Archive for April 2018
Summary of wind
This poem consists of a total of 23 lines. These lines are not separated into stanzas. Here they are divided into meaningful segments for ease of comprehension.
Lines 1-4:
Wind, come softly.
Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
In these lines, the poet directly talks to the wind. In fact, he makes an entreaty to the wind. He asks the wind not to break down the shutters of the windows. The shutters are the only thing that separate man from the stormy environment outside, so in a way the poet is asking the wind for protection. He also asks the wind not to scatter the papers in his room, or to throw down the books from his bookshelves. It is pertinent for him to care about papers and books, and for them to be the first things in his room that he doesn’t want disorganized, because he is a writer. Perhaps some of these papers also contain drafts of poems like this one, hence they are very important to him, and he cannot afford to lose them.
Lines 5-7:
There, look what you did – you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
In these lines, the poet continues speaking to the wind. However, the tone he now uses to address the wind has changed from the tone he had been using in the first four lines of the poem. Here he takes on an accusatory tone. He gestures towards the mess in his room, and tells the wind that it is he who is responsible for it. He shows the wind how he has thrown all the books down from the bookshelves with his force, and torn pages out of those books as well. However, the pet does not restrict his vision only to the inside of his house. Casting his gaze outside, he also accuses the wing of having brought a bout of rainfall with himself while approaching the poet’s house.
Lines 8-12:
You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.
Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts –
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.
In these lines, the poet keeps speaking to the wind. Now his tone has once again undergone a change. While it is still accusatory, it has also become sombre to some extent. The poet tells the wind that he makes mischief whenever he comes face to face with anyone who is too meek and mild to protest against his actions. The wind can tear down the doors, the rafters, or entire wooden houses altogether. This is the wind’s overt action – leaving people without a roof over their heads, or walls to keep them sheltered from the harsh world outside. However, the wind also has a covert action. To understand what the poet is talking about at this point you can think back to how many Indian vernacular languages have a phrase about the wind blowing over someone’s life and leaving a trail of disasters behind. What such an idiom implies is that the troubles we face in life come as suddenly as the wind, and also leave in the same sudden way. Hinting at this, the poet says that the wind can tear down weak bodies, and fragile hearts. That is, difficulties in life can lead to a loss of hope, as well as a loss of life. Whether such things will happen or not is all up to the wind god, says the poet.
Lines 13-15:
He won’t do what you tell him.
So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s join the doors firmly.
In these lines, the poet stops speaking to the wind, and starts speaking to his readers. He tells his readers that the wind does not listen to anybody, and that his actions are governed by him alone. Therefore, we cannot escape the ill effects of the wind by appealing to the wind like he has been doing. Instead, we should build our homes on a strong foundation, and ensure that our doors cannot be easily penetrated in order to save ourselves from the wind.
Lines 16-18:
Practise to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.
In these lines, the poet outlines some other ways in which his readers can save themselves from the wind. He says that we must make ourselves strong, both physically and mentally. We must train our bodies and our hearts to combat against and resist the ill effects of the wind. If we are able to do this, then the poet thinks that we will no longer consider the wind an enemy. Instead the wind will invite us to become his friend, and we will be able to fearlessly accept his invitation.
Lines 19-20:
The wind blows out weak fires.
He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
In these lines, the poet describes how the wind has both bad effects and good effects. In order to elucidate on the bad effects of the wind, he shows how the wind can blow out a fire if it is glowing with a weak force. However, if the fire is burning strongly, then the wind will not blow it out, but make it fiercer. Thus the wind can nurture that which is already strong.
Lines 21-23:
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.
Wind, come softly.
In these lines, the poet comes to a conclusion after weighing both the bad effects and the good effects of the wind. He says that if we are strong, then the wind is a good friend for us to have, for he will increase our strength. He also says that we should sing our devotion to the wind god on a daily basis. Finally, he asks for the wind to come to him softly. This may seem a bit cautious of him, but shows that he has thought out his address to the wind very well. He knows how the wind can strengthen him, but also knows that he must not overestimate his own strength or disrespect the wind god. To prevent himself from doing either, he asks the wind to come to him in a gentle manner.
Solutions of Questions on Page Number : 30
Q1 : The wind blows strongly and causes a lot of destruction. How can we make friends with it?
Answer :
Strong winds cause a lot of destruction and damage but its energy can be of great use once we make friends with it. This we can do by taking proper precautions and measures. For instance, we can build stronger homes, keeping in mind the fatalities of the wind. We can also build windmills to harness its energy that can be used to generate electricity.
