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Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 5 Strange Meeting

June 26, 2023June 14, 2023 by Prasanna

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 5 Strange Meeting

Strange Meeting Poem Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
What is the theme of the poem “Strange Meeting”?
Answer:
The poem, “Strange Meeting” by Wilfred Owen shows us a shocking reality. It is our tendency to glorify war as we fail to see the brutality underneath. The poet, through this poem, tries to enfold the truth in front of us. Therefore, the central theme in “Strange Meeting” is the futility and horror of modern war.

There is no chivalry or honour, which the traditional poets found in war; instead, there is only suffering and death. Owen is attempting to inform the public of the horrors of trench war as seen by the common man in an effort to motivate this self-serving public into a front to force an end to World War I and to be aware enough not to allow another war to happen.

In this poem, Owen is not only lamenting the terrors his generation must face; he is also sadly prophesying future conflicts between nations. He is attempting to show the public the waste such conflicts create, but he realizes the futility no matter what the truth is nor how it is presented, there will always be those who will strive to go “Into vain citadels that are not walled.” It will be the common man who will pay the ultimate price for the conquest of nations.

His untimely death shows the futility of war. Therefore, it can be said that through this poem, the poet is actually sending us some life-lessons. He is urging people not to encourage war and warfare, instead work for peace.

Question 2.
What is the wildest beauty in the world which was sought after by the dead soldier?
Answer:
The dead soldier in Owen while speaking out his hopelessness proclaims that in his life he hunted for the wildest beauty – not the beauty of a woman but the magnificence and splendour of unbridled adventure and the joy and vivacity of companionship, either physical or spiritual.

The word ‘wild’ bring to the mind a concept of beauty which is romantic in nature and would be at the same time ecstatic and euphoric, exuberant and energetic. The soldier was romantic by heart but due to his premature death, he missed every good thing that he desired. The dead soldier is upset but he is helpless.

Question 3.
Explain: “I mean the truth untold / The pity of war, the pity war distilled.”
Answer:
In these words uttered by the dead soldier to the poet, the main theme and Owen’s central concern is evident. It has been Owen’s creed to proclaim to the world of the ‘old lie’: “dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori”. It is never sweet to die and he wants to reveal the truth which is never told by the war mongers – the pitiable situation that war unfolds – the death and permanent disability of fit and strong young men. Thus in these lines Owen presents his attitude to war-war is always a piteous and horrific spectacle, it can never be glorious and magnificent.

Question 4.
What is meant by ‘chariot wheels and how do they become “clogged’?
Answer:
The chariot wheels refer to the wheels of progress of various nations of the world which marched forward previously on ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity. But now the scenario has changed completely and the leaders of the same nations are baying for the blood of others and trying to establish their military supremacy. The result is that young men are killed in the battlefield and their blood is clogging the chariot wheels of the nations, stopping any sort of progress.

Question 5.
Bring out the deep irony and sorrow expressed in the words “None …save the undone years”.
Answer:
The speaker here is the dead soldier in Owen’s poem whom he met in the underworld replying to the poet’s caustic comment that there was nothing to mourn in the underworld. The man replies in the affirmative, but then the sorrow comes along with deep irony – and biting sarcasm – he has no cause for sorrow except for all the years of his life that have been ruined. He has immense distress for all the years he would have lived but could not and feels totally hopeless in not being able to do anything about it.

Question 6.
Why is the meeting called strange?
Answer:
In Wilfred Owen’s poem “Strange Meeting”, the poet-persona speaks of a meeting between himself and a dead German soldier in a dark tunnel. In this tunnel, the poet-persona finds death and suffering around him. The pathetic condition of the soldiers triggers deep sorrow in mind.

The gloominess makes the poet-persona think that he is in Hell. This meeting is strange because in reality such a meeting between a living and a dead is not possible. Actually this meeting is arranged to reveal the truth underlying war, which is the theme of the poem. The conversation between the dead German soldier and the British soldier makes the readers understand the brutality of war. This meeting, though strange, is deeply significant and meaningful.

Strange Meeting Poem Short Questions

Question 1.
What is the ‘profound dull tunnel’ mentioned by the poet?
Answer:
The poem begins with the poet expressing his present state where he feels that he is in a deep underground tunnel, using which he has escaped from the battlefield. It is a dark, deep, gloomy chamber where he meets men who are either asleep or dead and can be considered to be Hell.

Question 2.
Why is the dark tunnel categorised as “Hell”?
Answer:
There were dead and severely injured people in the dull tunnel. The poet-persona was experiencing pain, suffering, loss and death around him. Therefore the atmosphere was gloomy. There was no ray of hope or glimmer of happiness and that is why the dark tunnel is categorised as “Hell”.

Question 3.
What does Owen mean by ‘mystery’ and ‘mastery’?
Answer:
In his anti-war poem ‘Strange Meeting’, by ‘mystery’ Owen implies the mystery of war, the unknown knowledge about war, that it is never a glorious affair. And by using the word ‘mastery’ Owen implies a commanding and commendable reporting about the truth or reality of war.

Question 4.
What did the young solider say to his strange friend in hell?
Answer:
The young soldier who dreamed that he had gone to hell and met a dead soldier said to the latter that there were causes to mourn there. There are no bloodshed and no fear of roar of guns in hell.

Question 5.
Why was the dead soldier unhappy?
Answer:
The dead soldier faced a premature death while fighting in a battlefield. At this, he lost all his opportunities to live his life to the fullest and fulfil his desires. He had a long list of wishes which turned futile as soon as he faced his death. He could not even enfold the truths about war to the common people who glorified war. That is why he was unhappy.

Question 6.
“Foreheads of men have bled where no wound were”- Elucidate.
Answer:
The soldier expressed here how the series of damages and destructions that war used to create. Soldiers used to get injured both mentally and physically which was not at all appreciated. Even if, there was no visible wounds, “…foreheads of men have bled…”. Fighting in wars and spilling of blood made the soldiers utterly disturbed.

Question 7.
“…And if it grieves, richlier than here.”- Elucidate with reference to the context.
Answer:
The smile on his face and his sad looks in his eyes made the poet-persona understand that the soldier had a lot of agony hidden in his mind. Even though that German soldier did not have any sign of blood on his body yet it was cleared that he had suffered terribly.

Addressing him “strange friend”, the speaker tried to console him saying, “…here is no cause to mourn.” No sound of guns were heard and there was no commotion either but in spite of the speaker’s moral support, that soldier felt sad for wasting so many years in fighting battles.

He said further, that when he was alive, he went “hunting wild/After the wildest beauty in the world.” Though this kind of beauty can cause grief but to him, that type of grief had its own beauty. Through his talks, it was clear that the soldier was romantic in nature who had died sometime back.

Strange Meeting Poem Logic-Based Questions

Question 1.
In this poem, the poet celebrates the anti-war attitude because
Answer:
The poet hates the brutality and futility of war.

Question 2.
The poet-persona faces a dreamlike situation which turns out to be a nightmare because
Answer:
He realizes some hardcore truth about war while talking with a death soldier.

Question 3.
The German soldier had a “dead smile” because …………..
Answer:
He was actually a dead soldier.

Question 4.
The people in the tunnel were seemed to be in a lot of pain because
Answer:
They suffered much in the battles, some were terribly injured and some were dead.

Question 5.
The dead soldier mourned because ………..
Answer:
He had faced a premature death while fighting in battles.

Question 6.
The dead soldier wanted to be alive again because
Answer:
He wanted to make people aware about the brutality of war and also wanted to fulfil his unfulfilled desires.

Question 7.
The meeting in the dull tunnel is shown to take place in Hell because
Answer:
There were suffering, misery and death around them.

Question 8.
The dead soldier could not make people laugh and enjoy because
Answer:
He faced a premature death while fighting in a battlefield.

Question 9.
“Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were” because
Answer:
The soldiers were not only physically but also mentally wounded.

Question 10.
The dead soldier addressed the poet-persona as “my friend” because
Answer:
He was the one who killed him in the battlefield.

Strange Meeting Poem About the Poet Wilfred Owen

Wilfred Owen Born into a middle-class family in 1893 near Oswestry, Shropshire, Owen was the eldest of three. His father, Tom Owen, was a railway clerk and his mother, Susan, was from a fervently religious family. After another move in 1906, he continued his studies at the technical school in Shrewsbury. Interested in the arts at a young age, Owen began writing poetry as a teenager.

In 1911 Owen matriculated at London University, but after failing to receive a scholarship, he spent a year as a lay assistant to a vicar in Oxfordshire. In 1913 he went on to teach in France at the Berlitz School of English, where he met the poet M. Laurent Tailhade. In 1915, he enlisted in the army and in December 1916 was sent to France, joining the 2nd Manchester Regiment on the Somme.

Within two weeks of his arrival he was commanding a platoon on the front line. In the midst of heavy gunfire, he waded for miles through trenches two feet deep in water with the constant threat of gas attacks. The brutal reality of war had a profound effect on him, as he recounted in letters to his mother. His poems ‘The Sentry’ and ‘Exposure’ record specific ordeals of this time.

He was wounded in combat in 1917 and, diagnosed with shell shock, was evacuated to Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh. There he met another patient, poet Siegfried Sassoon, who served as a mentor and introduced him to well-known literary figures such as Robert Graves and H. G. Wells.

It was at this time Owen wrote many of his most important poems, including “Anthem for Doomed Youth” and “Dulcet.” His poetry often graphically illustrated the horrors of warfare, the physical landscapes that surrounded him, and the human body in relation to those landscapes. His verses stand in stark contrast to the patriotic poems of war written by earlier poets of Great Britain, such as Rupert Brooke. A gay man, Owen also often celebrated male beauty and comradery in his poems.

Owen rejoined his regiment in Scarborough in June 1918, and in August, he returned to France. In October he was awarded the Military Cross for bravery at Amiens. He was killed on November 4, 1918, while attempting to lead his men across the Sambre-Oise canal at Ors. He was 25 years old. The news reached his parents on November 11, Armistice Day.

While few of Owen’s poems appeared in print during his lifetime, the collected Poems of Wilfred Owen, with an introduction by Sassoon, was published in December 1920. Owen has since become one of the most admired poets of World War I. Areview of Owen’s poems published on December 29,1920, just two years after his death, read, “Others have shown the disenchantment of war, have unlegended the roselight and romance of it, but none with such compassion for the disenchanted nor such sternly just and justly stern judgment on the idyllisers.”

About Owen’s post-war audience, the writer Geoff Dyer said, “To a nation stunned by grief, the prophetic lag of posthumous publication made it seem that Owen was speaking from the other side of the grave. Memorials were one sign of the shadow cast by the dead over England in the twenties; another was a surge of interest in spiritualism. Owen was the medium through whom the missing spoke.”

In September 1918, Owen returned to the front during the final stages of the war. He fought a fierce battle and was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery. He was killed, at the age of 25, while leading his men across the Sambre and Oise Canal near Ors, on 4 November – just one week before the Armistice was declared.

Virtually unknown as a poet in his lifetime, most of Owen’s poems were published after his death. Aware that his work could do nothing to help his own generation, he succeeded in warning the next, his poetic legacy having a major impact on attitudes to war.

Strange Meeting About the Poem

The poem, “Strange Meeting” deals with the brutality of World War I. In this poem, the poet-persona imagines himself to be strayed from the battlefield and he sees into a dark tunnel where the sleepers (i.e. dead men) are huddled together. When the poet comes to watch those men closely, one of the dead men jumps up and looks at him with eyes full of pity and sorrow.

That dead soldier smiles and by that smile the poet comes to know that he is in hell. It seems that the dead man is in pain, though he has actually no cause for sufferings, for he is far away from the battlefield, the only place where men are left to suffer and die. This imagined meeting between the poet-persona and that German soldier is very much significant as it is same German soldier whom he had killed the previous day.

This dead soldier shows us the honors of war. He expresses that in his life-time he loved beauty and hoped to live his life like other men. What grieves him is the fact that his premature death has deprived him the joy of living his life to the fullest.

Moreover, the truth that he has leant in the battlefield will ever remain untold because of his death. This truth is the pity of war. That dead soldier tells the poet-persona that if he has been alive, he would have told the people that their ideals about war are all false and by killing him, the poet-persona has stopped him from performing such a noble act. Thus the futility of war is highlighted in this poem where the dark sides of war are portrayed. War is not glorified here, it is portrayed as a shameful act.

Strange Meeting The Tryst Poem in Detail

The poem “Strange Meeting” is one of the finest creations of Wilfred Owen where he showed the brutality and futility of war. People used to have a fine idea about war that was; it would prove how brave and chivalrous a soldier would be if he fought a battle because they used to see war through rose coloured glasses. Owen removed those glasses and showed reality to the readers through this poem.

The poem opens up with an imaginary situation where a British soldier or the poet-persona found himself in a dark tunnel dug through the granites. He saw. many soldiers were lying there, sleeping, crying in pain. They were suffering terribly. Suddenly, one of them stood up. He had pathetic looks in his eyes and he had a “dead smile.” That soldier as actually a German soldier who started chatting with the poet- persona.

He told him that he was not allowed to live his life to the fullest and that was something to mourn for. He told him that he wasted his time in many worldly pursuits. He went “hunting wild/After the wildest beauty in the world.” Actually, he looked for a beautiful, passionate woman as, to him, beauty lied in wild passion. Though this kind of beauty can cause grief but to him, that grief had its own beauty.

Through his talks, it was clear that the soldier had died sometime back. He regretted, telling that if he had not met with an untimely death, he could have make people laugh and make them enjoy their time with him. He lamented for his inability to disclose the horrors of war to the people. He felt sorry about the very fact that war used to take away several lives, but people had a tendency to glorify it as they would never understand the perturbation and violence that war used to create along with the mental and physical suffering.

The dead soldier exclaimed further, that when he was alive, he used to have ideals about war but after witnessing the truth, he had found those ideals fake. He wished that if he would have given a chance to be alive, he would like to work for peace as he would never indulge in any war to kill innocent people. In the last stanza of the poem, the dead soldier disclosed a shocking reality to the British soldier.

Addressing him “my friend”, he told him, “I am the enemy you killed.” This is the turning point of the poem. He recalled how that British soldier, “jabbed and killed” him. Though he “parried” , his hands “were loath and cold.” At the end, the dead German soldier suggested the British soldier that they should be allowed to sleep then and thus the poem ended on a depressing note.

Strange Meeting Poem Line Wise Explanation

“It seemed that out of battle I escaped
Down some profound dull tunnel, long since scooped
Though granites which titanic wars had groined.
Yet also there encumbered sleepers groaned,
Too fast in thought or death to be bestirred.
Then, as I probed them, one sprang up, stared
With piteous recognition in fixed eyes,
Lifting distressful hands, as if to bless.
And by his smile, I knew that sullen hall,
By his dead smile I knew we stood in Hell.”

