2648_class x _english Poems

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A Collection of

ICSE Poems and Short Stories

Volume I — Poems

Teachers’ Handbook

ICSE

Edited by:

P. Pinto



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A Collection of ICSE

Poems and Short Stories

Volume I — Poems



1. Where the Mind is Without Fear 5 — 7

Rabindranath Tagore

2. The Inchcape Rock 7 — 11

Robert Southey

3. In the Bazaars of Hyderabad 11 — 14

Sarojini Naidu

4. Small Pain in My Chest 14 — 17

Michael Mack

5. The Professor 17 — 20 Nissim Ezekiel

6. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening 20 — 23

Robert Frost

7. A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945 23 — 26

Vikram Seth

8. If Thou Must Love Me 26 — 29

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

9. I Believe 29 — 30

Brucellish K Sangma

10. A Psalm of Life 31 — 34

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow



5WHERE THE MIND IS WITHOUT FEAR

I. (i) The words ‘ mind is without fear ’ mean that one does not have

any fear of oppression or compulsion. The poet is talking about

the minds of the people of his country. He says so because his

country was under the subjugation of the British, who perpetrated

all sorts of oppression on his countrymen.

(ii) The words ‘ the head is held high ’ mean to have self respect. The

head is bowed down because of exploitation and oppression of

the Indians by the British. It needs to be held high with prideand dignity which characterised the Indians before India was

reduced to the status of a subjugated nation.

(iii) By the words ‘ Where knowledge is free ’, the poet wants to say

that in his country everyone should have the freedom to acquire

knowledge without any restriction. The restrictions imposed on

the spread of knowledge include the prejudices based on wealth,

caste and religion. Further, the British imposed restrictions on

the basis of the ruler (the British) and the ruled (the Indians).

They curbed the freedom of speech and expression by putting

restrictions on the Press. (iv) Due to the restrictions imposed on the spread of knowledge,

people remained glued to their outdated customs and traditions

and could not think rationally.

(v) A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines divided into an octave (the

rst eight lines) and a sestet (the last six lines). The octave

presents an idea, raises an argument, makes a proposition or

poses a problem, whereas the sestet gives a solution to the

problem posed by the octave.

The poem ‘ Where the Mind is Without Fear ’ comprises an octave, inwhich the poet talks about the wonderful qualities his countrymen

must achieve to make their country free and heaven-like. Since

this poem is only a part of the complete song in his Nobel Prize

winning work, Gitanjali , we can say that this poem is a part of

the complete sonnet.

II. (i) According to the poet, the narrow domestic walls or divisions

based on caste, class, colour, religion, creed, region and

superstitions break up the world into fragments or mutually

exclusive compartments. (ii) The narrow domestic walls refer to narrow local divisions created



6 TEACHERS’ HANDBOOK (ICSE POEMS)

by prejudices like caste, colour, creed, region and religion. They

are called ‘narrow’ by the poet because they are based on age-old customs and traditions and not on the basis of rational

thinking.

(iii) The narrow domestic walls can harm the nation by creating

divisions among people and thereby, undermining the unity and

integrity of the nation.

(iv) The poet wants to say that his countrymen should be able

to express themselves truthfully without any fear. He feels so

because his countrymen at that time did not have freedom of

expression as various restrictions were imposed on the freedom

of speech and the Press by the British. (v) Examples of alliteration are:

(a) Where the world

(b) Where words

(vi) The poet shows that he has a religious outlook by praying to

God to let his country awake to a blissful heaven of freedom.

III. (i) ‘Tireless striving’ means to work hard without getting tired to

achieve perfection. The poet wants his countrymen to achieve

the highest goals, i.e., freedom at all levels — political, religious,spiritual, moral and intellectual.

(ii) Reasoning allows a person to have clarity of thoughts without

being restricted by narrow domestic walls such as caste, colour,

creed, religion, region and superstitions. That is why it has been

compared to a clear stream which is free of all impurities.

(iii) ‘ Dreary desert sand of dead habit ’ is a metaphor. Through this

metaphor the poet wants to say that his countrymen should

work for perfection in everything and should not be led astray

from their goal in the dry desert of dead habits, i.e., in a place

where outdated customs and traditions are followed. (iv) According to the poet, the hurdles in achieving perfection include

the outdated customs and traditions based on irrational thinking

rather than sound reasoning and scientic thought.

(v) The gure of speech in the third line of the given extract is a

‘ metaphor ’. For explanation refer to answer (iii) above.

(vi) This poem by Rabindranath Tagore is taken from his original

volume called Naibedya, which bears the title ‘ Prarthana ’, i.e.,

prayer. In this poem, the poet prays to a universal father-gure,

i.e., God to let his country awake to a blissful heaven of freedom. Thus, the poem is a song of prayer.



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IV. (i) ‘Thee’ refers to God.

(ii) The mind of the poet’s countrymen is to be led forward to the‘heaven of freedom’, i.e., to an ideal state where there is total

freedom at all levels — political, religious, spiritual, moral and

intellectual.

(iii) The phrase ‘ Heaven of freedom ’ means an ideal state, where the

poet wants the Almighty to lead his countrymen to. The three

qualities required to be able to attain the heaven of freedom include:

(a) there is no oppression and people can hold their heads high

in self-respect.

(b) there are no prejudices based on caste, colour, creed, religion,region and superstitions.

(c) people should work tirelessly to attain perfection in everything

by following scientic thought and rational thinking, without

being led to follow obsolete traditions and customs.

(iv) ‘Father’ in the above extract is a reference for God. He will awake

the country by leading the poet’s countrymen to a heavenly state

where there are all kinds of freedom and where they can hold

their heads high in self-respect, without any fear of oppression

or compulsion.

(v) The poet prays for his country to attain all kinds of freedom —

political, religious, spiritual, moral and intellectual. And only

then it will attain the blissful heaven of freedom, an ideal state

where his countrymen would be able to hold their heads high in

self-respect, will not have a blurred vision based on prejudices

and work tirelessly to attain perfection in every sphere of life.

I. (i) The Inchcape rock is referred to in the extract. The rock lay

hidden in the sea off the east coast of Scotland. It sometimes

remained hidden under sea water during the high tide.

(ii) The words ‘surge’s swell’ mean the sea-waves moved up and

down and rose high due to the inuence of tides. The warning

bell refers to the bell placed on the Inchcape rock by the Abbot

of Aberbrothok, to give a warning to the sailors about the danger

from the rock. The warning bell was placed on a buoy and during

high tides the movement of waves made the buoy to oat andin turn rang the bell and warned the sailors.

THE INCHCAPE ROCK




(iii) The Rock was said to be perilous because many ships had been

wrecked by it when it remained covered by sea water duringa high tide. Sir Ralph’s ship struck against the Inchcape Rock

and drowned in the sea.

