Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 8 Beethoven

Beethoven Poem Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
Discuss the impact of Beethoven’s music and how it is described by the poet in reference to the poems.
Answer:
Beethoven was a genius. His music was unique and divine. The music of Beethoven hit the nervous system of the audience, like a fleet moving forward among firing cannon shells. Each and every smallest part of their bodies was hit by his music. His music overwhelmed them fully and they felt a pleasure. They had a sensation of divinity when they heard his music.

Each note of his would leave marks on each part of their body and make them yearn for one more such hit piece of music from him. For the music lovers, Beethoven became an addiction. These are the impact of Beethoven’s music on others. Beethoven’s musical scales were such as to take one to unprecedented heights like the heights of the Towers of Babylon.

The magic of his music was so divine that it could also turn the solar system into cymbals to crash together, causing comets to crash into one another. The sound of it is described so loud as to shake the constellations and make the stars begin to fall down. By hearing his music it seemed as if the whole universe had begun to cry. Thus the poet has used hyperbole to conceive the power and beauty of Beethoven’s music.

Question 2.
Why were the musicians confused about Beethoven? What did they have to admit?
Answer:
We know that Beethoven’s father was a very strict person and was never satisfied with Beethoven’s playing the piano. So as a boy Beethoven was always hit and abused by his father and whenever Beethoven played the piano, his father said it was “not good enough”.

This phrase haunted him and it left an indelible impression on his susceptible mind. So when later in his life, his symphonies were played by the other musicians he was never satisfied like his father and he too acted like his father. Whether the musicians played softly or slowly or loudly, according to him it was not good enough. This behaviour and the attitude of Beethoven irked the musicians.

So they tried to make fun of him by imitating his movements without playing any instrument. Beethoven thought that their notes were perfect as the deaf has an intimacy with silence. The musicians were confused. They did not know whether the man was mad or a genius. They could not decide what to call him and were baffled by the behaviour of Beethoven.

They realized that Beethoven’s musical scales were such as to touch the heights of the famous mythical Towers of Babylon, causing comets to collide, affecting even the heavenly constellations. The divine music of Beethoven was enough to cause confusion among the musicians, who ultimately deduced that the man “must be a genius.”

Beethoven Poem Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
How did Beethoven’s father treat him when he was a child?
Answer:
Beethoven’s father was a very stem and rigid person and he treated his son very harshly when he was a child. He was never satisfied with Beethoven, when he played the piano and if he failed to satisfy his father, he was badly treated and punished. His father beat him for even small mistakes.

Question 2.
What was Beethoven deprived of?
Answer:
Beethoven became deaf in his life and this was the biggest tragedy as auditory sensation is the biggest tool of a musician.

Question 3.
What do some of the parents do with their children in order to see them as geniuses?
Answer:
Some parents are so harsh and strict that they would brook no weaknesses or mistakes in their children. They expect their children to be perfect and want them to be geniuses. When they find their expectations fail and their dreams are shattered, either they beat their children as they lose their temper or in some cases, some parents even out of frustration start to drink.

Question 4.
How did the audience listen to his music?
Answer:
Beethoven’s music seemed to hit the nervous system of the audience, like a fleet moving forward among firing cannon shells. Each note of Beethoven seemed to leave track marks over every inch of their bodies, making them ache for again one more hit music of him. His music was unique and it also left the audiences with divine sensation. His music overpowered them fully and Beethoven became an addiction for the music lovers.

Question 5.
Beethoven was a self-respecting man. How does the poet prove the above line in the poem?
Answer:
Beethoven was an egotist and he was a very self – respecting man.In the poem Shane Koyczan says that Beethoven did not bow down before anyone not even before the king or the queen. This proves that Beethoven was a very egotist person.

Question 6.
Why did the other musicians made fun of him and how?
Answer:
When the other musicians played his symphonies on the orchestra, Beethoven was never satisfied. The musicians played slowly, but according to Beethoven it was not good enough. When they played softly, still it was not good enough, then they played strongly but the same phrase not good enough was repeated by Beethoven. So at last they copied his movements and made fun of him as they thought him to be mad at first. They held their bows above the strings without playing it and then it was perfect to him.

Beethoven Poem Logic Base Questions

Complete the following sentences by providing a REASON for each:

Question 1.
Beethoven was not happy at home because ………….
Answer:
He was physically and mentally abused by his father.

Question 2.
Beethoven’s father would often hit him because ………….
Answer:
He was never satisfied with Beethoven’s music.