In the beginning of the poem, we see the poet-persona, a British soldier, was experiencing a kind of nightmare where he found himself in a dark tunnel. It seemed he had escaped a battle. That tunnel was dug through the granites. He saw, many soldiers were lying there, sleeping, crying in pain. They were suffering terribly. Suddenly, one of them stood up. He had pathetic looks in his eyes and he had a “dead smile.” There might be a possibility that the soldier had recognised the poet-persona. He was a German soldier. He lifted his hand to the poet-persona that seemed that he was blessing him.

“With a thousand fears that vision’s face was grained;
Yet no blood reached there from the upper ground,
And no guns thumped, or down the flues made moan.
“Strange friend,” I said, “here is no case to mourn.”
“None,” said that other, “Save the undone years,
The hopelessness. Whatever hope is yours,
Was my life also; I went hunting wild
After the wildest beauty in the world,
Which lies not calm in eyes, or braided hair,
But mocks the steady running if the hour,
And if it grieves, grieves richlier than here.”

That smile on his face and his sad looks in his eyes made the poet-persona understand that he had a lot of agony hidden in his mind. Even though that German soldier did not have any sign of blood on his body yet it was cleared that he had suffered terribly. Addressing him “strange friend”, the speaker tried to console him saying, “…here is no cause to mourn.”

No sound of guns were heard and there was no commotion either but in spite of the speaker’s moral support, that soldier felt sad for wasting so many years in fighting battles. He said further, that when he was alive, he went “hunting wild/After the wildest beauty in the world.” Though this kind of beauty can cause grief but to him, that grief had its own beauty. Through his talks, it was clear that the soldier had died sometime back.

“For by my glee might many men have laughed,
And of my weeping something had been left,
Which must die now. I mean the trugh untold,
The pity of war, the pity war distilled.
Now men will go content with what we spoiled.
Or, discontent, boil bloody, and be spilled.
They will be swift with swiftness of the tigress.
None will break ranks, though nations trek from progress.”

He regrets further by saying that if he had not died, he could have make people laugh and enjoy. Being alive would give him chances to enfold the truth about wars to everyone. He felt sad that war brutally used to snatch away many innocent lives and to him, it was a huge loss and in the absence of awareness, people would keep on glorifying war as they would not realize the perturbation and violence that war used to create along with the mental and physical suffering. Soldier would not stop fighting even though “nations trek from progress.”

“Courage was mine, and I had mystery;
Wisdom was mine, and I had mastery:
To miss the march of this retreating world
Into vain citadels that are not walled.
Then, when much blood had clogged their chariot- whells,
I would go up and wash them from sweet wells,
Even with truths that lie too deep for taint.
I would have poured my spirit without stint
But not through wounds; not on the cess of war.”

When that soldier was alive, he had enough courage for “mystery” apd had enough wisdom to have “mastery” but when he was dead, his ideals about war were shattered. He found his ideals to be meaningless and so he said that if he had been alive, he would now spend his time in working for peace. He would not indulge in any war and would not take any life.

“Foreheads of men have bled where no wounds were.
“I am the enemy you killed, my friend.
I knew you in this dark: for so you frowned
Yesterday through me as you jabbed and killed.
I parried; but my hand were loath and cold.
Let us sleep now…..”

The soldier expressed here how the series of damages and destructions that war used to create. Soldiers used to get injured both mentally and physically which was not at all appreciated. Even if, there was no visible wounds, “…foreheads of men have bled…”. Lastly, at the end of the poem, the dead soldier disclosed a shocking reality to the British soldier. Addressing him “my friend”, he told him, “I am the enemy you killed.”

This is the turning point of the poem. He recalled how that British soldier, “jabbed and killed” him. Though he “parried”, his hands “were loath and cold.” At the end, the dead German soldier suggested the British soldier that they should be allowed to sleep then and thus the poem ended on a depressing note.

Strange Meeting Poem Theme

The poem, “Strange. Meeting” by Wilfred Owen shows us a shocking reality. It is our tendency to glorify war as we fail to see the brutality underneath. The poet, through this poem, tries to enfold the truth in front of us. Therefore, the central theme in “Strange Meeting” is the futility and horror of modem war.

“Strange Meeting” was the end result of a metamorphosis undergone by Owen and other World War I soldier-poets. They went through many changes as their exposure to the war and trench life increased. Initially they wrote patriotic verse, designed to help build a united front opposing the aggressions of Germany. This quickly changed as they began to realize the grim realities and arbitrariness of war.

As their frustrations grew, they lashed out at those they saw as either profiting from the war or misguidedly supporting it. Their final stage reflects the sadness and waste of any war at any time no matter what side the combatants and populace are on. Owen was no exception; “Strange Meeting” is perhaps his most poignant poem and strongest antiwar work, crowning his short list of achievements.

Owen is not only lamenting the terrors his generation must face; he is also sadly prophesying future conflicts between nations. He is attempting to show the public the waste such conflicts create, but he realizes the futility – no matter what the truth is nor how it is presented, there will always be those who will strive to go “Into vain citadels that are not walled.” It will be the common man who will pay the ultimate price for the conquest of nations.

Through “Strange Meeting” the poet urges the people to open up their eyes to see the brutality of war by removing the rose coloured glasses from their eyes. The pathetic condition of the German soldier, his agony and realisation about war is really horrifying. His untimely death shows the futility of war. Therefore, it can be said that through this poem, the poet is actually sending us some life-lessons. He is urging people not to encourage war and warfare, instead work for peace.

Strange Meeting Poem Word Meaning

Escape — To get free from something or to avoid something
Profound — Felt or experienced very strongly or in an extreme way
Tunnel — A long passage under or through the ground. especially one made by people
Titanic wars — Very huge wars
Encumbered — Prevented from making quick progress by having to carry heavy objects or deal
with important duties and responsibilities Piteous Causing you to feel sadness and sympathy
Bestirred — Moved
Fear — An unpleasant emotion or thought that you have when you are frightened or worried by something dangerous, painful, or bad that is happening or might happen
Thumped — To hit something and cause a noise
Flue — A pipe that leads from a fire or heater to the outside of a building, taking smoke, gases, or hot air away
Hopelessness — The feeling or state of being without hope
Hunting — Chasing and killing an animal or bird for food, sport
Braid — A thin strip of cloth or twisted threads that is attached to clothes, uniforms, or other things made of cloth, as a decoration
Grieve — To feel or express great sadness, especially when someone dies
Weeping — The act of crying tears
Discontent — A feeling of wanting better treatment or an improved situation
Swift — Happening or moving quickly or within a short time, especially in a smooth and easy way
Mystery — Something strange or not known that has not yet been explained or understood
Mastery — Complete control of something
Citadels — A strong castle in or near a city, where people can shelter from danger, especially during a war

Strange Meeting Poem Critical Appreciation

“Strange Meeting” was written by Wilfred Owen in 1918 during the World War I. He was a soldier too who eventually faced his premature death in the battlefield. When Owen came to realize the bloody truth of war and warfare, he started writing poems that could express him anti-war attitude. “Strange Meeting” is undoubtedly his one of the most moving poem and most powerful anti-war work, crowning his brief career.

Owen, paradoxically, began composing poetry in the romantic tradition, with Keats and Shelley as his models. Owen may have written better poetry if he had a Romantic sensibility, but circumstances dictated otherwise. The war provided Owen with the subject matter, transforming his early poems’ romantic elegiac tendency into the deep feelings of sadness and compassion that define his later works.

The theme of the strange meeting is the futility of the troops’ sacrifice. It is, in fact, a poem about a visionary dream. The poet soldier imagines himself to have fled from battle and travelled to other parts of the world. As he continues to observe the bodies, one emerges with pitiful recognition in frozen eyes.

The second man, who has a cadaverous appearance and is actually an enemy soldier, describes the horrors and frustrations of battle. He laments the fact that death took him away before he could pass on the information he had gained – the untold truth – the harsh experience on the battlefield – the pity war distilled. He also speaks out against the abstract and unjustified glorification of war. An antagonist in life becomes a friendly comrade in the land of the dead, and finally, after revealing his name, he bids a friend to join.

Strange Meeting is the most forceful of Owen’s imaginative descriptions of battle experience. It is his best poem, striking in its sharpness and brevity, that has earned him a “passport to immortality.” War is a form of organised savagery. Men are retreating from material growth and civilization as a result of war. The poem undoubtedly emphasises the miseries of war.

It is also to determine timeless truths of love, amity, and goodwill. Nonetheless, his options are thrown into disarray due to the abrupt end of life. The poem Strange Meeting is an imaginary re-enactment of a supposed occurring after death or possibly a process in the imagination of a live man after death. It is an enraging experience.

The dead man in Strange Meeting, on the other hand, is dissatisfied with the manner of his demise. Sacrificing one’s life for the sake of others is a noble deed, but glorifying war is both abstract and worthless.

The theme of universal friendliness, which Owen has consistently advocated, appears to be reserved for the world of death when antagonists become friends and engage in an open discussion of their concerns. The theme of “insensibility” is also portrayed in this poem. The horrors of war and the merciless killing make the readers visualize the pathetic condition of the soldiers. The emotional impact of the poem, does not fail to bring tears in our eyes.

Strange Meeting Poem Style

In “Strange Meeting”, the poet has used a dreamlike situation which can be considered as a nightmare. The poem has 44 lines, four stanzas and is composed by using iambic pentameter with rhymed couplets. The readers can also sense supernatural elements in this poem through the words “Hell”, “chariot wheels”, “dead smile” etc.

Some Biblical allusions and metaphors are also used in this poem. The futility of war are expressed through “vain citadels”, “clogged in the wheel” etc. Some eerie sense could be also witnessed while going through the poem.

Strange Meeting Poem MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
Where does the soldier in “Strange Meeting”‘ find himself?
a. At home
b. In Hell
c. In purgatory
d. In Heaven
Answer:
b. In Hell

Question 2.
In “Strange Meeting”, what does the soldier see that leads him to believe he is in hell?
a. The dead man’s legs
b. The dead man’s eyes
c. The dead man’s smile
d. The dead man’s arms
Answer:
c. The dead man’s smile

Question 3.
The dead man in “Strange Meeting”’ wants to-
a. Go back to his family
b. Get back to the battlefield
c. Go to heaven
d. Tell the truth about war
Answer:
d. Tell the truth about war

Question 4.
What was the poet-persona?
a. A German soldier
b. A British soldier
c. A pedestrian
d. An artist
Answer:
a. A German soldier

Question 5.
What does the dead man in “Strange Meeting” want to do at the very end?
a. Kill the soldier
b. Sleep
c. Return to earth
d. Talk more
Answer:
b. Sleep

Question 6.
What does the dead man in “Strange Meeting” used to possess?
a. Religion
b. Money
c. Courage and wisdom
d. Good looks
Answer:
c. Courage and wisdom

Question 7.
Why was the meeting strange?
a. It happened in a dark tunnel
b. It there were dead and injured soldiers around
c. The poet-persona was having a chat with a dead soldier
d. All of these
Answer:
d. All of these

Question 8.
What does the dead man in “Strange Meeting” want to do at the very end?
a. Sleep
b. Talk more
c. Return to earth
d. Kill the soldier
Answer:
a. Sleep

Question 9.
“Strange Meeting” is written in the form of a dialogue between two-
a. Officers
b. Soldiers
c. Couple
d. Ministers
Answer:
b. Soldiers

Question 10.
Which imagined landscape is referred in “Strange Meeting”?
a. Battlefield
b. Paradise
c. Hell
d. Heaven
Answer:
c. Hell

Question 11.
What do the two soldiers reflect in “Strange Meeting”?
a. Success
b. Aspirations
c. Power
d. Humanity
Answer:
d. Humanity

Question 12.
Why did the soldier in “Strange Meeting” lament?
a. He couldn’t tell the futility of war
b. He couldn’t fight again
c. He couldn’t oppose officers
d. He lost his confidence
Answer:
a. He couldn’t tell the futility of war

Question 13.
In which year “Strange Meeting” was published?
a. 1920
b. 1918
c. 1919
d. 1925
Answer:
c. 1919

Question 14.
What message does the dead soldier want to convey to mankind?
a. Support war
b. Not to encourage war
c. Futility/pity/horror of war
d. Both (b) and (c)
Answer:
d. Both (b) and (c)

Question 15.
Who is the speaker of the poem “Strange Meeting”?
a. A dead captain
b. Immortal soldier
c. A dead soldier
d. A dead navy officer
Answer:
c. A dead soldier

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 4 Death of Naturalist

June 26, 2023June 14, 2023 by Prasanna

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 4 Death of Naturalist

Death of Naturalist Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
What is the theme of the poem “Death of a Naturalist”?
Answer:
Seamus Heaney’s one of the most celebrated poems, “Death of a Naturalist” talks about the innocence of the speaker’s childhood and his experience of becoming more aware of the life in the flax-dam.

In the first part of the poem, we see the speaker reflects on his childhood habit of taking frogspawn from the flax-dam and reflects on how Miss Walls, presumably a teacher, taught the speaker and his classmates about frogs; though the speaker does not quote her, his language morphs to echo how she would speak to the children, referring to male and female frogs as “daddy” and “mammy” frogs.
In the second part of the poem, the speaker has a new experience in the flax-dam, and his perception of his own actions shifts.

He now sees the frogs as “angry” who have “invaded” the flax-dam, where they are usually absent. They croak loudly and threateningly. The speaker feels sick and afraid, and he runs away from the scene. Through this poem, the poet makes us realize that the childhood do not last for eternity. Whenever a child starts to become mature, he or she loses his innocence and thus never feels the same.

Question 2.
How does the poet use ‘sound’ in this poem? How does sound guide the movement of the poem?
Answer:
Heaney is known for his attention to sound, and “Death of a Naturalist” is no exception. In this poem, sound works hard to depict the physical attributes of the flax-dam. The first stanza is filled with words such as “sweltered,” “gargled,” “gauze,” “spotted,” “slobber,” and “clotted.”

Many of these words echo each other sonically, and the repeated “s” and “g” noises, in particular, minor the lively noises of the flax-dam. The second stanza, however, uses shorter, sharper words, such as “cocked,” “hopped,” “slap,” and “pop.” These words are as evocative as the ones in the first stanza, but they are tenser and show the change in the speaker’s attitude.

Even the sentences of the second stanza are shorter than those of the first. The first two sentences of the first stanza are three lines each, and the third sentence is nearly four. The first sentence of the second stanza is long, too, but from there until the last sentence of the poem, each sentence takes up only one or two lines. The effect is a tone that is less whimsical, and more clipped and withdrawn.

Question 3.
What part does Miss Walls play in this poem? Why does she come up at all?
Answer:
The character of Miss Walls though appears only once, it plays a significant role in changing the mood of the poem. She acts as a way to mark the time period of this poem, to emphasize the speaker’s youth and to lend the poem into realism. She taught them about the bullfrogs or the male frogs and mammy frogs or the female frogs.

Mammy frogs laid hundreds of little eggs from which tadpoles emerged and they gradually became frogs. She also told them that frogs look yellow in the sun and brown in the rain. Her appearance in the poem may be a way for the speaker to show how adult authority figures shape children’s perceptions, even if they fade into the background and are overshadowed by the more fantastical elements of a child’s life, like frogspawn and the flax-dam.

