The Brook poem Class 8th, Tulip Series

The Brook

poem Class 8th, Tulip Series
Text of the Poem 

Let us read and understand the poem.

I come from haunts of coot and hern,

   I make a sudden sally

And sparkle out among the fern,

   To bicker down a valley.

By thirty hills I hurry down,

   Or slip between the ridges,

By twenty thorps, a little town,

   And half a hundred bridges.

Till last by Philip's farm I flow

   To join the brimming river,

For men may come and men may go,

   But I go on for ever.

I chatter over stony ways,

   In little sharps and trebles,

I bubble into eddying bays,

   I babble on the pebbles.

With many a curve my banks I fret

   By many a field and fallow,

And many a fairy foreland set

   With willow-weed and mallow.

I chatter, chatter, as I flow

   To join the brimming river,

For men may come and men may go,

   But I go on for ever.

I wind about, and in and out,

   With here a blossom sailing,

And here and there a lusty trout,

   And here and there a grayling,

And here and there a foamy flake

   Upon me, as I travel

With many a silvery water break

   Above the golden gravel,

And draw them all along, and flow

   To join the brimming river

For men may come and men may go,

   But I go on for ever.

I steal by lawns and grassy plots,

   I slide by hazel covers;

I move the sweet forget-me-nots

   That grow for happy lovers.

I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,

   Among my skimming swallows;

I make the netted sunbeam dance

   Against my sandy shallows.

I murmur under moon and stars

   In brambly wildernesses;

I linger by my shingly bars;

   I loiter round my cresses;

And out again I curve and flow

   To join the brimming river,

For men may come and men may go,

   But I go on for ever

                                    Alfred Tennyson

Glossary

Haunt:                                         place visited frequently

Coot and hern:                            water birds

Sally:                                          to rush; to issue forth suddenly

Bicker:                                        to move quickly with a participating noise

Ridge:                                         a high edge along a mountain

Thorp:                                         village

Sharps and trebles:                     the loud and low sound of music

Eddying bays:                            bays full of whirlpools

Fret:                                            to wear away

Fallow:                                        unploughed land

Foreland:                                     tiny cape

Chatter:                                        to pass with a noise

Wind about:                                 to move in a curved way

Lusty:                                          strong

Grayling:                                    a trout having a broad fin

Gravel:                                       small stones, often used to make the surface of paths & roads,

Steal:                                         to move quietly

Hazel:                                        a small tree that produces nuts, woods or buses

Gloom(verb):                             to grow dark

Glance:                                      to produce small bright flashes of light

Netted(adj):                               looking like meshes

Brambly:                                   full of thorns

Shingly bars:                             pebbles & sand hindering the flow

Cresses:                                     small plants with thin stems & very small leaves

The Brook

poem Class 8th, Questions and Answers:

Thinking about the Poem

Q.1. Who is “I” referred to as in the poem?

Ans. ‘I’ is referred to the brook that has been personified in the poem.

Q.2. Trace the journey of the brook.

Ans. ‘The Brook’ is a story about the musical journey of a stream from its origin to its end. It’s a story about the various courses it takes to reach its destination i.e. a brimming river. The brook is personified in the poem and its itself narrates its story of life, therefore, the poem is written in the first person.

The brook originates from a place that is frequently visited by water birds like coot and hern. It at once acquires great speed and flows down producing its characteristic sound. It passes through various hills, ridges, various villages, and a town as well. It flows beneath about a fifty bridges, passes beside Phillip’s farm to ultimately reach the brimming river. It takes stony paths and makes a loud noise while passing through them. It produces whirlpools, it passes curving through the fields and fallows and capes with willows and mallows. It moves in a zigzag fashion and meets flowers, trout’s, gray lines and foamy flakes on its way. It carries the golden gravel with it. It passes through grassy lawns, it glides over its deepest and shallowest passages, it passes through the thorns of the woods, pebbles, cereses and what not with only aim to join the brimming river.

Q. 3. Explain the following lines:

“ For men may come and men may go but I go on forever”. 

What purpose do these lines serve?

Ans. The poet has used these lines as refrain i.e., they get repeated at regular intervals.

In these lines, the brook mentions the natural phenomenon of the universe the phenomenon of life and death. Billions of people came to this world, lived their lives and eventually met their inevitable fate i.e. death. Nobody came to live forever unlike the brook, whose the journey started since the creation of the world and is still going on oblivious of the fact that how many people have lived and died during this time.

The purpose of these lines is to impart an idea that the world does not stop for anyone. The phenomenon of nature goes on no matter what. The cycle of life and death keeps moving. Humans are only a part of this phenomenon. There are things that have been there before their arrival and will be there after their departure. Nature is all powerful, everlasting and so humans must not think of themselves as eternal beings.

