of all wars.
(iv) What answer did the old man provide ?
Answer: When Peterkin and Wilhelmine wanted to know all about the war and asked the old man what they (the English and the French) fought for, he had no cogent answer. He boasted of the victory of the English over the French and repeatedly said that it was a ‘famous’ and ‘great’ victory. He only repeated what people generally said. His point of view is conventional and not his own.
(v) Why did the old man’s reply fail to satisfy the young children ?
Answer: When the young children wanted to know all about the war and asked the old man what they (the English and the French) fought each other for, the old man boasted of the victory of the English over the French and replied that it was a great victory. When little Wilhelmine told him that war was nothing but a wicked thing he weakly asserted that she was wrong and that it was indeed a . ‘famous victory’. The old man’s reply failed to satisfy the young children because their response to war was natural and instinctive whereas the old man’s response to war was conventional and outdated. Thus the old man’s conventional point of view failed to satisfy the young children.
6. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
‘It was the English,’ Kaspar cried,
‘Who put the French to rout;
But what they fought each other for,
I could not well make out;
But everybody said,’ quoth he,
‘That ’twas a famous victory’.
(i) What had Kaspar told about the battle of Blenheim before in the context ?
Answer: Kaspar had told the children that the battle of Blenheim had been fought between the English and the French. The English had defeated the French badly and it was a ‘great’ and ‘famous’ victory of the English over the French. Though thousands of men had died in the war, it was a ‘famous’ victory.
(ii) What was the query posed to him by the young Peterkin ? What did he reply ?
Answer: The young Peterkin asked his grandfather to tell him what they (the English and the French) had fought for in the battle of Blenheim. He simply replied what people generally said that it was a ‘famous victory’ of the English over the French.
(iii) Why is the word ‘cried’ used by the poet in the first line ?
Answer: The word ‘cried’ is used because Kaspar wants to shout loudly in order to emphasize that the English had defeated the French badly and that it was a famous victory.
(iv) What did Kaspar tell about the ‘famous victory’ ? In what sense was it famous ?
Answer: Kaspar told his grandchildren that the English defeated the French in the battle of Blenheim and that though thousands of men were killed in war, it was a famous victory. In fact, Kaspar repeated what the people generally said that it was a famous victory. It was ‘famous’ because people praised the Duke of Marlbrough and the Prince Eugene and the English commanders for having a grand victory. So Kaspar also boasted of the victory and repeated what people generally said that it was a famous victory.
(v) What could Kaspar not make out ?
Answer: Kaspar’s response to war. was conventional and not his own. Though thousands of men were killed, women became widows and children became orphans in the battle of Blenheim, people praised the Duke of Marlbrough and the Prince Eugene and the English Commanders for having a grand victory. So Kaspar also boasted of this grand victory. He could not make out that war caused deaths, destruction and ruin and therefore repeated what people generally said.
7. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
‘My father lived at Blenheim then,
Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
And he was forced to fly;
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.
(i) Old Kaspar told his grandchildren about the ‘famous victory’ earlier in the context. What was it ?
Answer: Kaspar told his grandchildren that the English defeated the French in the battle of Blenheim and that though thousands of men were killed in war, it was a famous victory. In fact, Kaspar repeated what the people generally said that it was a famous victory. It was famous because people praised the Duke of Marlbrough, the Prince Eugene and English military commanders for having a grand victory. So Kaspar also boasted of the victory and repeated what people generally said.
(ii) What were the results of the ‘great victory’ ?
Answer: The great victory of the English over the French in the battle of Blenheim resulted in the deaths of thousands of men, women and children. The old man’s father lived at Blenheim. His house was burnt down, and he had to flee with his family. The war, won by the English, caused widespread ruin and destruction.
(iii) How was the ‘great victory’ a personal tragedy for Kaspar family ?
Answer: The ‘great victory’ of the English over the French in the battle of Blenheim was a personal tragedy for Kaspar family because the house of Kaspar’s father was burnt down. He had to flee with his family. He had no place to take shelter. It ruined Kaspar’s family.
(iv) What made Kaspar praise a horrible incident ?
