Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 7 Tithonus

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Poem 7 Tithonus

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 7 Tithonus

Tithonus Poem Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
Who has made Tithonus immortal? What are its consequences and what does he long for?
Answer:
Tithonus was made immortal as a gift from the goddess of Dawn Eos, who was also attracted by his beauty and chose him as her lover. Tithonus being given a gift of immortality lives with Eos, his wife at the quiet limit of the world.

Since he has gained a power of eternal life, he does not die but confronted with old age and its attendant pains he meditates upon death and mortality. He mourns the fact that death cannot release him from his misery. His misery is his old age where he has become weak, wrinkled and crippled.

He has changed from a beautiful handsome man to a decrepit old man who has lost his youth and beauty. He was granted the life of eternity by the goddess of Dawn but he could not escape the ravages of time. The Hours or time has aged him and his youth and beauty faded away and thus he has been marred and left maimed. To him this boon which he was once granted has transferred into a curse.

Whenever he recollects his past, he compares them with his present miserable situation. Whenever he sees the human beings living in the world of which he was once a part, he feels like dying as he realizes that mortality can only put an end to his miserable life where he is existing as an old, crippled and weak man without eternal youth and beauty. So he desires to die so that he can be free from the fetters of immortality. Freedom is in his aspiration and he knows that it cannot be attained without death.

Question 2.
Describe the poem as a dramatic monologue.
Answer:
The poem “Tithonus” is a monologue of a single character . The prince of Troy and the lover of the goddess of dawn,Aurora, is found to speak here of his frustration and desperation even after enjoying the boon of immortality. Tithonus is found to speak of himself, with a part of his address, meant for his beloved Goddess Aurora. Hence we can say that the poem is a monologue.

A dramatic monologue is a poetical piece in the first person. In it, a character -a man or a woman is placed in a dramatic situation and made to give out his or her thought or feeling,under the incitement of that very situation.

The essence of the dramatic monologue lies in the situation in which the only
character is placed and in a tensed situation,speaks out. So we find here in the poem how Tithonus the Greek hero speaks of his existing state of his life. He enjoys eternal life but with infirmities and ailments of his old age, he is being pressed down with helplessness.

He feels exhausted and haunted by the hard truth of an external existence without youth, health or beauty and roams in utter desolation like a “white hair’d shadow”. So we find how he brings out the state of his mind, his sense of profound sorrow and desperation through his monologue. Frustration seeps deep into his heart and much sought old bliss has all turned into a terrible curse to him.

Death and not eternal life, is his choice now. Tennyson’s poem is a monologue as Tithonus speaks out of his acute agony and restlessness and then addresses hu=is lover Eos and asks her to release him from the boon of immortality. We find no speech of Eos in the whole poem. Tithonus is the only character who speaks in an uninterrupted flow. ,

Question 3.
Compare the feelings of Tithonus towards immortality in his youth and in his old age.
Answer:
Death takes man into a world from where he cannot return but immortality has brought Tithonus far away from the world of men, too far to retrace his steps. This poem Tithonus is based on Greek mythology where we find Aurora the goddess of dawn, falling in love with Tithonus for his beauty. Tithonus asked Eos or Aurora for a boon of eternal life but unfortunately he did not ask for eternal youth.

He therefore grows old but does not die while Eos his wife also does not die and does not even grow old and possesses the same beauty or in other words she being a goddess has eternal life as well as eternal youth and beauty. While he was young, he was granted the boon of immortality by Eos his lover. When he received the boon, he thought himself to be the happiest man.

He was once a person “glorious in his beauty”. But since he is aged, weak and crippled now, he lost his youth and beauty. With the passage of time, he has grown old but Eos is externally young and beautiful as she is a goddess and possesses a life of eternity with eternal youth and beauty.

Compared to his wife, he is a completely a mismatch. The youthfulness and the beauty of Eos seem to be incongruous when compared to that of Tithonus. So he now yearns to free him from immortality and grant him his freedom through mortality. He is in a miserable wretched condition due to his old age and compares his present image to that of a ‘white hair’d shadow’ of the past.

Question 4.
Describe how the poet paints a picture of the journey of the goddess of dawn across the sky?
Answer:
The poet paints a beautiful picture of the goddess of dawn when she arrives or appears in the sky. Through the speech of Tithonus the poet describes how the goddess of dawn appears. When she arrives, the night disappears thus her arrival marks the end of the darkness of the night.

Tithonus looks at her beauty and says that as it dawns, the radiating sunbeams, and the red tinge of the sky look like her reddened cheeks. The brightening glare of the sunlight is being compared to the goddess’s brightened eyes.

The eyes dazzle so much that even the stars in the sky seem to disappear. The brightness of her eyes, make even the stars invisible. Tithonus looks at her beauty before which the shining stars get blinded into invisibility.

The white horses that pull her chariot yearn for the yoke, to start pulling her chariot again. As her chariot starts its journey across the sky, the horses seem to shake off the darkness of night from their manes. The whole sky glows with flakes of dazzling light. In other words when the goddess of dawn appears the dark sky changes into radiating sky, the radiance of which can even blind the stars.

Tithonus Poem Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
Who is Tithonus? What has he been granted and by whom and why?
Answer:
Tithonus is the lover of Aurora, the goddess of Dawn. He was a Trojan by birth and the son of the king of Troy, Laomedon. Tithonus was a man so glorious in his beauty that the goddess of Dawn, Aurora fell in love with him and raised him to the status of god by granting him the boon or gift of immortality when she was asked for. Tithonus asked the goddess for his immortality and Aurora granted it to him spontaneously and generously.

Question 2.
Why does Tithonus call the boon of immortality cruel?
Answer:
Tithonus calls the boon of immortality cruel because with the passage of time, he has grown old and his body has perished and he is not as beautiful and handsome as he once used to be. With his growing age his body also reacted and has become weak and shrivelled. So he realizes that a boon of eternal life has no value and is cruel, without a boon of eternal youth.

Question 3.
Where does Tithonus live and with whom and how?
Answer:
Tithonus’s dwelling place is with the goddess of Dawn.He is old and due to his old age he is withering within the arms of his beloved on the Eastern fringes of the sky and feeling sort of a wandering shadow of his past.

Question 4.
What are the images of the natural cycle of life and death in “Tithonus” ?
Answer:
In “Tithonus” Tennyson illustrates the natural cycle of birth and death through the images of the woods decaying, the vapours fading, the swans dying, the clouds, days and seasons passing and human beings working and going to their graves ultimately after their death.

Question 5.
What does the legend of Tithonus say about human nature?
Answer:
The poem of Tithonus tells us that human nature is prone to greed and dissatisfaction with life.What humans have been given with is never enough for them.So they crave and yearn for more without knowing their limitations.So like the hapless Tithonus we strive for superiority.

Question 6.
Give the description of the appearance of dawn on her chariot.
Answer:
In the poem,the poet paints a beautiful picture of Eos through the speech of Tithonus. In the poem,he says that just before sun rises, Tithonus catches signt of the ‘dark world’where he was born mortal and then he witnesses the approaching of the goddess of dawn.