Question 4.
What is the significance of the final sentence of the poem?
Answer:
There is childlike innocence left in the speaker in the final lines of this poem; calling the frogs “slime kings” would almost be funny, if not for the fear and revulsion the speaker clearly feels. These lines are significant to the poem because the mention of vengeance makes plain why the speaker’s feelings change; he believes the frogs and the frogspawn are seeking retribution for the spawn he has stolen in the past.

However, it is interesting that the speaker imagines being sucked into the spawn instead of being attacked by the fearsome frogs. This may be a way for Heaney to show how internal the shift in the speaker is; he has dipped his hand into the frogspawn many times before without such fears.

If he merely feared being attacked by the frogs, he could return and take spawn once the frogs were gone. Heaney and the speaker want the reader to understand that he does not flee the dam due to a surface-level fear but due to an internal shift, that shift being the death of the naturalist within him, as the title indicates.

Question 5.
What is the significance of the title, “Death of a Naturalist”?
Answer:
The poem, “Death of a Naturalist” is one of the best creations of Seamus Heaney. This poem is divided into two parts; the first part talks about the poet’s childhood experiences and also his love for Mother Nature and the second part shows the poet’s loss of innocence due to the formulation of adult identities, family relationships and the disillusionment with nature.

In the beginning of the poem, we see the description of a ‘flax-dam’ where the flax is expanded over a large area to soften its fibres, situated in the middle of a farm. When the poet visits the place as a child, he describes the flax-rotting process which hides the frogspawn. The poet collects those frogspawns in jars and takes those to home and then to school.

In this part of the poem, we see the description of the flax dam and its happenings through the eyes of a child but in the second part, we can see that the frogspawns have become frogs now, which turn threatening to the poet. Their movements, croaking and angry appearance make the poet “sickened.”

So he runs away, feeling disgusted. He is thus no longer attracted to the place. Therefore, this poem does not depict any literal death. As the speaker has now lost his interest in nature all of a sudden, the poet describes his disinterest as the death of a “naturalist.” Thus the title of this poem is apt.

Death of Naturalist Short Answer Questions

Question 1
Write about the activities at the flax-dam described in the first part of the poem.
Answer:
The poem, begins with the description of a flax-dam where the flax is expanded over a large area to soften its fibres, situated in the middle of a farm. The speaker visits this place as an innocent child and likes the environment there.

Here, the description of the rotting flax, its smell, the scorching heat of the sun, the gargling of the bubbles, the sound of the blue bottles are well-depicted. There are dragonflies and spotted butterflies too and the tadpoles are the main attraction there. The speaker of this poem loves to catch those tadpoles and then put them in jars.

Question 2.
What lesson did Miss Walls teach?
Answer:
Miss Walls taught her students about the lifecycle of the frogs. She taught them about the bullfrogs or the male frogs and mammy frogs or the female frogs. Mammy frogs laid hundreds of little eggs from which tadpoles emerged and they gradually became frogs. She also told them that frogs look yellow in the sun and brown in the rain.

Question 3.
What scene is witnessed by the readers in the second part of the poem?
Answer:
In the second part of the poem, the readers find the speaker in a matured state of mind. Here, we see the speaker, getting afraid of the frogs whom he found as “angry.” Their “coarse croaking”, queer appearance Made him “sickened” and so he “turned, and ran”. The place and the animals which used to be his favourite once, has now turned into his disgust.

Question 4.
Write about the style of writing the poem “Death of a Naturalist.”
Answer:
This poem is constructed with two uneven stanzas that contain different messages. The longer stanza shows a child’s innocent mind, which eventually gets destroyed in the second stanza, where we see the child at the brim of becoming a matured person.

In this poem we can witness the use of blank verse and unrhymed pentameter. The poet has used several figures of speeches like similes (“like clotted water” etc.), metaphors (“fattening dots” etc.), onomatopoeia, alliteration (“To a coarse croaking” etc.) and assonance to add richness to this poem.

Question 5.
“That if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it.”- Why did the sneaker say so?
Answer:
In second part of the poem, the readers find the speaker in a matured state of mind. Seeing the adult frogs the speaker felt terror as he considered them as angry. Their activities and appearance made him feel that they were gathered there to take revenge for what he did to their tadpoles. So, being afraid, the speaker said so. Here, we see how his innocence finally got damaged with these thoughts.

Death of Naturalist Poem Logic-Based Questions

Complete the following sentences by providing a REASON for each:

Question 1.
The flax in the flax darn rotted because____
Answer:
Their fibres should be softened.

Question 2.
The dragonflies and spotted butterflies can also be seen in the flax-darn because________
Answer:
This is the suitable place for them to he seen.

Question 3.
The speaker collects frogspawn’s because
Answer:
He loves to watch them.

Question 4.
The speaker fills up his jars with frogspawns and takes them to home and school because______
Answer:
He wants to watch their growth and activities.

Question 5.
The speaker says “You could tell the weather by frogs too” because_________
Answer:
Frogs would be yellow in colour in the sun and brown in colour in the rain.

Question 6.
The stanza 2 begins with a more serious tone because________
Answer:
This stanza introduces the speaker as a matured person who has lost his innocence.

Question 7.
The speaker lost his interest in frogs because
Answer:
Their appearance and croaking make him scared of them.

Question 8.
The speaker thinks that “the great slime kings were gathered there for vengeance” because
Answer:
They want to take revenge for stealing the tadpoles.

Question 9.
The frogs seem to be threatening to the speaker because____
Answer:
The speaker thinks that they are angry for stealing their tadpoles.

Question 10.
The speaker “sickened, turned, and ran” because
Answer:
He was scared of the adult frogs.

Death of Naturalist Poem About The Poet Seamus Heaney

Seamus Justin Heaneywas born on April 13, 1939 in Castledawson, County Derry, Northern Ireland. He earned a teacher’s certificate in English at St. Joseph’s College in Belfast and in 1963 took a position as a lecturer in English at that school. While at St. Joseph’s he began to write, joining a poetry workshop with Derek Mahon, Michael Longley, and others under the guidance of Philip Hobsbaum. In 1965, he married Marie Devlin, and the following year he published Death of a Naturalist.

After graduating from Queen’s University, Belfast, Heaney taught secondary school for a year and then lectured in colleges and universities in Belfast and Dublin. He became a member of the Field Day Theatre Company in 1980, soon after its founding by playwright Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea. In 1982 he joined the faculty of Harvard University as visiting professor and, in 1985, became full professor – a post he retained while teaching at the University of Oxford.

As a poet from Northern Ireland, Heaney used his work to reflect upon the “Troubles,” the often-violent political struggles that plagued the country during Heaney’s young adulthood. The poet sought to weave the ongoing Irish troubles into a broader historical frame embracing the general human situation in the books Wintering Out (1973) and North (1975). While some reviewers criticized Heaney for being an apologist and mythologizer, Morrison suggested that Heaney would never reduce political situations to false simple clarity and never thought his role should be as a political spokesman.

The author “has written poems directly about the Troubles as well as elegies for friends and acquaintances who have died in them; he has tried to discover a historical framework in which to interpret the current unrest; and he has taken on the mantle of public spokesman, someone looked to for comment and guidance,” noted Morrison. Heaney’s first foray into the world of translation began with the Irish lyric poem Buile Suibhne. The work concerns an ancient king who, cursed by the church, is transformed into a mad bird-man and forced to wander in the harsh and inhospitable countryside.

Heaney’s translation of the epic was published as Sweeney Astray: A Version from the Irish (1984). New York Times Book Review contributor Brendan Kennedy deemed the poem “a balanced statement about a tragically unbalanced mind.

One feels that this balance, urbanely sustained, is the product of a long, imaginative bond between Mr. Heaney and Sweeney.” This bond is extended into Heaney’s 1984 volume Station Island, where a series of poems titled “Sweeney Redivivus” take up Sweeney’s voice once more. The poems reflect one of the book’s larger themes, the connections between personal choices, dramas and losses and larger, more universal forces such as history and language.

In The Haw Lantern (1987) Heaney extends many of these preoccupations. Heaney’s prose constitutes an important part of his work. Heaney often used prose to address concerns taken up obliquely in his poetry. In The Redress of Poetry (1995), according to James Longenbach in the Nation.

“Heaney wants to think of poetry not only as something that intervenes in the world, redressing or correcting imbalances, but also as something that must be redressed— re-established, celebrated as itself.” The book contains a selection of lectures the poet delivered at Oxford University as Professor of Poetry.

Heaney’s Finders Keepers: Selected Prose, 1971-2001 (2002) earned the Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism, the largest annual prize for literary criticism in the English language. John Carey in the London Sunday Times proposed that Heaney’s “is not just another book of literary criticism…It is a record of Seamus Heaney’s thirty-year struggle with the demon of doubt.

The questions that afflict him are basic. What is the good of poetry? How can it contribute to society? Is it worth the dedication it demands?” Heaney himself described his essays as “testimonies to the fact that poets themselves are finders and keepers, that their vocation is to look after art and life by being discoverers and custodians of the unlooked for.”

In 2009, Seamus Heaney turned 70. A true event in the poetry world, Ireland marked the occasion with a 12-hour broadcast of archived Heaney recordings. It was also announced that two-thirds of the poetry collections sold in the UK the previous year had been Heaney titles.

Such popularity was almost unheard of in the world of contemporary poetry, and yet Heaney’s voice is unabashedly grounded in tradition. Heaney’s belief in the power of art and poetry, regardless of technological change or economic collapse, offers hope in the face of an increasingly uncertain future.

In June of 2012, Heaney was awarded the Lifetime Recognition Award from the Griffin Trust For Excellence in Poetry. He was also a Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and held the chair of professor of poetry at Oxford University from 1989 to 1994.

In 1995, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Heaney was a resident of Dublin from 1976 to 2013. Beginning in 1981, he also spent part of each year teaching at Harvard University, where, in 1984, he was elected the Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory. Seamus Heaney passed away in Dublin on August 30, 2013. He was seyenty-four.

Death of Naturalist About the Poem

The poem, “Death of a Naturalist” is one of the best creations of Seamus Heaney, published in 1966. This poem is divided into two parts; the first part talks about the poet’s childhood experiences and also his love for Mother Nature and the second part shows the poet’s loss of innocence due
to the formulation of adult identities, family relationships and the disillusionment with nature.

In the beginning of the poem, we see the description of a ‘flax-dam’ where the flax is expanded over a large area to soften its fibres, situated in the middle of a farm. When the poet visits the place as a child, he describes the flax-rotting process which hides the frog spawn. The poet collects those frogs pawns in jars and takes those to home and then to school. In this part of the poem, we see the description of the flax dam“

and its happenings through the eyes of a child but in the second part, we can see that the frogs pawns have become frogs now, which turn threatening to the poet. Their movements, croaking and angry appearance make the poet “sickened.” So he runs away, feeling disgusted. He is thus no longer attracted to the place. Through the poet’s change of attitude, the readers witness how a person leaves his innocence and enters adulthood.

Death of Naturalist Poem in Detail

The poem “Death of a Naturalist” is written by Seamus Heaney which is one of his finest creations. In this poem, we can see how a person loses his innocence and enters his adulthood and with this, the whole scenario changes.

The poem, begins with the description of a flax-dam where the flax is expanded over a large area to soften its fibres, situated in the middle of a farm. Flax rots there, “weighed down by huge sods.” Every day it is mouldered under the hot sun. Delicate bubbles come up from the swamp and flies buzz around, mixing sound and smell.

Dragonflies and butterflies are also mentioned there the main attraction is the tadpoles which are seen wriggling in the flax dam. In the first part of the poem, the poet is seen as a child who has a fascination for tadpoles. When the poet visits the place as a child, he describes the flax-rotting process which hides the frogs pawn. The poet collects those frogs pawns in jars and takes those to home and then to school.

The other activities in the flax-dam are also pictorially described. In school, when the poet takes those tadpoles in jars, he seems to call up a lesson by Miss Walls, his teacher. She informs her students how the male frog is called a bullfrog and how he attracts the female frog or mammy frog and she lays hundred of little eggs that become frogs pawns later.

The frogs pawns then become frogs that would be yellow in colour in the sun and brown in the rains. The second part of the poem however presents a different scenario. Here, we see the tadpoles have grown into full-grown frogs which also gives a hint of the time gap. Here, we see the loss of innocence of the poet who is now has grown bigger. One day, when the weather is hot and the fields are emitting the heavy smell of cow dung, the speaker sees the angry frogs that have already taken over the flax-dam.

The speaker “ducked through hedges” but the harsh croaking made him feel disgusted. Their appearance and activities “sickened” the speaker. It seems to him that they sit in dangerous positions, “poised like mud grenades” and the sound of their heads appeared to be like “farting.” The scenario makes the poet afraid and so he turns and run away.

He feels that if he dips his hand in the flax-dam now, then the tadpoles would clutch his hand and would not let go. In this way, his liking, turns into a disgust. Through this poem, the readers can witness the shift in the mindset of the speaker. The frog spawns which were once dear to him, have turned into his terror.

Death of Naturalist Poem Line Wise Explanation

“All year the flax-dam festered in the heart
Of the town land; green and heavy headed
Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.
Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.
Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles
Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.
There were dragonflies, spotted butterflies,
But best of all was the warm thick slobber
Of frog spawn that grew like clotted water
In the shade of the banks”:

The speaker talks about the flax-dam where the flax rots, over a large area to soften its fibres, situated in the middle of a farm. The speaker visits this place as an innocent child and likes the environment there. Here, the description of the rotting flax, its smell, the scorching heat of the sun, the gargling of the bubbles, the sound of the blue bottles are well-depicted.

There are dragonflies and spotted butterflies too. In these lines, the poet has beautifully painted all these visual and auditory images that evoke sensuousness in the readers’ mind. In these lines, we can see the use of metaphors, personification and oxymoron. In these lines, we can also witness the mention of frog spawns that warm, thick slobber that grow like “clotted water in the shade of the banks.”

“Here, every spring
I would fill jampotfuls of the jellied
Specks to range on window sills at home,
On shelves at school, and wait and watch until
The fattening dots burst, into nimble
Swimming tadpoles”

Here, the description becomes more specific. The poet talks about his activities in every spring when he would fill up his jars with frog spawns from the flax-dam and then takes them to his home and then in school. He just expresses his love for watching the activities of those tadpoles. In these lines, the innocent activities of a child are well- depicted.

“Miss Walls would tell us how
The daddy frog was called a bullfrog
And how he croaked and how the mammy frog
Laid hundreds of little eggs and this was
Frog spawn. You could tell the weather by frogs too
For they were yellow in the sun and brown in rain”.

Here, the speaker mentions his teacher, Miss Walls, who gave the outline of the life cycle of the frog to the class.lt becomes crystal clear that the boy Heaney was well impressed by all this. His enthusiasm is obvious – he could even get to know what the weather outlook would be from observing the adult frogs. Here, how the male frogs use their croaking to attract female frogs and then they lay hundreds of eggs is well-portrayed. The poet says that the frogs change colour with the change of the weather- they look yellow in the sun and brown in rain.