(iv) The Head monk of a monastery or church is known as an

Abbot . The mariners blessed the Abbot Aberbrothok because

he placed a bell on the Inchcape Rock, which gave a warning

to the mariners about the perilous rock and thus, saved them

and their ships from drowning.

(v) A ballad is a long narrative poem that tells a story. It is a

heightened narration that uses narrative technique like rhyme

and gures of speech. The two elements of ballad in the givenextract are the following:

(a) The rhyming pattern followed in this extract is aabb (Swell-

Bell; Rock-Aberbrothok).

(b) There is a repetition of consonant sound at the beginning

of words (alliteration) to facilitate narration:

1. ..... surge’s swell

2. ..... then they

II. (i) Sir Ralph was a rover or a sea pirate. He was a wicked and

jealous man.

(ii) The pleasant day in the spring season made the Rover sing. But

the real reason was that in a such calm atmosphere he would

be able to carry out his wicked plan of defaming the Abbot of

Aberbrothok by cutting off the bell from the Inchcape Rock and

thereby, loot the wealth from the shipwrecks.

The given lines mean that the Rover’s heart was extremely joyful

but his joy was due to his wicked plan.

(iii) The Rover saw the buoy of the Inchcape Rock like a dark speckon the green ocean. He asked his sailors to lower the boat and

row him to the Inchcape Rock.

(iv) The Rover wanted to go near the Inchcape Rock to cut off the

warning bell to spoil the fame and reputation of the Abbot of

Aberbrothok, who has placed the bell there and to loot the

wealth from the shipwrecks.

(v) The Rover was in a joyful mood in the extract. His joyful mood

is reected in the extract by his act of whistling and singing. At

the end of the poem, the Rover was in a mood of despair andfrustration.



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III. (i) The boatmen rowed the boat to the Inchcape Rock.

(ii) The Rover cut off the bell from the Inchcape Rock. He did soout of jealousy and self-interest. He wanted to spoil the fameand reputation of the Abbot of Aberbrothok, who has placedthe bell there. It would also allow him to easily loot the wealthfrom the shipwrecks, caused by the Inchcape Rock.

(iii) The Rover’s act of cutting the bell from the Inchcape Rock led tothe collision of his ship with the rock and nally, the drowningof the ship with the Rover.

(iv) After performing the wicked deed of cutting the bell from InchcapeRock, the Rover said that from then onwards the mariners whoused to thank the Abbot would no longer thank him.

(v) The Abbot of Aberbrothok had kept the bell there. The bell wasplaced on the oat because the movement of the oat duringthe high tide would make the bell ring and warn the sailors ofthe danger from the rock.

(vi) The sailors, passing by earlier, blessed the Abbot of Aberbrothokfor placing the warning bell on the Inchcape Rock and thereby,saving them from the perilous rock.

IV. (i) The Rover sailed away from the Inchcape Rock. He became richby looting the wealth from the ships that struck against theInchcape Rock.

(ii) After amassing wealth, the Rover was sailing towards the shoreof Scotland.

(iii) When the Rover was sailing, there was a thick haze over theatmosphere and no sun in the sky. There were strong windsand darkness all around. The weather conditions predicted thatnally the Rover would meet his end in the sea.

(iv) The Rover was a wicked man who was jealous of the fame andreputation of the Abbot of Aberbrothok. That is why he carried outhis wicked plan of cutting off the warning bell on the Inchcape

Rock, placed there by the Abbot. He was a robber who becamerich by looting the wealth from the shipwrecks.

(v) The Abbot was a kind and compassionate man, who placed awarning bell on the Inchcape Rock to forewarn the sailors aboutthe danger to their ships from the perilous rock. The Rover, onthe other hand, was a jealous and wicked man, who cut off thewarning bell on the Inchcape Rock to defame the Abbot and toloot the wealth from the shipwrecks.

V. (i) When the Rover and his sailors were going towards the shore

of Scotland, the weather was bad, with a thick haze over theatmosphere, no Sun in the sky and strong winds.

THE INCHCAPE ROCK




(ii) The words “the breakers roar” mean the roaring of the sea

waves, i.e., the sound made when the sea waves break on theshore. The breakers roar normally signify a high tide when the

sea waves surge up and down with a great force.

(iii) The sailors wished that they could hear the Inchcape Rock. The

ringing of the bell would have indicated the presence of the

perilous rock and thus saved the ship from colliding with it.

(iv) The sailors could not see any land on the way to Scotland’s

shore because of bad weather. There was a thick haze in the

atmosphere and total darkness in the absence of the Sun in the

sky. Sir Ralph was optimistic that the weather would improve

by night when the moon would rise in the sky.

(v) In the absence of the Inchcape Bell, no warning sound was heard

by the sailors and the vessel struck against the Inchcape Rock.

VI. (i) They could not hear any sound due to the absence of the warning

bell on the Inchcape Rock, which the Rover had cut off. If the

sailors had heard the normal expected sound of the warning

bell from the Inchcape Rock, they would have saved the ship

from striking against the rock.

(ii) (a) the swell is strong: there are strong waves in the sea. (b) They drifted along: They moved slowly towards the shore.

(iii) The vessel struck against the Inchcape Rock. It was a shivering

shock because the ship collided with the rock and the waves

from all sides began to engulf it.

(iv) Sir Ralph was in a state of despair and shock when he realised

that his ship had struck against the Inchcape Rock. In his

frustration, he pulled his hair and cursed himself. Sir Ralph’s

ship struck the very rock from which he had removed the warning

bell and sank in the sea.

(v) Sir Ralph was a sea pirate. He was a wicked and jealous man.

He used to loot wealth from the ships that fatally crashed against

the Inchcape Rock. But when the Abbot of Aberbrothok placed

a warning bell, he cut off the bell to defame the good Abbot

and put the other helpless sailors into trouble. However, he got

caught in his own trap of mischief when his ship struck against

the Inchcape Rock and sank in the sea alongwith him.

(vi) The moral conveyed through this poem is— As you sow, so shall

you reap . The Rover cut off the bell from the Inchcape Rock,

but his own ship struck against the very Rock because of theabsence of any warning sound and sank in the sea.



11

VII. (i) The Rover could hear the sound of his sinking ship, which

seemed to him like the sound made by the Inchcape Bell. Thesound was dreadful because there was no chance of surviving

the shipwreck.

(ii) The sound of the Inchcape Bell was a forewarning of the danger

from the perilous rock to the sailors and was thus life-saving.

The dreadful sound, on the other hand was that of the sinking

ship that signalled the end of Sir Ralph. Therefore, it appeared

to be like a funeral bell being run by the Devil himself.

(iii) The Devil below was ringing his knell mean that the sound which

Sir Ralph was hearing appeared to him like the sound of the

Inchcape bell. But actually the sound was that of the sinking ship. (iv) Sir Ralph, the Rover cut off the warning bell, which the Abbot of

Aberbrothok had planted on the Inchcape Rock as a forewarning

to the sailors. But Sir Ralph’s own ship struck against the very

rock due to the absence of any forewarning sound and drowned

in the sea with Sir Ralph. Thus, the evil that Sir Ralph plotted

for the Abbot and the other sailors, recoiled on him.