Q.4. Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in verse such as “I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance’. Pick out more examples of alliteration from the poem.

Ans. Alliteration is the repetition of the initial sound usually a consonant or first sound of two or more neighbouring words in a line of prose and poetry. Examples from the poem are:

Sudden Sally Sparkle, twenty, town; Phillips, from flow; men, may; bubble, bays, babble; field, fallow, fairy, foreland; with,Willow, weed; foamy, flake, golden gavel, slip, slide, gloom, glance, skimming swallows’ sandy shallows; murmur, the moon.

Q5. Can the journey of the brook to be compared to human life? How?

Ans. The poet has employed symbolism in the poem using the journey of the brook as a symbol of the human journey. The use of personification and the first person ‘I’ relates the brook to a human even more. The journey of a brook runs parallel to the journey of a man. The changes of size, shape, speed, sound, and courses that a brook encounters along its journey are similar to the different stages and experiences that a man confronts in his lifetime. Like an infant, a brook is born, it is wild energetic. It rushes forward to meet challenges like a human baby. It undergoes various changes making different sounds i.e. showing various dispositions like a human baby then comes the ripe age of the brook where it flows with patience just like a grown-up individual who performs calculated actions. Then comes a stage for the brook where it loiters like an old man who finds it move and after this age. As the brook flows again to meet its fate i.e. brimming river, humans move to their fate i.e. death. The journey of the brook never stops and so does not stop the cycle of birth and death. Individuals die but the existence of the living continues to be there.

How Teachers Learn class 8th Tulip Series

 How Teachers Learn 

(John Holt) 
Class 8th -
English : Prose - Lesson 1 -

WORKING WITH TEXT

Q1. Who was Nora? How did she become a friend of the teacher? 
 Ans: Nora was a five-year-old girl child. The teacher visited her family over a weekend. This is because of this visit they became friends.

Q2. How did the teacher observe Nora while learning?
Ans: Most of the time the teacher sat still and silent but when she seemed badly stuck sometime he either suggested her to figure out or told her to skip the word, but sometime he told her the if she asked to tell her the word.

Q3. What odd thing happened with Nora? Why was the teacher puzzled? 
Ans. While Nora was reading, an odd thing happened to her. She misread a word that previously she had read correctly. This made the teacher felt annoyed and puzzled because she had read the same word correctly earlier.

Q4. Was Nora a careless child? How do you know?
 Ans. No, Nora was not a careless child because she was very good at learning. She was putting all her concentration in reading the book.

Q5. How should a teacher understand the problems of the children?
Ans. To understand the learning problem of the children, a teacher must try to see things through their eyes. For a child who has just only seen the word for the first time, it is not easy but difficult for him to remember the word.

Q6. What experience popped into the mind of teacher's mind after Nora's learning problem?
Ans. The experience that popped out into the mind of teacher was sheet of different languages unknown for him. The page looked like a jumble of words for him. Whatever the teacher did to overcome that problem he resembled the same with the Nora's learning.

Q7. Why are children of unlettered homes at a disadvantage? 
Ans. Children of unlettered homes does not have the familiarity with the shapes of words and letters from the beginning of their learning. Since there is no one to watch and observe them, there so they are at a disadvantage.

Q8. How did teacher learn from Nora?
Ans. The teacher learned about the problems faced by the children by observing Nora while her reading and learning, and from that experience, he learned how to tackle these problems while teaching.


LANGUAGE WORK:
1. In the text the, author keeps using the American expression, ‘to figure out’. Which of the following word or phrases is closest in meaning to the expression as it is used in the passage?
(a) To guess             (b) to recognize           (c) to reason out         (d) to decide
Ans. Mostly the meaning of the given expression ‘to figure out’ is ‘to understand’. But when we read the passage of the lesson, the teacher makes the child to recognize the words by suggesting her to figure out. So in this way we can say the meaning of the expression may ‘to recognize’.
2. Second sentence of each of the sentence is written below:
(a)    He loaned me some clothes. I lent them.
(b)   He sold me an old piano.  I purchased it.
(c)    He chased me.  I ran away.
(d)   I gave him a glass of water.  He received it.
(e)    We conquered the enemy. They were defeated.
3. Suffixes of given words are given below:
Alphabet……………… Alphabetical
Angel…………………. Angelic, Angler, Anglican
Shape…………………. Shapeless
Book………………….. Bookish
Man…………………… Manhood(n), Manish(adj)
Government…………… Governmental
Minister………………… Ministerial
Elephant……………….. Elephantine
Tiger…………………… tigress
Day……………………..  Daily
College…………………. Collegiate
4. Message to Asif:
Message
Dear Asif,
Khalid had called me that he will be 1 hour late for dinner, which you and Khalid have planned to have at Ahdoo’s at 9 pm. He will be late because he has to complete an assignment at office.
Rauf


GRAMMAR WORK:

I. Fill in the blanks by using the past participle forms of given verbs:

Write,         Rent,        Forget,      Break,        Cook

1.    I am living in a rented house.
2.    It is not safe to sit in a broken chair.
3.    Some people do not like cooked vegetables.
4.    The headmaster wanted a written report.
5.    That is a forgotten quarrel.

