Samacheer Kalvi solutions for English Class 11 TN Board chapter 3.2 - Lines Written in the Early Spring [Latest edition]

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?

Find words from the poem that convey the following ideas:

1. connected together
2. spread over the surface of the ground in a straggling manner 
3. make out or understand
4. slender woody shoots growing from branches or stems of trees

Complete the summary of the poem by filling in the blanks with the words given below.

The poet, in a relaxed state of mind, is sitting in a (1) ______. He reflects on how his mood brings (2) ______thoughts, which are inevitably followed by (3)______ones. He feels connected to all of nature, and senses an inherent joy in all (4)______. He has faith in the fact that all the primroses and periwinkles around him (5)______ the air they breathe. He feels that every bird in the grove moves with (6)______. As the twigs catch the breezy air, they do so with the same pleasure (7)______ all life on earth. This joy of nature seems to be heaven-sent. Nature’s holy plan is to offer joy and peace to all forms of life on earth. The poet’s pleasant train of thought slowly leads to the sad reflection of how mankind alone has wrought sorrow and (8)______ upon itself. He firmly believes that man is meant to spend his days blissfully taking part in the vitality and joy surrounding him in (9)______. He therefore concludes rhetorically, emphasizing that he has good reason to (10)______ the distress, man unnecessarily brings upon himself.

Read the lines given below and answer the question that follow.

And ‘tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes…

1. What is the poet’s faith?
2. What trait of Nature do we see here?

Read the lines given below and answer the question that follow.

And I must think, do all I can,

That there was pleasure there…

1. What did the poet notice about the twigs?
2. What was the poet’s thought about then?

Read the lines given below and answer the question that follow.

If this belief from heaven be sent,

If such be Nature’s holy plan.

1. What does ‘heaven’ refer to?
2. Why does the poet call it ‘holy’?

Explain the following line with reference to the context in about four to five sentence each.

In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts

Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

Explain the following line with reference to the context in about four to five sentence each.

The birds around me hopp’d and play’d,

Their thoughts I cannot measure.

Explain the following line with reference to the context in about four to five sentence each.

Have I not reason to lament

What Man has made of Man?

Read the following line and identify the figure of speech used in each extract.

To her fair works did Nature link

The human soul that through me ran.

Read the following line and identify the figure of speech used in each extract.

And ‘tis my faith that every flower

Enjoys the air it breathes.

Read the following line and identify the figure of speech used in each extract.

What Man has made of Man?

Read the poem once again. Identify the rhyme scheme and pick out the rhyming pairs of words.

How does the poet feel while enjoying the beauty of Nature?

Does Nature affect a person’s thoughts and feelings? Explain.

How do people bring grief and sorrow to one another?

Why does the poet think that the birds were happy?

The poet finds joy in various objects of Nature. Explain.

The poet experiences sadness because ______.

The poem is set in a ______.

The poem speaks of ______.

Answer in a paragraph of about 100−150 words.

Do you think the poet wants to say that man is unhappy because he has lost his link with nature and forgotten how to enjoy nature, or because man is cruel to other men?

Listening Activity

Some phrases have been left out in the poem below. First, read the poem. Then, fill in the missing words on listening to the reading or the recording of it in full. You may listen again, if required

To Autumn

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained

With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit

Beneath my ______, there thou may’st rest,

And tune thy jolly voice to my ______;

And all the daughters of the year shall dance!

Sing now the ______of fruits and flowers.

“The ______opens her beauties to

The sun, and love runs in her ______;

Blossoms hang round the brows of morning and

Flourish down the ______of modest eve,

Till clust’ring Summer breaks forth into singing,

And ______strew flowers round her head.

The spirits of the air live on the smells

Of fruit; and joy, with ______, roves round

The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.”

Thus sang the ______as he sat,

Then rose, girded himself, and o’er the bleak

Hills fled from our sight; but left his ______.

William Blake

What scene in nature gives you pleasure? Talk for a minute describing a natural scene that gave you a lot of joy. What did you see, hear, smell or feel, that gave you joy?

Work in groups of 4−6. Discuss how you would preserve the environment and protect Nature. One or two representatives may share their ideas with the class.

‘Nature can nurture’. Describe how this process happens.

When humanity fails to live in harmony with Nature, its effects are felt around the world. Why and how?

Write a letter to the Councillor of your Ward, explaining why a park is necessary in your locality.