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प्रश्न
Where was the narrator when the incident happened?
उत्तर
The narrator was in the French camp when the incident happened.
APPEARS IN
संबंधित प्रश्न
What thoughts come to your mind when you think about a castle? Add your ideas to the list
moat, huge buildings, soldiers, weapons ______,______.
Why does the narrator say that the enemy was no threat at all?
Why didn’t the narrator want to tell the tale to anybody?
Read the poem again and complete the summary using the words given in box.
Stanzas 1–3
‘The Castle’ by Edwin Muir is a moving poem on the (1)______ of a well guarded (2)______ The soldiers of the castle were totally stress-free and relaxed. They were (3)______ of their castle’s physical strength. Through the turrets they were able to watch the mowers and no enemy was found up to the distance of (4)______ and so they seemed no threat to the castle. They had (5)______ of weapons to protect them and a large quantity of (6)______ in stock to take care of the well-being of the soldiers inside the castle. The soldiers stood one above the other on the towering battlements (7)______ to shoot the enemy at sight. They believed that the castle was absolutely safe because their captain was (8)______ and the soldiers were loyal.
| half-a-mile | watching |
| castle | brave |
| ration | capture |
| plenty | confident |
Stanzas 4–6
Even by a trick no one but the birds could enter. The enemy could not use a (9)______ for their entry inside the castle. But there was a wicket gate guarded by a (10) ______ He (11)______ in the enemies inside the famous citadel that had been known for its secret gallery and intricate path. The strong castle became(12)______ and thin because of the greedy disloyal warder. The (13)______ was captured by the enemies for (14)______ The narrator (15)______ over the (16)______ of the useless warder and also decided not to disclose this (17)______ story to anyone. He was (18)______ and wondered how he would keep this truth to himself. He regretted not finding any (19)______ to fight with the (20)______ called ‘gold’.
| lamented | shameful |
| wicked guard | bait |
| let | gold |
| weapon | citadel |
| weak | disloyalty |
| helpless | enemy |
How safe was the castle? How was it conquered?
Read the given line and answer the question that follow in a line or two.
Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,
So smooth and high, no man could win.
- How safe was the castle?
- What was the firm belief of the soldiers?
Our captain was brave and we were true
Read the poem and complete the table with suitable rhyming words.
All through that summer at ease we lay,
And daily from the turret wall
We watched the mowers in the hay
And the enemy half a mile away
They seemed no threat to us at all.
For what, we thought, had we to fear
With our arms and provender, load on load,
Our towering battlements, tier on tier,
And friendly allies drawing near
On every leafy summer road.
Our gates were strong, our walls were thick,
So smooth and high, no man could win
A foothold there, no clever trick
Could take us dead or quick,
Only a bird could have got in.
What could they offer us for bait?
Our captain was brave and we were true…
There was a little private gate,
A little wicked wicket gate.
The wizened warder let them through.
Oh then our maze of tunneled stone
Grew thin and treacherous as air.
The cause was lost without a groan,
The famous citadel overthrown,
And all its secret galleries bare.
How can this shameful tale be told?
I will maintain until my death
We could do nothing, being sold:
Our only enemy was gold,
And we had no arms to fight it with.
| lay | hay |
Identify the figure of speech used in the following line.
A little wicked wicket gate.
You visit your school after several years. As you cross the banyan tree at the entrance, cheerful memories fi ll your mind. Fill the bubbles with your memories.
Describe the garden during the night.
Name the bird that sings in the poet’s garden.
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
The giant wears the scarf, and flowers are hung
In crimson clusters all the bough among!
- Who is the giant here?
- Why is the scarf colourful?
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
“Fear, trembling Hope, and Death, the skeleton,
And Time the shadow”, and though weak the verse
That would thy beauty fain, oh, fain rehearse,
May Love defend thee from oblivion’s curse.
- What does the poet mean by the expression ‘May love defend thee from oblivion’s curse?’
- What does the expression ‘fain’ convey?
- What does the poet convey through the expression ‘Fear, trembling Hope’?
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
Unto thy honor, Tree, beloved of those
Who now in blessed sleep for aye repose,
Identify the figure of speech used in each of the extract given below and write down the answer in the space given below.
“ What is that dirge-like murmur that I hear Like the sea breaking on a shingle -beach?
Why is the last stage called second childhood?
Read the poem once again carefully and identify the figure of speech that has been used in each of the following lines from the poem.
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”
- “All the world's a stage”
- “And all the men and women merely players”
- “And shining morning face, creeping like snail”
- “Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,”
- “Seeking the bubble reputation”
- “His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide”
- “and his big manly voice, turning again toward childish treble”
Pick out the word in ‘alliteration’ in the following line.
“And one man in his time plays many parts”
‘As tho’ to breathe were life!’ – From the given line what do you understand of Ulysses’ attitude to life?
Who does the speaker address in the second part?
Read the set of line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle Well-loved of me,
- Who does Ulysses entrust his kingdom to, in his absence?
- Bring out the significance of the ‘sceptre’.
Read the set of line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
- The above lines convey the undying spirit of Ulysses. Explain.
- Pick out the words in alliteration in the above lines.
Explain with reference to the context the following line.
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Fill in the blanks choosing the words from the box given and complete the summary of the poem.
Lines 1-25
The poet Carl Sandburg gives a vivid description of a father’s worldly (1)______ in directing a son who is at the threshold of his (2) ______.
Here the father motivates his son to be like a hard(3) ______and withstand life’s (4)______ and sudden betrayals. (5)______is like a fertile soil. We can make our life fruitful if we are gentle, and take life as it comes. At times(6)______ overtakes harshness. The growth of a (7)______can split a rock. One should have a (8) ______and strong will to achieve. Greed for(9)______has left men dead before they really die. Good men also have fallen prey in quest for (10) ______money. Time for (11)______is not a waste. When you seek knowledge never feel ashamed to be called a(12)______for not knowing, at the same time learn from your (13) ______and never (14)______it.
| deep desire | manhood | gentleness | mistakes | easy |
| leisure | fool | life | money | repeat |
| tender-flower | rock | challenges | wisdom |
Lines 26-44
Do (15)______often, and do not hesitate to accept your shortcomings, avoid(16) ______to protect self against other people. Solitude helps to be (17)______and(18) ______ are taken in silent rooms. Instead of being one among many, be (19)______, if that is your nature. The son may need lazy days to find his (20)______abilities, to seek what he is born for. He will then know how free imaginations bring (21)______to the world, which (22)______ change. During such resentment, let him know that it is time for him to be on his own, and (23)______to achieve like Shakespeare, the Wright brothers, Pasteur, Pavlov, and Michael Faraday.
| changes | introspect | inherent | work | resents |
| white lies | creative | final decisions | different |
Where are the final decisions taken?
How according to the poet is it possible for his son to bring changes into a world that resents change?
Have you played chess or watched the game carefully?
Now identify the chess pieces and complete the table below. Discuss the role of each piece in the game.
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What was Napoleon’s reaction on hearing the news of victory?
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
‘You’re wounded!’ ‘Nay’, his soldier’s pride Touched to the quick, he said:
- Why did the boy contradict Napoleon’s words?
- Why was his pride touched?
