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Question
Bring out the contrasting picture of the castle as depicted in stanzas 3 and 5.
Solution
The gates of the castle were very strong. The walls were high and smooth. No enemy could ever enter it by trick. The soldiers were quite alert to the movement of the enemies. They were proud that only a bird could venture to scale over the castle. But the enemies entered through the wicket gate. The tunneled stone walls became thin and treacherous. The famous citadel ‘ was overthrown without a fight. The cunning enemies, having bribed the aged warder, looted the treasures in the secret galleries. The citadel was lost without a fight and a groan of protest.
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Discuss with your partner the different stages in the growth of man from a new born to an adult
Fill in the blanks using the words given in the box to complete the summary of the poem.
Shakespeare considers the whole world a stage where men and women are only (1) ______. They (2)______the stage when they are born and exit when they die. Every man, during his life time, plays seven roles based on age. In the first act, as an infant, he is wholly (3) ______on the mother or a nurse. Later, emerging as a school child, he slings his bag over his shoulder and creeps most (4)______ to school. His next act is that of a lover, busy (5) ______ballads for his beloved and yearns for her (6) ______. In the fourth stage, he is aggressive and ambitious and seeks (7) ______in all that he does. He (8) ______solemnly to guard his country and becomes a soldier. As he grows older, with (9) ______and wisdom, he becomes a fair judge. During this stage, he is firm and (10) ______. In the sixth act, he is seen with loose pantaloons and spectacles. His manly voice changes into a childish (11) ______. The last scene of all is his second childhood. Slowly, he loses his (12) ______of sight, hearing, smell and taste and exits from the roles of his life.
| attention | treble | reluctantly |
| actors | maturity | reputation |
| serious | faculties | composing |
| enter | promises | dependent |
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”
Shakespeare has skilfully brought out the parallels between the life of man and actors on stage. Elaborate this statement with reference to the poem.
‘He works his work, I mine’ – How is the work distinguished?
Read the set of line from the poem and answer the question that follow.
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
- How is every hour important to Ulysses?
- What does the term ‘Little remains’ convey?
What happened to the people who wanted too much money?
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
Tell him to be a fool ever so often
and to have no shame over having been a fool
yet learning something out of every folly
hoping to repeat none of the cheap follies
- Is it a shame to be a fool at times?
- What does one learn from every folly?
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
..........Free imaginations
Bringing changes into a world resenting change.
- How does free imagination help the world?
- Identify the figure of speech.
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
Yet learning something out of every folly
hoping to repeat none of the cheap follies
Explain how the poet guides his son who is at the threshold of manhood, to face the challenges of life.
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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Where was Napoleon standing on the day of attack on the city of Ratisbon?
Read the line given below and answer the question that follow.
A film the mother eagles eye When her bruised eaglet breathes
- Who is compared to the mother eagle in the above lines?
- Explain the comparison.
Napoleon was a great source of inspiration to his army. Justify.