Question 3.
Beethoven’s father was never satisfied with his music because ………….
Answer:
For him Beethoven was never perfect in playing piano. Whether he played softly or loudly, his father always found his music to be not good enough.

Question 4.
Beethoven never bowed down before anyone because ………….
Answer:
He was a very self-respecting and an egotist man.

Question 5.
The fingers of Beethoven turned as stiff as “gnarled roots of tree trunks” because ………….
Answer:
When his father being unsatisfied would ask him for more perfection, he would practice more and more until his fingers turned stiff and they ached.

Question 6.
The musicians copied Beethoven’s movements without playing the instrument because………….
Answer:
Beethoven was not satisfied with their playing of the orchestra. When they played his symphonies, Beethoven was not satisfied whether they played loudly or softly or slowly.

Question 7.
The audience who heard Beethoven’s music felt a pleasure of divinity because ………….
Answer:
His music was so enthralling and engrossing that it seemed that every part of their body reacted to it and they who heard it, would be overwhelmed completely.

Question 8.
He did not like the musician’s performance because ………….
Answer:
Everytime he heard them performing, his father’s words only haunted him and he was also unsatisfied and wanted them to perform more perfectly.

Question 9.
The other musicians became confused because ………….
Answer:
They also could not decide by Beethoven’s behaviour, whether he was a mad man or a genius.

Beethoven Poem About the Poet Alfred Lord Tennyson

Shane Koyczan,born 22 may 1976, is a Canadian poet and writer. He grew up in Penticton, British Columbia and received his education at Okanagan College. He is famous for writing about issues like bullying, cancer, death and eating disorders. His anti-bullying poem “To This Day” has over 25 million views on youtube.

He became the first Canadian to win the individual Championship title at the beach “National Poetry Slam.” He was a member of the group Tons Of Fun University. Koyczan has published several books including poetry collection Visiting Hours ‘Stuckboy, a novel in verse’, Our Deathbeds will be Thirsty’ etc. His ‘Visiting Hours’was selected as one of the Best Books of 2005 by the Guardian and Globe and Mail.

His autobiographical novel in verse Stick boy is being adapted for stage by Vancouver Opera. Koyczan performed his poem “ We Are More” at the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Shane Koyczan has received a BC Civil Liberties Award for the Arts.

Beethoven About the Poem

Ludwig Van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music. His composed works of classical music include dozens of symphonies, piano sonatas, string quartets, concertos and opera. He composes some of his most enduring works when he was losing his hearing power.

Through the poem “Beethoven” Shane Koyczan brings out Beethoven’s story. The poem “Beethoven” by Shane Koyczan is a descriptive poem that has used vivid imagery to explore the theme of love. Beethoven was unable to find love at home as he was treated badly by his father who perhaps wanted to see him as genius. He suffered from severe physical and emotional abuse.

Despite his best he would never received appreciation for his notes on piano. He remained in isolation as in his struggle to achieve excellence in his field he had no time or inclination to connect with others. So as a result the people began to misunderstand him.He was continuously laughed at and bullied because of his peculiar personality and madness. Musicians also wondered whether he was mad or genius, but they could not deny the fact that his music was something divine. Shane in his poem wants to highlight the story of Beethoven who had an exceptional ability to transform emotions into music.

Beethoven Poem in Summary

The poem “Beethoven” of Shane Koyczan starts with the word ‘Listen’. The poet by this word here means to say that the best way to know the man Beethoven is to listen to his music. He brings Beethoven’s story to life. The poet speaks how Beethoven’s father was a never satisfied man who expected Beethoven to create perfect notes.

So in his desperation to see Beethoven as a genius, he wanted Beethoven to be perfect and was not satisfied with him. Thus the poet says that Beethoven was unable to find love at home, and suffered from severe physical and emotional abuse. Beethoven as a young one had to hear that his music was” Not good enough”. His ears were pounded or bombarded by these words of his father.

Beethoven was a musician who was deprived of his eardrums, a musician’s precious tools. So he was not able to create proper rhythms for the symphonies that played in his mind. He was not even destined to hear the clapping of the audience, the love of the people and the whispering of the women sitting in the front row to hear his music.

But Beethoven was a genius as his music produced a divine sensation to the listeners. Beethoven’s music was a magical music in other words. He was like an addiction for the music lovers. Beethoven was a self-respecting and an egotist man. who didn’t bow before anyone even the King and the Queen.

He cut off the lees of his piano so that he could feel the vibrations of his tunes through the floor. So the man who did not get down on his kna anyone, got down on his knees for his music. He had solve or music.