II.   Using the words and phrases given, make sentences like in the example given below:

Example: we/ the doors/ have/painted/ shall.
                  We shall have the doors painted.
1. made/ I/ a new suit/ had.
    I had made a new suit.
2. she/ heard/ has never/ spoken/ French.
    She has never heard spoken French.
3. respected/ makes/ his knowledge/ him.
   His knowledge makes him respected.
4. I/ your names/ heard/ called.
    I heard your names called.
5. work/ we/ want this/ quickly/ done.
   We want this work quickly done. 

Prayer for strength poem summary (in hindi also) and solutions

Prayer for strength

-Rabindranath Tagore

class 8th poem

This is my prayer to thee my lord - strike,
Strike at the root of penury in my heart. 
Give me the strength lightly to be here my joys and sorrows. 
Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service. 
Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might. Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles. 
And give me the strength to surrender my strength to Thy will with love.

Glossary

Meanings of new words

Penury:                 extreme poverty; (here) hardheartedness, lacking love and compassion

Fruitful:                 bearing abundant fruit; producing results

Insolent:                 disrespectful; rude

Might:                     power

Trifles:                    things of little value or significance

Thee:                       you (old use)

Disown:                   to not own

Thy:                         your (old use)

Surrender:              to yield; to give up

Summary Of the poem

The poem “Prayer for Strength” is short but beautiful poem written by Rabindranath Tagore. This inspiring poem from Gitanjali is known as Song 36 in the  book Gitanjali. In this poem, the poet prays to God to strike at the core of his heart and remove the ignorance from there. He prays to God to give him strength so that he bears the joys and sorrows of life in the same spirit. It means that the poet wants to be stoic in his nature. He wants to be in the service of humankind with sincerity and humility. He wants to help the poor and never to bend before rude and disrespectful authority. He also prays for strength to raise his head above petty and ordinary things and surrender his strength before the will of God.

Summary Of the poem in hindi

कविता "शक्ति के लिए प्रार्थना" रवींद्रनाथ टैगोर द्वारा लिखी गई छोटी लेकिन सुंदर कविता है।गीतांजलि की इस प्रेरक कविता को गीतांजलि पुस्तक में गीत 36 के रूप में जाना जाता हैइस कविता में कवि ईश्वर से प्रार्थना करता है कि वह उनके हृदय के मूल में प्रहार करे और अज्ञानता को वहां से दूर करे। वह ईश्वर से प्रार्थना करता है कि वह उसे शक्ति प्रदान करे ताकि वह जीवन के सुख-दुख को उसी भाव से सह सके। इसका अर्थ है कि कवि अपने स्वभाव में स्थिर रहना चाहता है। वह ईमानदारी और विनम्रता के साथ मानव जाति की सेवा में रहना चाहता है। वह गरीबों की मदद करना चाहता है और कभी भी असभ्य और अपमानजनक अधिकार के सामने नहीं झुकना चाहता। वह अपने सिर को क्षुद्र और सामान्य चीजों से ऊपर उठाने की शक्ति के लिए भी प्रार्थना करता है और अपनी शक्ति को ईश्वर की इच्छा के सामने आत्मसमर्पण करता है।

Thinking about the poem

Question 1: Why does the poet want God to strike at his heart?

Answer: The poet wants God to strike at his heart so that he could bear the joys and sorrows of poverty and he also prays to God to remove hardheartedness and fill up his heart with love and passion.

 

Question 2: What does the poet want the strength for?

Answer: The poet wants strength to bear all the joys and sorrows of life, to provide the hand of help to the needy, to stand firm before the insolent people, to be free from the daily trifles and to submit his whole being to the will of God.

Question 3: According to the poet, how can love be made meaningful in one’s life?

Answer: If you love someone and your love changes the life of your beloved ones in a fruitful way then, you have made your love meaningful in one’s life. It can also be made meaningful by employing it in the service of the poor.

 

Question 4: What should our attitude be towards the poor?

Answer: We should be very helpful to them. We must not abandon them in their hour of need.

Question 5: What does ‘bend my knees’ signify?

Answer: ‘Bend my knees’ in the poem means giving up of one’s courage before insolent people.

Question 6: Why does the poet want to raise his mind high above ‘daily trifles’?

