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Question
They seemed no threat to us at all.
Solution
- Reference: This line is from Edwin Muir’s poem “The Castle”.
- Context and Explanation: The poet says this while recounting the shameful act of betrayal by the aged warder of the wicket gate. The narrator was overconfident of the invincibility of their castle, their stockpiled arms, and well-stocked granary. They had a brave captain and loyal soldiers. In an open war, they need not fear defeat as their friendly neighbours were also willing to join them during a war against any invader. But their enemy was within their fortified castle. They were sold for a bag of gold. Without a groan, the citadel was captured. It was a shameful way to lose one’s side. So, the narrator prefers not to recount this shameful secret to anyone so long as he is alive.
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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.
Identify the figure of speech used in the following line.
How can this shameful tale be told?
Fill in the blanks choosing the words from the box given and complete the summary of the poem.
The casuarina tree is tall and strong, with a creeper winding around it like a (1) ______. The tree stands like a (2) ______with a colourful scarf of flowers. Birds surround the garden and the sweet song of the birds is heard. The poet is delighted to see the casuarina tree through her (3) ______. She sees a grey monkey sitting like a (4) ______on top of the tree, the cows grazing, and the water lilies (5) ______in the pond. The poet feels that the tree is dear to her not for its (6) ______appearance but for the (7) ______memories of her happy childhood that it brings to her. She strongly believes that (8) ______communicates with human beings. The poet could communicate with the tree even when she was in a far-off land as she could hear the tree (9) ______her absence. The poet (10) ______the tree’s memory to her loved ones, who are not alive. She immortalizes the tree through her poem like the poet Wordsworth who (11) ______the yew tree of Borrowdale in verse. She expresses her wish that the tree should be remembered out of love and not just because it cannot be (12) ______.
| python | statue | nature | casement |
| nostalgic | lamenting | impressive | forgotten |
| giant | consecrates | springing | sanctified |
How does the creeper appear on the tree?
How does the poet spend her winter?
Why is the casuarina tree dear to poet’s heart?
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!
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- Why is the scarf colourful?
Explain the following line with reference to the context.
It is the tree’s lament, an eerie speech,…
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What is the world compared to?
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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;
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- Describe his appearance.
- How does he behave with the people around him?
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I am become a name; For always roaming with a hungry heart
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Lines 1-25
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| 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 |
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and guide him among sudden betrayals
and tighten him for slack moments.
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