He can see her cheeks which begin to turn red and her eyes grow so bright that they overpower the light of the stars. When Aurora’s chariot starts its journey driven by a team of horses, the twilight in the sky is being converted into glaring flakes of light. So he now says that she grows beautiful with the start of a new morning.

Question 7.
What similarity is mentioned between the grant of immortality to Tithonus and the way wealthy people give money to someone?
Answer:
Tithonus asked a boon of immortality from Eos the goddess of dawn. Aurora or Eos granted this boon to him generously and spontaneously like a rich philanthropist who has so much money that he gives away the money to ones who ask for it without thinking twice.

Question 8.
What is the significance of the title Tithonus?
Answer:
The poem deals with a poignant expression of the inevitability of death and the necessity of accepting it as such. Tithonus who was granted the gift of immortality had to bear the consequences of varying “from the kindly race of men”. Though he succeeded in defying death, his youth and beauty deserted him in his old age. The only way to overcome this, was to ask for his freedom from the life of eternity.

Tithonus Poem Logic Base Questions

Complete the following sentences by providing a REASON for each:

Question 1.
Tithonus calls immortality cruel because…………..
Answer:
He realizes that the immortality with which he has been gifted by the Goddess of Dawn, is a curse to him as he has grown old with the passage of time and his body has become wrinkled, weak and crippled due to old age.

Question 2.
Tithonus withers slowly but does not die because…………..
Answer:
He has been gifted by the boon of immortality by the Goddess of Dawn, Eos.

Question 3.
Eos the goddess of Dawn chose Tithonus as her lover because…………..
Answer:
She was attracted by Tithonus’s glorious beauty.

Question 4.
Tithonus compares the goddess with wealthy men because…………..
Answer:
The Goddess of Dawn had gifted Tithonus with the boon of immortality when she was asked for it by Tithonus and she gave this boon to him thoughtlessly and arrogantly in such a way as wealthy men give money without much thought.

Question 5.
A glimpse of the dark earth was visible to Tithonus from the sky because…………..
Answer:
The clouds were separated from one another by a soft blowing breeze.

Question 6.
The vapours weep their burden to the ground because…………..
Answer:
The air which carries the vapours or mists become heavy and fall on the ground unable to bear their burden or load.

Question 7.
The trees in the wood decay and fall because…………..
Answer:
It is the nature of the living creatures to decay and perish after a particular span of time.

Question 8.
Tithonus felt like God because…………..
Answer:
The goddess of Dawn was attracted by his beauty and chose him to be her lover and married him and Tithonus in the arms of the Goddess felt like god himself.

Question 9.
The goddess did not take back the boon of 1 immortality from Tithonus because…………..
Answer:
The gods and goddesses cannot take back the boon once granted to someone.

Question 10.
Tithonus calls the earthly people happy because…………..
Answer:
They have not been granted with the gift of immortality like Tithonus. So they will face death as they do not have to live lives of eternity with crippled and feeble bodies,like Tithonus.

Tithonus Poem About the Poet Alfred Lord Tennyson

Alfred Lord Tennyson was an English poet, who was the poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria’s reign. He was born on August 6,1809, in Somerby, Lincolnshire, England. He was awarded the Chancellor’s Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his first pieces, “Timbuktu” in 1829.

He published his first solo collection of poems “Poems, Chiefly Lyrical,” in 1830. His early poetry, with its medievalism and powerful visual imagery, was a major influence on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Tennyson excelled in short lyrics like “Break, Break, Break,” “The Charge of The Light Brigade,” “Tears, Idle Tears” and “Crossing The Bar.”

Much of his verse was based on classical mythological themes, such as Ulysses. He also wrote blank verses including “Idylis of The King,” “Ulysses” and “Tithonus.” Many of his phrases have become commonplace in English Language like “To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield,” “Knowledge comes but wisdom lingers”etc. He died in October 6, 1892.

Tithonus About the Poem

The poem “Tithonus” is written by the Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson,in the year 1833. It was originally written as “Tithon” and was completed in 1859. It first appeared in the Cornhill Magazine in 1860. It is based on the Greek Myth. According to the myth, Tithonus is the son of Laomedon upon whom the beautiful goddess Eos fell in love.

According to the myth, the Goddess granted Tithonus a boon of immortality and forgot to grant him eternal youth. This resulted in turning Tithonus into a helpless, weak, maimed and old person. Finally we find how Tithonus being unable to bear his weak, shrivelled, body due to his old age, requested the Goddess to free him from the boon of immortality and let him die like other human beings.

In the Greek mythology, Tithonus was transformed into a grasshopper but in this poem nothing like this has been produced. The poem concentrates on human limitations and the the problems that occur when natural cycle of existence is tampered with by human beings or by Gods.

Tithonus Poem in Summary

The poem “Tithonus” is based on an ancient Greek myth, where Aurora the goddess of dawn fell in love with Tithonus the son of King Laomedon, the king of Troy, and has gifted him with physical immortality. The first stanza of the poem opens with the speech of Tithonus speaking to his beloved, the goddess Eos (or Aurora).

Eos granted Tithonus physically immortality which is the actual reason for his despair and pain. He speaks of the woods in the forests growing old and their leaves falling to the ground. Man is born on the earth, works here and then faces death and is buried underground. The swan dies after few years. This is the usual and natural way by which every living creatures perish.

But Tithonus is cursed to live forever. Unlike all the other creatures of the world he is unable to die. He is lingering on in “cruel immortality.” While men and animals fade away, and death consumes them from the earth, yet he remains to wander on earth. He grew old, with passage of time and thus he lost his valour and strength.

His dwelling place is with the goddess of dawn in the Eastern region of the sky among the mists, but he is feeling like a wandering shadow as he is old withering in the arms of his beloved. Every morning he is compelled to see and observe Eos’s chariot taking her into the sky where Tithonus once adored her. So Tithonus, wails his gift and recalls his beauty in his youth and regrets for the gift of physical immortality instead of the youthful immortality.

He thinks how he was once a handsome man and how Eos had chosen him as her lover, and how Tithonus himself had asked her for his gift of immortality. He was given this gift as a wealthy man gives his wealth liberally to someone in need. But now the time has snatched his youthful looks and left him old, wrinkled and shrivelled. Thus he now craves and yearns to be free from the trance of love and requests his lover to take back the gift.

He now realizes how in vain, he had longed to be different from all mankind. Tithonus laments however, that the Hours, the goddesses who accompany Aurora were angry because Tithonus was able to resist death, so they took their revenge by battering him until he grew old and withered and was left maimed leading to a miserable painful life.

Now though he cannot die, he remains forever old and he must dwell in the presence of Aurora, who renews herself each morning and is thus young forever. Tithonus compares his present appearance to Eos’s beauty which she still possesses so he appeals to Aurora to take back the gift of immortality while the silver star of Venus rises in the morning. He realizes the ruin in longing to be different and unique from the rest of mankind and in living beyond the normal human lifespan.