“Then one hot day when fields were rank
With cowdung in the grass the angry frogs
Invaded the flax-dam; I ducked through hedges
To a coarse croaking that I had not heard Before.
The air was thick with a bass chorus.
Right down the dam gross bellied frogs were cocked
On sods; their loose necks pulsed like sails. Some hopped:
The slap and plop were obscene threats.
Some sat Poised like mud grenades, their blunt heads farting.

I sickened, turned, and ran. The great slime kings Were gathered there for vengeance and I knew That if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it” The change of tone occurs abruptly with the word ‘Then’. The first part of the poem expresses the innocence of a child whereas the second part expresses his destruction of childhood. This verse begins with a harsh monosyllabic

line: “Then one hot day when fields were rank/With cowdung…”. Both ‘rank’ and ‘dung’ sound cacophonous with harsh consonance. The word ‘dung’ is an Anglo-Saxon word for cow manure, used colloquially in Northern Ireland.

In these lines, the speaker describes the frogs as an army, coming back to seize what was theirs. This is indicated by the word ‘invaded’ and reinforced by words used to suggest battle: ‘cocked’, ‘poised’ and ‘grenades’. The words ‘coarse croaking’ sound abrasive and unpleasant, and they form a ‘bass chorus’. Again the proliferation of ‘o’ sounds combined with the harsh ‘c’ shows that this is eerie and grating on the child’s nerves.

Again he makes use of graphic visual imagery as we can almost feel the pulse in the toad’s neck in the simile Tike sails’. He continues to use language that a child would find entertaining, and it reads in part almost like a cartoon with the onomatopoeic ‘slap’ and ‘plop’, except where they are juxtaposed beside the words ‘obscene threat’. This should be a spectacle to a child, but is instead frightening because of the number of toads and their perceived indignation at the human intrusion.

Like in the first stanza, his use of run-on lines and caesura pauses seems to slow the verse down, as though the child is rooted to the spot, taking it all in. The hyperbole of the line the ‘great slime kings’ could sound humorous, but placed immediately after ‘I sickened, turned, and ran’ we feel the child’s terror. This is confirmed in the final lines when he states with certainty: ‘I knew/That if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it.’ Once more the line is sharp with monosyllabic words.

The whole poem could be seen as a metaphor for growing up, laden with imagery. We sense a child’s revulsion as he discovers the facts of life and his ensuing loss of innocence. He will never feel the same about the countryside after this encounter.

Death of Naturalist Poem Theme

Seamus Heaney’s one of the most celebrated poems, “Death of a Naturalist” talks about the innocence of the speaker’s childhood and his experience of becoming more aware of the life in the flax-dam. In the first part of the poem, we see the speaker reflects on his childhood habit of taking frog spawn from the flax-dam and reflects on how Miss Walls, presumably a teacher, taught the speaker and his classmates about frogs; though the speaker does not quote her, his language morphs to echo how she would speak to the children, referring to male and female frogs as “daddy” and “mammy” frogs.

In the second part of the poem, the speaker has a new experience in the flax-dam, and his perception of his own actions shifts. He now sees the frogs as “angry” who have “invaded” the flax-dam, where they are usually absent. They croak loudly and threateningly. The speaker feels sick and afraid, and he runs away from the scene. Through this poem, the poet makes us realize that the childhood do not last for eternity. Whenever a child starts to become mature, he or she loses his innocence and thus never feels the same.

Death of Naturalist Poem Word Meaning

Festered — If a cut or other injury festers, it becomes infected and produces pus
Weighted — Prepared and arranged in a way that is likely to produce a particular effect,usually an advantage, rather than any other
Sods — Something or someone considered unpleasant or difficult
Gargle — To move a liquid around in your throat without swallowing, especially to clean it or stop it feeling painful
Delicately — carefully, in order to avoid causing physical damage
Gauze — A very thin, light cloth, used to make clothing, to cover cuts and to separate solids from liquids, etc.
Dragonfly — A large insect with a long, thin, brightly coloured body and two pairs of transparent wings
Slobber — To allow saliva or food to run out of the mouth
Frogspawn — A close group of frog’s eggs, each egg being a small almost transparent ball with a black grain near its centre
Clotted — A thick mass of coagulated liquid,especially blood, or of material stuck together
Spring — The season of the year between winter and summer, lasting from March to June north of the equator, and from September to December south of the equator, when the weather becomes warmer, leaves and plants start to grow again and flower sappear
Nimble — Quick and exact either in movement or thoughts
Tadpole — A small, black creature with a large head and longtail that lives in water and develops into a frog or toad
Invaded — To enter a country by force with large numbers of soldiers in order to take possession of it
Coarse — Rough and not smooth or soft, or not in very small pieces.
Obscene — Offensive, rude, or shocking.
Grenades — A small bomb thrown by hand or shot from a gun
Slime — An unpleasantly thick and slippery liquid substance
Vengeance — The punishing of someone for harming you or your friends or family, or the wish for such punishment to happen
Spawn — The eggs of fish, frogs, etc
Clutch — To take or try to take hold of something tightly, usually in fear, worry, or pain
Ducked — To move your head or the top part of your body quickly down, especially to avoid being hit.
Hedges — A line of bushes or small trees planted very close together. especially along the edge of a garden, field, or road
Bass chorus — Low-toned sound of group song
Blue bottles — A big fly with a dark blue shiny body

Death of Naturalist Poem Critical Appreciation

The poem, “Death of a Naturalist” is one of the most celebrated poems of Seamus Heaney. Here, The first stanza describes the flax in the flax-dam, or a hole where the flax would be placed to ferment, creating raw material for linen. The language used in the first stanza suggests that the speaker is embellishing his memories, for his descriptions are vivid and visceral.

The first several lines lean heavily into images of fermenting matter. The speaker uses words such as “fester” and “rotting” to describe the scene; the flax-dam appears to seethe with life, but that life is generated by the flax’s decay. The first stanza also uses language to convey the speaker’s childlike mindset. The description of the “dragonflies, spotted butterflies,” and the “warm thick slobber” at the flax-dam all evoke a warm innocence, as does the description of Miss Walls’s lesson.

Toward the end of the first stanza, the speaker says, “Miss Walls would tell us how/The daddy frog was called a bullfrog/And how he croaked and how the mammy frog/Laid hundreds of little eggs and this was/Frogspawn.” The breathlessness of this long sentence mimics the way a child would speak. Though the “I” does not appear until about halfway through the first stanza, the presence of a specific perspective is clearly implied by the specific location mentioned, as well as lines that indicate an opinion such as, “But best of all was the thick warm slobber…”

The second stanza is shorter and colder than the first; its length and tone parallel the speaker’s emergence into a more sombre and thoughtful phase of his life. The language used strips away the wonderment of the first stanza, leaving behind a less nostalgic, more cynical portrait of the flax- dam. Though the rotting flax is mentioned in the first stanza, it is quickly swallowed by beautiful images of the bubbling water, the insects and butterflies, and the hot sun. In this stanza, the speaker flatly says, “Then one hot day when fields were rank/With cowdung in the grass the angry frogs/ Invaded the flax-dam,” excluding the more alluring details.

In this stanza, the frogs are threatening to the speaker. He hears intent to harm in the “bass chorus” of their croaking and sees it in their movement. They disgust him as nothing so far in the poem has; he describes their bellies as “gross”, compares them to “mud grenades”, and describes the “farting” of their heads. He says of himself, “I sickened, turned, and ran.”

Yet it is not mere disgust that makes him flee. The inclusion of the lines about Miss Walls indicates that learning more about the frogs and the source of the frogspawn has influenced the speaker’s attitude. The final lines make this even clearer. The speaker says, “The great slime kings/Were gathered there for vengeance and I knew/ That if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it.”

By mentioning vengeance, the speaker shows that he relates this scene back to his prior actions of stealing the frogspawn. By specifically saying that the frogspawn would clutch his hand, instead of perhaps imagining how the grown frogs would attack him, the speaker shows that not only has his attitude toward the frogspawn changed, but he imagines its attitude toward him has changed as well; they have lost trust in one another. This indicates that for the speaker as a child, this moment is a distillation of his growing maturity; he has begun to understand that his actions have consequences, and that, however innocent his intentions, his actions can harm others.

Death of Naturalist Poem Style

This poem is constructed with two uneven stanzas that contain different messages. The longer stanza shows a child’s innocent mind, which eventually gets destroyed in the second stanza, where we see the child at the brim of becoming a matured person. In this poem we can witness the use of blank verse and unrhymed pentameter. The poet has used several figures of speeches like similes (“like clotted water” etc.), metaphors (“fattening dots” etc.), onomatopoeia, alliteration (“To a coarse croaking” etc.) and assonance to add richness to this poem.

Death of Naturalist Poem MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
What does the speaker take from the flax-dam?
a. Several eggs of the frogs
b. A clump of rotting flax
c. Larvae of the dragonflies
d. Frogspawn
Answer:
d. Frogspawn

Question 2.
What does the character Miss Walls do in the poem?
a. She describes the life of the frogs
b. She rescues the speaker from the bullfrogs
c. She punishes the speaker for bringing tadpoles to class
d. She pushes the speaker into the flax-dam
Answer:
a. She describes the life of the frogs

Question 3.
Who or what invades the flax-dam?
a. The British army
b. The tadpoles
c. The frogs
d. The dragonflies
Answer:
c. The frogs

Question 4.
Who are “the great slime kings?”
a. The frogs
b. The speaker and his friends
c. The speaker’s parents
d. The teachers at school
Answer:
a. The frogs

Question 5.
What does “the thick warm slobber” refer to?
a. The saliva of the speaker’s childhood dog
b. The rotting flax
c. The frogspawns
d. None of these
Answer:
c. The frogspawns

Question 6.
“Daily it sweltered in the ____ sun. What is the missing word?
a. Scorching
b. Glittering
c. Bright
d. Punishing
Answer:
d. Punishing

Question 7.
Who is called a bullfrog?
a. A bull
b. A cat
c.Tadpoles
d. The daddy frog
Answer:
d. The daddy frog

Question 8.
Where does the speaker keep the frogspawns?
a. Under his bed
b. At school
e. At home
d. None of the above
Answer:
d. None of the above

Question 9.
What does the speaker niake ampotfuls” or?
a. Frogspawns
b. Clotted water
c. Jam
d. Butterflies
Answer:
a. Frogspawns

Question 10.
What is described as “growing…In the shade of the banks”?
a. The tadpoles
b. The flax
c. The frogspawns
d. The hedges
Answer:
c. The frogspawns

Question 11.
In which year Seamus Heaney was born?
a. 1939
b. 1919
c. 1929
d. 1920
Answer:
a. 1939

Question 12.
What happens at the end of the poem?
a. The speaker runs away from the flax-dam
b. The speaker dips his hand into the flax-darn, and it clutches him
c. The speaker returns the tadpoles to the flax-dam
d. The speaker is attacked by the frogs
Answer:
a. The speaker runs away from the flax-dam

Question 13.
How does the speaker feel at the end of the poem?
a. Apprehensive and curious
b. Ecstatic and invigorated
c. Disgusted and afraid
d. Shaken and exhausted
Answer:
c. Disgusted and afraid

Question 14.
What produces the “bass chorus” that the speaker mentions?
a. The frogspawns
b. The bullfrogs
c. The dragonflies
d. Children
Answer:
b. The bullfrogs

Question 15.
In which year Seamus Heaney got Nobel Prize?
a. 1985
b. 1980
c. 1982
d. 1995
Answer:
d. 1995

Question 16.
In which year was Seamus Heaney died?
a. 2010
c. 2009
c. 2013
d. 2014
Answer:
c. 2009

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 3 Sonnet-116

June 26, 2023June 14, 2023 by Prasanna

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 3 Sonnet-116

Sonnet-116 Poem Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
What symbolism is used in Sonnet 116?
Answer:
A symbol is created when something has both literal and figurative meaning. A metaphor, on the other hand, has only figurative meaning, and it compares two unalike things. In this sonnet, speaker says that love, real love, is an “ever-fixed mark / that looks on tempests and is never shaken.” He compares love to a lighthouse, an object that stays put and guides ships through storms and does not move, via a metaphor.

Next, he says that love is “the star to every wandering barks,” again using a metaphor, to compare love to the North Star, which seems never to move in the skies, so ships can use it to navigate. The speaker also uses a lot of personification in the poem, the attribution of human qualities to things that are not human. For example, both “Love” and “Time” are given intention; Love is described as not being “Time’s fool,” and both Love and Time are gendered as male.

Question 2.
Critically analyse “Sonnet 116.”
Answer:
‘Sonnet 116’ has its own richness with a deeply meaningful inside. The first 126 sonnets of Shakespeare are addressed to a young man, with whom the poet or speaker is emotionally bound. The rest of the sonnets are addressed to the “Dark Lady”.

When we go through the poem, we can understand that Love is the most important theme of ‘Sonnet 116’. The poet glorifies the meaning of true love, which can overcome all obstacles and thus remain unchanged even in the course of time.

This sonnet starts with the reference to the Christian marriage service and its accompanying ceremonies. In this poem, the poet talks about the union of true minds. The poet makes the distinction between true love and unfaithful love. According to him, love is not a love that alters under changed circumstances. True love never changes, except though one of the lovers becomes unfaithful to another.

In this poem, Shakespeare uses two metaphors to bring out the permanence of true love. First, the poet says that love is an ever-fixed mark, a lighthouse that always guide us in storms but never shakes. Next, he says that love is the pole star that guides every wandering ship in the ocean. Its value is unknown when its height is calculated.

In the third quatrain, the poet reveals the ravages of time. Time being personified as a reaper who carries the sickle with which he cuts man’s life, looks, and possessions. Time will ruin the pink lips and the cheeks, but true love does not depend on physical beauty as it is everlasting, even with the passage of time. Until the end of the world, it will remain the same.

It’s constant and permanent, and nothing will change it. The last two lines strongly support the poet’s assertion that true love is constant and permanent. If someone proves that this assertion is false, then the poet claims adamantly that he never wrote any poetry, and no man has ever known true love.

Question 3.
“Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks…man ever loved.”— Explain these lines in your own words.
Answer:
Here, we should notice on the capitalized “Time.” Actually, Shakespeare personifies time as a person here giving an impress on death. He says that love is not the fool of time. One’s rosy lips and cheeks will certainly pale with age, as “his bending sickle’s compass come.” Shakespeare’s diction is important here, particularly with his use of the word “sickle.”

Through these lines the inevitability of death is portrayed. We are assured here that death will certainly come, but that will not stop love. It may kill the mortals, but the love itself is eternal. True love always persists, the passing of time does not affect it’s purity. This thought is continued in lines eleven and twelve, the final two lines of the third quatrain.