Whenever the other musicians played his symphonies on the orchestra his father’s words “not good enough” haunted him. He could only hear the repeated words of his father. So he was also not satisfied with their playing, whether they played slowly or strongly.

Lastly they made fun of him by imitating his movements without playing any instruments and this was deemed to be perfect by Beethoven as he could hear nothing. The other musicians were baffled and could not understand whether Beethoven was mad or genius. They realized though, that his musical scales were such as to touch the heights of the famous mythical Towers of Babylon, causing the comets to collide, affecting even the heavenly solar system.

The music of him created such a loud crescendos that even shook the constellation until the stars began to fall from the sky. This heavenly music of Beethoven was enough to create confusion among the other musicians who ultimately inferred that he “must be genius”.

Beethoven was a musician who could change human emotions into music. Each note of his music was such as if love and hate were dancing together in a waltz with perfection and beauty. In order to understand Beethoven, it is not necessary to know his history or read his biography, but just to listen to his music of divinity.

Beethoven Poem Line Wise Explanation

Listen.
His father made a habit out of hitting him.
See, some men drink, some nien yell, some men
hit their children.
This man did it all because I guess all men want
their boys to be geniuses.

In the opening lines of the poem, Shane Koyczan asks us to listen to Beethoven’s music. He asks us to listen to his music as through this, we will be able to enjoy it and understand the greatness of Beethoven’s music in which he was a genius. It is said that Beethoven’s father was accustomed to beat him. This habit of his father was out of a general parental desire where all the parents want to turn their Sons into geniuses.

Many fathers are found to lose their temper and beat their children or some fathers out of frustration begin to drink. All these are results of their expectations and when they fail to come up to their expectations, they behave with their children in this way. Beethoven’s father was also one such man.

Beethoven.
Little boy living in a house where a name meant nothing.
Living in a house where mercy had to be earned throught each
perfect note tumbling
up through the roof to tickle the toes of angels
who’s harps couldn’t hold
half the passion that was held in the hands of a
young boy who was hard of hearing.

The poet then says of Beethoven’s childhood. As a little boy, he lived in an austere household where name meant nothing. It was a house where mercy was shown to him only when he would strike notes perfect as could please the angels, whose harps even could not create such
passionate flotes as Beethoven as a young boy did on his piano.

In a simple way it can be said that Beethoven was expected to create perfect divine notes. in spite of his auditory deprivation.

Beethoven.
Who heard his father’s anthem every time he put
finger to ivory it was not good enough.
So he played slowly.
Not good enough.
So he played softly.
Not good enough.
So he played strongly.
Not good enough.
And when he could play no more and his fingers
cramped up like the gnarled roots
of tree trunks
it was NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Whenever Beethoven played on his piano, his father seemed to be unsatisfied, and would comment by the word “it was not good enough.” Whether Beethoven played softly or loudly. he was told the same thing that it was not good enough and so he was asked to practise more and hard. He practised more and finally got exhausted. His fingers through practice got extremely tired and turned as stiff as ‘gnarled roots of tree trunks,” but still that same words of his father used to bombard in his ears.

The poet has used the word ‘anthem’ to describe the words of his father. This criticism had its bad effect on the vulnerable and susceptible mind of a little boy. So Beethoven craved for love from his father, but instead he received only jarring words accompanied with violent beating at times.

Beethoven.
A musician without his most precious tool: his
eardrums
could no longer pound out rhythms for the
symphonies playing in his mind
He couldn’t hear the audience’s clapping
couldn’t hear the people loving him
couldn’t hear the women in the front row whispering

Beethoven was a musician who was deprived of hearing. We know that the sense of hearing is very important in a musician’s life because it is one of the most essential tools for music. So since he couldn’t hear, he was unable to produce proper rhythms for the symphonies that rang in
his mind. Not only this, he was also not destined to hear the clapping of the audience, the whispering of the women who sat in the front row to listen to his musical pieces.

Beethoven.
As they let the music invade their nervous system
like an Armada
marching through firing canon balls detonating
every molecule
in their body into exploisons of heavenly sensation
Each note leaving track marks over every inch of that body
making them ache for
one
more
hit.
He was an addiction.

Beethoven was a genius and his music seemed to hit the nervous system of the audience like a fleet moving forward among firing cannon shells. His music was so enthralling and engrossing that it seemed as if every smallest part of their body reacted to it and erupted into divine sensation.

They felt a pleasure of divinity as his music would overwhelm them completely. Each note of his would leave marks on each part of their bodies. This made them yearn for one more such hit piece of music from him and they would wait with eagerness. His music became an addiction
for the music lovers.