Tithonus Poem Line Wise Explanation

The woods decay, the woods decay and fall,
The vapours weep their burthen to the ground,
Man comes and tills the field and lies beneath,
And after many a summer dies the swan.
Me only cruel immortality
Consumes: I wither slowly in thine arms,
Here at the quiet limit of the world,
A white-hair’d shadow roaming like a dream
The ever-lilent spaces of the East,
Far-folded mists, and gleaming halls of morn.

The poem is a dramatic monologue where the speaker is Tithonus. Tithonus was the prince of Troy who was gifted with immortality by the Goddess of Eos who fell in love with Tithonus. Having been maimed and aged beyond recognition by his longevity, Tithonus yearns and longs to be released from his endless life and find peace in death. In a very sorrowful mood, he addresses the Goddesses of Dawn.

He says that the trees perish and drop down on the earth, the drops of water also fall on the ground when the air carrying them becomes heavy with them. Humans are born, they come and work and then finally have to mingle with the dust of the earth, they have worked on. After living for some years, the swans also meet their death. But only for him, immortality has become cmel and he cannot bear it.

Old age is taking away his strength from his body while he is decaying in Eos’s amis. He appears like a shadow with white hairs. The region where he stays and wanders about is the Eastern region of the sky, which is covered with mists. He can see the light and shine of the early morning from a distance only.

These lines give us a very dismal picture of Tithonus’s existence. Through these lines he means to say that all the perishable things of nature are better and happier than him as they follow the natural cycle of birth and death. He realizes the importance of the end of life. Sd what he sees around him in the world, among the living creatures and natural elements ie the gift of mortality is being taken away from him which is actually not a boon but a curse to him.

Alas! for this gray shadow, once a man-
So glorious in his beatuty and thy choice,
Who madest him thy chosen, that he seem’d
To his great heart none other than a God!
I ask’d thee, ‘Give me immortality.’
Then didst thou grant mine asking with a smile,
Like weathy men, who care not how they give.

In these lines, Tithonus is seen lamenting of his once glorious and youthful looks which have now changed into a poor shadow of him. He recalls how he was once handsome, dynamic, vibrant and youthful. His looks were so handsome that Goddess Eos was attracted by it and chose him as her lover which made him the happiest man. He then had asked her to grant him the boon of ‘life of eternity.’ She granted him this, as rich people give money to someone without thinking much, thus indicating that even the Goddess did not think about the consequences of the boon.

She gave the boon without thinking what the consequences would be for the receiver of the gift. So here Tithonus regrets when he thinks that he has received eternal life without eternal youth. The consequence at present is that he has changed into an old man from a passionate young man while his wife is still young.

These lines also indicate the carelessness of Eos while granting Tithonus eternal life.She forgot to grant him eternal youth. Her granting of the boon also suggests that Eos behaved in rather an arrogant manner as her deed is compared to the rich people’s manner of giving money without much thought, when asked for.

But they strong Hours indignant work’d their wills,
And beat me down and marr’d and wasted me,
And tho’ they could not end me, left me maim’d
To dwell in presence of immortal youth,
Immortal age beside immortal youth,
And all I was, in ashes. Can thy love,

The Goddess of Dawn, granted Tithonus eternity but Time has taken its toll and made him weak, withered and old. As a result of the gift of immortality Tithonus does not face death. Instead he is crippled and is now a deformed old man.

He then compares his looks with that of his wife, the Goddess of Dawn, who is still young and possesses the youthful beauty. With the passage of time, his youth has passed away and he is now forced to live with his young and passionate wife, inspite of his old and withered body.

He speaks that this is the natural cycle where a person grows old with the passage of time. On the other hand, Gods enjoy eternal youth and do not become old, which implies that human beings cannot follow the ways of Gods. These lines also suggest how hapless men become before the on slaughts of time.

Thy beauty, make amends, tho’ even now,
Close over us, the silver star, thy guide,
Shines in those tremulous eyes that fill with tears
To hear me? Let me go: take back thy gift:
Why should a man desire in any way
To vary from the kindly race of men
Or pass beyond the goal of ordinance
Where all should pause, as is most meet for all?

In these lines Tithonus asks the Goddess of Dawn, if she can take back the gift of eternity that had been given to him. He wants to ask if she can rectify her error of granting him such a gift. The tears in her eyes make Tithonus realize that she cannot do that. While asking the goddess to take the gift back, Tithonus explains that he has no reason of not accepting the lot of other human beings, which destine them to die. So like other humans, he also wants to die and wither away. Since it is a common fact of all the living creatures, so there should not be an exception in his case.

These lines emphasize that all living creatures are perishable and mortal. If they are born, they have to die since life cycle is made up of birth and death. But if one does not follow the course of nature, one has to suffer. When the person does not follow this pattern of life, it becomes miserable for him. Even the gods seem to be helpless which is proved by the tears in the eyes of the Goddess of Dawn.

A soft air fans the cloud apart; there comes
A glimpse of that dark world where I was born.
Once more the old mysterious glimmer steals
From thy pure brows, and from thy shoulders pure,
And bosom beauting with a heart renew’d.

Tithonus in these lines describes that with the blowing of zephyr, the clouds get separated from one another and through the gap, when the earth can be seen, he remembers it, where he was born. He sees the mild light coming from the beautiful face of the Goddess. He notices the passionate heart of the Goddess beating and her bosom heaving.

He draws a beautiful picture of the dawn. Through the description of the dawn, he brings out the contrast between the youthful beauty of his wife and his own shrivelled and wrinkled looks due to his old age. Through these lines the poet wants to create a contrast between the world of the Goddess of Dawn and the mortal,earthly world to which Tithonus belongs.

The words ‘renewed heart’ is referred to the eternal beauty of the Goddesses. On the other hand Tithonus’s world is full of darkness. It emphasizes the absence of compatibility and the presence of incongruity between Tithonus and the goddess. On one hand the poet here beautifully paints the brightness and charm of early morning and on the other hand draws a picture of Tithonus who lacks the charmness and brightness due to his decrepit situation.

Thy cheek begins to redden thro’ the gloom,
Thy sweet eyes brighten slowly close to mine,
Ere yet they blind the stars, and the wild team
Which love thee, yearning for thy yoke, arise,
And shake the darkness from their loosen’d manes,
And beat the twilight into flakes of fire.
Lo! ever thus thou growest beautiful
In silence, then before thine answer given
Departest, and thy tears are on my cheek.
Why wilt thou ever scare me with thy tears,
And make me tremble lest a saying learnt,
In days far-off, on that dark earth, be true?
‘The Gods themselves cannot recall their gifts.’

These lines give a vivid description of how the goddess of Dawn appears. Tithonus describes her cheeks turning red and her eyes shining bright. As she arrives, the night comes to an end. The darkness of the night slowly leaves and the Dawn arrives with her bright, charming beauty. Tithonus speaks of this beauty of hers as so bright that the shining stars also look pale as compared to it. So the stars become invisible due to the brightness of dawn. The ‘wild team’ or the team of horses drawing her chariot yearn for the yoke, to start pulling her chariot again.