(v) The Inchcape Rock is a ballad comprising adventure, valour and

jealousy. Sir Ralph, the pirate, went on an adventure trip on

the sea with his sailors. He had the valour to take the risk of

cutting off the bell from the Inchcape Rock, which the Abbot of

Aberbrothok had placed there to warn the sailors. He did this

wicked act out of jealousy as he could not accept the popularity

of the good Abbot and wanted to defame him. He also did so

because of selsh motive as he used to make wealth by looting

money from the ships that crashed after striking against the

Inchcape Rock.

I. (i) The merchants are in the bazaars of Hyderabad. They are selling

their goods in the market. The words ‘Richly displayed’ mean

that the goods to be sold in the market have been beautifully

displayed by the merchants to attract the buyers.

(ii) The goods on sale in this market included crimson and silver

turbans, purple brocade tunics, mirrors framed in brownish

yellow colour and daggers with handles of jade.

(iii) The poet begins the stanza with a question to elicit an answerfrom the vendors about the goods they are selling. This pattern

IN THE BAZAARS OF HYDERABAD




of question-answer is used to bring out the splendour of the

traditional bazaars of Hyderabad. The poet has used repetitionas well as lyrics full of vibrant and colourful images to describe

the scene.

(iv) (a) Mirrors with panels of amber mean the mirrors having frames

of brownish and yellow colour.

(b) Scabbards of gold for the king mean sheaths of gold for the

King to keep his swords in.

(v) The King and his nobles are the likely customers of tunics of

purple brocade and daggers with handles of jade.

(vi) The visual imagery is stimulated by mentioning the various huesof colours in this stanza like silver, crimson, purple, amber and

jade.

II. (i) Chessmen are the pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing

the game of chess. Ivory dice refers to small cubes made of ivory,

having six sides numbered by dots from one to six. These are

used to play games.

(ii) Saffron, lentil, rice, sandalwood, henna and spices are sold by

weight, whereas chessmen and ivory dice are sold by numbers.

(iii) The sellers of various goods in the bazaars of Hyderabad are referred

to as vendors and merchants. The sellers, who go about from

place to place with their goods for sale are called the pedlars.

(iv) Food items included saffron, lentil and rice. Cosmetic items

included sandalwood and henna and the recreational items

included chessmen and ivory dice.

(v) The senses of sight are stimulated in this extract by the various

colours of the items like saffron, lentil, rice, sandalwood, henna

and various spices. The sense of taste is produced by the mention

of staple Indian food like lentil and rice and spices.

III. (i) The jeweller’s shop is referred to in the extract. ‘ Girdles of gold ’

mean ornamental belt made of gold worn round the waist by

the dancers. ‘Scabbards of gold’ refer to the sheaths of gold for

the king to keep his swords in.

(ii) The items of gold on sale included ornaments like wristlets,

anklets, rings, belts of gold worn by the dancers and sheaths for

swords used by the kings. The gold jewellery reveals that both

the owners and the buyers belonged to the wealthy sections ofthe society.



13

(iii) Bells were tied to the feet of blue pigeons as ornaments as well

as identity marks. Sheaths of gold were used by the kings,girdles (belts) were used by dancers and wristlets, anklets and

rings were used by other people.

(iv) “Frail as a dragon-y’s wing” means as delicate as the wings

of a dragon-y. Frail is an apt description for describing the

delicateness of the bells tied to the feet of blue pigeons.

(v) The poet has described the Indian goods at the Indian bazaars

for two reasons:

(a) to depict the splendour of Indian bazaars which beckon the

customers with their sounds, scents and goods. (b) to extoll the Indians to buy Swadeshi goods and boycott

foreign goods.

IV. (i) The fruits included lemons, pomegranates and plums, whereas

the musical instruments included sitar, sarangi and drum.

(ii) The poet asks the musicians what musical instruments they are

playing and asks the magicians what they are chanting.

(iii) Spells for aeons to come mean the magical spells used by the

magicians to charm everyone till eternity with their chanting. (iv) The whole poem is Indian in context and presentation as it

depicts the beauty and vibrance of a traditional Indian bazaar.

The landscape, the characters, the images and the background

is typically Indian — such as:

(a) the mention of dresses worn by Indians such as turbans

and tunics.

(b) the gold ornaments worn by Indians like wristlets, anklets,

rings and girdles.

(c) the musical instruments played by Indians like sitar, sarangiand drums.

(d) the food items like lentil and rice and spices and fruits like

lemons, pomegranates and plums.

(e) the use of fresh owers on both happy and sad occasions.

(v) The magicians are present in the bazaar for chanting magical

spells to charm the customers.

(vi) The panoramic view of the Indian bazaars presented in the poem

with its hues of colour, sounds, smells and sights has appealed

to me the most because it gives a glimpse of the Indian culture,society and prosperity.

IN THE BAZAARS OF HYDERABAD




V. (i) The poet has highlighted the occupation of simple folks in India

like the merchants, pedlars, vendors, fruit sellers, goldsmiths,musicians, magicians and ower girls.

(ii) The owers are used on happy occasions like wedding for making

garlands for the bridegroom and to decorate his nuptial bed.

The owers are used on sad occasions such as death to pay

the last respects by placing owers on the dead bodies or the

graves.

(iii) Crowns, chaplets and garlands were used for making garlands

for the bridegroom and for decorating his nuptial bed.

(iv) ‘Tassels of azure and red’ mean ornamental threads of sky-blueand red colour tied at one end to make garlands and nuptial

beds for the bridegroom.

(v) “To perfume the sleep of the dead” mean to place sheets of

freshly gathered owers on the dead bodies or on the graves,

which give pleasant smell.

I. (i) The soldier boy was sitting underneath a tree during the war

because he was fatally wounded and could not get up.

(ii) The soldier was sitting calmly because he was fatally injured

during the war, was thirsty and could not get any help from

anybody around.

(iii) The soldier asked the narrator to come near him because he

was thirsty and needed a sip of water.

(iv) The battle had been long and hard can be discerned from the

deep craters in the earth and the number of dead bodies of thesoldiers, which the narrator could see lying all around.

(v) In the above extract, the poet wants to convey the horrors of war

and the agony of the soldiers, who ght it out on the battleeld.

II. (i) The narrator has been referred to by the soldier as ‘Sir’. He was

on the battleeld at that time.

(ii) The soldier, according to the narrator, ‘smiled as best he could’

to hide his pain and suffering from him. It shows the spirit of

a soldier, who gives up his life for his country, with a smile onhis face.



15

(iii) The soldier wanted “A sip of water” because he was thirsty and

fatigued for he had fought a long and tough battle throughoutthe night and was fatally wounded.