And kings, Queens, it didn’t matter
The man got down on his knees for no one,
but amputated the legs of his piano
so he could feel the vibrations through the floor
The man got down on his knees for music.

Beethoven was a very prestigious and self-esteemed person. He would not bow down before anyone, not even the kings and the queens. But for his music, he bowed and surrendered. He cut off the legs of his piano so that he could feel the vibrations of tunes, through the floor, because
he knew he couldn’t hear. To him music was everything for which he could also kneel down.

And when the orchestra played his symphonies it
was the echoes
of his father’s anthem repeating itself
like a broken record,
a broken record
It was not good enough
So they played slowly.
Not good enough.
So they played softly.
Not good enough.
So they played strongly
NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

So they tried to mock the man, make fun of the madness by mimicking the movements, holding their bows a quarter of an inch above the strings not making a sound it was perfect.

Beethoven felt lonely and he could not relate his emptiness and hollowness which he felt in his mind, His father’s words “not good enough” always seemed to haunt him everywhere. When the orchestra played his symphonies, he could only hear the words of his father, as if coming from a broken record.

Whether the musicians played slowly or strongly, Beethoven was never satisfied and the same words of his father rang through him. So they tried to mock Beethoven and make fun of his insanity by copying his movements by holding their bows above the strings but not making any sound. This seemed to be perfect, as ironically, he could hear nothing.

You see the deaf have an intimacy with silence.
It’s there in their dreams.
Atad the musicians turn to one another not knowing
what to make of the man trying to calculate the distance
between madness atad genius, realizing that
Beethoven’s mucical measurements
could take you the distances reaching past the
Towers of Babyloti,
turning solar systems into cymbals that crash together,
causing comets to collide, creating crescendos that were so loud
they shook the constellations until the stars began
to fall from the sky
and it looked like the entire universe had begun
to cry,
Distance must be an illusion.
The man MUST be a genius.

The deaf people are accustomed to silence and so silence rules in their dreams also. The other musicians by this attitude and behaviour of Beethoven would become astounded and confused and they could not decide whether he was mad or genius. They only knew how his musical
strain could carry one to exceptional heights like the heights of the Towers of Babylon. Here the height reached by his music is being compared to the height of the Towers of Babylon.

His music possessed so much magical power that it could also turn the solar system into cymbals to crash together, thus causing comets to crash into one another . The sound would be so loud that it even could shake the constellations and thus would make the stars to fall down.
It seemed that the whole universe had begun to cry. The poet has used exaggeration to describe Beethoven’s music.

He has used hyperbole to conceive the power and beauty of Beethoven’s music. It made the musicians think the distance between madness and genius to be an illusion. So they concluded that Beethoven “must be a genius”.

Beethoven.
His thoughts moving at the speed of sound.
Transforming emotion into music.
………………………
And for a moment it was like joy was a tangible thing,
like you could touch it.
Like for the first time we could watch love and hate
dance together in a waltz of such precision and
beauty
that we finally understood that history wasn’t important
To know the man
all we ever had to do was
Listen.

He was Beethoven, the genius, whose thoughts moved at the speed of sound. It was his music which had the power to transform human emotions to music. The pleasure imparted by his music was so tangible that one could touch it or feel it. His note of his music was as if like love and hate, dancing together in a waltz of perfection and beauty. in order to understand him, we need no history of his to be read, but just listen to his divine music.

Beethoven Poem Theme

The theme of the poem “Beethoven” is love and how while in a childhood stage. many children are abused physically and mentally and how this torment leaves an indelible impression in the minds of the children. So when he grows up also, the scar remains, and hurts him throughout his life. He fails to connect with others in the world and thus cannot enjoy life also.

This was what had happened with Beethoven who in spite of being so famous in his career, could never forget his father’s treatment towards him. It also tells us how a genius man and a mad man resemble each other. Like a mad man, a genius man also thinks and lives abnormally. Both of their sayings are incomprehensible to most people and so a genius cannot be accepted by everyone and geniuses do not get recognitions for their works during their life times.