As her chariot starts its journey, the whole sky glimmers with the dazzling flakes of light. The Goddess of Dawn disappears again before answering to Tithonus’s request, to take back the gift of immortality. She goes back silently. Tithonus notices her helplessness and says that he realizes her helplessness is not being able to make him mortal again. So the goddess’s eyes are filled with tears and this tears remind him of the saying that he had heard long ago. It was that gods cannot take back the boon granted to someone.

So here we find, how he gives a clear description of the Goddess of Dawn with cheeks getting red and eyes shining brightly. This shows the poet’s sense of beauty. Again we find that the Goddess is aware of the pain and agony of Tithonus but inspite of it she feels helpless. It points out that even gods are unable to act according to their will. They too have certain limitations like the human beings.

Ay me! ay me! with what another heart
In days far-ff, and with what other eyes
I used to watch-if I be he that watch’d-
The lucid outline forming round thee; saw
The dim curls kindle into sunny rings;
Changed with thy mystic change, and felt my blood
Glow with the glow that slowly crimson’d all
Thy presence and thy portals, while I lay,
Mouth, forehead, eyelids, growing dewy-warm
With kisses balmier than half-opening buds
Of April, and could hear the lips that kiss’d
Whispering I knew not what of wild and sweet,
Like that strange song I heard Apollo sing,
While Ilion like a mist rose into towers.

Tithonus remembers the days when he was the young lover of the beautiful Goddess. He realizes that he is perhaps a completely different person who used to look at the changing colours and shapes of Aurora at dawn. Tithonus could see her curls changing into bright sunny rings. This view used to bring a change in Tithonus also. Her radiance made him feel his blood glow with passion and desire.

He remembers his youth when he would feel his whole body come alive at dawn as Eos kissed him on his eyelids, mouth and forehead. He felt lying in the fragrance of soothing flower beds. At that time he heard her loveful words which he could understand. Eos used to whisper to him “wild and sweet” melodies like the music Apollo’s lyre, which was sung while creating the Towers of Troy. The Towers seemed to rise out of mists. These lines show Tithonus’s depth of suffering and pain. He also regrets and senses the loss resulting from the gifts of immortality that he received from the Goddess of Dawn.

Yet hold me not for ever in thine East:
How can my nature longer mix with thine?
Coldly thy rosy shadows bathe me, cold
Are all thy lights, and cold my wrinkled feet
Upon thy glimmering thresholds, when the steam
Floats up from those dim fields about the homes
Of happy men that have the power to die,
And grassy barrows of the happier dead.
Release me, and restore me to the ground;
Thou seest all things, thou wilt see my grave:
Thou wilt renew thy beauty morn by morn;
I earth in earth forget these empty courts,
And thee returning on thy silver wheels.

In these lines Tithonus asks Aurora not to keep him imprisoned and captivated in the East where she rises anew each morning because his eternal old age contrasts so painfully with his eternal renewal. He says that their natures do not match and it is impossible also to match because she is an immortal Goddess with non perishable beauty whereas Tithonus is a human being whose death is to be inevitable but due to Tithonus’s gift which he received from the goddess, he has become immortal which is against the rule of human being’s life.

So he has become immortal but his beauty and youth are perishable and so now his feet tremble when he finds himself at her threshold. He cringes cold and wrinkled, whereas she rises each morning to warm “happy men who have the power to die” and men who are already dead in their burial mounds. A look at the steam floating from the homes of men who are destined to die tells him that they are happy since they do not have to suffer eternal life without permanent youth. When Tithonus sees all these, he also feels to die and to be buried under the ground.

So Tithonus asks the Goddess to release him and free him from captivity and let him die. By this way, the Goddess will see his grave and will see him lying in his grass-covered grave even after his death. Her beauty and youth are ordained to get renewed for ever.

But Tithonus will not remember her beautiful court as he cannot match her in youth and beauty. If he is set free from immortality, he will die and go to his grave. Aurora is described as being on ‘silver wheels’ because she was the Goddess of Dawn, and was ‘personified’ as the sun rising in the sky.

Tithonus Poem Theme

The poem “Tithonus” by Tennyson is based on a Greek myth in which the prince of Troy marries the goddess of dawn who grants him eternity but forgets to gift him with ever-lasting youth. As a consequence of it we find how Tithonus suffers from old age and infirmities but his wife remains the same and possesses the beauty as she is the Goddess of Dawn. So, he fails to match the youth and passionate feeling of his beloved wife. So the poem focuses and centres around the aftermath of the gift of immortality, granted to Tithonus by Aurora.

The poem contains the lamentation of the hero, as he is cursed with immortality, without the blessing of eternal youth & beauty. His health fails, his body perishes and his beauty also withers with the passage of time. So Tithonus only aspires for freedom from the boon of immortality. Human beings cannot and should not aspire for a life meant for Gods.

They should live like what they are ie humans should be aware of their limitations. So once a human being tries to over reach the limits and follow the ways of god. he has to face terrible consequences. One should be happy as long as one is aware of one’s limits and limitations just like Tithonus who suffered a lot as he accepted immortality.

Tithonus Poem Word Meaning

Decay — decline
Vapours — mist
Burthen — burden
Tills — ploughs
Immortality — eternal life or life of eternity
Consumes — slowly eats up
Release — set free
Feebler — weaker
Indignant — resentful ; discontented
Agonizing — giving mental pain
Envy — jealousy
Thy choice — your selection
Grant — give
Hours — time
Thresholds — buildings
Wills — desires
In ashes — in old age
Make amends — rectify or make correction
Tremendous — trembling
Silver star — the morning star
Ordinance — order
Fans the clouds — separates the clouds with air
Mysterious — strange
Glimpse — a quick look
Glimmer — shine
Wild team — a chariot of Aurora pulled by the team of horses
Mane — hair on the horses neck
Twilight — a soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below horizon
Growest — grows
Lucid — clear
Crimsoned — turned crimson red
Portals — large entrance to a building Barrows , ancient graveyard

Tithonus Poem Critical Appreciation

The poem “Tithonus” by Alfred Lord Tennyson brings out the despair, agony and pain which the speaker of this poem faces due to the boon of immortality which was gifted to him by the goddess of Dawn, Eos. While granting, she forgets to grant him, eternal youth, and thus he is condemned to aging forever.

The poem is in the form of a dramatic monologue where Tithonus, the hero of the poem lanients about his “eternal life” without eternal beauty. He addresses all the words to the Goddess of Dawn, his wife who is presumably present there in front of him.

This presence of his wife Eos makes the poem a dramatic monologue. The first thing that strikes
the critic is how well the theme suits the tone of reflective melancholy that the poet does so well, using rhythm and other sonic devices to produce the effect of languor, and longing for the eternal beauty of the Goddess.

On the thematic level, we can appreciate the work as we can understand how prolonged life, especially outliving the powers of one’s youth, is equally problematic like premature death. From the character of Tithonus, we can also learn that over-ambition is not good. There are certain limitations, certain rules which human beings must follow.