Thinking about the poem : Solutions of Questions on Page Number : 31
1 : What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
2. Have you seen anybody winnow grain at home or in a paddy field? What is the word in your language for winnowing? What do people use for winnowing? (Give words in your language if you know them.)
3. What does the poet say the w
ind god winnows?
4. What should we do to make friends with the wind?
5. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
6. How does the poet speak to the wind - in anger or with humour? You must also have seen or heard of the wind “crumbling lives”. What is your response to this? Is it like the poet's?
Answer :
1. The wind breaks the shutters of the windows; scatters the papers; throws down the books from the shelf; tears the pages of the books; and brings showers of rain.
2. Yes, I have seen women winnowing grain at home in the villages. Winnowing is generally known as phatkna, pichorna or anaj parchana in Hindi.
The village people use the winnowing fork and more commonly, the winnowing fan, known as chhaaj in Hindi, for winnowing.
3. The poet says that the wind god winnows the weak crumbling houses, doors, rafters, wood, bodies, lives and hearts, and then crushes them all.
4. To make friends with the wind, the poet asks us to build strong homes, join the doors firmly and practice to make our bodies and hearts stronger.
5. In the last four lines, the poet inspires us to face the wind, which symbolises the hardships of our lives, courageously. He tells us that the wind can only extinguish the weak fires; it intensifies the stronger ones. Similarly, adversities deter the weak-hearted but make stronger those who have unfaltering will. In such a case, befriending the wind or the hardships of life makes it easier for us to face them.
6. The poet speaks to the wind in anger.
Yes, I have witnessed stormy weather and I have seen the wind uprooting trees. I have watched on the television many instances where wind has caused destruction, crushing houses with people stuck inside.
No, my response would not be similar to the poet. Violent wind causes destruction but its energy, if harnessed, can be utilised in generating electricity and for other productive purposes.
References :-
https://prezi.com/jpxmh8tlbujr/albert-einstein-a-truly-beautiful-mind/ (Links to an external site.)
https://www.learner.in
http://www.excellup.com/classnine/englishnine/trulybeautifulmind.aspx (Links to an external site.)
http://www.schoollamp.com/
http://english-cbse.blogspot.in/2011/12/9th-classbeehiveshort-answers-chapter.html (Links to an external site.)
http://www.learncbse.in/ncert-solutions-for-class-9-english-beehive-a-truly-beautiful-mind/ (Links to an external site.)
This poem consists of a total of 23 lines. These lines are not separated into stanzas. Here they are divided into meaningful segments for ease of comprehension.
Lines 1-4:
Wind, come softly.
Don’t break the shutters of the windows.
Don’t scatter the papers.
Don’t throw down the books on the shelf.
In these lines, the poet directly talks to the wind. In fact, he makes an entreaty to the wind. He asks the wind not to break down the shutters of the windows. The shutters are the only thing that separate man from the stormy environment outside, so in a way the poet is asking the wind for protection. He also asks the wind not to scatter the papers in his room, or to throw down the books from his bookshelves. It is pertinent for him to care about papers and books, and for them to be the first things in his room that he doesn’t want disorganized, because he is a writer. Perhaps some of these papers also contain drafts of poems like this one, hence they are very important to him, and he cannot afford to lose them.
Lines 5-7:
There, look what you did – you threw them all down.
You tore the pages of the books.
You brought rain again.
In these lines, the poet continues speaking to the wind. However, the tone he now uses to address the wind has changed from the tone he had been using in the first four lines of the poem. Here he takes on an accusatory tone. He gestures towards the mess in his room, and tells the wind that it is he who is responsible for it. He shows the wind how he has thrown all the books down from the bookshelves with his force, and torn pages out of those books as well. However, the pet does not restrict his vision only to the inside of his house. Casting his gaze outside, he also accuses the wing of having brought a bout of rainfall with himself while approaching the poet’s house.
Lines 8-12:
You’re very clever at poking fun at weaklings.
Frail crumbling houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters,
crumbling wood, crumbling bodies, crumbling lives,
crumbling hearts –
the wind god winnows and crushes them all.
In these lines, the poet keeps speaking to the wind. Now his tone has once again undergone a change. While it is still accusatory, it has also become sombre to some extent. The poet tells the wind that he makes mischief whenever he comes face to face with anyone who is too meek and mild to protest against his actions. The wind can tear down the doors, the rafters, or entire wooden houses altogether. This is the wind’s overt action – leaving people without a roof over their heads, or walls to keep them sheltered from the harsh world outside. However, the wind also has a covert action. To understand what the poet is talking about at this point you can think back to how many Indian vernacular languages have a phrase about the wind blowing over someone’s life and leaving a trail of disasters behind. What such an idiom implies is that the troubles we face in life come as suddenly as the wind, and also leave in the same sudden way. Hinting at this, the poet says that the wind can tear down weak bodies, and fragile hearts. That is, difficulties in life can lead to a loss of hope, as well as a loss of life. Whether such things will happen or not is all up to the wind god, says the poet.