(iv) The soldier could not take any rest because he had been ghting

continuously day and night against the enemy. It tells us about

the horrors of war and pain and suffering the soldiers had to

endure on the battleeld.

(v) The soldier was having a pain in his chest because of the wound

he had sustained during the ght on the battleeld. Being a

true soldier, who considers everything smaller than his duty

for his country, the soldier called it as ‘small pain’. Further,

in comparison to the soldiers, who had received larger woundsand had succumbed to their injuries on the battleeld, his was

a small pain.

III. (i) The large stain on the soldier’s shirt was caused by a wound

he received while ghting on the battleeld.

(ii) ‘ warm blood mixed in with Asian dirt ’ refers to the blood oozing

out from the wounds of the soldier and mixing with the dirt of

the Asian soil as the war was being fought in Asia.

(iii) By saying “Not much”, the soldier wanted to say that his woundwas nothing in comparison to the wounds suffered by his fellow

soldiers, who succumbed to their injuries. He said so because

he was still alive.

(iv) The soldier considered himself more lucky than his fellow soldiers

because they died of the injuries sustained during the war, while

he was still alive.

IV. (i) The soldier was feeling weak and said that his weakness must

be due to fatigue. His fatigue was caused by ghting day and

night on the battleeld. (ii) The soldier smiled weakly because he had sustained fatal wounds

and was in pain. It shows that though the soldier was in pain,

he was trying to hide his suffering in the true spirit of a soldier.

(iii) The soldier felt that he was getting old because he found himself

weak and fatigued after battling it out on the warfront.

(iv) The soldier felt cold despite the shining sun because the light

of his life was fading, i.e., he was about to die due to the fatal

wounds that he had received on the battleeld.

(v) ‘ The night exploded ’ means that an explosion took place at night.As a result of the explosion the soldier got fatal wounds on his

SMALL PAIN IN MY CHEST




body, whereas a number of his fellow soldiers died because of

the injuries sustained during the explosion.

V. (i) The narrator described the soldier’s smile as the brightest that

he has ever seen because the soldier wanted to express his

gratitude to the narrator for providing water to him as well as

to hide the pain he was enduring.

(ii) The soldier was suffering from fatal physical injuries sustained

during the explosion at night on the battle eld. Due to these

injuries he was feeling physically weak and fatigued.

(iii) The soldier considered it silly to be defeated by a small pain in

his chest because he was a young, healthy man, full of energyand enthusiasm, who could have defeated even death.

(iv) The soldier felt ashamed of himself to think about his wife’s reaction

when she would see her husband, a strong and grown up man,

sitting there defeated. He felt that his mother would never have

imagined during his childhood that one day his son would be

sitting on the battleeld, defeated by a small pain in his chest.

(v) ‘HERE’ refers to the battleeld. The soldier was undergoing a

mental pain at the thought of the reaction his wife and mother

would have on seeing him sitting defeated on the battleeld.

VI. (i) The soldier felt that it was getting dark earlier than it used to

be because the light of his life was fading, as he was slowly

losing consciousness because of the fatal injuries sustained on

the battleeld and seeing the darkness all around him.

(ii) ‘He’ refers to the soldier. He winced up at the sun with an

expression of pain on his face to nd out why was it getting

dark so early despite the shining sun.

(iii) (a) In the given line, the soldier told the narrator that before

he would start his journey further, he would like to take

a little rest. It signies the soldier’s spirit to continue his

duty after taking little rest. It is also symbolic of the nal

journey, i.e., death, towards which the soldier was heading.

(b) The narrator said “I think I must have cried”. He said so

because he could not recall what was his reaction when the

wounded soldier died in front of his eyes. It signies that

the narrator was petried on seeing the horrifying death of

the soldier.

(iv) When the narrator pulled the soldier towards himself he felt the

wound in his chest and the gravity of the pain the soldier wasenduring.



17

(v) The narrator said that he had a large wound in his heart

compared to the small one in the soldier’s heart because hewas hurt by the suffering of the dead soldier, and felt the guilt

on the part of humanity at not being able to give up war and

thereby, end the suffering of the soldiers.

VII. (i) The expression ‘Asian dirt’ means Asian soil and this indicates

that the war was fought in Asia. The two hardships experienced

by the soldier included:

(a) The physical pain caused by the fatal wounds sustained on

the battleeld.

(b) The emotional agony at being lonely and surrounded by dead

bodies and the thought of his family’s reaction on seeing

him defeated.

(ii) Despite sustaining fatal injuries during the war, the soldier did

not leave the battleeld because he considered it at his duty to

continue the ght till the end and die smiling while performing

his duty in the true spirit of a soldier.

(iii) The phrase “a small pain in my chest ” is a refrain which is

repeated throughout the poem to emphasise the pain and suffering

a soldier undergoes on the battleeld.

(iv) Yes, indeed the poem has a poignant ending. It makes the

readers—(i ) feel the agony a soldier endures on the battleeld;

and (ii ) realise the horrors of war and the need to give up wars

for the sake of humanity.

(v) Small Pain in My Chest is an anti-war poem that describes the

horrors of war and conveys the message to shun hatred and

warfare.

I. (i) The speaker wants to say that all his children, i.e., his sons are

economically well off and his two daughters are happily married.

(ii) By saying, “Both have cars”, the speaker wants to convey that

both his sons are well off and have a status in society. It conveys

that in Indian society the worth of an individual is measured

more by his nancial status than anything else.

(iii) The “other” is a reference for the speaker’s third son. The speakersays that he is not doing “so well” because in comparison to his

THE PROFESSOR




other two sons, who have managerial jobs and are economically

well off, he is not as successful as they are. (iv) By saying, “Every family must have black sheep”, the speaker

intends to say that in every family there is a person, who is

different from the rest of the family and is an embarrassment

to the family. The speaker considered his third son as the black

sheep in his family because he was not as well off as his other

two sons.

(v) The extract shows that Indians value economic success more

than academic success through the speaker’s attitude, who

measures the success of his two sons by their managerial jobs

and the cars they owned.

II. (i) Sarala and Tarala are the speaker’s daughters. The practice of

giving rhyming names to the siblings like ‘Sarala and Tarala’ is

shown in this extract.

(ii) The speaker says that his two daughters ‘Sarala and Tarala’ are

happily married to nice boys. The speaker’s comment about the

marriage of Sarala and Tarala hints at the gender bias prevalent

in Indian society, which considers the success of a man by his

economic status and a woman’s by getting married to a nice boy.

(iii) By saying, “How many issues you have”, the speaker wants toenquire from his student about the number of children he has.

He is directing this question to his former student.

(iv) In reply to his former student’s remark that he has three

children, the speaker says “That is good”. The speaker considers

his student having three children as “good”.

(v) The speaker is not against family planning. The irony in this

statement is the fact that though the speaker says that he is not

against family planning, yet he feels proud at having eleven

grandchildren.