When humans become over-ambitious and they want to exist like super humans, downfall of them is inescapable. The poem teaches us that human beings should not step into the territory of super humans. So the cycle of nature should not be disrupted as it creates a great trouble if it is done so.

Tithonus Poem Style

The poem “Tithonus”, written b’ Tennyson is in the form of dramatic monologue. It is based on the classical mythological theme. It revolves around the Greek myth of the Trojan prince Tithonus and his lover Eos or Aurora, the Goddess of Dawn. It has no specific rhyme scheme or pattern of meter,meaning that it is written in blank or free verse.

Tithonus is the only speaker expressing his pain and agony to the Goddess of Dawn. The devices used by the poet make the poem beautiful, interesting and artistic. ‘Thy cheek begins to redden thro’ the gloom flakes of fire,’ ‘The dim curls rings’ are the visual images used by the poet to describe Eos. He has used many metaphors and sirniles as well.

‘A white —hair’d shadow’ is a metaphor for old Tithonus who is nothing but a mere shadow of his past. ‘Like that strange song sing/ While towers’, ‘A white-hair’d like a dream’ are examples of similes.there are also uses of alliterations, assonance and personification, in the poem.

Tithonus Poem MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
The poem is written by
a. T.S.Eliot
b. A.L.Tennyson
c. Thomas Hood
d. H.W.Longfellow
Answer:
b. A.L.Tennyson

Question 2.
The speaker in the poem is
a. The Goddess Aurora
b. The Goddess of Sky
c. Tithonus
d. God Apollo
Answer:
c. Tithonus

Question 3.
Tithonus lives in the company of the Goddess of Dawn in …………..
a. The East
b. The West
c. The North
d. The South
Answer:
a. The East

Question 4.
The bird mentioned in the poem is alan ………..
a. eagle
b. sparrow
c. pigeon
d. swan
Answer:
d. swan

Question 5.
Tithonus was chosen by
a. Athena
b. Derneter
c. Eos
d. Ens
Answer:
c. Eos

Question 6.
The immortality and old age seem cruel to the speaker and he wants to ……….
a. live longer
b. live in the company of human beings
c. die and get released from the boon
d. become young again
Answer:
c. die and get released from the boon

Question 7.
The animals mentioned in the poem are ………..
a. lions
b. tigers
c. dogs
d. horses
Answer:
d. horses

Question 8.
A’ white – hair shadow’is an example of ………..
a. simile
b. assonance
c. metaphor
d. alliteration
Answer:
a. simile

Question 9.
Tithonus is unhappy ………….
a. with the Goddess of Dawn
b. with other Gods
c. because he has become immortal but grown old
d. as he has to die like other human beings
Answer:
c. because he has become immortal but grown old

Question 10.
Due to the boon of immortality Tithonus as an old man has to live with his
a. old and withered wife
b. young and beautiful wife
c. youthful passion for beauty
d. a wife cursed to die soon
Answer:
b. young and beautiful wife

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 6 Telephone Conversation

by
Poem 6 Telephone Conversation

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 6 Telephone Conversation

Telephone Conversation Poem Long Answer Questions

Question 1.
How is colour highlighted in the poem and why?
Answer:
The various colours highlighted in the poem illustrates the difference between the two people ie the black man and the white landlady, based on the colour of their skin. The red colour is magnified in the poem to explain the various things like the booth, the pillar-box and double tiered omnibus which symbolize not only the anger of the speaker but also the aristocratic society of London.

The poem also explains the colour of the dark skinned poet who was not fair complexioned like the landlady on the other side of the telephone line. The “gold-coloured” shows the upper class to which the “fair skinned” people are said to belong. Various colours are used in the poem including red, black, gold, milk, chocolate, brunette and blonde. The colours chocolate, brunette, milk, blonde all these are used to highlight the difference between the black Africans and the white aristocrats living in London.

Question 2.
Certain words in the poem are in capital letters -Why?
Answer:
The words in the poem which are in capital letters are : “HOW DARK?”, “ARE YOU LIGHT”, “OR VERY DARK?”, “OR VERY LIGHT?” These words are actually inserted in the poem purposefully to show the racist mentality of the fair-skinned people.

When a landlady talks to a tenant,the only matter of concern for the landlady should be whether her tenant is suitable for staying with respect to his behavior, character, financial position etc but not on his skin colour. The poet has used these capital letters to magnify the fact that it is more important for the landlady to know how dark-skinned her would-be tenant on the other side of the phone is, rather than how erudite or well-behaved he might be.

Question 3.
What does the poet intend to say in the poem? Justify the title of the poem.
Answer:
The poem is actually a satire in which the poet in order to make his point against racism, uses comedy, sarcasm and irony. Through this poem he wants the people to understand that colour is merely a matter of visibility and has nothing to do with a person’s uniqueness and behaviour. Because the poet is dark skinned, he understands how people regard dark-skinned people as inferior and low-status individuals which he wishes to change.

The poet has given his poem a very suitable and relevant title. It refers to a phone conversation between the lady who is white, and the poet who is very dark or black. The poet plainly demonstrate the shallow prejudice by the dialogue. From first to last, these two individuals do not meet but talk over the phone. The telephone represents the distance between two ends of the line and the fact that they cannot meet at a location.

Question 4.
Write a note on the character and behaviour of the speaker in reference to the poem “Telephone Conversation?”
Answer:
The poem “Telephone Conversation” has two characters. Since it is a conversation over phone we find two individuals on the two sides of the line. One is a black African man who is looking for somewhere to rent and needs a room or apartment and the other one is the landlady who is fair complexioned. So in response to an advertisement given by the white lady, he calls the lady to discuss about the rent of the room which he wants.

The conversation between the black man and the white lady takes place over the phone where we find the black man to be in a happy and peaceful mood where he likes the price as it is reasonable. He also has no problem regarding the location of the house which he would take on rent. When the landlady informs him that she stays separately in another address, the man is more happy and is attracted as his privacy will be maintained. So we can say that since all his requirements are fulfilled, he is seen to be happy.

But a little later in the poem, when he confesses to the lady that he is an African, it shows that he is very aware of the racial prejudices prevalent in the society and he is also particular as he does not want a wasted journey. When the landlady questions him by asking how dark black or light black he is, he seems to be shocked as he doesn’t expect such questions from him.

Here we find him to be a little afraid of her reaction as this attitude of the landlady has not been expected from him. We find how in the poem, the black man answers the lady sarcastically and then, we find this transforming into frustration and his answers are very sharp and sarcastic.

As we reach the end of the poem, we find how he tries to convince the lady to come and see him. We can say that the black man’s behaviour is changeable which changes according to the situation. It also says that the man is against the prejudices related to race.

Telephone Conversation Poem Short Answer Questions

Question 1.
What things about the accommodation attract the speaker?
Answer:
Over the telephone, the conversation is taking place between the speaker, who is an African, seeking a room for rent and a white landlady who has advertised for it. The speaker finds the price of the rent suitable for him and regarding location,the speaker is not interested. Moreover, the landlady does not stay in that house which she wants to give it for rent therefore privacy is maintained. All these things attract the speaker and he decides to take it for rent.