Answer: The battle of Blenheim between the English and the French was a horrible • incident because thousands of men, women and children were killed. But Kaspar praised that war because the English defeated the French and he called it a great victory. People praised the Duke of Marlbrough, the Prince Eugene and the English military commanders for having won a grand victory. So Kaspar also boasted of the grand victory and repeated what people generally said. Moreover, his response to war was conventional and not his own. So he praised the war, though it was a horrible incident.
(v) Why did his children fail to understand his viewpoint ?
Answer: Kaspar boasted of the victory of the English over French in the battle of Blenheim and called it a famous victory. In fact, he repeated what people generally said that it was a famous victory. When Wilhelmine told her grandfather that war was nothing but a wicked thing, he weakly asserted that she was wrong and that it was, indeed, a ‘great victory’. The children failed to understand the old man’s viewpoint because their response to war was natural and instinctive whereas the old man’s response was conventional and outdated.
8. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
‘And everybody praised the Duke Who this great fight did win.’
‘But what good came of it at last ?’
Quoth little Peterkin.
‘Why that I cannot tell,’ said he,
‘But ’twas a famous victory.’
(i) What is this conversation about ?
Answer: This conversation is about the battle fought at Blenheim and its horrible consequences.
(ii) Which is the ‘great fight’ referred to here ? Who won it ?
Answer: The ‘great fight’ referred to here is the Battle of Blenheim fought between the English and the French. The English, along with the Austrians and the Bavarians, won the battle.
(iii) What is Peterkin’s query, and what has prompted it ?
Answer: Peterkin wanted to know what good came out of the war at last. The question cropped up in his mind when his grandfather Kaspar continued to praise the war despite its widespread ruin and destruction and mass casualties.
(iv) What is the response of Old Kaspar ?
Answer: The response of Old Kaspar is that he does not know what good came out of the war, but he still feels it was ‘a famous victory’.
(v) What is it that makes the poet’s antiwar stance effective here ?
Answer: The old man fails to satisfy his grandchildren as to why the war was fought and what good came of it. This stark failure on his part brings about the horrors of war, and strengthens the poet’s anti-war stance felt throughout the poem.
After Blenheim Assignment
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
‘With fire and sword the country round
Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then,
And new-born baby died;
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory.
(i) Who is the speaker ? What did he describe in the preceding lines ?
(ii) How was the country affected by the war ?
(iii) What is most tragic about the war hinted here ?
(iv) Why and how did the speaker try to justify the war ?
(v) Do you agree with his justification of the war ? Why/Why not ?
2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
‘They say it was a shocking sight
After the field was won;
For many thousand bodies here
Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.
(i) Who is the speaker ? What is he telling about ?
(ii) What did the people say about the war ?
(iii) Bring out the irony inherent in the speaker’s utterance.
(iv) What is the rhyme scheme followed in the poem ?
(v) Comment upon the contrasted viewpoints in the poem.
Treasure Trove Poems Workbook Answers The Bangle Sellers
The Bangle Sellers Comprehension Passages
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Bangle sellers are we who bear
Our shining loads to the temple fair…
Who will buy these delicate, bright
Rainbow-tinted circles of light ?
Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,
For happy daughters and happy wives.
(i) Where are the bangle sellers going ? Are they happy and contented ?
Answer: The bangle sellers are going to a temple fair to sell their bangles to earn money. Actually they cannot be happy and contented because they live in poverty and deprivation. But they can, of course, appear to be happy.
(ii) What do you mean by ‘Rainbow-tinted circles of light’ ? What kind of literary device is it ?
Answer: The multicoloured bangles are described as rainbow-tinted circles of light. It is a metaphor.
(iii) What are these bangles for ? Why has the poet repeated the word ‘happy’ in the last line here ?
Answer: These bangles are meant for happy daughters and happy wives. By repeating the word ‘happy’, the poet has emphasised the human element of the product. The daughters who expect to be married soon wear bangles to express their happy longings. The wives who wear bangles express their happiness and contentment in their marital life.
(iv) What colours of bangles are preferred by virgin maidens ?