(vi) The poem The Professor is a satire on the urban Indian way of

life as it satirises:

(a) the urban Indian society, which measures the success of

a man by his economic success rather than his academic

excellence.

(b) gender bias present in Indian society which believes that

woman should be happily married and conned within the

four walls of their domestic life.

(c) the pretence of the urban Indians, who consider it as a

prestige to speak in a foreign language rather than theirmother tongue.



19

III. (i) The speaker says that “we have to change with times” because

he feels that since the whole world is changing, so we shouldalso change with the changing times. It shows the pretence of

the speaker, who feels that we should change with the changing

times, but in reality, he himself clings to the old traditions and

does not want to change.

(ii) India is “keeping up” with the changes and development going

on in the world.

(iii) According to the speaker, new values are replacing the old ones.

He feels so because of the rapid changes taking place in society.

(iv) According to the speaker, “Everything is happening with leaps

and bounds” because of the rapid changes and development

that is taking place in Indian society and the world at large.

(v) Examples of the use of Indian English in the extract are:

(a) We are keeping up. Our progress is progressing.

(b) Old values are going, new values are coming

IV. (i) The speaker says that he rarely goes out because of his old age.

The “price of old age” which the speaker has to pay is that he

rarely goes out.

(ii) The speaker says that apart from usual aches and pains associated

with old age, he is hale and hearty without any major disease

like diabetes, blood pressure or heart attack.

(iii) The speaker ascribes his good health to sound habits practised

by him in his youth.

(iv) The sound habits followed by the speaker in his youth might

have been — eating balanced diet, regular exercise and abstaining

from smoking and drinking.

(v) The main theme of the poem is the hypocrisy and pretence of

the urban Indian middle class, which measures the success of

an individual in terms of wealth and status rather than academic

excellence.

V. (i) By saying “hope to score a century”, the speaker wants to say

that he hopes to live upto the age of hundred.

(ii) “Man of weight and consequence” means a man, who is physically

healthy, economically sound and has a status in society. The

speaker says these words to his former student because he

nds him physically healthier than what he was earlier and alsobecause of his status in society.

THE PROFESSOR




(iii) The “good joke” referred to by the speaker is that his former

student, who is now healthier, once used to be thin like a stick. (iv) Example of Indian English used by the speaker in the given

lines is:

(a) You were so thin, like stick. (Stock usage of Indian English )

(b) If you were coming this side by chance. (Use of Present

Continuous Tense instead of Simple Present Tense )

(c) I am living just on opposite house’s backside. (Direct translation

of the local language )

(v) The title of the poem is quite apt because:

(a) the entire poem revolves around the character of a retiredProfessor, his life, his thoughts and actions.

(b) through the character of the Professor, the poet has ridiculed

the urban, educated, middle class of India, its hypocrisy and

pretence.

I. (i) The woods belonged to a man, who lived in the village. Thespeaker has stopped by the woods to watch the snow lling up

the woods.

(ii) The owner of the woods will not see the speaker stopping by

the woods because he lives in the village.

The owner of the woods lives in the village, away from nature.

Though he owns the woods, he cannot appreciate and enjoy

the beauty of nature. Thus, there are man-made barriers which

separate man from nature.

(iii) Woods, being “lovely, dark and deep”, symbolise sensuous

enjoyment, the darkness of ignorance, as well as the dark innerself of man.

The village symbolises society and civilisation, beyond whose

borders lie the woods.

(iv) The poet is standing just by the woods and looking at them.

He is enchanted by the beauty of the woods.

(v) Yes, the poet is happy with his lonely state in the woods because:

(a) he nds solace in the thoughts that nobody is watching him;

and

(b) he is enchanted with the natural beauty of the woods, snowand the frozen lake.



21

(vi) Robert Frost is regarded as a poet of nature. Unlike, William

Wordsworth, another nature poet, who considers nature as abenevolent mother, Frost considers nature as hostile and alien.

In this poem, the poet stops by the woodst and nd them ‘lovely,

dark and deep’. He nds himself being seduced by the natural

beauty of the woods. But, he nds this seduction momentary

and the charm is soon broken. He remembers that he has to

move away from nature to fulll his worldly obligations.

II. (i) The horse has stopped between the woods and the frozen lake.

The horse has stopped there because the rider (speaker) wants

to see the beauty of the woods. (ii) The horse considers it strange to stop between the woods and

the frozen lake because there is no farmhouse, i.e., civilisation,

nearby and that too on the darkest evening of the year.

(iii) ‘ The darkest evening of the year ’ refers to December 22, the longest

night of the year, when there is biting cold. The word ‘darkness’

in the poem is suggestive of the mystery of nature — the source

of nature’s beauty lies in its mystery, not in its familiarity .

(iv) Symbolically, the horse represents the domesticated part of

the society and acts as its agent to remind the speaker of his

responsibilities (by shaking of harness bells) and to wean him

from indulging in pleasures of nature.

(v) The main theme of the poem is the basic conict between an

attraction towards nature and the pull of responsibilities. In this

poem, the speaker stands by the woods and is enchanted by the

beauty of nature. The shaking of the harness bells of his horse

(symbolising society) and the sound of the wind (symbolising his

inner voice) remind him that he cannot give in to irresponsible

indulgence by enjoying the sensual pleasures of nature. He has

certain worldly responsibilities which he must fulll before he

goes to sleep or before his life ends.

III. (i) ‘He’ refers to the speaker’s horse. He shakes his harness bells

to ask the speaker if he has made a mistake in stopping by the

woods.

(ii) ‘He’, i.e., the speaker’s horse considers it a mistake to stop

by the woods because it is away from human society and the

speaker is indulging in sensual pleasures of nature forgetting

his worldly responsibilities.

(iii) The given lines mean that besides the sound made by theshaking of the harness bells of his horse, the only other sound

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING




heard was that of the moving wind and akes of snow falling

softly like feathers. (iv) The shaking of the “harness bells” and the sweeping sound of

wind break the speaker’s reverie and enchantment with nature

and jolt him back into the world of reality. He is reminded of

his responsibilities, which he must fulll before he takes rest.

(v) The poet has created an atmosphere of isolation and mystery in

the poem by making the speaker stop by the woods, away from

men or human habitation. Further, the depiction of nature like

freezing cold, frozen lake, falling snow, darkness and complete

silence with the only sounds such as those of the shaking of the

harness bells and the sweeping wind has been used to create

an atmosphere of isolation and mystery.

IV. (i) The speaker considers the woods as “lovely, dark and deep”

because he nds them beautiful, mysterious and seductive. He

cannot enjoy the natural scenery in the woods because he is

reminded of his responsibilities, which he must fulll and move

on in life.

(ii) The ‘promises’ referred to by the speaker in the poem include

the duties he has to perform and the responsibilities, he has tofulll.

The world “sleep” in the poem has two meanings: (a) a metaphor

for nal sleep or death; and (b) it is symbolic of the deserved

reward which the poet can achieve after keeping his promise,

in contrast to the unearned pleasure of looking at the woods.

(iii) The woods act as an obstacle for keeping the speaker’s promises

because the beauty of the woods make the speaker forget about

the civilisation, his responsibilities, which lie outside of the woods

and his purpose in life. (iv) The last two lines of the poem are symbolic of the brief span of

human life and the duties, which a man has to perform before

he goes to sleep or before his life ends.

(v) Robert Frost’s poetry is universally recognised as comprising

rural themes and dealing with the life of the humble dwellers

of the country side. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening ”

describes the natural beauty of the woods, with the soft, silent

whiteness of the frost, the frozen lake and the falling snow. It

is away from human civilisation and enchants the speaker withits beauty and makes him forget his responsibilities.



23

V. (i) The poet sees the “lovely, dark and deep” woods, the frozen lake

and the soft, silent whiteness of the frost. The only sounds thathe can hear are those made by the shaking of the harness bells

of his horse and that of the sweeping wind.

(ii) The inner conict in man expressed in the poem is that between

an attraction towards nature and the pull of responsibilities, i.e.,

the conict between desire and duty.

(iii) The natural beauty and mystery of the woods, with the soft,

silent whiteness of the frost and the falling snow attract the

poet.

(iv) The poet interprets the shaking of the harness bells of the

horse as the horse questioning him if he has made a mistake

in stopping by the woods, away from human habitation.

Symbolically, the shaking of the harness bells of the horse

points to the society’s act of blaming the speaker for indulging

in sensual pleasure, overlooking his responsibilities.

(v) The extract depicts the theme of isolation by portraying the

speaker’s act of stopping by the woods, away from men or human

habitation on a snowy and dark evening. There is complete

silence and the only sounds the speaker can hear are from the

shaking of the harness bells and the sweeping wind.

(vi) The contrasting images of the natural world and the man-made

world in the poem are the following:

(a) the woods and the farm house.

(b) pleasure and business.

(c) solitude and society.

(d) freedom and responsibility.

(e) desire and duty.

I. (i) The morning was calm, beautiful and warm. The narrator was

in a relaxed mood and preparing for his daily routine.

(ii) The narrator was startled on seeing two sudden ashes of light.

He thought whether the ashes were magnesium ares seen

during the war.

(iii) Due to the impact of the explosion, the roof and the wall ofthe building collapsed and the debris got scattered all over.

A DOCTOR’S JOURNAL ENTRY FOR AUGUST 6, 1945




The people suffered both physically and mentally. The explosion

caused fatal injuries to the human beings, burnt their skin andmade it drip off their bodies.

(iv) The narrator’s clothes got burnt, a splinter ripped through his

thigh, his right side bled and his cheek was torn.

(v) (a) It means that as the day dawned, it was a peaceful morning,

with the warmth of the shinning Sun.

(b) It means that the narrator was taken by a surprise on seeing

a sudden ash of light followed by another.

II.(i) The blood gushed out from the wounds sustained by the narratordue to the splinters from the explosion, which ripped through

parts of his body. The narrator was panic-stricken to see the

blood gushing out from his body.

(ii) Yecko-san was badly injured because she was holding her elbow,

was bloodstained and looked pale and frightened.

(iii) The narrator told his wife consoling her that they would be ne.

(iv) When the narrator and his wife were walking on the street, they

stumbled against the head of a man, who was crushed to death

under a gate. The narrator was scared and horried.

(v) An atmosphere of fear was created by the explosion in the minds

of the narrator and his wife on seeing the gruesome scenes

caused by the explosion:

(a) Both the narrator and his wife were badly injured due to

the explosion and blood was oozing out of their wounds.

(b) While walking on the street, they stumbled against the head

of a man, who was crushed to death under a gate.

III. (i) The man against whose head the narrator had stumbled was

dead. He was crushed to death under a gate.

(ii) The strange things that happened in the extract are:

(a) The narrator saw a house standing before him suddenly tilt,

sway, topple and nally crash.

(b) The re sprang up in the dust and spread widely by the

wind.

(iii) The two decisions made by the narrator included the following:

(a) To rush immediately to the hospital.

(b) When the narrator could not move forward due to stiff legs,he asked his wife Yecko-san to go ahead alone to the hospital.



25

(iv) The narrator could not take his injured staff to the hospital

because he was himself badly injured and needed somebody’shelp to go to the hospital.

(v) The physical inconvenience suffered by the narrator included

the following:

(a) Shortness of breath.

(b) Inability to move forward due to stiffness in his legs caused

by drying of blood, oozing out from his wounds.

IV. (i) The breath of the speaker was short because he was badly

wounded due to the bomb explosion and was thirsty.

The given statement — “But bit by bit my strength/seemed torevive” — symbolises how the Japanese after the nuclear bomb

attack, withstood the calamity and with their indomitable spirit

and hard work rose up and gradually rebuilt their shattered city

and their world.

(ii) The narrator was helped by a soldier. The soldier gave the

narrator a towel to cover up his naked body and thus, gave

him the self-condence to rise up and move forward.

(iii) The narrator sent his wife, Yecko-san to go alone to the hospital

because he was badly injured and could not move forward

because of stiffness in his legs. He justied his action of sending

his wife alone to the hospital by saying that he had no other

choice as he could not walk any further.

(iv) The narrator felt lonely when his wife left for the hospital.

(v) Some of the people the narrator saw were like mere shadows,

whereas others looked like ghosts or scarecrows. Still others

were walking with arms stretched out with either a shoulder or

a hand dangling loose from their body.

(vi) The people were marching to the hospital without any clothes

on their body as if they had come out straight after a bath.

V. (i) ‘They’ referred to a woman and a child, both naked, who were

marching towards the hospital. The narrator doubted whether

they had come straight from the bath because they had no

clothes on their bodies.

(ii) Besides the bomb explosion, the warring nation (the USA) by

perpetrating such a brutal act on them was responsible for

making them naked of clothes as well as of human dignity.

(iii) It means that all those who suffered the destruction caused by

the bomb explosion, could not utter a word of anguish againstthose who perpetrated such a brutal act on them.

A DOCTOR’S JOURNAL ENTRY FOR AUGUST 6, 1945




(iv) The physical suffering shown in the extract is:

(a) The people were walking naked as their clothes had gotburnt due to the explosion.

(b) The face and the bodies of the people had become disgured.

The psychological agony shown in the extract is:

(a) The people were dumb-founded because their sensibilities

had become numb due to the sudden horror unleashed on

them by the bomb explosion.

(b) Although they were in great pain, they could not cry.

(v) The pity and sympathy for the victims of the nuclear bomb

explosion that the poem induces, appeals to me.

(a) The fear, panic, horror and great devastation suffered by

the victims caused by the collapse of the buildings, spread

of the debris and re.

(b) The gruesome details of the physical and mental agony of

the victims like the narrator stumbling against the head of

a man crushed to death under a gate, people looking like

shadows, ghosts and scarecrows and the parts of their bodies

dangling loose.

I. (i) The words ‘let it be for nought’ mean let it be for nothing. The

speakers wants to tell her lover not to love her for any particular

reason. The speaker wants her lover to love her for love’s sake

only.

(ii) She does not want to be loved for her smile, her looks or for

her gentle voice.

(iii) She does not want her lover to love her for particular traits like

her appearance and good looks because these traits will fade

with the passage of time.

(iv) (a) a trick of thought means a particular way of thinking, which

may mislead her lover.

(b) A sense of pleasant ease on such a day means the qualities

which may give a sense of comfort to her lover on a particular

day.

(v) Cumulative listing is a technique of listing similar ideas to



27

explain or add examples to a particular statement. The example

of cumulative listing in the given extract is: The speaker enumerates her physical characteristics — her smile,

her looks and her gentle way of speaking — for which she does

not want to be loved, as these characteristics are changeable

and not ever lasting.

II. (i) ‘ these things ’ refer to the traits like her smile, her looks and her

gentle way of speaking, for which the speaker does not want

her lover to love her.

(ii) By the statement, “may/Be changed, or change for thee ”, the

speaker wants to tell her lover not to love her for the traits like

her smile, her looks or her way of speaking as these traits may

change with the passage of time or his appreciation of these

traits would fade in their appeal for him.

(iii) The speaker does not want to be affected by these changes because

there is much more to love than these changeable traits. She

wants to be loved for true love and not her supercial qualities

that would change with the passage of time.

(iv) The theme of the poem is unconditional love. In the poem, the

speaker asks her lover not to love her for the qualities like herbeautiful smile, her looks or her gentle voice. She recognises that

though these qualities may be endearing to him, but would fade

away in their appeal to him with the passage of time. However,

true love is unconditional and not dependent on such changeable

physical traits. She wants his love for her should be eternal.

(v) The statement “love, so wrought/May be unwrought so ” means

that love that is based on changeable traits may change or

diminish with the changes in these traits with the passage of

time. Here, the speaker feels that if her lover loves her for only

those traits, his love for her would diminish, when her physical

traits would fade away.

III. (i) The words “dear pity ” refer to the pity the speaker’s lover feels

for her.

The words “wiping my cheeks dry ” means the act of wiping off

tears from my cheeks. Here, the speaker wants to tell her lover

that she does not want to be loved out of pity. She says that

she might not cry and since there would be no tears to be wiped

off from her cheeks, she may not be able to produce pity forher in her lover.

IF THOU MUST LOVE ME




(ii) The word “creature ” is used here for the speaker. It is so called to

compare here position with something similar like a whimperingdog or a opping bird, which instantly invokes pity in human

beings.

(iii) If the creature forgets to weep, the lover would not feel any pity

for her. This is because she won’t have any tears to be wiped

off from her cheeks and so would not be able to induce any

pity for herself in her lover.

(iv) The word “Thy ” is used for the speaker’s lover.

(v) The poet does not want to be loved out of pity because she

believes that pity on her tears will be lost once she is consoled.

IV. (i) The poet wants to be loved for love’s sake only because in that

way she will always be loved no matter what qualities of her

fade away with time.

(ii) The words “through love’s eternity ” mean love that is eternal

or ever lasting. The speaker wants that her lover’s love for her

should be eternal.

(iii) Love has been personied in these lines by giving love, humanly

traits such as possession (love’s sake) and a time frame (love’s

eternity).

(iv) The speaker of the poem, a woman, demands equal status

with a man by asking her lover not to love her for her physical

attributes or out of pity but for what she is — a living, thinking

human being.

(v) The things which I like in the poem are the following:

(a) The speaker’s demand for unconditional love, the love which

is not based on any supercial qualities that fade away with

the passage of time but the love which is eternal.

(b) The speaker’s demand for equal status with men. She does

not want to be loved out of pity but for what she is — a

living, thinking human being.

(vi) The poem, ‘ If Thou Must Love Me ’ is a sonnet because:

(a) it comprises fourteen lines with a formal rhyming scheme

in iambic pentameter, i.e., abba /abba /cdc /dc [d /e ].

(b) it is a hybrid of both Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets.

In rhyming scheme, it is composed of a Petrarchan octet (eight

lines) with the rhyming scheme abba abba and sestet (sixlines) with the rhyming scheme cdcdcd or cdecde . However,



29

in its content, it follows the Shakespearean structure of

three quatrains (4 + 4 + 4 = 12 lines) and the nal resolvingcouplets.

I. (i) ‘I’ in the rst line of the extract refers to the poet. She wants

to throw a pebble upwards to make a hole in the heavens to

see the angels at play there.

(ii) By throwing the pebble upwards, the poet will be able to piercethe heavens and see the angels at play there. Symbolically, the

act of ‘throwing the pebble upwards’ suggests the efforts made

to rise in life to achieve unachievable goals.

(iii) (a) The phrase pierce the heavens means to make a small hole

in the universe. It means to achieve unachievable goals with

right efforts and conviction.

(b) The phrase See the angels at play means to see the spirits,

who are believed to be the servants of God and who dwell

in heavens. (iv) The phrase ‘ I believe ’ signies the poet’s dreams and aspirations

whereas the phrase ‘ I can ’ signies the determination and

condence of the speaker at what she believes she can achieve.

(v) The extract portrays the speaker as an optimistic, hard-working

person who has the will and determination to achieve all her

dreams and aspirations.

II. (i) The speaker wants to achieve the highest limit of achievement.

For her, sky is the limit for achievements.

(ii) ‘Heights’ symbolise the sky, meaning ‘space without limit’ for

achievement. The poet wishes to convey the message that the

sky is the limit for human achievements.

(iii) By the phrase ‘ touch the silky clouds ’ the speaker means to reach

the highest limits of achievement and the phrase ‘ feel the stars ’

means to be one among the list of achievers or stars.

(iv) ‘ Dive right into the depths ’ mean to dive into the deepest ocean.

The deeper meaning of this phrase is that one can dive into the

depths meaning the ‘ ocean of life ’ and cross all the hurdles on

the way and achieve success.

I BELIEVE




(v) ‘ Sharks ’ in the last line of the stanza refer to the hurdles and

difculties which come in life. By ‘swimming with the sharks’one is able to achieve success by overcoming all the difculties

(sharks) on the way.

III. (i) The phrase “clawing into the earth’s belly” means to dig deep

into the earth to get the precious jewels that lie within.

(ii) The speaker wants to “claw into the earth’s belly” to get all the

priceless gems that lie within.

(iii) The “priceless gems” refer to the resources that lie within the

earth like metals, minerals and precious stones. These gems can

be obtained by toiling hard and digging deep into the earth.