Lines 13-15:
He won’t do what you tell him.
So, come, let’s build strong homes,
Let’s join the doors firmly.
In these lines, the poet stops speaking to the wind, and starts speaking to his readers. He tells his readers that the wind does not listen to anybody, and that his actions are governed by him alone. Therefore, we cannot escape the ill effects of the wind by appealing to the wind like he has been doing. Instead, we should build our homes on a strong foundation, and ensure that our doors cannot be easily penetrated in order to save ourselves from the wind.
Lines 16-18:
Practise to firm the body.
Make the heart steadfast.
Do this, and the wind will be friends with us.
In these lines, the poet outlines some other ways in which his readers can save themselves from the wind. He says that we must make ourselves strong, both physically and mentally. We must train our bodies and our hearts to combat against and resist the ill effects of the wind. If we are able to do this, then the poet thinks that we will no longer consider the wind an enemy. Instead the wind will invite us to become his friend, and we will be able to fearlessly accept his invitation.
Lines 19-20:
The wind blows out weak fires.
He makes strong fires roar and flourish.
In these lines, the poet describes how the wind has both bad effects and good effects. In order to elucidate on the bad effects of the wind, he shows how the wind can blow out a fire if it is glowing with a weak force. However, if the fire is burning strongly, then the wind will not blow it out, but make it fiercer. Thus the wind can nurture that which is already strong.
Lines 21-23:
His friendship is good.
We praise him every day.
Wind, come softly.
In these lines, the poet comes to a conclusion after weighing both the bad effects and the good effects of the wind. He says that if we are strong, then the wind is a good friend for us to have, for he will increase our strength. He also says that we should sing our devotion to the wind god on a daily basis. Finally, he asks for the wind to come to him softly. This may seem a bit cautious of him, but shows that he has thought out his address to the wind very well. He knows how the wind can strengthen him, but also knows that he must not overestimate his own strength or disrespect the wind god. To prevent himself from doing either, he asks the wind to come to him in a gentle manner.
Solutions of Questions on Page Number : 30
Q1 : The wind blows strongly and causes a lot of destruction. How can we make friends with it?
Answer :
Strong winds cause a lot of destruction and damage but its energy can be of great use once we make friends with it. This we can do by taking proper precautions and measures. For instance, we can build stronger homes, keeping in mind the fatalities of the wind. We can also build windmills to harness its energy that can be used to generate electricity.
Thinking about the poem : Solutions of Questions on Page Number : 31
1 : What are the things the wind does in the first stanza?
2. Have you seen anybody winnow grain at home or in a paddy field? What is the word in your language for winnowing? What do people use for winnowing? (Give words in your language if you know them.)
3. What does the poet say the w
4. What should we do to make friends with the wind?
5. What do the last four lines of the poem mean to you?
6. How does the poet speak to the wind - in anger or with humour? You must also have seen or heard of the wind “crumbling lives”. What is your response to this? Is it like the poet's?
Answer :
1. The wind breaks the shutters of the windows; scatters the papers; throws down the books from the shelf; tears the pages of the books; and brings showers of rain.
2. Yes, I have seen women winnowing grain at home in the villages. Winnowing is generally known as phatkna, pichorna or anaj parchana in Hindi.
The village people use the winnowing fork and more commonly, the winnowing fan, known as chhaaj in Hindi, for winnowing.
3. The poet says that the wind god winnows the weak crumbling houses, doors, rafters, wood, bodies, lives and hearts, and then crushes them all.
4. To make friends with the wind, the poet asks us to build strong homes, join the doors firmly and practice to make our bodies and hearts stronger.
5. In the last four lines, the poet inspires us to face the wind, which symbolises the hardships of our lives, courageously. He tells us that the wind can only extinguish the weak fires; it intensifies the stronger ones. Similarly, adversities deter the weak-hearted but make stronger those who have unfaltering will. In such a case, befriending the wind or the hardships of life makes it easier for us to face them.
6. The poet speaks to the wind in anger.
Yes, I have witnessed stormy weather and I have seen the wind uprooting trees. I have watched on the television many instances where wind has caused destruction, crushing houses with people stuck inside.
No, my response would not be similar to the poet. Violent wind causes destruction but its energy, if harnessed, can be utilised in generating electricity and for other productive purposes.