Shakespeare uses lines thirteen and fourteen, the final couplet of Sonnet 116, to assert just how truly he believes that love is everlasting and conquers all. In this part of Sonnet 116, Shakespeare is telling his readers that if someone proves, he is wrong about love, then he never wrote the following words, and no man ever loved.

He conveys here that if his words are untrue, nothing else would exist. The words he just wrote would have never been written, and no man would have ever loved before. His adamant nature is clearly shown here about this matter, and his tough words are what strengthen the sonnet itself. The speaker and poet himself are convinced that love is real, true, and everlasting.

Question 4.
“O no, it is an ever-fixed mark..”- Explain this with reference to the context.
Answer:
Here, Shakespeare tells his readers more confidently about the everlasting nature of true love. The poet asserts that it is like a lighthouse that guides people through its beam. Again, it can be argued here that Shakespeare decides to personify love since it is something that is intangible and not something that can be defeated by something tangible, such as a storm.

Shakespeare, describing the nature of true love through these lines uses the metaphor of the North Star to add richness to the poem. To Shakespeare, love is the star that guides every bark, or ship, on the water, and while it is priceless, it can be measured. This a well-noted reference. Shakespeare concedes that love’s worth is not known, but he says it can be measured. Through these lines, perhaps the poet assumes that the readers will understand the different ways in which one can measure love: through time and actions.

Question 5.
Comment on the theme of the poem “Sonnet 116.”
Answer:
The main theme in William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” is true love and its everlasting nature. The poet here says that hue love unites two mind and it never changes with time. He talks about love in terms of marriage of true minds. Marriage,just like love, is a holy bond between two persons. It should be based oh mutual respect, trust, and honesty. Nothing can come between two minds if they are duly in love.

Then, the poet defines love in the first stanza. He explains that love will not be love if it changes or ends because of the change of situation or hardships in life. Love, therefore, should be steadfast, fixed, and Constantin the second stanza, the poet develops his definition of love.

He states that love should as solid and fixed as a rock or an oak tree that stands against tempests. Here tempests stand for hardships, ordeals and sufferings of life. It should enlighten the way of the people and guide them just like the North Star that guides the sailors in the dark sea.

In the third stanza, Shakespeare points out that love should be timeless or eternal to be precise. It should stay fixed in its position and strength. It should survive the test of time and grow stronger. As lovers grow older, the bond of love should become tighter.

To conclude, the poet illustrates the characteristics of true love in this sonnet. In his opinion, true love is the love that helps people to be happy and productive. It is very precious and loveable feeling. It should be permanent, timeless and self-contained. This is the type of love that one should maintain in his life.

Sonnet-116 Poem Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
What are the different aspects of love that the poet discusses in the sonnet?
Answer:
The poet distinguishes between true love and unfaithful love. Love is not love which alters under changed circumstances. True love is constant and permanent which never alters with time. Nothing can destroy it whereas unfaithful love always alters with time and does not stand a chance to fade away.

Question 2.
What is the style of writing the sonnet?
Answer:
The poem, “Sonnet 116” is a sonnet which is deeply meaningful. This sonnet is divided into three quatrains and ended with a couplet. The rhyming scheme of this poem is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. This poem strictly follows the style of iambic pentameter with stressed and unstressed syllables. To add richness to the poem, the poet had used various standard metaphors, alliteration and declamatory to state the very fact of the poem.

Question 3.
What does Shakespeare in his poem “Sonnetll6” refer to by the phrase “marriage of true minds”?
Answer:
By the phrase “marriage of true minds” Shakespeare in his poem “Sonnet 116” refers to two devoted minds that are in true love. Persons devoid of self-interest have true minds. Thus the ‘marriage’, means the union, of these two people who are completely and faithfully in love with each other.

Question 4.
How does Shakespeare use the image of Pole Star in his poem “Sonnet 116”?
Answer:
In his poem “Sonnet 116” Shakespeare uses the star to mean the Pole Star which remains forever in the same position in the northern sky. This star guides the off track ships to the proper track. Similarly ideal relationship guides those people who are baffled in the sea of life.

Question 5.
What does Shakespeare in his poem “Sonnet 116” means by the expression “Love’s not Time’s fool”?
Answer:
By the expression “Love’s not Time’s fool”, Shakespeare in his poem “Sonnet 116” means that true love never bends down in front of time. No matter how hard and ruthless the time’s “bending sickle” is, it cannot shake the intensity of true love. According to the poet, true love is eternal so it does not alter.

Question 6.
“If this be error and upon me proved/I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”- Comment.
Answer:
According to the poet, his ideologies about true love and its nature are absolutely correct and he is quiet adamant in proving his point. Throughout this sonnet, Shakespeare has discussed true love and its everlasting nature and at the end, ends it on a note of certainty. He says that if his ideologies are perceived to be wrong by any chance, it should be assumed with confidence that he was never written anything or no person in this earth has ever loved truly.

Question 7.
What type of love does the poet have in mind while writing this sonnet?
Answer:
In this sonnet, the poet William Shakespeare visualizes an ideal love that has no end. Shakespeare expresses that if two persons are truly in love with each other, then nothing can come in between them as their relationship would be beyond physical beauty and it will last for eternity.

The poet strictly discourages any false show of love and make the readers understand the value of true love. According to the poet, true love doesn’t change with time, it lasts

Sonnet-116 Poem Logic-Based Questions

Complete the following sentences by providing a REASON for each:

Question 1.
According to the poets “love I not level which alters” because_______
Answer:
True love never changes.

Question 2.
The poet strictly discourages the false show of love because _______
Answer:
It has no purity in it.

Question 3.
In this poem. the poet does not celebrates physical beauty because_____
Answer:
It fades out with the passing of time.

Question 4.
True love is compared with the Pole Star because ______
Answer:
It remains constant always.

Question 5.
“Love’s not Time’s fool” because ______
Answer:
It does not change with time.

Question 6.
Time has been personified in his sonnet as a reaper because ______
Answer:
It destroys every mortal things.

Question 7.
True love is compared with a lighthouse because
Answer:
Just like a lighthouse it guides us to the purity of heart.

Question 8.
True love should not be restricted to anything because
Answer:
It is eternal.

Question 9.
The poet has used several figures of speech in this poem because
Answer:
To add richness to the poem.

Question 10.
“Sonnet 116” can be considered as a typical example of Shakespearean sonnet because
Answer:
Ofits structure and form.

Sonnet-116 Poem About the Poet William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was a renowned English poet, playwright, and actor born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. His birthday is most commonly celebrated on 23 April. His father was a successful local businessman and his mother was the daughter of a landowner. Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist.

He is often called England’s national poet and nicknamed the Bard of Avon. He wrote about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

William Shakespeare would have lived with his family in their house on Henley Street until he turned eighteen. When he was eighteen, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was twenty-six. It was a rushed marriage because Anne was already pregnant at the time of the ceremony. Together they had three children. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born six months after the wedding and was later followed by twins Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died when he was just 11 years old.

But he is thought to have spent most of his time in London writing and performing in his plays. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer. Shakespeare’s career jump-started in London, but when did he go there? We know Shakespeare’s twins were baptised in 1585, and that by 1592 his reputation was established in London, but the intervening years are considered a mystery. Scholars generally refer to these years as ‘The Lost Years’.

During his time in London, Shakespeare’s first printed works were published. They were two long poems, ‘Venus and Adonis’ (1593) and ‘The Rape of Lucrece’ (1594). He also became a founding member of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a company of actors. Shakespeare was the company’s regular dramatist, producing on average two plays a year, for almost twenty years.

He remained with the company for the rest of his career, during which time it evolved into The King’s Men under the patronage of King James I (from 1603). During his time in the company Shakespeare wrote many of his most famous tragedies, such as King Lear and Macbeth, as well as great romances, like The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories and these works remain regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Shakespeare’s success in the London theatres made him considerably wealthy, and by 1597 he was able to purchase New Place, the largest house in the borough of Stratford- upon-Avon. Although his professional career was spent in London, he maintained close links with his native town.

Recent archaeological evidence discovered on the site of Shakespeare’s New Place shows that Shakespeare was only ever an intermittent lodger in London. This suggests he divided his time between Stratford and London (a two or three-day commute). In his later years, he may have spent more time in Stratford-upon-Avon than scholars previously thought.

Shakespeare’s plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed, and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world. Around 1613, at the age of 49, he retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare’s private life survive. He died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52. He died within a month of signing his will, a document which he begins by describing himself as being in “perfect health”.

Sonnet-116 About the Poem

Sonnet 116 is one of the most celebrated sonnets of Shakespeare that talks about the unchanging nature of human love. The definition of love that it provides is among the most often quoted and anthologized in the poetic canon. Essentially, this sonnet presents the extreme ideal of romantic love: it never changes, it never fades, it outlasts death and admits no flaw. What is more, it insists that this ideal is the only love that can be called “true”- and if love is considered as ever-changing, or non-permanent, then according to the poet, no man has everloved.

The basic division of this poem’s argument into the various parts of the sonnet form is extremely simple: the first quatrain says what love is not (changeable), the second quatrain says what it is (a fixed guiding star unshaken by tempests) and the third quatrain says more specifically what it is not (“time’s fool” – that is, subject to change in the passage of time), and the final couplet announces the speaker’s certainty. What gives this poem its rhetorical and emotional power is not its complexity but it’s force of linguistic and emotional conviction.

Sonnet-116 Poem in Detail

Sonnet 116 is one of the celebrated sonnets of Shakespeare where the poet talks about the importance of true love thus differentiating it from the false show of being in love. This sonnet is formed by following a perfect Shakespearean form with three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. It’s rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg.

The sonnet begins with “Let me not to the marriage of true minds/Admits impediments…”, which expresses that true love is the union of two minds completely devoted to each other. Shakespeare delineates the great qualities of true love. The poet has explained true love in a very free way. Expressing his faith in the power of true love, the poet says that there can be no obstacles in the union of true lovers. True love is everlasting, that is why never changes even when there is a chance of change. It does not submit to the power of its annihilator. In other words the poet declares its unparalleled quality of constancy and steadfastness. True love never submits to anybody.

The theme of the poem is fully developed by comparing the everlasting nature of true love to the sun and North star (Pole Star) which is to remain constant and guide the wandering ships in the uncharted ocean. In the same way true love also does not yield before the difficulties of life and guide lovers in their life. True love is permanent and fixed like the sun and the pole star in the universe.

According to Shakespeare, time is a universal destroyer which destroys everything but it has no effect on true love. He compares time to a farmer. A farmer reaps crops with his sickle. In the same way time destroys the physical beauty of a person. It can finish the rosy lips and cheeks of a lady. But true love is beyond physicality as love does not come in the range of time’s sickle.

It does not change with the passage of time. The depth of love, like full worth and potentialities of the pole star, can never be completely known. The North Star and ideal love are both beyond human estimation as they are too high to be measured. The love or the spiritual love is not at all affected by death, decay and destruction caused by the passage of time. Whereas it remains constant even to the dreadful day of judgment.

At the end of the poem, we see a strong determination of the poet in proving his point. Here, the poet makes a claim, asserting that if anybody can prove him wrong, he will admit that he is neither a poet nor has anybody ever loved in this world. This shows, how positive the poet is, when it comes to trust the power of true love. To conclude, it can be said that the theme of this sonnet has been beautifully and effectively developed. True love is constant, immortal and a source of guidance to the lovers in life.

Sonnet-116 Poem Line Wise Explanation

“Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments, love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.”

The poem begins with these deeply meaningful lines where Shakespeare uses the metaphor of marriage to compare it to true, real love. According to him, marriage is the result of two devoted minds completely in love with each other. Ho is saying that there is no reason why two people who truly love should not be together; nothing should stand in their way.

Perhaps he is speaking about his feelings for the unknown person to whom it is assumed that this sonnet is dedicated. Shakespeare further continued with his thought that true love conquers all. In these lines, the speaker expresses that if love changes with time, it is not true because true love never dies, or if someone tries to “remove” it, it won’t be. Love does not stop just because something is altered, it lasts forever.

“O no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.”

Here, Shakespeare tells his readers more confidently about the everlasting nature of true love. The poet asserts that it is like a lighthouse that guides people through its beam. Again, it can be argued here that Shakespeare decides to personify love since it is something that is intangible and not something that can be defeated by something tangible, such as a storm.

Shakespeare in these lines uses the metaphor of the North Star to add richness while discussing about true love. To Shakespeare, love is the star that guides every bark, or ship, on the water, and while it is priceless, it can be measured. This a well-noted reference. Shakespeare concedes that love’s worth is not known, but he says it can be measured. Through these lines, perhaps the poet assumes that the readers will understand the different ways in which one can measure love: through time and actions. With that thought, the second quatrain ends.

“Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come,
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom:
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.”

Here, we should notice on the capitalized “Time.” Actually, Shakespeare personifies time as a person here giving an impress on death. He says that love is not the fool of time. One’s rosy lips and cheeks will certainly pale with age, as “his bending sickle’s compass come.” Shakespeare’s diction is important here, particularly with his use of the word “sickle.”

He conveys here that if his words are untrue, nothing else would exist. The words he just wrote would have never been written, and no man would have ever loved before. His adamant nature is clearly shown hereabout this matter, and his tough words are what strengthen the sonnet itself. The speaker and poet himself are convinced that love is real, true, and everlasting.

Sonnet-116 Poem Theme

The main theme in William Shakespeare “Sonnet 116” is true love and its everlasting nature. The poet here says that true love unites two mind and it never changes with time. Thepoet begins by saying that one should not put obstacles in front of truelove. He talks about love in terms of marriage of true minds. Marriage, just like love, is a holy bond between two persons. It should be based on mutual respect, trust, and honesty.

Nothing can come between two minds if they are truly in love. Then, the poet defines love in the first stanza. He explains that love will not be love if it changes or ends because of the change of situation or hard ships in life. Love, therefore, should be steadfast, fixed, and constant. In the second stanza, the poet develops his definition of love. He states that love should as solid and fixed as a rock or an oak tree that stands against tempests. Here tempests stand for hardships, ordeals and sufferings of life.

It should enlighten the way of the people and guide them just like the North Star that guides the sailors in the dark sea. In the third stanza, Shakespeare points out that love should be timeless or eternal to be precise. It should stay fixed in its position and strength. It should survive the test of time and grow stronger. As lovers grow older, the bond of love should become tighter.

To conclude, the poet illustrates the characteristics of true love in this sonnet. In his opinion, true love is the love that helps people to be happy and productive. It is very precious and loveable feeling. It should be permanent, timeless and self- contained. This is the type of love that one should maintain in his life.