Answer: The poet wants to raise his mind high above ‘daily trifles’ because he wants to overcome the thinking about the things of little value and think about the great things that may be beneficial for the people. He wants to make a good use of his energy by directing it in the service of his Lord and the needy.

Question 7: Why does the poet ask for strength to surrender his will to God’s will?

Answer: The poet asks for strength to surrender his will to God’s will because he gets an utter pleasure in satisfying the will of his Lord. By doing this, his heart will get purified and he will get love from God and will lead a good life.

MESSAGE WRITING for Class 8th

MESSAGE WRITING

 for Class 8th

What is Message Writing?

A message is the method of conveying information in a precise and clear manner.

What is a message?

A message refers to a brief piece of information that you write down for a person when you cannot contact them directly. A message can be both written or oral.

Example

When you were not at home, your friend called and informed your sister about the cancellation of a plan for the next day. So, your sister will leave you a message before going out to inform you about your friend’s call.

Messages can be passed through different mediums, be it phones, texts or emails. But for school students, a generic form of message writing is included under the English syllabus. For this type of writing, they get to learn about retrieving and interpreting information through the conversation given. Then, they are taught about writing the basic inputs into a well-drafted format.

Points to be kept in mind.

1. How to write a message effectively:
2. Use appropriate language, style and format.
3. It can be written both in a formal and informal tone.
4. Be clear, brief and direct

Word Limit

It is essential for students to stick to the given word limits in order to get full marks for message writing questions. The standard word limit set by JKBOSE for such questions is 50 words. Make sure you are covering all the essential points within the word limit. 

General Instructions for message writing:

• A message does not need an address.
• The message must be put in a box.
• The key points are to be very brief and precise

EXAMPLE 1:

Read the conversation between Sahil and Suresh . Sahil was going out and so he left a message for his father. Draft a message about the same in not more than 50 words.

Now this is how we will write a message based on the above conversation.

MESSAGE

EXAMPLE 2:

You are Simran. Your brother is not at home. You received a call from his friend regarding the cancellation of dance class. Since you have to go out, you will leave a message for him. Draft a message about the same in not more than 50 words.

Now this is how we will write a message based on the above conversation.

Here is an exercise for you to understand how to write messages. Practice it and let me know how helpful these were in the comment section below!

Exercise 1: Write Message from a Conversation between Harish and Neha. As Neha has to visit her friend, she leaves a message for Raj as per her conversation with Harry. Write the message on her behalf.

Do it youself.

 Future Tense Explained (with hindi)

JKBOSE Solutions For Class 5th to 12th

Simple Future Tense Formula for First Person Singular/ Plural

The formula for Simple Future Tense when the First Person is Singular or Plural is that the sentence starts with the subject i.e I/ We, then a verb in its 1st form, followed by an object which is optional.

So, we can say that the formula for Simple Future Tense for First Person Singular is as follows -

I/ We + shall + verb (1st form)+ object (optional)

Let us see some example sentences with formula for Simple Future Tense when the First Person is Singular/ Plural:

1) I  shall study hard for exams.

मैं परीक्षा के लिए कठिन अध्ययन करूँगा।

2) I shall go to work every day.

 मैं हर दिन काम पर जाऊँगा।

3) We shall sleep late on Saturdays.

 हम शनिवार को देर से सोएंगे।

4) I shall see a movie every week.

 मैं हर हफ्ते एक फिल्म देखूँगा।

5) We shall swim on Sundays.          

हम रविवार को तैरेंगे।

For converting these sentences into negative sentences the formula is that you add ‘shall not’ before the root form of the verb and the rest of the rule remains the same.

I/ We + shall not + verb (1st form)+ object (optional)

Let us see some examples of negative sentences with the formula for Simple Future Tense when the First Person is Singular /Plural:

1) I shall not study hard for exams.

 मैं परीक्षा के लिए कठिन अध्ययन नहीं करूँगा।

2) I shall not go to work everyday.

मैं रोज काम पर नहीं जाऊँगा।

3) We shall not sleep late on Saturdays.

हम शनिवार को देर से नहीं सोएंगे।

4) I shall not watch a movie every week.

मैं हर हफ्ते एक फिल्म नहीं देखूंगा।

5) We shall not swim on Sundays.

हम रविवार को नहीं तैरेंगे।

JKBOSE Solutions For Class 5th to 12th

For converting these sentences into interrogative sentences the formula is that you add Shall at the start of the sentence followed by Subject and the rest of the rule remains the same.

Shall + I/ We + verb (1st form)+ object (optional)?

Let us see some examples of interrogative sentences with the formula for Simple Future Tense when the Person is Singular/ Plural:

1) Shall I study hard for exams?

क्या मैं परीक्षा के लिए कठिन अध्ययन करूंगा?

2) Shall I go to work everyday?

क्या मैं रोज़ काम पर जाऊंगा?