Beethoven Poem Word Meaning

Hitting — beating
Yell — shout
Tumbling — faIling down
Tickle the toes — to excite pleasurably
Harps — kinds of musical instruments
Passion — strong feeling
Cramped up — got tired and ached
Gnarled — twisted
Symphonies — elaborate musical composition
Invade — conquer:attack
Detonating — exploding or causing to explode
Pound out — produce
Addiction — craving or dedication
Armada — a large fleet
Cannon balls — cannon shells
Amputated — severed or separated
Got down on knees — bowed or surrendered
Echoes — reverberation
Mock — ridicule or make fun of
Mimicking — imitating
Intimacy — closeness; togetherness
Cymbals — a musical instrument consisting of two round plates to make sound
Crash — strike
Collide — bump into
Crescendos — the loudest point reached in a gradually increasing sound
Illusion — halucination;delusion
Transforming — changing
Tangible — concrete
Waltz — a kind of dance
Precision — perfection

Beethoven Poem Critical Appreciation

The poem “Beethoven” is being introduced to us with the word ‘Listen’ which prepares the listeners or the readers for the subject matter. Again we see that the poem also concludes with the same word ‘listen.’ The word in its conclusion says that we need no history to know Beethoven, we only need to listen to Beethoven’s music to know him. Because the poem is about the geniusness of Beethoven’s compositions, the word ‘listen’ is very appropriate and provokes the audience to find beauty in the poem.

Then in the first stanza of the poem, the poet uses the word “hit’ and ‘yell’. These are the words that suggest abuse. He chose these words because they give a violent feeling. Then the repetition of the phrase ‘it was not good enough’ can be found in this poem.

This was what Beethoven was probably told when he did not play something correctly. This is the phrase that haunted Beethoven as his father was never satisfied with his music or the way it was played. Through imagery the poet showed more conflicts. An example “when his fingers cramped… trunks”/ He would play so much to the point that his fingers cramped up. It might have been that he did not play the song perfectly.

The poet also uses the name Beethoven a number of times to remind the readers of who is he talking about and “not good enough” each time getting louder and clearer to show the intensity of Beethoven’s father’s expectations.

The poet has used imagery, dictions, metaphors and allusion to show the life of Beethoven and the effect his music had on others. He uses vivid descriptions and visual imagery so that the audience could see, hear and feel what is being said.

For instance, the powerful attack of his music on our senses is compared to the one by an Armada that marches through exploding cannon shells smashing every part of our body. There are also other imagery like Beethoven’s musical measurements. Could take Babylon / turning solar to collide. So in all, we can say that the poem attracts our attention through carefully structured rhythm and repetition of key words.

Beethoven Poem Style

The poem “Beethoven” is a ‘spoken word’ for which it has got a strong sound effect. It is a descriptive poem and does not follow any traditional, regular rhythm scheme and stanzas. The poet here uses enjambment to create suspense and also to emphasize some key words as Living in a house…………

Perfect not tumbling
Up through ………………. harps
Couldn’t hold
Half the passion.

The poet uses repetition of words and phrases like-so he played slowly/not good enough, so he played softly/not good enough etc. Other than repetition there are also uses of alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia etc. Some of the uses of onomatopoeia are pound out rhythms, cymbals that crash together etc. The alliterations in the poem are ‘causing comets to collide’ (use of k sound), ‘habit of hitting him’ (use of h sound) etc.

Beethoven Poem MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
Beethoven’s father was …………..
a. hopeful
b. strict
c. polite
d. docile
Answer:
b. strict

Question 2.
What was ‘‘not good enough” according to Beethoven’s father?
a. Beethoven’s music
b. Beethoven’s attitude
c. Beethoven’s disobedience
d. none of the above
Answer:
a. Beethoven’s music

Question 3.
What kind of music did Beethoven create?
a. loud
b. slow
c. divine
d. folk
Answer:
c. divine

Question 4.
What was Beethoven deprived of ?
a. seeing
b. hearing
c. tasting
d. smelling
Answer:
b. hearing

Question 5.
Beethoven got down on his knees for …………..
a. king and the queen
b. father
c. music
d. none of the above
Answer:
c. music

Question 6.
Which word describes Beethoven the most …………..
a. foolish
b. clever
c. mad
d. genius
Answer:
d. genius

Question 7.
The musician made fun of him by …………..
a. laughing at him
b. ignoring his remarks
c. calling him mad
d. imitating his movements without playing on the instruments
Answer:
d. imitating his movements without playing on the instruments

Question 8.
The tired fingers of Beethoven through practice are described as …………..
a. gnarled roots
b. gnarled stems
c. gnarled tree trunks
d. none of the above
Answer:
a. gnarled roots

Question 9.
The word ‘ivory’ in the poem means …………..
a. harps
b. piano
c. cymbals
d. orchestra
Answer:
b. piano

Question 10.
What according to the poet is needed to know Beethoven?
a. by reading his biography
b. by listening to the audience
c. by listening to his music
d. by listening to the musicians
Answer:
c. by listening to his music

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers