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Question
Suggest a few instances in the poem which highlight humour and irony.
Solution
A model answer has been provided for students' reference.
It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.
The poet has used the tools of humour and irony in the poem. Humour refers to cognitive experiences which provoke laughter in a person. Irony refers to the strange aspect of a situation that is very different from what one expects. Some instances of humour and irony in the poem are:
The decision of the king to hang the chief of the builders for constructing a low arch when his crown struck against it evokes laughter among the readers. It is an example of humour. The way the king got convinced that actually the labourers who constructed the arch were responsible is also humourous. The king wanted to hang the labourers but the labourers were able to defend themselves. This situation is humorous as it evokes laughter among the readers and ironic as the readers find that the labourers are able to shift the responsibility to the architect. Ironically, the architect is able to shift the responsibility to the king himself. The selection of the wisest man who would give the verdict as to who was the real culprit evokes laughter and is, therefore, humorous. The old man ultimately blamed the arch and declared that the arch must be hanged. Ironically, one of the ministers pointed out that the gathering wanted a man to be hanged. As the noose fitted the king's neck, so, he was hanged.
The choice of a successor is humorous as an idiot is consulted in selecting the successor. The idiot chose a melon who became the symbolic head of the state.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Read the following extract and complete the activities given below :
A1 Compare the old and new house and complete the table :
| Points | Old House | New House |
| Surrounding | razzle-dazzle | – |
| Size of the house | – | big |
I was thirteen, the year we moved to the Cantonment at Allahabad. In stark contrast to the razzle-dazzle of the city’s commercial areas like Katra and Chowk, the Cantonment was a quiet, orderly place with broad tree-lined roads that still carried the names of long-dead Britishers. Our bungalow was on a sleepy by-lane called MacPherson Road. When we first saw it, my brothers and I were delighted. It was by far the biggest house we had ever lived in. The task of furnishing those huge, echoing rooms daunted mother.
“Is a slightly smaller house not available?” she asked father, “We do not have enough curtains for this place. And the furniture seems a little inadequate. Why did they have to plan the kitchen at such a distance from the dining-room? It is like doing a route march. And who is going to help me keep this place clean and dusted?”
Her misgivings and objections were undoubtedly valid. But, seeing our crestfallen faces, she sighed and gave in. We made extravagant promises to help in the household chores. Keep our rooms tidy. Put away our toys and books. She smiled with amused disbelief, her mind already working out how many meters of curtain-cloth would be needed and so on.
A2 Complete :
Complete the following list of objections that the mother had with the new house :
(i) Inadequate _______
(ii) Do not have _______
(iii) Kitchen at a distance from _______
(iv) A very big _______
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