References :-
https://prezi.com/jpxmh8tlbujr/albert-einstein-a-truly-beautiful-mind/ (Links to an external site.)
https://www.learner.in
http://www.excellup.com/classnine/englishnine/trulybeautifulmind.aspx (Links to an external site.)
http://www.schoollamp.com/
http://english-cbse.blogspot.in/2011/12/9th-classbeehiveshort-answers-chapter.html (Links to an external site.)
Wind Text & Explanation
NCERT Questions and Answers are given after text explanation
Line 1
Two roads
diverged in a yellow wood,
Our speaker is describing a fork in the road. This
poem was first published in 1916, when cars were only just beginning to become
prominent, so these roads in the wood are probably more like paths, not roads like
we'd think of them today.
The woods are yellow, which means that it's probably
fall and the leaves are turning colors.
"Diverged" is just another word for split.
There's a fork in the road.
Lines 2-3
And sorry I
could not travel both
And be one
traveler, long I stood
The speaker wants to go down both roads at once, but
since it's impossible to walk down two roads at once, he has to choose one
road.
The speaker is "sorry" he can't travel both
roads, suggesting regret.
Because of the impossibility of traveling both roads,
the speaker stands there trying to choose which path he's going to take.
Because he's standing, we know that he's on foot, and not in a carriage or a
car.
Lines 4-5
And looked down
one as far as I could
To where it
bent in the undergrowth;
The speaker really wants to go down both paths – he's
thinking hard about his choice. He's staring down one road, trying to see where
it goes. But he can only see up to the first bend, where the undergrowth, the
small plants and greenery of the woods, blocks his view.
This is where we start to think about the metaphorical
meanings of this poem. If our speaker is, as we suspect, at a fork in the road
of his life, and not at an actual road, he could be trying to peer into his
future as far as he can. But, since he can't really predict the future, he can
only see part of the path. Who knows what surprises it could hold?
Line 6
Then took the
other, as just as fair,
So after all this buildup about one road, which he's
looked down for a long time, our speaker takes the other path.
Then we get a tricky little phrase to describe this
road. It's "as just as fair." Read without the first "as,"
this phrase is clear, if you think of fair as meaning attractive, or pretty.
But the first "as" makes the phrase a little more difficult.
Combining the words "just" and "fair" in the same phrase is
a play on words – both of these words have multiple meanings. The phrase could
mean something like "as just as it is fair," as in proper, righteous,
and equal. But this doesn't quite apply to a road.
Yet we trust that our speaker wouldn't let things get
awkward without meaning it. We're guessing that he means the road is just as
pretty, but that in the metaphorical world of this poem, he thinks he made the
fair, or right, choice.
But it's not fairer – it's just as fair. So he was
choosing between two roads, or futures, that were different but potentially
equally good.
Lines 7-8
And having
perhaps the better claim,
Because it was
grassy and wanted wear;
The speaker still seems pretty uncertain when he
explains that this second path is better. It is only "perhaps"
better.
Then the speaker tells us why the path is better – it
seems like it hasn't been walked on very much, because it's grassy and doesn't
look worn.
Be careful not to think that the phrase "wanted
wear" is personification (it is alliteration, though). "Wanted,"
in this instance, means something more like "lacked."
Lines 9-10
Though as for
that the passing there
Had worn them
really about the same,
The speaker of this poem really can't seem to make up
his mind! Just when we think we've got a declaration about which path is
better, he changes his mind and admits that maybe they were equal after all.
The "as for that" refers to the path being
less worn.
"The passing there" refers to traffic,
probably on foot just like our speaker, that may have worn the paths down.
Lines 11-12
And both that
morning equally lay
In leaves no
step had trodden black.
Here, again, we hear that the paths are equal, but we
find out something new, that it's morning. It's possible that our speaker is
the first to travel to this place on that day.
The paths are covered with leaves, which haven't been
turned black by steps crushing them.
Wait, we thought one path was grassy…and now it's
covered with leaves. Possibly, the leaves aren't very thick, or the grass
sticks up in between them. Or maybe the speaker isn't being quite honest.
Line 13
Oh, I kept the
first for another day!
The speaker seems like he's already regretting his
decision. He is rationalizing his choice of path by saying he'll come back to
the one he missed later.
This is a familiar way to deal with difficult choices;
"you can always come back and try it again later," we think.
With an "Oh" at the beginning and an
exclamation point at the end, this line is emphatic. The speaker feels strongly
about what he's saying here.
Lines 14-15
Yet knowing how
way leads on to way,
I doubted if I
should ever come back.
The speaker realizes that his hopes to come back and
try the other path may be foolish.