Question 2.
What shocks the speaker and why?
Answer:
The speaker is shocked because when he confesses to the lady that he is an African, there is a silence for some time from the other side ie the landlady remains silent for sometime.

Question 3.
What images does the speaker form of the landlady when he hears the voice of the lady after her silence?
Answer:
The landlady becomes silent after she hears that the speaker is an African. The speaker then thinks her silence to be due to her good breeding. Then when he hears her voice he makes a mental image of the landlady’s lips being coated with red lipstick and her hands holding gold-coated cigarette holder.

Question 4.
What does the expression “rancid breath” in the poem mean?
Answer:
“Rancid breath” means a matter which is offensive and disagreeable. Here in the poem the landlady’s voice seems to be rancid ie the voice in which the lady speaks to the black man is under a nasty and insulting breath.

Question 5.
Why do you think the poet has used the ‘red’ colour in this poem?
Answer:
The poet has used red booth,red pillar-box,red double decker bus because first of all he wanted to show his anger and frustration towards the xenophobia of the landlady and secondly the red colour symbolizes the aristocratic society of London.

Question 6.
What is the moral of the poem “Telephone Conversation?”
Answer:
The poet through this poem tries to raise awareness of the fact that skin colour should not matter in an open-minded, educated and modem society.

Question 7.
What does the expression “spectroscopic flight of fancy” mean in the poem?
Answer:
The word spectroscopy means dispersion of visible light into seven colours. Thus the word explains the dispersed flow of thoughts of the lady after talking to the poet. Her fancies of a dark man gained wings and attained new levels of interpretations when she had to admit the fact that she knew lesser than the person on the other side of the line over the phone.

Question 8.
What is the imagery in “Telephone Conversion?”
Answer:
The imagery, “lipstick-coated, gold-rolled cigarette holder piped” is the mental image of the lady made by the African speaker by just listening to her voice. His attitude towards her is that she is socially superior than him and from a higher strata.

Telephone Conversation Poem Logic-Based Questions

Complete the following sentences by providing a REASON for each:

Question 1.
The African caller or the tenant finds the accommodation suitable because …………
Answer:
The price is reasonable and the location of it doesn’t make any difference to him. Moreover, the landlady says that she does not live there which means he would have privacy.

Question 2.
The black man makes a confession to the landlady that he is an African because …………
Answer:
He hates a wasted journey which means that he does not want to waste his time and money on travelling with the result of only being turned away, simply for being black.

Question 3.
The speaker feds ashamed because …………
Answer:
The woman asks him how dark he is and he is so annoyed that he remains silence for some time.This silence of his own seems to be ill-mannered to him, so he is ashamed.

Question 4.
The poet uses irony in his poem “Telephone Conversation” because …………
Answer:
He wanted to show how racist the people in the West are and how they judge others only by the skin colour and not by their mind or abilities.

Question 5.
The speaker says that his bottom is raven black because …………
Answer:
Of the friction caused during his sitting time.

Question 6.
The speaker tells the woman that he is black but his palms and soles are not black but are a peroxide blonde because …………
Answer:
When the speaker replies to the lady’s question saying that he is “West African Sepia”,the woman tries to know more that what’s that and when he answers that he is like brunette, the lady is still not satisfied and asks him whether that is dark and the speaker tells sarcastically that his palms and soles are not black.

Question 7.
The speaker asks the woman to visit him because ………….
Answer:
When he sees that the lady is only interested in the colour of his skin and since the speaker is black he realizes that she will not give him accommodation. And in order to prevent any further queries of the lady regarding his complexion,he asks her to visit him and find herself, how dark he is.

Telephone Conversation Poem About the Poet Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet and essayist in the English Language. His original name was Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka. He was bom on 13th July, 1934 in Nigeria. He wrote several plays among which his first important play was “A Dance of The Forests”. Other plays include “The Lion And The Jewel”, “The Trials of Brother Jero and Jero’s Metamorphosis.”

His serious plays include The Strong Breed, Kongi’s Harvest, The Road, From Zia; With Love, Death and The King’s Horseman. He also wrote several volumes of poetry that include -A Shuttle Of The Crypt, Mandela’s Earth and Other Poems etc. He is well known for his precise command of language and a mastery of lyric, dramatic and meditative poetic forms. Soyinka was the first Black African to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986, he got Benson Medal from Royal Society of Achievement, Golden Plate Award 2009 etc.

Telephone Conversation About the Poem

‘Telephone Conversation” written by Wole Soyinka is a narrative poem that focuses on the conflict between a black man and a white woman through which actually, the poet extends this conflict between the two races in the society. They are having a discussion over the phone and through their conversations we come to know that the landlady is a white woman and the speaker who wants to rent an apartment is a black man. The poem highlights the impact of racial discrimination in the macro structure of society

Telephone Conversation Poem in Summary

“Telephone Conversation” as the title suggests is a conversation over the telephone. The poet talks principally about two strangers speaking over the phone. It is a conversation between a black man seeking a room for rent, and a white lady who has advertised such an offer.

The black African man makes a call to the white landlady and he finds the rent reasonable though the location seems to be indifferent ie not of much importance, yet he accepts. During the course of the dialogue, the man gets to know that his privacy would not be hampered as the landlady does not stay on the premises. Then the moment arrives when the man has made up his mind to consider the offer.

But before he declares his interest in renting the place, he mentions to the lady that he is an African. On hearing this the lady hesitates and becomes silent. This silence of the lady makes the speaker imagine her lips with red lipstick applied to them and the long gold-plated cigarette holder in her hands conveying her aristocratic wealthy status.

The man first takes it to be an impolite gesture of refusal. However the silence is broken as the lady starts to speak again and asks him to explain exactly how dark he is. At first the man thinks that he might have misheard the question, but when she repeats the same question ie how light black or deep black his skin is, he understands that it is something very important for her to know before she allows him to rent her house.

This attitude of the lady comes out to be utterly devastating for the man, and for a moment he is disgusted with the question and fancies himself to be a machine, like the phone, and that he has been reduced to being a button on that very phone.

He can also smell the stench from her words and sees “red” all around him. In confusion he presses button B and then button A as he does not know what to say. He requests the woman to make the thing simple for his understanding as he notices the red colour of the booth and the pillar-box. The woman we find clarifies herself to know what she wants.

She asks again whether his colour is dark black or little less. The man asks her whether she means his colour is plain black or little black chocolate and then he says that he is a red brown African as mentioned in his passport. The woman remains silent again and then says to him that she cannot understand his exact colour. The speaker says that his complexion is like brunette. The woman asserts that his colour is nothing but black only.

The man says that he is not completely black because his palms and soles are white. He also explains
that his bottom is like the colour of a raven which has happened due to the result of the friction resulting from his foolish sitting. He is also aware that on hearing about his black complexion, the landlady will never be convinced and he also senses that she might end the call at any time.