Answer: The bangles which are silvery and blue and as misty as mountain mist are preferred by virgin maidens who have countless longings for their married lives. The bangles which are as pink as buds that bloom on the calm surface of a forest stream, are also preferred by the virgin maidens. The shining green bangles are also liked by them.
(v) What rhyme scheme is followed in the poem ?
Answer: The poem consists of four stanzas of six lines each. The rhyme scheme followed in each stanza is aabbcc, which is a couplet form. It is mainly responsible for the melodious effect and fast rhythm. It renders a lyrical and musical effect to the whole poem. It gratifies the auditory sense of the readers.
2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Some are meet for a maiden’s wrist,
Silver and blue as the mountain mist,
Some are flushed like the buds that dream
On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream,
Some are aglow with the bloom that cleaves
To the limpid glory of new born leaves.
(i) Who is the narrator ? What has been described earlier ?
Answer: The narrator, one of the bangle sellers, may be a man or a woman – we have no clue to the gender. The bangle sellers are going to a temple fair to sell their bangles to earn money. They sell multicoloured bangles to the happy maidens and happy wives. They have a large variety of beautiful bangles. The happy maidens and happy wives have an ample choice to select bangles of their likings.
(ii) In what context is the expression ‘the mountain mist’ used here ?
Answer: This expression is used for the colour of bangles which are preferred by virgin maidens. The poet says that the bangles which are silvery and blue and as misty as mountain are preferred by virgin maidens.
(iii) How has the poet described the bangles ?
Answer: The poet has described the multicoloured bangles with the help of similes. For example, she says :
1. Silver and blue as the mountain mist
2. Some are flushed like the buds that dream
(iv) Explain : “Some are aglow with the bloom new born leaves
Answer: Some of the bangles are shining green whose freshness is close to the vivid beauty of the new born, tender leaves. Such bangles are preferred by the virgin maidens who have countless longings for their married lives.
(v) What does the poet say about the bride’s preference about bangles later in the context ?
Answer: The bride prefers yellow bangles which look like corn fields because they are suitable for a bride on her marriage morning. She also likes fiery red bangles which are like the flame of her marriage fire. They are expressive of the passion in her heart. They create a ringing sound as the bride walks. They are shining and delicate, as the laughter of the bride (as she is getting married) or tear (as she weeps at the separation from her parents).
3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Some are purple and gold flecked grey
For she who has journeyed through life midway,
Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest,
And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,
And serves her household in fruitful pride,
And worships the gods at her husband’s side.
(i) What kinds of bangles have earlier been mentioned ?
Answer: Bangles of different colours have been mentioned earlier : silver, blue, pink and green for virgin maidens, yellow and fiery red for the bride.
(ii) What hues of bangles are cherished by a bride ? What are they symbolic of ?
Answer: A bride cherishes yellow and fiery-red coloured bangles. These colours represent her happiness on the wedding day (yellow) and her passion on the wedding night (fiery red).
(iii) Purple and golden coloured bangles represent motherhood. How ?
Answer: Purple and golden coloured bangles represent motherhood. These colours are associated with the feelings of pride and fulfilment in the heart of the mother.
(iv) What fulfils the life of an Indian wife and mother ?
Answer: Rearing her sons, serving her family and sharing the proud place of being by the side of her husband at religious rituals fulfil the life of an Indian wife and mother.
(v) What in the passage will repel a modem woman ?
Answer: A modern woman will be repelled by the patriarchal notions inherent in the passage : gender discrimination and insubordination of women in the social and religious set-up.
The Bangle Sellers Assignment
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Some are like fields of sunlit corn,
Meet for a bride on her bridal morn,
Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,
Or, rich with the hue of her heart’s desire,
Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear,
Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.
(i) What hues of bangles are preferred by virgin maidens as told earlier in the context ?
(ii) Why does the bride have preference for yellow coloured bangles for her wedding morning ?
(iii) Why has the red colour of bangles been compared to the flame of the bride’s marriage fire ?
(iv) Which literary device is used in the last two lines here ?
(v) Why does the poet refer to the ‘bridal laughter’ and ‘bridal tear’ simultaneously ?
Treasure Trove Poems Workbook Answers The Cold Within
The Cold Within Comprehension Passages
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Six humans trapped by happenstance
In bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood
Or so the story’s told.