He knows how "way leads on to way" – how one
road can lead to another, and then another, until you end up very far from
where you started. Because of this, he doesn't think he'll ever be able to come
back and take that other path, as much as he wishes he could.
Here we return to the metaphorical meaning of this
poem. In any life decision, we can hedge our bets by thinking we can always
come back, try a different option later. But sometimes our decisions take us to
other decisions, and yet still others, and it's impossible for us to retrace
our steps and arrive back at that original decision.
It's like deciding which college to go to – "I
can always transfer" a high school senior might think. But then, once the
decision is made and freshman year has passed, the reality hits that switching
schools is a lot more complicated than it seems, and it's hard to start
completely over somewhere else.
Lines 16-17
I shall be
telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages
and ages hence:
Now we jump forward in time. We don't know exactly
when, but we know that it's ages and ages "hence," or, from now. So
we're probably talking years, not months.
We know that this story is important, because the
speaker will still be telling it many years later.
He'll be telling it with a sigh, though, which is
interesting because sighs can be happy, sad, or merely reflective – and we
don't know what kind of sigh this is.
So, we know that this choice is probably going to be
important for the speaker's future, but we don't know if he's going to be happy
about it or not.
Line 18
Two roads
diverged in a wood, and I—
This line is a repetition of the first line of the
poem, with the subtraction of the word "yellow" and the addition of
the words "and I."
This repetition helps to bring the poem to a
conclusion. It reminds us what's important in the poem – the concept of
choosing between two different paths.
Then, we get the hesitation of "and I" and
the dash. This lets us know that whatever the speaker is about to say next is
important.
Line 19
I took the one
less traveled by,
In this line, the speaker sums up his story and tells
us that he took the road less traveled by. With the hesitation in the line
before, this declaration could be triumphant – or regretful.
Also, remember it wasn't exactly clear that the road
our speaker took was the one that was less traveled. He said at first that it
looked less worn, but then that the two roads were actually about equal.
Before you start getting mad at our speaker for
stretching the truth, remember that he's telling his story far in the future, a
long time from when it actually happened. He's predicting that his memory will
tell him that he took the road less traveled by, or that he'll lie in the
future, no matter what the reality of the situation was.
Line 20
And that has
made all the difference.
At first glance it seems that this line is triumphant
– the narrator took the path that no one else did, and that is what has made
the difference in his life that made him successful.
But he doesn't say that it made him successful – an
optimistic reader wants the line to read positively, but it could be read
either way. A "difference" could mean success, or utter failure.
Remember, the speaker is telling us about what he's
going to say in the future. From where he is now, just looking down the path as
far as he can see, he can't tell if the future that it leads him to is going to
be good or bad. He just knows that his choice is important – that it will make
all the difference in his life.
The speaker of this poem could be saying that his
choice made all the difference while he's surrounded by his grandchildren, by a
fire in a cozy little house. Or he could be saying it to the wind, while
walking alone on the streets. At this point, he doesn't know – and neither do we.
Rhyming
Quintains of Iambic Tetrameter
This poem has a pretty complicated form. We'll start
with the (relatively) simple stuff. The poem consists of four stanzas with five
lines each. These are called quintains. And in each quintain, the rhyme scheme is
ABAAB. For example, take the first stanza:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, (A)
And sorry I could not travel both (B)
And be one traveler, long I stood (A)
And looked down one as far as I could (A)
To where it bent in the undergrowth; (B)
The rhythm of the poem is a bit trickier. It is
basically iambic, which means that there is one unstressed syllable followed by
a stressed syllable (da DUM). There are many variations in this poem, most of
which are anapestic, which means that there are two unstressed syllables
followed by a stressed syllable (da da DUM).
The most common use of iambs in poetry is in
pentameter, which means that there are five "feet," or units of
stressed and unstressed syllables, in the poem. But this poem is in iambic
tetrameter, which means that there are only four feet (tetra = four). If you
read the poem aloud, you should be able to hear four distinct beats per line.
It will sound roughly like this: da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM.
Let's look at the first line as an example. Stressed syllables
are in bold and italic.
Two roads | diverged | in a yell|ow wood
Each of the four feet in this line is iambic except
for the third, because both "in" and "a" are unstressed
syllables, making it an anapest.
So this poem has a rhythm and rhyme scheme, but they
depart a little from the norm, just like the speaker of this poem, who chooses
his own path.
Thinking about the poem : Solutions of Questions on Page Number : 16
Q1.Where
does the traveler find himself? What problem does he face?
The traveller finds himself at a forked road
while travelling in a yellow wood. He faces the problem of choosing between the
two roads as he could not travel both at the same time.