At this crucial point, he makes a desperate attempt pleading her to come and meet him in person and take a good look at him and then take a decision but before that the landlady slams down the receiver on his face.

Telephone Conversation Poem Line Wise Explanation

The price seemed reasonable, location
Indifferent. The landlady sware she lived Off premises.
Nothing remained But self-confession. “Madam,” I warned,
“I hate a wasted journey-I am African.”
Silence. Silenced transmission of
Pressurized good-breeding. Voice, when it came,
Lipstick coated, long gold-rolled
Cigarette-holder pipped. Caught I was, foully.

The poem begins with the speaker talking on the phone with a potential lady, hoping to rent some sort of housing- likely an apartment or a room. The accommodation seems fine: it’s not costly, the location isn’t bad and moreover the landlady doesn’t even live on the premises which means more privacy. But there’s only one obstacle for the lady and that is the speaker is an African.

So in the conversation over the phone between the African man and the white landlady, the black man as he is a self respecting man plainly admits to the lady that he is an African. He knows that he is living in a racially conscious society where colour prejudice is rampant. The speaker refers to this moment as a “self confession,” with his blackness being something that the landlady must be warned about.

He preempts the prejudice and saves a wasted journey by confessing that he is an African. If he doesn’t tell her that he is black before he comes to view the property and if she sees that he is a black man she won’t rent the property to him because of racial prejudice.

Then he would have wasted a journey. The woman on the other hand, goes silent as if to convey that she belongs to an affluent aristocratic family. The black man from the opposite side can imagine the woman with red coated lipstick on her lips and cigarette holder in the her hand.

He is caught in a humiliating situation. The opening line takes the reader straight into an already existent conversation, the thoughts of a person engaged in some sort of negotiation over price. But here we find them talking about the price reasonable.

Then we find how the landlady swore that is, she told the absolute truth as if in the name of God that she “lived off premises” which shows that she must have lived in some other address. Then it indicates, the speaker’s doubt that he may be denied the houseon rent just because he is black. It also shows the speaker being aware of the discriminatory attitude of the white people towards the African blacks.

“HOW DARK?” … I had not misheard… “ARE YOU LIGHT
OR VERY DARK?” Button B. Button A. Stench
Of rancid breath of public hide-and-speak.
Red booth. Red pillar-box. Red double-tiered
Omnibus squelching tar. It was real! Shamed
By ill-mannered silence, surrender
Pushed dumbfounded to beg simplification.
Considerate she was, varying the emphasis-

Then we find, the speaker telling that he has heard correctly, what the lady asks him. The lady asks him and wants to know how dark black or light black he is. This question arises a temporary shock to him and in a confusion he presses button B and then button A. Here the poet tries to say that his race is reduced to status of machine. He realizes that the question of the lady is like a bad smell.

To him it seems as if he hears the ugliness of her voice/the prejudice against his race over the phone while standing in the public booth. As it is a conversation it implies that the question of colour is not new; it is already there and one can realize its dirty nature. The speaker then notices the red colour of the telephone booth, the pillar box.

The repeated use of the colour “red” is significant here. It could refer to anger or embarrassment. The colour red can show how shock changes to disbelief that transforms itself quickly into sheer disgust and utter indignation. “The Red booth. Red pillar box, Red double tiered / Omnibus squelching tar”-can suggest an allusion to the colour of the British Empire.

The “red double tiered omnibus squelching tar” actually means that the red omnibus pressed with crushing force a huge amount of tar, but through this expression, the poet tries to describe the colour or complexion of the speaker that is black like tar and thus being pressed by the red omnibus that symbolizes the aristocratic life of England.

Then the speaker says that he is really in such a situation which makes him feel that his own silence is ill-mannered. He is choked and shouts that he cannot understand what exactly the woman wants to know. So he asks the lady to explain her question in a more simple way.

He realizes that the woman is shifting her focus. It makes him think that she is a considerable woman who does not wish to hurt his thoughts and feelings. So the colour red, we find expresses the modernity and aristocracy of the British society which suffers from prejudices of the black colour through the discrimination of it in the society.

“ARE YOU DARK? OR VERY LIGHT”
Revelation came.
“You mean-like plain or milk chocolate?”
Her assent was clinical, crushing in its light
Impersonality. Rapidly, wavelength adjusted,
I chose. “West African sepia”-and as an afterthought,
“Down in my passport.” Silence for spectroscopic
Flight of fancy, till truthfulness clanged her accent
Hard on the mouthpiece. “WHAT’S THAT” conceded,
“DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT IS” “Like brunette.”

We see here how the landlady keeps on enquiring about the man and asks him the same question. She wants to know the same thing ie whether the colour of his skin is dark black or it is light black. While the black man says that he is not completely black, the landlady willingly calls him; brunette.

Here we find the tone to be clinical and impersonal. The speaker says how the landlady’s accent was cold and emotionless. The speaker alters the tone and; nature of the woman’s concern and selects the words “West  African Sepia,” to answer her question about his colour.

The question is soul shattering to the speaker. Fuming with anger, he chooses a superior vocabulary and replies  in a sarcastic tone. He tells the woman that this colour of his skin is already mentioned in his passport. At this moment we find no answer from the lady.

It seems as if she thinks  of all the colours of a spectrum in which no distinction is made to show which colour is inferior or superior. She remains silent until her real concern compels her to admit that she does not understand what colour the speaker is referring to. The speaker tries to tell her by saying that his colour is like brunette or brown.

“THAT’S DARK, ISN’T IT?” “Not altogether.
Facially, I am brunette, but madam, you should see
The rest of me. Palm of my hand, soles of my feet
Are a peroxide blonde. Friction, caused- Foolishly, madam-by sitting down, has turned ;
My bottom raven black-One moment madam!”- sensing
Her receiver rearing on the thunderclap
About my ears- “Madam,” I pleaded, “wouldn’t
you rather
See for yourself?”

The woman on the phone emphasizes that the colour of the speaker’s skin is black. To this remark, the man sarcastically comments that he is not totally black. The caller explains that his face is black but that the other parts of his hand ie palms and soles of his feet are lighter-peroxide blonde! Peroxide is a chemical used to bleach hair. Unabashed he goes further, much further.

He ironically admits that sitting down has caused his bottom to turn raven black due to friction. This comment of the speaker has a direct affect on the landlady, and he senses her unease. The quasi politeness of his tone can hardly conceive the ultimate insult inflicted on the lady and shows how indignant the man is.

He wants to say more but he also knows that the landlady will never be convinced with his black complexion and he senses that she might clang the receiver down. So he makes a desperate attempt to plead her to come in person and take a good look at him.

So we find that the end of the poem is full of irony and sarcasm. In a nutshell, the speaker has turned the tables on racist bias and with a combination of humour, moral stance and arguably charm he has shown up the landlady for what she is ie through his powerful criticism he is able to slow the landlady’s racist and discriminatory attitude.

Telephone Conversation Poem Theme

In the poem “Telephone Conversation,” the poet Wole Soyinka exposes the prevalence of racial discrimination in the society. The poem rests upon the conflict between the protagonist and the absurdity of racism that makes the antagonist take a negative stance towards him.