(i) What brought the ‘six humans’ together ? Where were they ?
Answer: Six humans got together by chance in a very bitter cold. In fact, six persons got together in a situation which seemed to have been arranged even though it was accidental. They were sitting near the fire at some place in a very bitter cold.
(ii) What each of them possessed ?
Answer: Each of them possessed a stick of wood.
(iii) Is there any significance of the logs of wood in the hands of six persons ? Explain.
Answer: Yes, there is a symbolic significance of the logs of wood. After reading the whole poem, we realize that the stick in each hand is a symbol of sin.
(iv) What could these persons have done ?
Answer: These persons could have helped one another and saved themselves from death.
(v) What happened to them ?
Answer: As the fire extinguished, all of them died. They died not because of the cold outside but because of the cold within. They died because they were too selfish to help the others. They were narrow in their thinking, self-centred in their approach and unhelpful to the others. In fact, they invited their own doom.
2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
Their dying fire in need of logs,
But the first one held hers hack,
For, of the faces round the fire,
She noticed one was black.
(i) The poet refers to the ‘dying fire’ here ?
Who were sitting beside it, and why ?
Answer: The poet means to say that the ‘fire’ was dying for want of logs of wood. Six persons were sitting beside it in a very bitter cold. They were sitting beside it to survive from the bitter cold.
(ii) What did each of the six persons possess ?
Answer: Each one of them possessed a stick of wood.
(iii) Who was the first ?
Answer: The first one was a woman. She had a stick of wood in her hand but she was not ready to renounce her stick of wood to keep the fire burning.
(iv) What had she noticed ?
Answer: She had noticed in the light of the fire that one of the persons in the group was black.
(iv) Why did she hold back her stick ?
Answer: She had noticed that one of the persons in the group was black. She held back her stick of wood and did not put it in the fire to keep the fire burning because she did not want to save the life of a black man. She suffered from racial prejudice, selfishness and narrow thinking.
3. Read the extract given below and answer
the questions that follow :
The next man looking ‘cross the way
Saw one not of his church,
And could not bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.
(i) Who were trapped on a day of bitter cold ?
Answer: Six human beings were trapped on a day of bitter cold. Each had a stick of wood.
(ii) What was needed for the survival ?
Answer: Six persons were trapped in bitter cold. They sat beside the dying fire. They needed the fire to continue burning for their survival.
(iii) What did the second man notice ? What did he do ?
Answer: The second man noticed that one of the persons in the group did not belong to his religion. He could not persuade himself to give up his stick of wood to help a person of another religion.
(iv) Why did he decide not to help a person of different religion ?
Answer: He decided not to help the person of different religion because he suffered from religious intolerance.
(v) Do you feel that he, too, suffers from the ‘cold within’ ? Explain.
Answer: Yes, he, too, suffers from the ‘cold within’. He suffers from the sin of religious intolerance. He is indifferent, unhelpful, unsympathetic, unconcerned and callous towards the other human being. In fact, he invites his own doom due to his narrow thinking.
4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
The third one sat in tattered clothes.
He gave his coat a hitch.
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich ?
(i) What does the poet tell us about a group of persons on a very cold day earlier in the context ?
Answer: The poet tells us that a group of persons get trapped somewhere in a bitter cold. They sit near the dying fire, their only hope of survival. Each one of them has a stick of wood. If they give up their sticks, the fire will keep burning and all of them will survive. But no one is willing to do so.
(ii) Why did the two persons keep their sticks of wood back ?
Answer: One of them kept her stick of wood back because she did not want to save the black man’s life whose face she had seen in the light of the fire. She suffered from racial prejudice. The other kept his stick of wood back because he did not want to save the life of a person of another religion. He suffered from religious intolerance.
(iii) Who do you think was the third man ?
Answer: The third man was very poor. He was in tattered clothes. He was full of bitterness and envy for the rich. He gave his coat a ‘hitch’ which is suggestive of his tightness.
(iv) Why did he decide not to ‘warm the idle rich’ ?