3) Shall we sleep late on Saturdays?

क्या हम शनिवार को देर से सोएंगे ?

4) Shall I watch a movie every week?

 क्या मैं हर हफ्ते एक फिल्म देखूंगा?

5) Shall we swim on Sundays?

क्या हम रविवार को तैरेंगे?

For converting these sentences into negative interrogative sentences the formula is that you add ‘Shall’ at the start of the sentence, then the subject and then ‘not’ and the rest of the rule remains the same.

Shall + I/ We + not + verb (1st form)+ object (optional)?

Let us see some examples of interrogative sentences with the formula for Simple Future Tense when the Person is Singular/ Plural:

1) Shall I not study hard for exams?

क्या मैं परीक्षा के लिए कठिन अध्ययन नहीं करूंगा?

2) Shall I not go to work everyday?

 क्या मैं रोज़ काम पर नहीं जाऊंगा?

3) Shall we not sleep late on Saturdays?

क्या हम शनिवार को देर से नहीं सोएंगे?

4) Shall I not watch a movie every week?

क्या मैं हर हफ्ते एक फिल्म नहीं देखूंगा?

5) Shall we not swim on Sundays?

क्या हम रविवार को नहीं तैरेंगे?

JKBOSE Solutions For Class 5th to 12th

 

Simple Future Tense Formula for Second Person, Third Person Singular/ Plural

The formula for Simple Future Tense when the Second Person, Third Person Singular/ Plural are involved is that the sentence starts with You/ He/ She/ Common or proper nouns/ They, with will and  then a verb in its 1st form followed by an object which is optional.

So, we can say that the formula for Simple Future Tense for Second Person, Third Person Singular/ Plural is as follows -

You/ He/ She/ Common or proper nouns/ They + will + verb (1st form)+ object (optional)

Let us see some example sentences with formula for Simple Future Tense when the Second Person, Third Person Singular/ Plural are involved:

1) You will study hard for exams.

आप परीक्षा के लिए कठिन अध्ययन करेंगे।

2) He will go to work every day.

वह प्रतिदिन काम पर जाएगा।

3) He will sleep late on Saturdays.

वह शनिवार को देर से सोएगा।

4) Girls will see a movie every week.

 लड़कियां हर हफ्ते एक फिल्म देखेंगी।

5) They will swim on Sundays.

 वे रविवार को तैरेंगे।

For converting these sentences into negative sentences the formula is that you add ‘not’ before the verb and the rest of the rule remains the same.

You/ He/ She/ Common or proper nouns/ They + will + not + verb (1st form)+ object (optional)

 

Let us see some examples of negative sentences with the formula for Simple Future Tense when the Second Person, Third Person Singular/ Plural are involved:

1) You will not study hard for exams.

आप परीक्षा के लिए कठिन अध्ययन नहीं करेंगे।

2) He will not go to work everyday.

 वह रोज काम पर नहीं जाएगा।

3) She will not sleep late on Saturdays.

वह शनिवार को देर से नहीं सोएगा।

4) Girls will not watch a movie every week.

 लड़कियाँ हर हफ्ते एक फिल्म नहीं देखेगी।

5) They will not swim on Sundays.

वे रविवार को नहीं तैरेंगे।

For converting these sentences into interrogative sentences the formula is that you add ‘Will’  at the start of the sentence followed by the subject and the rest of the rule remains the same.

Will + [subject] + verb (root form) + object(optional)?

Let us see some examples of interrogative sentences with the formula for Simple Future Tense when the Second Person, Third Person Singular/ Plural are involved :

1) Will you study hard for exams?

 क्या आप परीक्षा के लिए कठिन अध्ययन करेंगे?

2) Will he go to work everyday?

क्या वह रोज़ काम पर जाएगा?

3) Will she sleep late on Saturdays?

क्या वह शनिवार को देर से सोएगा?

4) Will girls watch a movie every week?

क्या लड़कियाँ हर हफ्ते एक फिल्म देखेगी?

5) Will they swim on Sundays?

 क्या वे रविवार को तैरेंगे?

For converting these sentences into negative interrogative sentences the formula is that you add ’Will’ at the start of the sentence, then the subject and then ‘not’ and the rest of the rule remains the same.

Will + [subject] + not + verb (root form) + object (optional)?

Let us see some examples of interrogative sentences with the formula for Simple Future Tense when Second Person, Third Person Singular/ Plural are involved:

1) Will you not study hard for exams?

क्या आप परीक्षा के लिए कठिन अध्ययन नहीं करेंगे?

2) Will he not go to work everyday?

 क्या वह रोज़ काम पर नहीं जाएगा?

3) Will she not sleep late on Saturdays?

 क्या वह शनिवार को देर से नहीं सोएगा?

4) Will girls not watch a movie every week?

