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प्रश्न
What do you associate with the title of the poem?
उत्तर
The title of the poem is associated with fables of the past when good prevailed not only in society but in the hearts of people.
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संबंधित प्रश्न
What is the relationship between the narrator and the listener?
Mention the qualities the child in the poem symbolises.
Interpret each of the following expression used in the poem, in one or two line.
laugh with their eyes
Explain the following lines with reference to the context.
I want to be what I used to be.
Not everybody loves to play and participate in games, sports and other extra-curricular activities. Some of us wish to be mere spectators. List out the activities in which you like to be either a performer or a spectator. Share your views with the class.
| Activities | ||
| performer/player | spectator/audience | |
| e.g. | cricket | magician |
| a. | ||
| b. | ||
| c. | ||
| d. | ||
| e. | ||
Do you think the narrator is heroic? Why?
Read the poem again and complete the summary using the words given in the box.
In the poem ‘Confessions of a Born Spectator,’ Ogden Nash talks about how people choose different sports in their lives or decide to become athletes. While admiring the talents of athletes and sportsmen, the poet (i)______he is glad that he is neither a sportsman nor an athlete. Children have different (ii)______and wish to play various games. Each child has in mind something in particular, but the narrator is (iii)______he is not one of the players. Though the narrator (iv) ______the talents of all athletes, he derives satisfaction from watching them, but does not wish to (v) ______places with them. He also sometimes regrets that (vi)______athletes play rough games without caring for the feelings of their sporting rivals. He feels that good sense and caution win over ego. The narrator wholeheartedly offers (vii) ______the modest (viii) ______of athletes. Ultimately the narrator is (ix)______that he himself is not an athlete.
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thanksgiving exchange glad confesses physiques zealous satisfied aims admires |
Do you go for leisurely walks? If you are a city-dweller, what or who would you expect to see on your way?
If you go to a village, what scenes would you observe?
The poem is set in a ______.
The poem speaks of ______.
When humanity fails to live in harmony with Nature, its effects are felt around the world. Why and how?
A French proverb goes thus: ‘The dog may be wonderful prose, but only the cat is poetry.’ You may have observed that all animals possess a number of unique qualities. Fill in the columns with words and phrases associated with each of the following animals.
| DOG | CAT | WOLF | ELEPHANT |
Mention any two qualities of Macavity.
Which two characters does the poet refer to as examples of wicked cats?
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
There may be a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair
But it’s useless to investigate…
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
He always has an alibi, and one or two to spare
Identify the literary devices used in the following lines:
- He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake.
- They say he cheats at cards.
What does ‘Everest’ in the title stand for?
What does the ladder symbolize?
Read the given line and answer the question that follow.
Our nature it is that whatever we try We do with devotion deep and true.
- Who does ‘we’ refer to?
- How should we carry out our duties?
The historical background:
The poem is an extract from William Shakespeare’s play King Richard the Second. The play is based on true events that occurred towards the end of the 14th century.
Richard II was crowned the King of England in the year 1367. He continued to be the British Monarch until 1399, when he was deposed by his cousin, Henry of Bolingbroke, who crowned himself King Henry the Fourth in the same year. Shakespeare’s play is a dramatic rendition of the last two years of King Richard II’s life. In this brief span of time, he was ousted from his royal position and sent to prison, where he died in captivity.
The following extract is set in the Coast of Wales. King Richard and some of his followers awaited the arrival of the Welsh army [after facing defeat at the hands of his cousin, Bolingbroke], of about 10000 warriors. But to their shock and surprise, they received the message that the army was not coming to their rescue. His followers tried to boost their King’s courage against the news, only in vain. When Richard came face to face with the reality of his terrible fate, he spoke the following verse, famously known as the “Hollow Crown” speech in theatrical circles. In it, King Richard is reminded of the power of Death that overshadows everything else, including the power of rulers, and renders them as powerless as any commoner at a moment’s notice.
What do the three words, ‘graves, worms and epitaphs’, refer to?
What does ‘flesh’ mean here?
How does the king establish that he and his subjects are equal in the end?
Read the poem once again carefully and identify the figure of speech that has been used in each of the following line from the poem:
“Let’s talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs;
Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth’’.
Read the poem once again carefully and identify the figure of speech that has been used in each of the following line from the poem:
“How can you say to me, I am a king?”
Pick out the alliteration from the following lines:
“Comes at the last, and with a little pin…”
Based on your reading of King Richard’s speech, answer the following questions in about 100 - 150 words each. You may add your own ideas if required to present and justify your point of view.
How are eternal truths and wisdom brought to the reader here?