(iv) The speaker believes that she can do many things on the earth.

She believes so because there are many valuable resources on

the earth which she can utilise.

(v) The human angels are the speaker’s fellow human beings on the

earth. The speaker has called them so because they are capable

of attaining the status of angels by following the righteous path

and doing their duty diligently.

IV. (i) The speaker says that she ‘rmly believe’ to emphasise theduties she has to perform in this world before she can indulge

in persuing her dreams and aspirations.

(ii) Being a woman, the role assigned to the speaker is that of a

daughter, a sister, a wife and a mother. The word ‘here’ refers to

the planet earth where she lives and dreams to fulll a number

of aspirations.

(iii) The phrase “where I dream and breathe” means the place, i.e.,

the earth, where the speaker dreams and lives, to perform her

duties and achieve her goals and aspirations.

(iv) Yes, the speaker seems to feel that the role assigned to her

because of being a woman, acts as a hindrance in achieving

her dreams. This is because of the social constraints due to

the gender based denial and discrimination prevalent in Indian

society.

(v) It tells us that the speaker, like all the other women, has to

perform all the duties assigned to her, like that of a daughter, a

sister, a wife, a mother and so on, before she can fulll her own

dreams and aspirations. The women in general feel restricted in

achieving their aspirations due to the social constraints imposed

on them by traditions, customs and religion for being a ‘woman.’



31

I. (i) The words ‘mournful numbers’ refer to the sorrowful verses,

through which the speaker does not want to be told that life is

a meaningless dream.

(ii) It means that life is a meaningless dream and an illusion.

Life can be an empty dream if human beings spend their time

meaninglessly without having a goal in life.

(iii) By saying, “the soul is dead that slumbers ”, the poet intends tosay that one, who spends his time aimlessly is really a dead

man. Therefore, one must always be up and doing. The speaker,

later in the poem, says that one should rely neither on the

future nor on the past, but should live in the present moment

with courage in oneself and trust in God.

(iv) Those who live an irresponsible life and while their away time

aimlessly depict life as a meaningless dream. This does not

reect the true nature of human life.

(v) Yes, indeed a profound thinker can be a great poet becauseonly a thinker can give vent to the feelings and aspirations of

humanity at large and reect the true nature of human life.

The moral principle hinted in the extract is that life is not an

empty dream but has a serious mission.

(vi) The human attitude of irresponsible indulgence in useless pursuits

and meaningless thinking is condemned in this extract.

II. (i) Earlier in the poem, it was said that life is a meaningless dream.

This gloomy aspect of life is misleading and not a reality, for it

does not reect its true nature.

(ii) It means that death is not the end of life. The poet strongly

belives in life after death because he says that death marks the

end of the body and not the soul.

(iii) “Dust thou art, to dust returnest ” means that the body comes

from dust and returns to dust.

The allusion in the statement is that God formed man out of

clay and breathed life into him. But, when Adam and Eve, the

rst human beings, disobeyed God, they were punished by

pronouncing the Law of Death on them, which says, “Dust thouart and unto dust thou shall return .”

A PSALM OF LIFE




(iv) The human body, which is perishable, returns to the dust, from

which it appeared. However, the soul is imperishable and doesnot return to the dust.

(v) Two examples of lyrical quality in the poem are:

(a) Each stanza of the poem follows the rhyming scheme abab ,

according to which, the rst line rhymes with the third and

the second line rhymes with the fourth.

(b) It is a musical lyric that invokes mankind to live in the

present and follow the path of righteousness.

III. (i) The “world’s broad eld of battle ” refers to the whole world being

a big battleeld. It is referred to as the battleeld because here,

every human being has to work hard and struggle to live and

ght the battle of life, within the alloted time.

(ii) ‘ bivouac of life ’ means that this world is a temporary camp for

human beings, where they live and struggle for a xed period

of time and then leave it, when their bodies die. One should

ght against all odds in this bivouac and emerge as a hero.

(iii) The expression, “dumb, driven cattle” means that human beingsshould not be like the dumb cattle, which is driven by others,

because it lacks direction and determination. Human beings

should ght against all odds and emerge as heroes.

(iv) One should not trust the future because one is not aware of

what is going to happen in the future. Similarly, one should

not trust the past because one cannot change the past. So, one

should live in the present moment and make the best out of it.

(v) (a) Let the dead Past bury its dead! means that we should not

be captivated by the past events and they should be put

away because we cannot change them and therefore, we

should live in the present moment.

(b) Heart within, and God o’erhead! means that one should not

rely on the past or the future and live in the present moment

with courage in oneself and trust in God.

(vi) The moral principle underlying the extract is that the whole

world is a big battleeld and a temporary rest camp. So, we

should not be dumb like cattle, who are driven by others, butshould nd our own way.



33

IV. (i) The lives of great men teach us that we can also achieve great

heights by emulating them. (ii) (a) We can make our life sublime in the life’s battleeld by

ghting against all odds, nding our own way and becoming

a success.

(b) We can make our life sublime by living in the present moment

without bothering for the future or the past and making the

best use of available time and resources.

(iii) “Footprints on the sands of time ” mean the noble work done by

great men which act as milestones and show the way to others

to make their lives successful. We can benet from the footprints

on the sands by following the path shown by great men and

achieving new heights in life.

(iv) The lines which appeal to me the most include the following:

Let us, then, be up and doing

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing

Learn to labour and to wait .

This is because the above lines provide the lesson on how to

live a successful life. These lines teach us that, we should never

give up, continue our work condently, facing any situation in

life, favourable or unfavourable and without being preoccupied

with the outcome of our actions. We should continue our efforts

persistently and learn to wait patiently for the rewards.

(v) The gloomy picture of life shown by the speaker in the poem

includes the following:

(a) Life is a meaningless dream.

(b) The work assigned to us is too demanding and time-consuming.

But time passes quickly leaving us bewildered.

V. (i) ‘ Footprints ’ of the noble deeds performed by us, which can

encourage an unhappy and ruined man, sailing over the sea of

life, are referred to in the extract.

(ii) (a) Sailing o’er life’s solemn main mean sailing over the sea of

life.

(b) A forlorn and shipwrecked brother mean an unhappy anddeserted man, who has gone astray from the right path.

A PSALM OF LIFE




(iii) The ‘footprints’ are referred to in the extract because they can

motivate an unhappy and deserted man, who has gone astrayfrom the right path, by following the path shown by these

footprints.

(iv) The poet wants to convey that we should begin our work

courageously facing any situation in life, favourable or

unfavourable.

(v) Yes, indeed I enjoyed reading the poem for the following reasons:

(a) It instructs and guides us on how to lead an upright life.

It inspires us to continue our work without being bogged

down by the circumstances.

(b) It is a musical lyric that has a swift rhythm and rhyming

pattern.

2648_class x _english Poems

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