क्या लड़कियां हर हफ्ते एक फिल्म नहीं देखेंगी?

5) Will they not swim on Sundays.

 क्या वे रविवार को नहीं तैरेंगे?

The Bangle Sellers poem Class 8th Tulip Series

 The Bangle Sellers

Sarojini Naidu
 (née Chattopadhyay; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949)

poem Class 8th Tulip Series

JKBOSE Solutions For Class 8 English poem 3

Bangle sellers are we who bear

Our shining loads to the temple fair...

Who will buy these delicate, bright

Rainbow-tinted circles of light?

Lustrous tokens of radiant lives

For happy daughters and happy wives.

Some are meet for a maiden's wrist,

Silver and blue as the mountain mist,

Some are flushed like the buds that dream

On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream;

Some are aglow with the bloom that cleaves

To the limpid glory of new born leaves.

Some are like fields of sunlit corn,

Meet for a bride on her bridal morn,

Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,

Or, rich with the hue of her heart's desire,

Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear,

Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.

Some are purple and gold flecked grey,

For she who has journeyed through life midway

Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest

And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,

And serves her household in fruitful pride,

And worships the gods at her husband's side

                                                                            - Sarojini Naidu

JKBOSE Solutions For Class 8 English poem 3

The Bangle Sellers:

Stanza wise Explanation

Stanza 1

Bangle sellers are we who bear

Our shining loads to the temple fair…

Who will buy these delicate, bright

Rainbow-tinted circles of light?

Lustrous tokens of radiant lives,

For happy daughters and happy wives.

The poem begins with the speakers introducing themselves as bangle sellers who sell their articles at the temple fair. They call out to the people to buy their bangles. These hawkers describe their bangles as delicate, bright, rainbow-tinted circles of light. They advertise by questioning who will buy these bangles for their daughters and wives.

It is important to note here that though the speakers of the poem are several, it appears as if there is a single speaker. This is due to the fact that they all have the same purpose and are thus seen singularly as a ‘class essence’. Also, the Bangles here are called ‘lustrous tokens of radiant lives‘. It shows us the Indian tradition, where bangles are bought on special occasions and are associated with happiness and prosperity of daughters and wives.

Stanza 2

Some are meet for a maiden’s wrist,

Silver and blue as the mountain mist,

Some are flushed like the buds that dream

On the tranquil brow of a woodland stream,

Some are aglow with the bloom that cleaves

To the limpid glory of new born leaves

The second stanza onward, the speakers talk of the kinds of bangles they have. Some of these bangles are suited for a maiden’s, that is, a young unmarried woman’s wrist. They are Silver and Blue in colour like the mountain mist. Some of them are ‘flushed’, that is pink and light red in colour like flower buds growing beside a woodland stream. Still others are green and glowing like the transparent beauty of new born leaves.

In Indian society, bangles have an important cultural and religious place. Different coloured bangles are worn by women in different stages of life. Blue, Silver, and Green are generally worn by young maidens. It is interesting to note that the poet here uses the words ‘flushed like the buds that dream.’ The word ‘buds’ here is suggestive of chastity. ‘Buds that dreams‘ present before us an image of young girls dreaming of marriage. In this stanza, the poet presents the stage of youth in a woman’s life.

The Bangle Sellers:

Class 8th

Stanza 3

Some are like fields of sunlit corn,

Meet for a bride on her bridal morn,

Some, like the flame of her marriage fire,

Or, rich with the hue of her heart’s desire,

Tinkling, luminous, tender, and clear,

Like her bridal laughter and bridal tear.

In the third stanza, the bangle sellers say that some of their bangles are yellow like ‘fields of sunlit corn‘. Bangles of this colour are perfect for a bride on her bridal morn. Some of the bangles they have are bright red. They represent the flame of a newly turned bride’s marriage fire, that is, the passion of her newly made relation. The red bangles also stand for her heart’s desire. The bangles are ‘tinkling, luminous, tender and clear’. They express both her joy of starting a new life with her husband and the sorrow of leaving her parents behind.

What we find striking is the use of the words ‘bridal laughter and bridal tears.’ These words convey the whole of a woman’s transition in life from a maiden to a wife and all the emotions attached with it in a single line. This stanza marks the transition of life from a maiden to a wife.

Stanza 4

Some are purple and gold flecked grey

For she who has journeyed through life midway,

Whose hands have cherished, whose love has blest,

And cradled fair sons on her faithful breast,

And serves her household in fruitful pride,

And worships the gods at her husband’s side.

In the final stanza of the poem The Bangle Sellers, the speakers continue to advertise their bangles. They shout that some of their bangles are purple and gold flecked grey. These are suited for a middle-aged woman who has ‘journeyed through life’. They are for her who has raised her children well, and has remained faithful to her husband and family. These bangles are, they say, perfect for she who has maintained her household with pride and “worships the gods at her husband’s side“.