Sonnet-116 Poem Word Meaning

Marriage – A legally accepted relationship between two people in which they live together, or the official ceremony that results in this
Impediments – Something that makes progress, movement, or achieving something difficult or impossible
Alteration – To change something, usually slightly, or to cause the characteristics of something to change
Alters – To change something, usually slightly, or to cause the characteristics of something to change
Bears – To accept, tolerate, or endure something, especially something unpleasant
Doom – Death, destruction, or any very bad situation that cannot be avoided
Admits – Accepts
Tempests – Storms
Wand’ring – Roaming
Rosy – Red in colour, here, signifies youth and beauty
Sickle – An agricultural implement consisting of a curved metal blade
Brief – Small
Cheeks – The fleshy side of the face below the eye
Compass – To devise or contrive with craft or skill
Edge – Side
Doom – Destruction, death

Sonnet-116 Poem Critical Appreciation

Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, all dealing with the theme of love, time, beauty, friendship and mortality. Each of his sonnets is unique in its own way. ‘Sonnet 116’ has its own richness with a deeply meaningful inside. The first 126 sonnets of Shakespeare are addressed to a young man, with whom the poet or speaker is emotionally bound.

The rest of the sonnets are addressed to the “Dark Lady”. When we go through the poem, we can understand that Love is the most important theme of ‘Sonnet 116’. The poet glorifies the meaning of true love, which can overcome all obstacles and thus remain unchanged even in the course of time.

Sonnet-116 Poem Style

The poem, “Sonnet 116” is a sonnet which is deeply meaningful. This sonnet is divided into three quatrains and ended with a couplet. The rhyming scheme of this poem is abab, cdcd, efef, gg. This poem strictly follows the style of iambic pentameter with stressed and unstressed syllables.

To add richness to the poem, the poet had used various standard metaphors like- “Love’s not Time’s fool, though his height be taken/Within his bending sickle’s compass come”, “It is the star to every wand’ring bark,/Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken” etc.

In this poem, we can also witness the use of alliteration (“But bears it out even to the edge of the doom” etc.) and declamatory (“O no…” etc.) to state the very fact of the poem.

Sonnet-116 Poem MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
In which year was Vi1Iiam Shakespeare born?
a. 1588
b. 1564
c. 1616
d. 1600
Answer:
b. 1564

Question 2.
How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?
a. 152
b. 164
c. 154
d. 156
Answer:
c. 154

Question 3.
What does “Sonnet 116” talk about?
a. Ideal love
b. Ideal companionship
c. Ideal moments
d. Ideal friendship
Answer:
a. Ideal love

Question 4.
“Love’s not Time’s fool” What figure of speech is used here?
a. Metaphor
b. Personification
c. Alliteration
d. Allegory
Answer:
b. Personification

Question 5.
What is the theme of “Sonnet 116 ?
a. True love remains steady
b. Even the strongest love is temporary
c. Age and time alter love
d. Love change as life changes
Answer:
a. True love remains steady

Question 6.
According to the poet what is true love?
a. Mortal
b. Dishonest
c. Immortal
d. Corrupted
Answer:
c. Immortal

Question 7.
What is the rhyme scheme of the sonnet 116 ?
a. ABAB BCBC CDCD EE
b. ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
c. ABBAABBA CDCDCD
d. ABBAABBA CDECDE
Answer:
b. ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Question 8.
How many children did Shakespeare have?
a. Three
b. Two
c. Four
d. One
Answer:
a. Three

Question 9.
“It is the______to every wand’ ring bark”
a. Earth
b. Moon
c. Sun
d. Star
Answer:
d. Star

Question 10.
What does “tempests” suggest iii “Sonnet 116”?
a. Difficulties, obstacles a lover may face
b. A strong wind
c. A storm
d. Temptations
Answer:
a. Difficulties, obstacles a lover may face

Question 11.
Where did Shakespeare’s career start?
a. Norway
b. London
c. USA
d. Scotland
Answer:
b. London

Question 12.
When was Venus and Adoiiis”puhlished?
a. 1593
b. 1693
c. 1594
d. 1359
Answer:
a. 1593

Question 13.
When was “The Rape of published?
a. 1794
b. 1694
c. 1894
d. 1594
Answer:
d. 1594

Question 14.
Which star guides every bark”?
a. Orion
b. Canis Major
c. Pole Star
d. Sun
Answer:
c. Pole Star

Question 15.
How are the lips mentioned here?
a. pink
b. pale
c. rosy
b. dark
Answer:
c. rosy

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 2 Why I Like the Hospital

June 26, 2023June 14, 2023 by Prasanna

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 2 Why I Like the Hospital

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
In general, people do not like hospitals. But the poet expresses his liking For it. Why do you think he does that? Discuss.
Answer:
A hospital is a place with a depressing surrounding. People come here with several illnesses. Some get treated, some don’t and some even die there. So, there is no feel good vibe. But the poet expresses his liking for it because he is tired by seeing the materialistic world around him where people have become emotionless to survive.

People stop caring as they have become a machine. But things change when a person gets admitted to a hospital. This is the only place where people open their floodgates of emotions and thus feel all the pain, sadness and loneliness.

In hospitals, they understand how lonely they are as they have no one around to keep company. They have to face all the illnesses and the after-effects hopelessly. Asa hospital is the only place where people do feel, the poet says that he likes the hospitals, no matter how gloomy the surroundings are.

Question 2.
How does the poet use satire and humour in this poem? Discuss with reference to the context.
Answer:
In the poem, “Why I Like the Hospital” the poet expresses him liking for the hospitals because it is the only place where people do feel. They open their floodgates of emotions and thus feel all the pain, sadness and loneliness. In each stanza, the poet uses satire and humour to express his liking for the hospital. He humorously describes the ailments of the patients to mock at the human race.

The descriptions of the cancer-affected mother and her hesitation before telling her kid about her ailment, the bald girl with a missing breast or the old lady with her IV pole are actually horrifying but the poet presents these images before us like an amusing incident. While going through the poem, the loneliness of the patients and the helplessness of the terminal patient could not fail to tremble our heart in fear.

But the poet satirically says that he likes to witness all these because a hospital is the only place where people do not hesitate to express their feelings. The smell of the antiseptic, the biting cold air coming from the air-conditioner and the fresh flowers in the wastebasket add to the lifelessness of the hospital. Through satire and humour, the poet tries to make us understand the very fact of living. He wants us to live our life fully rather than spending our days in regret.

Question 3.
What is the theme of the poem “Why I Like the Hospital”?
Answer:
The very theme of this poem is to giving our feelings a chance to breathe freely which is a quite a difficult task is our modern world. People now have learnt to stifle their emotions and only express those in hospitals where they are left alone without anyone to hold their hands. Ironically, they are being praised for leaving their emotions.

The poet, through this poem has shown us some harsh realities of life and advises us to express our emotions without hesitation. The poet says that he likes visiting a hospital because only here, true emotions can be witnessed. This is also a place that shows how lonely a man is, nowadays. The poet wishes this scenario to be changed. Through this poem, by showing some grim realities, he wants us to value emotions.

Question 4.
Write in your own words, how does the poet describe the human sorrow and suffering in his poem “Why I Like the Hospital’’?
Answer:
In the poem “Why I Like the Hospital” the poet expresses the human sorrow and suffering, satirically. In this poem, we see a mother, having cancer, hesitates to tell her kids about her disease. A bald girl is also seen in a depressed mood gazing at the shunt placed “above her missing breast” and an old woman walking with an IV pole.

These images horrify the readers. The poet again portrays images of lonely, sick people looking for someone who would keep them company. Each sick person is compared with a lonely tree “wondering what happened to the forest.”

In this poem, there is a particular reference to a terminal patient who was “sobbing without shame” expressing his “overflowing bilge of helplessness and rage” as he did not have any hope left to be saved and he has no one to keep company, he was sympathising and talking to his own self. These shocking images show us how helpless a person could be. By satirising these grim realities, the poet wants to open our eyes so that we can understand the true meaning f living and value emotions.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
In the poem “Why I Like the Hospital”, why does the poet express his liking for the hospital?
Answer:
In the poem “Why I Like the Hospital” the poet says that the contemporary world made us totally emotionless and for this, we even get appreciated. People have become self-centred and materialistic. But in hospitals, true emotions can be seen.

There, people express their grief and realize how lonely they are. They feel helpless but they have no one to get them out of their situation. That is why the poet expresses his liking for the hospital as it is the only place where true emotions are expressed.

Question 2.
What are the things that the poet does not like in the hospital?
Answer:
The poet does not like the smell of the antiseptic or the biting cold air coming from the air-conditioner all night or even the fresh flowers in the wastebasket as these add to the gloominess and lifelessness of the hospital. These are also the signs of carelessness and antipathy that repel him. So he does not like these.

Question 3.
What hospital scenes are depicted in this poem?
Answer:
In this poem, a few hospital scenes are depicted which sadden the readers to a great extend. He portrays scenes of a cancer patient who is also a mother, has difficulty in deciding how to tell her kids about her illness.

There is a bald girl who is staring in depression at the tube that is fixed upon her missing breast. There is another old woman who is walking in great difficulty with her IV pole. The poet has also portrayed a number of sick persons who are helpless, lonely and eagerly waiting for company. These images show how pathetic a human life could be.

Question 4.
Describe the condition of the man mentioned in the stanza 6.
Ans.
In stanza 6 : we can see a patient wearing a lime- green dressing gown, bending over in a chair. He is not yelling at the doctors or pretending to be strong; he is just crying helplessly. He has no one to stand by his side.

He is afflicted with some deadly disease so he could not be saved. He is completely lonely in this world so he is consoling himself, listening to each word said and actually speaking to himself. By portraying this man, the poet actually shows the readers the harsh reality of today’s world.

Question 5.
Why was the terminal patient “sobbing without shame”?
Answer:
The terminal patient knew that no medication or surgery could save him from his illness. He was feeling helpless and he did not have anyone to console him. He did not even have a-wife to make a phone call. He was all alone in this earth and so he could not hold his emotions any longer.

Out of hopelessness, fear and anxiety he was “crying without shame”. He knew that he did not have much time left, so he did not care about what people would think.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Logic-Based Questions

Complete the following sentences by providing a REASON for each:

Question 1.
The mother with cancer is hesitating because ………..
Answer:
She could not decide how to tell her kids about her illness.

Question 2.
The bald girl is gazing downward in depression because ………..
Answer:
She has tube installed above her missing breast.

Question 3.
The poet does not like the smell of the antiseptic or the high air-conditioning because ………..
Answer:
These heighten the depression.

Question 4.
The poet does not like to see fresh flowers in a waste basket because ………..
Answer:
This is a sign of carelessness and antipathy.

Question 5.
Patients in a hospital have “forced intimacy of the ‘self with the self’ because ………..
Answer:
They have no near and dear ones who would stand by them or take care of them.

Question 6.
Each sick person is compared to a tree in a forest because ……………
Answer:
They are suffering from loneliness.

Question 7.
Another man in a lime-green dress is sobbing without shame because ………..
Answer:
He knows that he could not be saved.

Question 8.
The man is not yelling at the doctors because ………..
Answer:
He is feeling hopeless.

Question 9.
The man is holding “his own hand in sympathy” because………..
Answer:
He is completely alone is this world.

Question 10.
The man is telling himself everything because
Answer:
He has no one to talk to.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem About the Poet Tony Hoagland

Tony Hoagland was born on November 19,1953, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Tony Hoagland authored witty, poignant poems that comment on contemporary American life and culture. He attended Williams College, the University of Iowa, and the University of Arizona.

His books of poetry include Unincorporated Personas in the Late Honda Dynasty Graywolf Press; What Narcissism Means to Me, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; Donkey Gospel, which received the James Laughlin Award; and Sweet Ruin, chosen by Donald Justice for the 1992 Brittingham Prize in Poetry and winner of the Zacharis Award from Emerson College.

Hoagland’s other honors and awards include two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a fellowship to the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, the O. B. Hardison Prize for Poetry and Teaching from the Folger Shakespeare Library, the 2008 Jackson Poetry Prize from Poets & Writers magazine, as well as the Poetry Foundation’s 2005 Mark Twain Award in recognition of his contribution to humor in American poetry.

In 2002, the American Academy of Arts and Letters praised the poet’s work with a citation stating, “Tony Hoagland’s imagination ranges thrillingly across manners, morals, sexual doings, kinds of speech both lyrical and candid, intimate as well as wild.” He taught at the University of Houston and Warren Wilson College. He died of pancreatic cancer on October 23,2018. His latest book of poems, Unincorporated Persons In the Late Honda Dynasty, was published by Graywolf Press in 2010.

Why I Like the Hospital About the Poem

The poem “Why I Like the Hospital” written by Tony Hoagland expresses some harsh realities of life. Our world has become a contemporary materialistic world with no liveliness. People have become emotionless and self- centred and so they cannot express their feelings to anyone, openly, especially the western people who are accustomed with choking their feelings even if it is their personal loss.

This eventually leads to loneliness and depression that result in physical and mental instability including Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, cardiac failure and so on. Therefore, sarcastically, it is in the hospital where there is no restriction of any kind to express pathos. Therefore, in this poem, we can see many heartbreaking pictures of pain and suffering in the hospital in a humorous way. The poem begins with a saying that the hospital is the only place where anyone can be in their bad mood and also can witness many scenes of sufferings.

In this poem, the poet expresses that he kind of likes the way people count their good and bad actions performed in their life. He also likes the way people wait for other people to show up and ask for their well-being. He also recalls his several other experiences at the hospital that are depicted in a very realistic manner. The poet’s liking for the hospital is actually a satire on the way of contemporary life that allows no show for emotions as they are tagged as weakness. This poem also satirises the society that leaves patients on their own when they were in great need for warmth and empathy.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem in Detail

This poem opens up suddenly with a satire, “Because it is all right to be in a bad mood there” that expresses the miserable life of the people nowadays. A gloomy mood is presented where the underground garage and the elevator with “other customers staring at the closed beige door like a prison wall” evoke the perfect mood of resentment. The poet says that the hospital is the only place that grants permission letting out the emotions.

It is the only place where a mother having cancer, could not decide how to tell her kids about her disease, a bald girl is seen in a depressed mood gazing at the shunt placed “above her missing breast” and an old woman walking with an IV pole. The poet says that he does not like the smell of the antiseptics, or the excessive cold air coming from the air- conditioner or even the fresh flowers thrown into the wastebasket.

But ironically he says that he likes some people seeing in the hospital “break out a notebook and invent a complex scoring system” to calculate their days on earth doing good and bad deeds. The poet also expresses his like in seeing lonely, sick people looking for someone who would keep them company.

Throughout the poem, though the poet has used a number of satires and humours to point out the poor condition of the humans, this final image of that dying person shows us a disturbing image of the contemporary society that has no feelings even for a dying person.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Line Wise Explanation

“Because it is all right to be in a bad mood there,
slouching along through the underground garage,
riding wordlessly on the elevator with the other customers,
staromg at the closed beige doors like a prison wall.”

These opening lines of this poem hints at the very theme of the poem. The poet says that it is all right to be in a bad mood in a hospital as here, no one would judge. A gloomy mood is presented here where the “other customers” in underground garage and the elevator stare at the closed door in the hospital as if they are entering a prison world.