2. Discuss
what these phrases mean to you.
(i) A yellow wood
(ii) It was grassy and wanted wear
(iii) The passing there
(iv) Leaves no step had trodden black
(v) How way leads on to way
2.(i) The phrase 'a yellow wood' signifies
the autumnal setting of the poem.
(ii) The grass on the road that the poet
decides to take was still afresh and the road seemed less worn out. This
implies that not many people had walked on it.
(iii)This refers to the people passing
through that road.
(iv) This means that there were no footmarks
on the leaves strewn on the paths since nobody had walked on them.
(v) Here, the poet refers to the fact that
one road always leads on to another and so on.
3. Is
there any difference between the two roads as the poet describes them.
(i) in stanzas two and three?
(ii) in the last two lines of the poem?
3. (i) In stanzas two and three, the poet,
vaguely expresses the similarities but at the same time, tries to determine the
differences between the two roads. He says that although the second road seemed
'just as fair' and almost as same worn-out as the first yet it was somehow the
'better claim' since it was still afresh and less-trodden. That morning, both
the roads were equally strewn with leaves that had not yet been trampled by the
travellers.
(ii) According to the last two lines of the
poem, one of the two road was 'less travelled by' than the other and the poet's
decision to walk on this road made all the difference in his life.
4. What
do you think the last two lines of the poem mean? (Looking back, does the poet
regret his choice or accept it?)
Ans: In the last two lines, the poet says that he
chose the less-trodden road and that this choice made all the difference in his
life. Whether he regrets his choice or accepts it is ambiguous. The poet uses
word 'difference', which does not clarify the implication, whether good or bad.
However, the word 'sigh' suggests that the decision was possibly more of regret
than satisfaction.
QII. 1.
Have you ever had to make a difficult choice (or do you think you will have
difficult choices to make)? How will you make the choice (for what decisions)?
Ans: No, I have never been in a situation in which
I had to make a difficult choice. But I think the time will come when I will
have to choose a stream, among science, commerce and humanities, after tenth
grade. This decision will be a crucial one as it will determine my career
prospects in future. I will make this decision on the basis of my interests as
well as my aspirations and future goals in life.
(A model
answer has been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended
that students prepare the answer based on their own experience and
understanding.)
2. After
you have made a choice do you always think about what might have been, or do
you accept the reality?
Answer :
Having
made a choice, I accept the reality. Reconsidering a decision or contemplating
over it is not a positive approach towards life. Such thoughts never allow us
to be happy with what we have gained from our decision. Therefore, I believe in
sticking to my decisions.
(A model answer has been provided for
students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the
answer based on their own experience and understanding.)
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
List of Chapters Class 9 English
PROSE (Beehive)
- The Fun They Had
- The Sound of Music
- The Little Girl
- A Truly Beautiful Mind
- The Snake and the Mirror
- My Childhood
- Packing
- Reach for the Top
- The Bond of Love
- Kathmandu
- If I were you
POETRY
- The Road Not Taken
- Wind
- Rain on the Roof
- The Lake Isle of Innisfree
- A Legend of the Northland
- No Men Are Foreign
- The Duck and the Kangaroo
- On Killing a Tree
- The Snake Trying
- A Slumber did My Spirit Seal
SUPPLEMENTARY READER (Moments)
- The Lost Child
- The Adventures of Toto
- Iswaran the Storyteller
- In the Kingdom of Fools
- The Happy Prince
- Weathering the Storm in Ersama
- The Last leaf
- A House is Not a Home
- The Accidental Tourist
- The Beggar
ENGLISH SYLLABUS OF CLASS IX 2018-19
Summary
Evelyn Glennie is a multi-percussionist. She can play about 1000 instruments with perfection. She listens to sound without hearing it. Evelyn fought against a physical disability & became a source of inspiration for thousands of disabled persons. She was profoundly deaf. She was 11 years old when it was discovered that she had the hearing disability. She wanted to pursue her career in music but her teachers discouraged her, it was Ron Forbes who recognized her potential & supported her in achieving her goal. He advised her not to listen through her ears but try to sense & feel it in some other way. Soon she was excited. She felt the vibrations of higher drum from the waist above & the lower drum from the waist down. Later she realized that she could feel the vibrations in every part of her body. These tingle in her skin, her cheekbones and even in hair. She had learnt to open her body & mind to the sounds and vibrations. After that, she never looked back.