The Bangle Sellers 

poem Class 8th Tulip Series

Thinking about the poem 

Questions Answers

Q.1 Who is the speaker in the poem?

Ans. A bangle seller is the speaker in the poem.

Q.2. How are the bangles described in the first stanza of the poem and who are these bangles for?

Ans. In the first stanza, the bangles are described as shining, delicate and bright. They are described as rainbow-tinted circles of light and as tokens of radiant lives. These bangles are for happy daughters and happy wives.

Q.3. The poet uses different similes for the bangles. What are these?

Ans. The poet compares the bangles to the mountain mist, to the flower buds, to the fields of sunlit corn, bridal laughter and to the bridal tear.

Q.4. Name the different colours mentioned in the poem. What do they represent?

Ans. Rainbow colours, silver, and blue, sunlit corn colour, purple and gold-flecked grey are the different colours mentioned in the poem. These colours represent the bangles suitable for different age groups of women.

Q.5. The word “some” has been repeated in the poem. What is it?

Ans. The word ‘some’ represents the different types of bangles being sold by the bangle seller.

Q.6. Explain the following lines.

Some are meet for maiden’s wrist

Silver and blue as the maintain mist

Ans. In these lines, the narrator says that some bangles are suitable for the wrist of unmarried women. Some bangles are of silver and blue colour as the mountain that is under a blanket of mist.

Long Answers Questions

Q. What are the kinds of bangles suited to young maidens?

Ans. The poem ‘Bangle Seller’ explores the imagery associated with bangles and it also speaks about women’s role in Indian society. It speaks about the strong connection between the bangles and their role in providing ‘happy daughters and happy wives’. The maiden girl likes silver and blue bangles like the mountain mist. Some girls are having countless dreams and so they are the buds. These girls are like a stream that flows in a woodland area. Some girls have the glow like fresh and transparent newly split leaves.

Q. What is the function of bangle sellers as seen in the poem “Bangle Sellers”?

Ans. The Bangle seller is selling various kinds of bangles. The bangles are delicate, colourful bright circles of light. He says that these bangles are bright and shining tokens of life. The poet repeats the word happy in ‘for happy daughter and happy wives’ to indicate that the daughters look forward to their happy marriage and the wives are happy in their married life. He has brought bangles for all the three stages in the life of an Indian woman- a maiden, an expectant bride and finally, a matured married woman. The bangle seller actually understands the choice and dreams of all the three stages in the life of an Indian woman.

LANGUAGE WORK

I. Read the poem once again and fill in the blanks as in the poem:

Bangle seller, sunlit corn, flecked grey, rainbow-tinted

Ans.1. Bangles are said to be as rainbow-tinted circles of light.

2. Some are like fields of sunlit corn.

3. Some bangles are purple and gold-flecked grey.

4. People buy these bangles from the bangle-seller.

II. The poet has used several expressions that form pictures in the reader’s mind i.e., “fields of sunlit corn” and “circles of light”. Pick out more such expressions from the poem.

Ans. Some more expressions are:

i. the maiden’s wrist.

ii. the mist of mountain.

iii. the flame of her marriage fire.

iv. bridal laughter and bridal tear.

III. Use the clues to complete the word pyramid:

Porus and His Elephant Class 8th Tulip Series

 2. Poem Class 8th Tulip Series

Porus and His Elephant

Hear ye a tale of the days gone by,

(Days whose recording is short and scant)

This is a tale that can never die,

 Told of a king and his elephant!

 

Out on the plain where the waters go,

Out on the banks of the Jhelum wide,

 Porus the king went to meet his foe,

Porus the king in his battle-pride.

 

Drawn up his elephants in array,

Standing in state, in unbroken rank;

While Alexander the Great, for fray,

Led up his troops on the other bank.

 

Fierce raged the fight; it was hard to tell

 What would betide, and they fought the more.

 Till, from his elephant, sudden fell

Porus the king, who was wounded sore.

 

Then did the elephant, faithful beast,

For his defence play a gallant part;

Standing above him, lest e'er the least

Harm should assail him, from blow or dart.

 

Trumpeting loudly, he held at bay

Foreman with arrow or spear or sword.

Challenged them all to approach their prey,

Dared them to injure his wounded lord.

 

Then at the last, with his mighty trunk,

Lifted him tenderly on his head,

Bore him in unconscious faintness sunk,

Where he could rest without fear or dread.

 

Ah ! these dumb things that but cry and pant.

They, too, can love, for God made them so;

 Porus was saved; but his elephant

Died from his wounds; thus the legends go.

