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Read the extract given below and answer the questions which follow:
|
To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love Then every man, of every clime, |
- What is the central message of the poem?
- What is the significance of the repetition of "Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love" throughout the poem?
- What is the meaning of the phrase "the human form divine" in the poem?
- In what ways does the poem reflect Blake's religious beliefs and philosophy?
- How does the poem address the themes of compassion and unity across cultures and religions?
- Pick out the word from the stanza which is an antonym of ‘earthly’.
Concept: The Human Abstract
| But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover! A savage place! as holy and enchanted As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted By woman wailing for her demon-lover! And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething, As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing, A mighty fountain momently was forced: Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail, Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail: And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever It flung up momently the sacred river. Five miles meandering with a mazy motion Through wood and dale the sacred river ran, Then reached the caverns measureless to man, And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean; And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far Ancestral voices prophesying war! |
- How is the chasm described in these lines?
- What did Kubla Khan hear from afar?
- Which sacred river is being referred to in the lines above?
- What are bursts of water compared to?
- What does the phrase By woman wailing for demon-lover mean?
- An apt antonym for the word ‘savage’ is ______.
- civilized
- vagabond
- severe
- ferocious
Concept: Kubla Khan or a Vision in a Dream: a Fragment
Answer the following question in 120-150 words.
Comment on the significance of the river Alph in "Kubla Khan"?
Concept: Kubla Khan or a Vision in a Dream: a Fragment
What do you understand by ‘Psalteries of Summer’?
Concept: Trees
What is the contrast between the liveliness of the swans and human life?
Concept: The Wild Swans of Coole
What do the swans in the poem, ‘The Wild Swans at Coole’ symbolize?
Concept: The Wild Swans of Coole
Answer the following questions in 30-40 words.
What are the contrasts in "The Wild Swans at Coole" by W.B. Yeats?
Concept: The Wild Swans of Coole
What is the central theme of the poem - ‘Time and again’?
Concept: Time and Time Again
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
| 1. | A fisherman, enfeebled with age, could no longer go out to sea so he began fishing in the river. Every morning he would go down to the river and sit there fishing the whole day long. In the evening he would sell whatever he had caught, buy food for himself and go home. It was a hard life for an old man. One hot afternoon while he was trying to keep awake and bemoaning his fate, a large bird with silvery feathers alighted on a rock near him. It was Kaha, the heavenly bird. “Have you no one to care for you, grandpa?” asked the bird. “Not a soul.” “You should not be doing such work at your age,” said the bird. “From now on I will bring you a big fish every evening. You can sell it and live in comfort.” True to her word, the bird began to drop a large fish at his doorstep every evening. All that the fisherman had to do was take it to the market and sell it. As big fish were in great demand, he was soon rolling in money. He bought a cottage near the sea, with a garden around it and engaged a servant to cook for him. His wife had died some years earlier. He had decided to marry again and began to look for a suitable woman. |
| 2. | One day he heard the royal courtier make an announcement. Our king has news of a great bird called Kaha,” said the courtier. “Whoever can give information about this bird and help catch it, will be rewarded with half the gold in the royal treasury and half the kingdom!” The fisherman was sorely tempted by the reward. Half the kingdom would make him a prince! |
| 3. | “Why does the king want the bird,” he asked. “He has lost his sight,” explained the courtier. “A wise man has advised him to bathe his eyes with the blood of Kaha. Do you know where she can be found?” “No…I mean …no, no…” Torn between greed and his sense of gratitude to the bird, the fisherman could not give a coherent reply. The courtier, sensing that he knew something about the bird, informed the king. The king had him brought to the palace. |
| 4. | “If you have information about the bird, tell me”, urged the king. “I will reward you handsomely and if you help catch her, I will personally crown you king of half my domain.” “I will get the bird for you,” cried the fisherman, suddenly making up his mind. “But Kaha is strong. I will need help. The king sent a dozen soldiers with him. That evening when the bird came with the fish, the fisherman called out to her to wait. “You drop the fish and go and I never get a chance to thank you for all that you‘ve done for me," he said. “Today I have laid out a feast for you inside. Please alight and come in. Kaha was reluctant to accept the invitation but the fisherman pleaded so earnestly that she finally gave in, and alighted. The moment she was on the ground, the fisherman grabbed one of her legs and shouted to the soldiers hiding in his house to come out. They rushed to his aid but their combined effort could not keep Kaha down. |
| 5. | She rose into the air with the fisherman still clinging to her leg. By the time he realised he was being carried away, the fisherman was too high in the air to let go. He hung on grimly, and neither he nor Kaha was ever seen again. |
Pick out the words/phrases from the passage which are opposite in meaning to the following:
- Take off (Para 1)
- Readily (Para 4)
Concept: Idioms and Phrases
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, following the direction given with the following question.
Lata said she would only go to the party if her mother bought her a new dress. (Use ‘UNLESS’)
Lata said she ______ her mother bought her a new dress.
Concept: Types of Sentences
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, following the direction given with the following question.
I'm sorry I didn't meet you at the airport - my car wasn't working. (Use ‘MET’)
I ______ at the airport if my car had been working.
Concept: Types of Sentences
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, following the direction given with the following question.
My uncle would call my dog 'the wolf' when he used to visit. (Use ‘REFER’)
My uncle would ______ 'the wolf' when he used to visit.
Concept: Types of Sentences
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, following the direction given with the following question.
Fifty years ago, cars were slower than they are nowadays. (Use ‘AS’)
Fifty years ago, cars ______ they are nowadays.
Concept: Types of Sentences
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, following the direction given with the following question.
Some shops try really hard to help you. (Use 'EFFORT’)
Some shops really ______ to help you.
Concept: Types of Sentences
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, following the direction given with the following question.
Have you got a belt that is cheaper than this one? (Use ‘LESS’)
Have you got ______ than this one?
Concept: Types of Sentences
Anne paid a heavy price for her recklessness.
(Begin: It........)
Concept: Types of Sentences
He does not intend to leave the company.
(Use: Intention...)
Concept: Types of Sentences
“Do you want some more ice cream or a slice of cake?” asked my aunt.
(Begin: My aunt asked.....)
Concept: Direct-Indirect Speech
Both the players are not adequately prepared for the tournament.
(Begin: Neither....)
Concept: Types of Sentences
That need not happen.
(Rewrite: using does)
Concept: Parts of Speech > Verb