“I like the hospital for the way it grants permission for pathos the mother with cancer deciding how to tell her kids,the bald girl gazing downwards at the shunt installed above her missing breast, the crone in her pajamas, walking with an IV pole”:

These lines tell us that the poet likes the hospital only because it allows a person to open his/hers floodgates of emotions. This is the only place that permits a person to express his sorrow, loss and pain without hesitation. The poet ironically tells here that he likes to watch the mother who is having cancer, having difficulty in deciding a way to tell her kids about her ailment. There is also the mention of the bald girl who is staring with sad eyes at the shunt installed above her missing breast. He also mentions an old woman who is walking in the hospital with her IV pole, to survive.

“I don’t like the smell of antiseptic,
or the air-conditioning set on high all night,
or the fresh flowers tossed into the wastebasket,
but I like the way some people on thier plastic chairs
break out a notebook and invent a complex scoring system
to tally up their days on earth,
the column on the left that says, Times I Acted Like a Fool,
facing the column on the right that says,
Times I Acted Like a Saint.

The narrator here tells his dislike about the smell of the anti-septic that is used in the hospital. He uses tells about his strong dislike for the excessive cold air coming from the air conditioner of the hospital and also the fresh flowers in the wastebasket as these are the signs of carelessness and antipathy. Again, the poet uses the image of a fool and a saint which are amusing and thought-provoking as well and through these images the poet expresses that it is only the hospital where a person is compelled to reflect over their own good or bad deeds.

“I like the long prairie of the waiting;
the forced intimacy of the self with the self;
each sick person standing in the middle of a field,
like a tree wondering what happened to the forest.”

Here, the poet shows us a picture of the sick and lonely persons who are waiting to be taken care of. But they have no one to keep them company and so their waiting is pointless as they are forced into loneliness. Each of the sick persons are compared with a lone tree, standing in the middle of a field wondering what could have happened with the forest.

“And once I saw a man in a lime-green dressing gown,
hunched over in a chair, a man who was not
yelling at the doctors, or pretending to be strong,
or making a murmured phone call to his wife,
but one sobbing without shame,
pumping it all out from the bottom of the self,
the overflowing bilge of helplessness and rage,
a man no longer expecting to be saved,

Here another image is shown. Here we can see a man in a lime-green dressing gown, “hunched over in a chair”. He is neither yelling at the doctors nor trying to be strong. He is not even making a phone call to his wife as he has not anyone to talk to. The man is actually crying “without shame” and expressing his innermost feelings through his tears. He is feeling helpless as he has no hope left for himself. He knows that he can’t be saved.

“but if you looked, you could see
that he was holding his own hand in sympathy,
listening to every single word,
and he was telling himself everything.”

The poet concludes by saying that as he has no one to whom he can depend, he is holding his own hand “in sympathy”. As he has none to talk to and express his feelings he is talking to himself. Through his poem, the poet expresses the harsh reality of today’s world where we are all alone to face our own need.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Theme

The very theme of this poem is to giving our feelings a chance to breathe freely which is a quite a difficult task is our modem world. People now have learnt to stifle their emotions and only express those in hospitals where they are left alone without anyone to hold their hands. Ironically, they are being praised for leaving their emotions.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Word Meaning

Slouching — To stand, sit, or walk with the shoulders hanging forward and the head bent slightly over so that you look tired and bored
Wordless — Without any words.
Elevator — A device like a box that moves up and down, carrying people or goods from one floor of a building to another or taking people up and down
Prison — A building where criminals are forced to live as a punishment.
Pathos — A quality that evokes pity or sadness.
Cancer — A serious disease that is caused when cells in the body grow in a way that is uncontrolled and not normal, killing normal cells and often causing death.
Gazing — To look at something or someone for a long time, especially in surprise or admiration, or because you are thinking about something else
Bald With little or no hair on the head Crone An unpleasant or ugly old woman.
Antiseptic — A chemical used for preventing infection in an injury, especially by killing bacteria Prairie ‘ A wide area of flat land without trees in Canada and the northern US.
Intimacy — A situation in which you have a close friendship or sexual relationship with someone.
Hunched — Leaning forward with your shoulders raised, or bending your back and shoulders into a rounded shape
Yelling — To shout something or make a loud noise, usually when you are angry, in pain, or excited.
Pretending — To behave as if something is true when you know that it is not, especially in order to deceive people or as a game
Murmured — To speak or say something very quietly
Sobbing — Noisy crying
Bilge — Nonsense
Rage — Violent uncontrollable anger
Sympathy — Feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Critical Appreciation

The poem “Why I Like the Hospital” written by Tony Hoagland is a thought-provoking poem. The poet has used humour and satire to mock the humans of the contemporary society. Nowadays, people are practically emotionless and for this they are praised. They have learnt to stifle their emotions as emotions are now considered as weakness.

At this, the poet mockingly says that he likes visiting hospitals as a hospital is the only place where people open the floodgates of their emotions. In a hospital, terrifying scenes can be seen. Sick people are seen in a hospital, sad, looking for company. They do not know what to do or how to overcome the situation. They are full of emotions but no one to take care of.

The poem is deeply meaningful with many humorous yet pathetic incidents are expressed. The disturbing images of loneliness and alienation of a lone sick person waiting for company or a patient sobbing helplessly as he knows that he cannot be saved are also heart-touching.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem Style

The poem “Why I Liked the Hospital” is divided into eight stanzas, containing four lines each. The poet has used simple language to express his point of view. The poet has used the enjambment technique to give a flow to this poem. His words and phrases are thought-provoking and bear rich meanings.

In this poem, we can witness the poet’s usage of imageries like, “the bald girl gazing downward at the shunt”.and similes like, “staring at the closed beige doors like a prison wall”. and metaphors like, “fresh flowers tossed into the wastebasket” that give richness to the poem. Moreover, it can be said that the style of writing this poem is lucid and unique.

Why I Like the Hospital Poem MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
Where is the garage located?
a. At underground
b. At rooftop
c. At an open ground
c. At a river bank
Answer:
a. At underground

Question 2.
Who is the narrator in this poem?
a. A sick man
b. A bald girl
c. The poet himself
d. the mother with cancer
Answer
c. The poet himself

Question 3.
With what are the beige doors compared?
a. Like a wall
b. Like a prison wall
c. Like a bed room wall
d. Like a bathroom wall
Answer:
b. Like a prison wall

Question 4.
Why 10es the poet like the liospital?
a. Because it grants permission for pathos
b. The food is very good there
c. The environment is cozy
d. People there are friendly
Answer:
a. Because it grants permission for pathos

Question 5.
Who is in lier pajamas?
a. The bald girl
b. The mother with cancer
c. The crone
d. None of them
Answer:
c. The crone

Question 6.
What does the poet flot like about hospital?
a. Smell of the antiseptic
b. air-conditioner set on high all night
c. The fresh flowers tossed into the wastebasket
d. All of these
Answer:
d. All of these

Question 7.
With what are sick persons compared?
a. A tree wondering what happened to the forest
b. Flowers in wastebaskets
c. Dead people
d. Saints
Answer:
a. A tree wondering what happened to the forest

Question 8.
What was the colour of the dressing gown?
a. Lime red
b. Lime green
c. Green
d. White
Answer:
b. Lime green

Question 9.
What for Hoagbnd’s poetry are knowiì?
a. The acerbic take on contemporary life
b. Wit
c. Straight talk
d. All of these
Answer:
d. All of these

Question 10.
Who wrote the poem “Why I Like the Hospital”?
a. Tony Hoagland
b. Rabindranath Tagore
c. William Shakespeare
d. William Wordsworth
Answer:
a. Tony Hoagland

Question 11.
Who has the cancer in the poem “Why I Like the Hospital”?
a. The kids
b. The narrator
c. The mother
d. The bald girl
Answer:
c. The mother

Question 12.
Who is sobbing without shame?
a. A terminal patient
b. The old lady
c. The mother
d. The kids
Answer:
a. A terminal patient

Question 13.
Why was the bold girl depressed?
a. Because she was ill
b. Because was in a hospital
c. Because she is in danger
d. Because she lost her breast
Answer:
d. Because she lost her breast

Question 14.
What is the full name of the poet?
a. Tony Hoagland
b. Anthony Dey Hoagland
c. Hoagland
d. None of these
Answer:
b. Anthony Dey Hoagland

Question 15.
In which year was Tony Hoagland died?
a. 2020
b. 2017
c. 2018
d. 2019
Answer:
c. 2018

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 1 Abhisara-The Tryst

June 26, 2023June 13, 2023 by Phani

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 1 Abhisara-The Tryst

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
“Woman, go on your way; When the time is ripe I will come to you.”- Explain these lines in your own words with reference to the context.
Answer:
On a dark night of August, when everyone was asleep, Upagupta, a young monk, was lying asleep : by the city wall of Mathura. Suddenly a woman’s feet touched his chest and he woke up, startled. In the dim light of the lamp that the woman was carrying, he saw her face. It was Vasavadatta, the beautiful dancing girl who was very proud of her beauty, youth and wealth.

Being the young ascetic lying in the dust, she asked him to come to her place to take rest. She was so proud of herself that she never thought he would reject her. But Upagupta was not at all tempted to accept her invitation.

Though she was extremely beautiful, yet he politely rejected her by saying that it was not a right time to come to her which meant that he was not willing to surrender his will to her flawless beauty. He was pure at heart so he did not want to drive away from his austerity. That is why he told her to go on her way, the time was inappropriate.

Question 2.
Comment on the use of imagery in the poem.
Answer:
In the poem, “Abhisara- the Tryst”, we can see an abundance of imageries that gave richness to the poem. The poem begins by showing a scene of an August night where Upagupta, the young ascetic was found lying asleep by the city wall of Mathura.

The darkness of the night is very well portrayed here. ’ The quietness around, the eerie atmosphere became) more appealing with the dim light of the lamp that Vasavadatta was holding. Vasavadatta’s dazzling jewelleries and elegant dress added richness to her grace.

Also, when she got rejected by Upagupta, the upcoming danger is very well portrayed with the lighting and the storm. Again, in the second part of the story, a picturesque April evening of the spring season is depicted where we can see trees full of blossoms. From afar, nice tunes of a flute where heard in the warm spring air and the town dwellers were seen enjoying the festival of flowers in the woods.

The beautiful images of the full moon and the love-sick koels are also noteworthy. This whole description paints a pictorial spring image to a reader when he/she goes through the lines. As the poem proceeds, a miserable lady is shown lying in the dust. Her body was full of sores of the small-pox and so she was left abandoned. Her miserable condition is a total contrast to the beauty of nature. These images, whether pleasant or grim, enhances the true beauty of the poem

Question 3.
How did Upagupta treat the miserable woman? Why did she call him “the merciful one”?
Answer:
In a spring evening, while Upagupta was walking in the street, he saw a woman was lying miserably as she had sores of the small-pox all over her body. She was abandoned as she was infected with a contagious disease. When Upagupta saw her, he took care of her by placing her forehead on his knees. He made him drink some water and even applied balm on her sores to soothe her body. He wanted to give her relief of pain.

The miserable woman was actually Vasavadatta who I used to be a beautiful dancer, proud of her beauty and youth. Everyone used to praise her beauty and I grace but when she needed help after getting affected by small-pox, she was left abandoned due to the fear of getting affected.

But Upagupta did not do so. He rather took care of her and tried to soothe her body to give her relief from pain. He did not think twice before helping her. He did not think of getting infected. He was just doing his duty. That is why, being awestruck, she called him “the merciful one.”

Question 4.
Compare and contrast the character of Upagupta and Vasavadatta.
Answer:
In the poem, “Abhisara- the Tryst”, we can see two completely different characters, Upagupta, who was an ascetic young man and Vasavadatta, a beautiful dancer. The sudden meeting of them, paved way to the climax of the story. At night, when Upagupta was lying asleep in the dusty road, Vasavadatta stumbled upon him and in this way they two met.

Upagupta, was an austere who did not blink to her beauty. Her youth, beauty, grace or wealth could not shake his personality. He even rejected her invitation to go to her place. His sternness made her intrigued. Though Vasavadatta was a proud lady, she kind of respected Upagupta’s true spirit. But in this sternness, a compassionate heart was also lying hidden that softened at the misery of Vasavadatta, who was now infected with small-pox.

He showed kindness to her and comforted her with compassion. Whereas witnessing the kindness, Vasavadatta was awestruckas she never expected such a great act from anyone. Thus her outlook and wealth got beaten by purity and kindness of mind. Though these two were totally different characters, yet they found each other in a difficult time.

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
How did Upagupta meet Vasavadatta?
Answer:
On a dark night of August, when everyone was sleeping, Upagupta was lying asleep in the dust by the city wall of Mathura. Suddenly, Vasavadutta’s feet, tinkling with anklets, touched his chest. This made him wake up, startled and saw her. In this way Upagupta met Vasavadatta.

Question 2.
Describe the appearance of Vasavadatta.
Answer:
Vasavadatta was a young and very beautiful girl who was very much proud of her beauty, youth and wealth. Vasavadatta was wearing a pale blue mantle. She was wearing anklets and her body was studded with jewels. She was carrying a lamp in her hand which enhanced her luscious appearance even more.

Question 3.
Briefly discuss the role of nature in the poem.
Answer:
In the poem, the nature plays a vital role. It reflects the very theme of the poem. At the beginning of the poem, the scenario of the month of August is depicted where the scene of the rainy season is portrayed that heightens the mood of the poem. “The storm growled from the comer of the sky” expresses the inner turmoil of the poem and the spring season mentioned in the poem gives a picturesque image that paves way to the climax of the poem.

Question 4.
Why did the poet show that youth and beauty never last long?
Answer:
Youth and beauty are transitory; they change with time and fade away eventually. The poet showed this very fact in his poem because he wanted to make us understand that the beauty of mind is everlasting. He wanted us to believe that kindness and compassion should be a person’s tme identity, not his outlook or appearance or social status. A person’s inner beauty is much appreciated than his/hers outlook.

Question 5.
How was the April- evening depicted in the poem?
Answer:
The April-evening was depicted picturesquely. As it was the spring time, the branches of the wayside trees were full of blossoms. From afar, sweet notes of a flute were coming and the citizens were many making by celebrating the festival of flowers in the woods.

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem Logic-Based Questions

Complete the following sentences by providing a REASON for each:

Question 1.
In the poem “Abhisara- the Tryst” lamps were all out and the doors were closed because______
Answer:
It was the night time and everyone was asleep.

Question 2.
Upagupta woke up from his sleep, startled because ______
Answer:
Feet of a woman touched his chest all of a sudden.

Question 3.
Vasavadatta was proud of her youth because
Answer:
She was very beautiful, gorgeous and also wealthy.

Question 4.
Vasavadatta invited Upagupa to her house because____________
Answer:
According to her, the dusty road was not a suitable place for him to sleep.

Question 5.
The young ascetic rejected her invitation because___________
Answer:
He was not provoked by her beauty and also he had a clean heart.

Question 6.
The woman shook in fear because _____________
Answer:
She was scared of the uncertain future.

Question 7.
The woman was driven out from her town because_________
Answer:
She had sores of small-pox all over her body which were contagious.