Answer: He was a poor man and was full of bitterness and envy for the rich. He thought that it would be unjust to give what little he had to help the other man who had more than he. Moreover, he thought that it would be wrong to help the rich man who remained idle. So he decided to hold back his stick.
(v) Were all the six persons unaware of the consequence of what they were doing ? Explain.
Answer: No, they were not aware of the consequence of what they were doing.
Each one knew that it was fire that could make them survive. Each one had a stick of wood which could keep the fire burning. But no one was willing to part with his stick for one reason or the other. In fact, each one was cold within. Thus the result was their death by cold – the cold within.
5. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store,
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy, shiftless poor.
(i) Comment on the three persons in the group referred to earlier.
Answer: One of the three persons was a woman. She did not want to part with her stick of wood to keep the fire burning because she had noticed that one of the persons in a group was black.
The second person was a man who did not want to part with his stick of wood to keep the fire burning because he noticed that one of the persons in a group did not belong to his religion.
The third person was a poor man. He did not want to part with his stick of wood to keep the fire burning because he did not want to save the idle rich man.
(ii) Why did the poor man not part with his stick of wood ?
Answer: The poor man was full of bitterness and envy for the rich man. He thought that it would be unjust to give what little he had to help the rich man who had more than he. So he did not part with his stick of wood.
(iii) What kept the rich man lost in his thoughts ?
Answer: The rich man continued to think about the money he had and how to save it from the lazy poor. He did not want to help the poor man.
(iv) Why did he decide not to help the poor man ?
Answer: He decided not to help the poor man because he thought that the poor man was lazy and undeserving. He wanted to keep his wealth away from the poor man.
(v ) What kind of sin did he possess ?
Answer: He possessed the sin of avarice, stinginess and selfishness. His hatred for the poor man reveals his sinful nature. His sinful and selfish nature is responsible for his own death.
6. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow : (ICSE 2018)
Their logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin.
They didn’t die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.
(i) What was the weather like when the six people found themselves together ?
Answer: The weather was terribly cold. They were all sitting near the dying fire, which was their only hope of survival.
(ii) Why wouldn’t the third man put his piece of log in the dying fire ?
Answer: The third man was full of bitterness and envy for the rich. He thought that it would be unjust to give what little he had to help others who had more than he.
(iii) What did the black man see in his piece of wood ? Give an instance from the poem to show that his feelings were somewhat justified.
Answer: The blackman saw in his piece of wood a means to hurt the white people. From the second stanza we come to know that the lady had not given her stick because one of the men in the group was a black. She did not want to give her stick to save the black man. This shows that the blackman’s revengefulness was slightly justified.
(iv) Who among the gathering was an opportunist ? How can you say so ?
Answer: The last man in the gathering was an opportunist. We can say this because he never did anything except for gain.
(v) Would you say that ‘The Cold Within’ is an apt title for this poem ? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: The title of the poem ‘The Cold Within’ is quite appropriate. It is quite suggestive. What the poet wants to say is that the coldness which we carry in our hearts is dangerous and fatal. It prevents us from reaching out to others, and helping them. The aptness of the title comes through the tragic end of the six persons who hold on to their sticks and let the life saving fire die. They are consumed by the cold within their hearts.
The Cold Within Assignment
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
The black man’s face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.
(i) Who were the other four men in the group referred to earlier ?
(ii) What were the prejudices in the minds of the poor man and the rich man ?
(iii) What did the black man’s face reveal ?
(iv) How could he hurt the white man ?
(v) Why was each of the men in the group unaware of self-destruction by his action ?
Treasure Trove Poems Workbook Answers The Heart of a Tree
The Heart of a Tree Comprehension Passages
1. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
What does he plant who plants a tree ?
He plants a friend of sun and sky;
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty, towering high;
He plants a home to heaven anigh;
For song and mother-croon of bird In hushed and happy twilight heard—
The treble of heaven’s harmony—
These things he plants who plants a tree.
(i) Who is described as a ‘friend of sun and sky’ ?
Answer: A tree is described as a ‘friend of sun and sky’.
(ii) Whom does a tree give shelter 7 How 7
Answer: A tree gives shelter to birds by allowing them to build their nests.