Evelyn joined the prestigious royal academy of music & scored one of the highest marks in the history of the academy. She worked hard with strong determination. She got right to the top. In 1991, she was presented with the royal philharmonic society’s prestigious soloist of the year award. Apart from the regular concerts, Evelyn gives free concerts in prisons & hospitals. She is shining inspiration for deaf children. She has accomplished more than most people twice her age. She has earned name in orchestra. She has inspired those who are handicapped made them believe that if Evelyn could do that, why not they.
Evelyn joined the prestigious royal academy of music & scored one of the highest marks in the history of the academy. She worked hard with strong determination. She got right to the top. In 1991, she was presented with the royal philharmonic society’s prestigious soloist of the year award. Apart from the regular concerts, Evelyn gives free concerts in prisons & hospitals. She is shining inspiration for deaf children. She has accomplished more than most people twice her age. She has earned name in orchestra. She has inspired those who are handicapped made them believe that if Evelyn could do that, why not they.
Key points
- Evelyn Glennie was 8, when first time her hearing disability was noticed by her mother.
- At the age of 11, her disability was discovered at school.
- Wants to do career in Music, her teachers discouraged her.
- Fortunately she met Ron Forbes, the percussionist, who identified her potential & supported in achieving her goal.
- He trained Evelyn to sense the music through different parts of our body.
- Suddenly she was excited to feel the vibrations in every part of her body.
- Evelyn followed him like an obedient student and in the meantime she had learnt to open her body & mind to sounds and vibrations.
- After this, she never looked back.
- Evelyn joined the famous Royal Academy of Music, worked hard with strong determination. Suddenly she got to top.
- In 1991, she bagged the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious “Soloist of the Year Award”
- She toured round the world for her concerts with a very hectic schedule and became a kind of workaholic.
- Apart from this, she gives free concerts in prison & hospitals.
- Evelyn soon became shining super star & inspiration for not only the disabled ones but for all.
- She achieved more than most people twice her age.
- Evelyn has earned great name in Orchestra.
- She has inspired those who are handicapped & made them believe that if Evelyn could do that, why not they.
Question 1:
Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.
1. How old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music?
2. When was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed?
Answer:
1. Evelyn was seventeen years old when she went to the Royal Academy of Music in London.
2. Her deafness was first noticed by her mother when Evelyn was eight years old. She was once waiting to
play the piano. When her name was called, she did not move. That was when her mother realized that
Evelyn had not heard anything. Her deafness was confirmed when she was eleven. Her marks had
deteriorated and her headmistress had urged her parents to take her to a specialist. It was
then discovered that gradual nerve damage had severely impaired her hearing.
Question 2:
Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (30 – 40 words).
1. Who helped her to continue with music? What did he do and say?
2. Name the various places and causes for which Evelyn performs.
Answer:
1. Percussionist Ron Forbes was the first person to notice Evelyn’s potential. He began by tuning two large drums to different notes. He asked Evelyn not to listen through her ears but to try and sense the sound in some other manner. Suddenly Evelyn realized that she could feel the higher drum from the waist upand the lower drum from the waist down. Forbes repeated the exercise and Evelyn realized that she could sense certain notes in different parts of her body.
2. Evelyn always delighted her audience. She had toured the United Kingdom with a youth orchestra. She had a very hectic international schedule. Apart from the regular concerts, she gave free concerts in prisons and hospitals. She gave high priority to classes for young musicians because of which she was a shining inspiration for deaf children.
Question 3: Answer the question in two or three paragraphs (100 – 150 words).
1. How does Evelyn hear music?
Answer:
Evelyn heard music by sensing the notes in different parts of her body. When Ron Forbes tuned two drums and asked her to sense the sound without using her ears, she realized that she could feel the higher drum from the waist up and the lower drum from the waist down. When she played the xylophone, she could sense the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips. By leaning against the drums, she could feel the resonances flowing into her body. On a wooden platform, she removed her shoes so that the vibrations could pass through her bare feet. She herself said that music poured in through every part of her body. It tingled in the skin, her cheekbones and even in her hair.
Question 1:
Tick the right answer.
1. The (shehnai, pungi) was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’
2. (Bismillah Khan, A barber, Ali Bux) transformed the pungi into a shehnai.
3. Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were (barbers, professional musicians).
4. Bismillah Khan learnt to play the shehnai from (Ali Bux, Paigambar Bux, Ustad Faiyaaz Khan).
5. Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to (Afghanistan, U.S.A., Canada).
Answer:
1. The pungi was a ‘reeded noisemaker.’
2. A barber transformed the pungi into a shehnai.
3. Bismillah Khan’s paternal ancestors were professional musicians.
4. Bismillah Khan learnt to play the shehnai from Ali Bux.
5. Bismillah Khan’s first trip abroad was to Afghanistan.
Question 3:
Answer these questions in 30 – 40 words.