Question 8.
Upagupta took her head on his knees because___________
Answer:
He wanted to comfort her.

Question 9.
Upagupta applied haJm on her sores because _____
Answer:
He wanted to give her relief from pain.

Question 10.
Upagupta told Vasavadatta “the time, at last, has come to visit sores because_____
Answer:
She was helpless and needed attention and proper care.

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem About the Poet Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7th May 1861, in the Jorasanko mansion in Calcutta, India. Rabindranath Tagore belongs to a Royal family of that era, the loyalist “Prince” Dwarkanath Tagore, who employed European estate managers and visited with Victoria and other royalty, was his paternal grandfather. He was raised mostly by servants, as he lost his mother at a very early age, and his father mostly have official trips outside the city. In his childhood days, Rabindranath avoided classroom schooling.

At the age of only 8 years Tagore started poetry. And at the age of 16 years, he released his first substantial poems and after that, this process continues into uncountable poetry, music, stories writing. In 1890, Rabindranath Tagore began managing his vast ancestral estates in Shelaidaha. Here he released his first known work ‘Manasi poems’. For Gitanjali he was honored with a Nobel Prize in November 1913. The period from 1932 to 1941 was considered as his most productive years.

He was the man who rejuvenated Bengali music and literature in the late 19th and early 20th century and them their recognition into this world. He was the first nonEuropean to win Noble Prize for his work in Literature. He is the person who gave the national anthem of India and Bangladesh.

Rabindranath Tagore received his nickname “Gurudev”, out of respect by his pupils at his very unique and special school, which he established in Shantiniketan, called “Visva Bharati University” Santiniketan was developed and founded by the Tagore family. This little town was very close to Rabindranath Tagore.

During the last years of his life, Rabindranath Tagore was actively involved in Indian Nationalist movements. During these days he wrote “Chitto Jetha Bhayshunyo” (“Where the Mind is Without Fear”) and “Ekla Chalo Re”, these two were politically charged lines that gained mass appeal during the fight for Independence. Rabindranath Tagore took his last breath on 7 th August 1941.

Abhisara-The Tryst About the Poem

“Abhisara- the Tryst” is one of the remarkable creations of Rabindranath Tagore that talks about the fleeting nature of beauty and youth. This poem shows the readers the importance of being humble and spiritual. The poem shows two phases of life through the change of weather.

In the first part of the poem, we see a young girl named Vasavadatta, a dancing girl who meets a young ascetic named Upagupta. She is a beautiful and luscious girl who is hard to refuse. She invites Upagupta to get place but he politely refuses her beauty telling her that he will come to her when the time will be appropriate. The atmosphere is described here as dark and gloomy but when we look at the second part, we see the glimpses of the spring season. With the passing of time, monk Upagupta is again seen in the same city.

Once, he meets a woman who is suffering from sores of small pox and she is lying on the ground, unattended. She was also driven out from her town. Upagupta, feels sympathy for her, takes her head on his knees, moistens her lips with water and applies balm on her sores. When asked, he tells her that the appropriate time has come and he is the same person whom she met a long time ago. Thus, the poem ends on a blissful note that tells us that one should be compassionate throughout his life-span. Compassion is more valuable than youth and beauty that eventually fade out with time.

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem in Detail

The poem “Abhisara- the Tryst” was written by one of the most celebrated Bengali poets Rabindranath Tagore in 1899 and came out in a collection called “Katha O Kahini”, inspired by Rajendralal Mitra’s masterpiece “Sanskrit Buddhist Literature of Nepal.” In this poem, we see a Buddhist monk named Upagupta who was a disciple of Lord Buddha.

We also see here a very beautiful girl named Vasavadatta who is an incredible dancer. She was extremely proud of her youth, beauty and wealth whereas monk Upagupta was kind, wise, selfless and all the more, pure at heart. Once, Upagupta was sleeping on a dusty road in a dark night, by the city wall of Mathura. It was the month of August.

There was full of darkness without any light around and the atmosphere was very calm and quiet. People of Mathura were already in deep sleep when suddenly Upagupta woke up, startled. He saw Vasavadatta, a dancing girl who got stumbled over the body of Upagupta. The light coming from the woman’s lamp fell on the “forgiving eyes” of Upagupta.

He saw her, in front of him, shining with jewels, wearing a nice dress. It seemed she was extremely proud of her beauty and youth. She lowered her lamp, saw the young ascetic and got extremely intrigued by his austerity. She politely tells him to come to her place as “the dusty earth is not a fit bed” for him.

But Upagupta refused her invitation and told her “when the time is ripe I will come to you.” Suddenly the weather changed. The storm started blowing with a roaring sound and the woman shook in fear of some impending danger. Within a year, we see a different scenario.

It was the evening of a day in April and it was Springtime. The branches of the trees were full of beautiful blossoms and the environment around was pretty amazing. “Gay notes of a flute” was coming from far away and Upagupta was seen passing through the city gates again. He was seen standing on the base of the city.

wall that was made for security and protection. All of a sudden, he saw a woman lying on the dusty ground at his feet. She had sores of small-pox all over her body and so she had been driven away from her town to cease the spread of the disease through her. She looked miserable. Upagupta came near her, sat by her side, took her head on his knees and wetted her lips with water.

He also applied balm on her sores. When the woman asked him who he was, he replied that the appropriate time had come to visit her and so he was there. He addressed her Vasavdatta which enfolded that he had recognised the woman whom he had met some time back.

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem Line Wise Explanation

“Upagupta, the disciple of Buddha, lay asleep in
the dust by the city wall of Mathura.
Lamps were all out, doors were all shut, and stars
were all hidden by the murky sky of August.
Whose feet were those tinkling with anklets,
touching his breast of a sudden?
He woke up startled, and the light from a womans’s
lamp fell on his forgiving eyes.”:

Monk Upagupta, a disciple of Lord Buddha was lying asleep on a dusty street by the city wall of Mathura. Darkness prevailed everywhere as everyone was asleep, there were no lights around and the doors of the houses were all shut.

As it was the month of August, there were no stars in the sky as they were all hidden “by the murky sky.” Suddenly the ringing tune of anklets washeard. It was a dancing girl named Vasavadatta who appeared with a lamp in her hand there and tripped over Upagupta’s body. At this, Upagupta awoke abruptly and saw the beautiful dancer in front of him. He was surprised to see her.
“It was Vasavadatta the dancing girl, starred with jewels.

Clouded with a pale blue mantle, drunk with the wine of her youth
She lowered her lamp and saw the young face, austerely beautiful.
‘Forgive me, young ascetic,’ said the woman,
‘Graciously come to my house. The dusty earth is not a fit bed for you’
The young ascetic answered, ‘Woman, go on your way;
When the time is ripe I will come to you.”

Vasavadatta was an exquisite beauty and a vibrant youth.Her body was studded with jewels and she was wearing a blue dress. She was extremely proud of her beauty and her youth. She noticed Upagupta in the light of her lamp and got extremely intrigued by his austerity. She asked his forgiveness for tripping over him and graciously told him not to sleep on the dusty street but to come to her house. But he politely rejected her by saying “When the time is ripe I will come to you.”

Suddenly the black night showed its teeth in a flash of lightning.
The storm growled from the corner of the sky, and the woman trembled in fear.
A year had not yet passed.
It was evening of a day in April, in the Spring.
The branches of the wayside trees were full of blossom.

Suddenly lightning struck in the darkness of the night and a violent storm appeared. The woman shook in fear and hurried home. Within a year, another scenario was described. It was an evening of April and the branches of the trees were full of blossoms, celebrating the season of autumn.
A year had not…lonely street.

The nature was full of colour and beauty and the environment was pleasing. Suddenly Upagupta was seen walking in the “lonely street”, passing through the gates of the city.

“While overhead…young ascetic.”He saw a woman was lying at his feet in “the shadow of the mango grove”, in the dusty street. Her body was full of the sores of the smallpox. She had been driven away from her town as she was diseased so that her poisonous contagion could be avoided.

Upagupta, came near her, sat by her side, took her head on his knees and wetted her lips with water. He also applied balm on her sores. When the woman asked him about his identity, he informed that the right time had come at last and he was there. Addressing her as Vasavadatta, he let her
know that he recognised her and also enfolded himself.

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem Theme

The poem “Abhisara – the Tryst” is one of the finest creations of Rabindranath Tagore that brings forth the very fact that beauty and youth is not eternal as they are going fade out with time. But a person’s kindness and compassion is everlasting that reflect a person’s humanity.

The dancing girl Vasavadatta who was very proud of her youth and beauty once, realized that these are not permanent when she was struck with an epidemic and was abandoned by everyone who had used to praise her, earlier. When she no longer remained beautiful due to the sores on her body, she got a warmth of compassion from Upagupta.

Thus the selfless service to humanity is also shown to the readers. Though Upagupta was not charmed by her beauty and rejected her invitation, he served her with empathy when she was in great need. He soothed her wounds and comforted her. This act of his kindness and generosity made Vasavadatta realise the true beauty of a person’s inner-self.

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem Word Meaning

Disciple — A person who believes in the ideas and principles of someone famous and tries to live the way that person does or did.
Tinkling — Make or cause to make a light, clear ringing sound.
Anklets — A chain or ring worn as jewellery around the ankle
Startled — Surprised and slightly frightened
Forgiving — Ready and willing to forgive
Austerely — In a way that is very simple or plain, without decoration or unnecessary details
Ascetic — Avoiding physical pleasures and living a simple life, often for religious reasons Graciously Politely and pleasantly
Dusty — Dry dirt in the form of powder that covers surfaces inside a building, or very small dry pieces of soil, sand, or other substances
Ripe — Completely developed and ready to be collected or eaten
Storm — An extreme weather condition with very strong wind, heavy rain, and often thunder and lightning
Growled — To make a low, rough sound, usually in anger
Trembled — To shake slightly in a way that you cannot control
Fear — An unpleasant emotion or thought that you have when you are frightened or worried by something dangerous, painful, or bad that is happening or might happen
Flute — A tube-shaped musical instrument with a hole that you blow across at one end while holding the tube out horizontally to one side
Woods — An area of land covered with a thick growth of trees
Gazed — To look at something or someone for a long time, especially in surprise or admiration, or because you are thinking about something else
Rampart — A large wall built round a town, castle, etc. to protect it
Grove — A group of trees planted close together
Poisonous — Very harmful and able to cause illness or death.

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem Critical Appreciation

The poem “Abhisara – the Tryst” highlights the superiority of compassion and kindness over youth and beauty. The poem is divided in two parts that portray two different seasons. The first part of the poem showed a scene set in the month of August, possibly it was the rainy season. Here, we see Upagupta who was a disciple of Lord Buddha. He was lying asleep in the dusty street of Mathura.

It was a dark night and everyone was asleep. Suddenly, a young and beautiful girl named Vasavadatta tripped over him. In the lamp light, her face looked tempting. She invited Upagupta at her house to take rest but Upagupta politely rejected her by saying “when the time is ripe I will come to you.” Her dazzling beauty could not tempt him. With the passing of time, Upagupta met her again, but the situation was a different that time. It was the season of spring when we can see Upagupta again, walking in the street of Mathura.

Suddenly he saw a woman lying in the dust outside the wall of Mathura. She was the victim of small¬pox and her body was full of sores. Upagupta comforted her and gave him some water and then applied balm on her sores. The awestruck woman when asked Upagupta who he was, he enfolded his identity by saying “The time, at last, has come to visit you, and I am here, Vasavadatta.”

Thus it was clear that the woman was actually Vasavadatta who was once a proud lady became a prey of fate and turned into a helpless person. In this poem, the poet had used darkness and light symbolically which though changed with the scenario, but the inner light of the holy person, Upagupta, never changed, no matter how changeable the outer world was.

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem Style

In this poem, the poet had used a lucid but traditional style of narrating the story. Though there was no such rhymed words, it depended on the perfect rhythm for its effect. Some imageries were also used in this poem like the merky August sky, the dark night, the fascinating dim light of Vasavadatta’s lamp, her dazzling jewellery, the flashing thunder and so on. These imageries can be considered as sensuous too.

The picturesque spring season is also depicted here. In this poem, the figure of speech like personification, alliteration and foreshadowing are also used to give enrichment to the poem. The inanimate things like ‘August’, ‘black night’, ‘time’ etc. are given life by using personification, the repetition of the consonant sounds are shown by using alliteration and the cues of the events of future are expressed by using foreshadowing. Thus, it can be said that the style of writing this poem is one of a kind.

Abhisara-The Tryst Poem MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
When was Rahindranath Tagore born?
a. 7 May 1861
b. 12 June 1858
c. 22 March 1865
d. 31 August 1871
Answer:
a. 7 May 1861

Question 2.
Where was Upagupta lyingasleep?
a. On the ground
b. On the footpath
c. In the dust
d. On the ice
Answer:
c. In the dust

Question 3.
Where does Upagupta live?
a. Kolkata
b. Mathura
c. Assam
d. Delhi
Answer:
b. Mathura

Question 4.
From where did the tinkling sound come?
a. From sky
b. From outside
c. From forest
d. From anklets of a woman
Answer:
d. From anklets of a woman

Question 5.
Who woke up, startled?
a. Upagupta
b. Buddha
c. Vasavadatta
d. None of them
Answer:
a. Upagupta

Question 6.
Who has the forgiving eyes?
a. Vasavadatta
b. Upagupta
c. The narrator
d. None of these
Answer:
b. Upagupta

Question 7.
Who was holding the lamp?
a. The narrator
b. Upagupta
c. Vasavadatta
d. the poet
Answer:
c. Vasavadatta

Question 8.
What was Vasavadatta’?
a. A singer
b. A house wife
c. An actor
d. A dancing girl
Answer:
d. A dancing girl

Question 9.
“Forgive me, young ascetic—Who said this?
a. a villager
b. Vasavadatta
c. Upagupta
d. none of these
Answer:
b. Vasavadatta

Question 10.
Who should not sleep on the dusty earth?
a. Vasavadatta
b. Upagupta
c. The town dwellers
d. The narrator
Answer:
b. Upagupta

Question 11.
“Woman, go on your way” — Who is the woman?
a. Vasavadatta
b. A miserable woman
c. Upagupta
d. A beggar
Answer:
a. Vasavadatta

Question 12.
Who showed its teeth?
a. The dancing girl
b. Upagupta
c. Black night
d. Sunny evening
Answer:
c. Black night

Question 13.
From where did the storm growl?
a. From the cloud
b. From the middle of the sky
c. From the sea
d. From the comer of the sky
Answer:
d. From the comer of the sky

Question 14.
Why has the citizens gone to the woods?
a. To see the dancing girl
b. To enjoy the festival of flowers
c. To enjoy the festival of colours
d. To look for something
Answer:
b. To enjoy the festival of flowers

Question 15.
“The young ascetic was walking in the ________street,”How was the street?
a. Crowded
b. Muddy
c. Lonely
d. Dangerous
Answer:
b. To enjoy the festival of flowers