(iii) Which literary device has been used in the line : ‘In hushed and happy twilight heard’ 7
Answer: The literary device used here is alliteration.
(iv) Explain : ‘He plants a home to heaven anigh.’
Answer: He who plants trees makes the surroundings green. The place where there are green trees is nothing short of heaven.
(v) Towards the end of the poem the poet refers to the longing in the heart of the one who plants a tree. What is this longing ?
Answer: This longing is for the growth, development and prosperity of his country. He who plants a tree desires peace, harmony and comfort for himself and others. In fact, he yearns for the ecological, social and economic benefits for his country.
2. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
What does he plant who plants a tree ?
He plants cool shade and tender rain,
And seed and bud of days to be,
And years that fade and flush again;
He plants the glory of the plain;
He plants the forest’s heritage;
The harvest of a coming age;
The joy that unborn eyes shall see- These things he plants who plants a tree.
(i) What does a tree ensure us in summer ? What do buds become in the days to come ?
Answer: A tree ensures cool shade for us in summer. Buds will bloom into flowers in the days to come.
(ii) How is a tree the glory of the plain ?
Answer: A tree ensures growth and development of the country. It brings prosperity and richness to the country. It saves the country from pollution.
(iii) Which literary device has been used in the line:
“And years that fade and flush again” ? Explain.
Answer: The literary device used in the line is alliteration. The placement of the words ‘fade and flush’ close by makes it an alliteration.
(iv) Explain the line :
‘And years that fade and flush again.’
Answer: The poet wants to convey that a tree establishes a link between our present and future. It serves as a living legacy for the next generation. It provides a link between us and our children.
(v) How does a tree become ‘the forest’s heritage’ ?
Answer: It becomes ‘the forest’s heritage’ because it leaves behind a history that lasts for many years. It reflects a tradition of the past. It serves us as a living legacy for the next generation. It symbolises the social fabric of the times.
3. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
What does he plant who plants a tree ?
He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
And far-cast thought of civic good
His blessings on the neighborhood
Who in the hollow of His hand
Holds all the growth of all our land
A nation’s growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.
(i) Name some benefits of tree planting referred to by the poet earlier in the context.
Answer: A tree ensures cool shade for us in summer and tender rains in all seasons. A tree gives us seeds which sprout and buds which bloom into flowers in times to come. It establishes a link between our present and future.
(ii) How does a tree planter do civic good ?
Answer: A tree planter does civic good by planting a tree. The tree benefits all the neighbours around. It saves the surroundings from
pollution. It provides shade to the people in summer and protects them from the scorching heat of the sun.
(iii) Who holds ‘all the growth of the land’ ? Which land has the poet in mind ?
Answer: He who plants a tree holds all the growth of his country. The poet emphasizes the fact that a country’s growth and development depend upon its wealth of trees. The planter’s country is the land which is in the poet’s mind.
(iv) Do you agree with the poet that a nation’s growth depends upon the wealth of trees ? Why/Why not ?
Answer: Yes, a nation’s growth depends upon the wealth of trees. A tree has ecological,
social and economic benefits. It saves us from pollution. It gives us seeds which sprout and buds which bloom into flowers in the times to come. It provides several general benefits to people.
(v) In what way is the poem relevant in our times ?
Answer: In our times forests are being decimated for building houses, roads and bridges. Trees seem to attract none. The poem, therefore, is relevant in our times because the poet draws our attention to what we do when we plant trees. He rightly says that one who plants trees plants many things – beauty, peace, prosperity and good values.
The Heart of a Tree Assignment
Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow :
What does he plant who plants a tree ?
He plants cool shade and tender rain,
And seed and bud of days to be,
And years that fade and flush again;
He plants the glory of the plain;
He plants the forest’s heritage;
The harvest of a coming age;
The joy that unborn eyes shall see- These things he plants who plants a tree.
(i) How has the poet described a tree earlier in the poem ?
(ii) Which line has been repeated, and why ?
(iii) What social and ecological benefits of planting a tree does the poet refer to ?
(iv) In what sense is a tree ‘the harvest of a coming age’ ?
(v) Comment on the things a tree planter actually plants.