                                                                                    (Mary Dobson) 

Summary

The poem “Porus and His Elephant” is a lyrical ballad. It is written by Mary Dobson. The poem narrates a legend about a king named Porus and his faithful elephant. Porus is confronted with his enemy Alexander. They fought a fierce battle. Porus was fighting bravely on his elephant. But suddenly Porus got injured and fell down from his elephant. The faithful elephant came to his rescue. The elephant did not allow the enemy to come near Porus. Then the elephant took his master to safety. In this endeavor, the elephant received several wounds. Porus survived but his faithful elephant succumbed to his wounds/injuries. The beasts who are dumb also have feelings as proved by the elephant.

The poet wants to convey that these animals may seem dumb to us but even they can love and show their feelings by crying and panting. King Porus was saved but his elephant died from his wound. This story of animal faithfulness and bravery became a legend for the people to remember.

Questions Answers

Thinking about the poem  

Q.1 How did the elephant save the life of Porus?

Ans. During the fierce battle between the armies of Porus and Alexander, Porus was wounded. When the wounded Porus fell down, his elephant provided him cover from the shower of arrows, spears, and swords. The elephant lifted Porus on his trunk and took him to safety. In this endeavor, the elephant received several wounds. The faithful elephant succumbed to his wounds, but his master survived.

Q.2 What does the poet mean by:

Ah! These dumb things that cry and pant,

They, too, can love, for God made them so.

Ans. In these lines the poet says that the beasts are unable to speak, but they too can feel pain and express their emotions. These creatures are also capable of loving because God also made them like that.

Porus and His Elephant

Q.3 Write the story told in the poem in your own words.

Ans. The poem “Porus and His Elephant” is a lyrical ballad. It is written by Mary Dobson. The poem narrates a legend about a king named Porus and his faithful elephant. Porus is confronted with his enemy Alexander. They fought a fierce battle. Porus was fighting bravely on his elephant. But suddenly Porus got injured and fell down from his elephant. The faithful elephant came to his rescue. The elephant did not allow the enemy to come near Porus. Then the elephant took his master to safety. In this endeavor, the elephant received several wounds. Porus survived but his faithful elephant succumbed to his wounds/injuries. The beasts who are dumb also have feelings as proved by the elephant.

The poet wants to convey that these animals may seem dumb to us but even they can love and show their feelings by crying and panting. King Porus was saved but his elephant died from his wound. This story of animal faithfulness and bravery became a legend for the people to remember.

Q.4 What is the rhyme scheme of Porus and His Elephant?

Ans. abab

Q.5 The poem reflects the faithfulness of an elephant towards his master. Explain.

Ans. The elephant, in the poem, stands on the epitome of faithfulness and of exemplary courage. The elephant risks his own life only to be loyal to his master. It testifies his faithfulness by laying his precious life for keeping his master breathing.

Q. 6. Tick the right answer:

a. Porus met his enemy on the bank of a. The Nile b. The Jhelum c. The Ganges d. The Satluj .

Ans. b. The Jhelum

b. Alexander in the poem is referred to as a. Friend b. Foe c. Brother d.Statesman

Ans. b. Foe

c. Who was wounded? a. Alexander b. Porus c. Both d. None

Ans. b. Porus

d. The wounded Porus is lifted by a. His own soldiers b. Soldiers of Alexander c. The Elephant d. None

Ans. c. The elephant

e. Who saves Porus? a. His Elephant b. His soldiers’ c. Both d. Villagers

Ans. a. His Elephant

LANGUAGE WORK

I. Use the following words, phrases, and expressions in your sentences:

Days gone by, fray, to hold at a bay, battle-pride, fought the more, gallant part, mighty trunk

Ans.

Days gone by: Days have gone by, since we met.

Fray: Alexander came to India for fray.

To hold at bay: Our soldiers hold at bay our enemies.

Battle-pride: Participation in the war was considered as battle-pride in olden times.

Fought the more: Porus fought the more against Alexander.

Gallant part: The elephant played a gallant part in the fight between Porus and Alexander.

Mighty trunk: The elephant lifted his master on his back with his mighty trunk to save him.

II. Use the following words as nouns and verbs in your sentences: 

Record, Present, Object, Contest, Produce

Ans. Record:

(Noun) I keep the record of my all expenditures.

(Verb) In Kashmir, the maximum temperature was recorded as 35ºC.

Present:

(Noun) He gave me a present on my birthday.

(Verb) The student presented himself before the headmaster.

Object:

(Noun) Do not touch an unclaimed object on the road.

(Verb) He was objected by people in his rude language.

(Noun) A music contest was conducted at Radio Kashmir Srinagar on Saturday.

(Verb) He contested for writing an essay in English.

Produce:

(Noun) This year he obtained a sufficient produce from his farm.

(Verb) A large quantity of paddy is produced in Kashmir.