The poem deals with the conversation over the phone between a black African man who tries to confirm a housing arrangement and the landlady who is white in colour and believes in racism and ethnocentricism.

The poet brings to light how racial discrimination is practiced covertly by many white people regardless of the stringent laws against it.The landlady refuses to rent her apartment to the man just due to one reason and ie his complexion being black.

At the end this attitude of the woman evokes satirical response from the black man when he asks her to come and see the colour of his skin herself. The poem is thus a satire on social xenophobia.

Telephone Conversation Poem Word Meaning

Reasonable — appropriate
Indifferent — uninterested or stoic
Transmission — the act of sending or passing information or something else.
Breeding — upbringing
Stench — ill-smelling
Racial — race-related
Rancid —  pungent;stinking;musty
Squelching —  curbing;stamping down
Dumbfounded — astounded;greatly astonished
Simplificatión — reduction;lightening
Assent — consent;willingness
Clinical — emotionless;impersonal
Revelation — disclosure;declaration
Considerate — careful not to harm or cause inconvenience
Conceding — accepting
Spectroscopic — related to the formation of spectrum of light
Brunette — a person with dark brown hair or colour
Blonde — a person with yellow hair
Rearing — upbringing
Thunderclap — striking suddenly like a clap of thunder
Pleaded — requested

Telephone Conversation Poem Critical Appreciation

The poem “Telephone Conversation” by Wole Soyinka is a scathing comment on the prevailing issues of racism and racist prejudices. As the very title of the poem indicates, it is about a conversation going on over the telephone between a black speaker who is seeking a room for rent and a white lady who has given an advertisement for such an offer.

This poem is a satire that exposes the presence of racial discrimination at the individual level in the society. The poem becomes significant as it presents both the attitude of the white woman towards the black man and the black man’s anger towards the discrimination shown by the white woman.

So we find how the man, being aware of such prevailing racial practices, makes a telephone call to the landlady from the public telephone booth. The poet through the usage of colours like black and white exposes the impact of the prevailing racial discrimination and hatred in the society at large. The poem is an ironical comment on the racial prejudice that still exists in the Western World.

Even among those who are considered educated and respectable, the colour of the skin seems to be greater significance than the individual himself. The speaker over the phone thinks the rent reasonable and the location does not matter.

So he is prepared to rent the room but before proceeding he feels it would be better to let the landlady know that he is black and from Africa. The moment the landlady comes to know about his complexion there issilence. When her voice finally is heard, the poet imagines her to be “lipstick coated, long gold -rolled, cigarette I holder piped.”

The landlady enquires how dark is he and he has not misheard as the lady again repeats by asking whether he is light or very dark.The speaker is dumb founded and expects her to reject him but her question leaves him speechless. She goes on repeating the same question and when she is given an answer that he is black, she is not satisfied with it and further asks what does he mean-whether he is plain black or milk chocolate.

The speaker chooses the description of himself on the passport and tells her “West African Sepia” and also adds “Down in my passport” as an afterthought Still the lady is unsatisfied and asks what that means. This time he tells her that his face is brunette but his palms and soles are a “peroxide blonde.” He further says that his bottom is as black as raven which has happened due to friction.

The landlady hearing this disconnects the phone before the speaker asks her in a pleading tone, to meet him in person and see him. We see in the poem, how the man at first remains polite and humble. But when he realizes the derogatory attitude of the lady towards the black, he gets annoyed and embarrassed and starts responding in an ironical and sarcastic way.

The poem reveals the pathetic and shameful nature of those who are foolish enough to judge people by their skin colour rather than by their character. The irony, humour and sarcasm are very subtle. The innocence and cultured tone of the man, Who is supposed to be a savage, is effectively pitched against the rudeness and prejudice of the landlady, who is supposed to be cultured and sophisticated. The poet, therefore, highlights the hypocritical nature of these people in the poem.

Telephone Conversation Poem Style

The poem “Telephone Conversation” of Wole Soyinka is a lyric poem that is written in free verse. It is a dialogue involving between two people who are indulged in a phone call throughout the poem. To a considerable extent, it follows the form of conversation in question and answer pattern.

It is written in a single, 35-line stanza with no particular meter or rhyme scheme. The poem feels conversational rather than tightly controlled but it is in a simple and easy to understand manner. It also marks the use of enjambment as there are sentences running from one line to the next, as for eg:”

Silenced transmission of prescribed good-breeding,” and “Stench of rancid breath or public hide and speak.” The poet has also used various poetic devices. Other than satire, irony and sarcasm he also used imagery, pun, alliteration and assonance.

The poet uses alliteration like “silence, silenced,” compound words like pillar-box, lipstick-coated, double-tiered which are important features of this poem. The mention of the colours like red, white, black, brunette, dark chocolate also play a vital role in conveying extended meanings.

Telephone Conversation Poem MCQs

Choose the correct alternative to complete the following sentences:

Question 1.
The speaker in the poem finds the price of the rent …………..
a. too high
b. too little
c. beyond his reach
d. reasonable
Answer:
d. reasonable

Question 2.
The speaker imagines the lady to be with …………..
a. lipstick coated
b. cigarette-holder piped
c. white-haired
d. a and b both
Answer:
d. a and b both

Question 3.
The landlady lives …………..
a. in the house to be rented
b. near the public booth
c. away from the place she wants to give on rent
d. in the speaker’s neighbourhood
Answer:
c. away from the place she wants to give on rent

Question 4.
Which button does the speaker press first in nervousness
a. button B
b. button A
c. button C
d. none of the above
Answer:
a. button B

Question 5.
The compound words used in the first stanza of the poem are …………..
a. location indifferent
b. silenced transmission
c. off premises
d. good-breeding
Answer:
d. good-breeding

Question 6.
How many times does the word “red” used in the second stanza …………..
a. two
b. one
c. three
d. four
Answer:
c. three

Question 7
The speaker feels ashamed by …………..
a. the woman’s ill-mannered silence
b. his own colour
c. his own ill-mannered silence
d. the question asked to him
Answer:
c. his own ill-mannered silence

Question 8.
The black colour of the speaker’s bottom is described as black as …………..
a. tar
b. crow
c. raven
d. coal
Answer:
c. raven

Question 9.
In the passport of the speaker his colour is mentioned as …………..
a. brown
b. red
c. white
d. West African Sepia
Answer:
d. West African Sepia

Question 10.
The confession that, the speaker makes in the first stanza is that …………..
a. he is a white man
b. He is an African
c. He is an intelligent man
d. He does not need a room on rent
Answer:
b. He is an African

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers

Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 5 Strange Meeting

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Poem 5 Strange Meeting

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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

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Poem 4 Death of Naturalist

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

by
Poem 3 Sonnet-116

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.”

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 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.

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.

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

by
Poem 2 Why I Like the Hospital

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

by
Rhapsody Workbook Answers Poem 1 Abhisara-The Tryst

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

Rhapsody: A Collection of ISC Poems Workbook Answers