1. Why did Aurangzeb ban the playing of the pungi?
2. How is a shehnai different from a pungi?
3. Where was the shehnai played traditionally? How did Bismillah Khan change this?
4. When and how did Bismillah Khan get his big break?
5. Where did Bismillah Khan play the shehnai on 15 August 1947? Why was the event historic?
6. Why did Bismillah Khan refuse to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A.?
7. Find at least two instances in the text which tell you that Bismillah Khan loves India and Benaras.
Answer:
1. Emperor Aurangzeb banned the playing of the pungi in the royal residence for it had a shrill and
unpleasant sound. It became the generic name for reeded noisemakers.
2. Shehnai is a pipe with a natural hollow stem that is longer and broader than the pungi. It has seven
holes on its body. When it is played, the closing and opening of some of the holes produces soft and
melodious sounds.
3. Traditionally, the shehnai was part of the traditional ensemble of nine instruments found at royal courts.It was used only in temples and weddings. However, Ustad Bismillah Khan brought in the change by bringing it onto the classical stage.
4. Bismillah Khan had accompanied his uncle to the Allahabad Music Conference at the age of fourteen. At the end of his recital, Ustad Faiyaz Khan patted his back and told him to work hard and he shall make it big in life. He got his big break with the opening of the All India Radio in Lucknow in 1938. He soon became an often-heard shehnai player on radio.
5. On 15 August 1947, Bismillah Khan played the shehnai from the Red Fort. It was a historic day as India gained independence on that day. He became the first Indian to greet the nation with his shehnai. His audience included illustrious names such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi.
6. Bismillah Khan refused to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A. because he could not live outside India. His student, who had asked him to head the shehnai school, promised that he would recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples in the city. However, he wanted to know if his student could also transport River Ganga, which his student obviously could not. He himself said that
whenever he was in a foreign country, he kept yearning to see Hindustan.
7. Bismillah Khan immensely loved India, particularly Benaras and Dumraon. In his initial years, the temple of Balaji, Mangala Maiya, and the banks of River Ganga in Benaras became his favourite haunts where he could practice in peace and solitude. River Ganga’s flowing waters inspired him to improvise and invent ragas that were once thought to be beyond the range of shehnai. Bismillah Khan refused to start a shehnai school in the U.S.A. because he could not live outside India. His student, who had asked him to head the shehnai school, promised that he would recreate the atmosphere of Benaras by replicating the temples in the city. However, he wanted to know if his student could also transport River Ganga, which his student obviously could not.
EXTRA QUESTIONS:
EXTRA QUESTIONS:
short questions
Q :How was Evelyn a source of great pleasure to her audience?
A: Evelyn was very young. She performed despite her handicap. Her music was better than those of her double age. She was an inspiration to the handicapped. Thus, she has given enormous pleasure to millions.
Q: Why was Evelyn nervous while on the way to Royal Academy of music?
A:Evelyn was only seventeen year old girl while she was going to perform in Royal Academy of music. She was nervous as she was completely deaf. Moreover, she was Scottish.
Q:How did Evelyn’s parents come to know about her deafness?
A:Once Evelyn‘s name was called in the class but she did not respond. At that time she was just eight year old. Her performance in class had deteriorated. The headmistress called her parents and suggested to take her to a specialist. It was then her parents came to know about her deafness
Q:Why did Evelyn say that men with bushy beards gave her trouble?
A:Evelyn was a deaf girl. She understood others by reading their facial expressions and movements of their eyes and lips. It was difficult for her to read these movements of beard men. Thus, she remarked that men with bushy beards gave her trouble.
A: Evelyn was very young. She performed despite her handicap. Her music was better than those of her double age. She was an inspiration to the handicapped. Thus, she has given enormous pleasure to millions.
Q: Why was Evelyn nervous while on the way to Royal Academy of music?
A:Evelyn was only seventeen year old girl while she was going to perform in Royal Academy of music. She was nervous as she was completely deaf. Moreover, she was Scottish.
Q:How did Evelyn’s parents come to know about her deafness?
A:Once Evelyn‘s name was called in the class but she did not respond. At that time she was just eight year old. Her performance in class had deteriorated. The headmistress called her parents and suggested to take her to a specialist. It was then her parents came to know about her deafness
Q:Why did Evelyn say that men with bushy beards gave her trouble?
A:Evelyn was a deaf girl. She understood others by reading their facial expressions and movements of their eyes and lips. It was difficult for her to read these movements of beard men. Thus, she remarked that men with bushy beards gave her trouble.
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