Std 12 Poems : Activities and Responses

1.1 THE PERSON I AM LOOKING FOR

Activity 1
If you accept counsel without getting sore
And re-assess yourself in the light thereof.
If you pledge not to be obstinate any more
And meet others without any frown or scoff.
You may be the person I am looking for.


If you have the will to live and courage to die
You are a beacon-light for people far and wide.
If you ignore the jeers and, thus, expose the lie
‘That virtue and success do not go side by side’.
You are the person I am looking for.


A.1 Complete the statements :
  1.We  should accept counsel without..............
  2  The poet is looking for the person who has ............
Ans: 1. We should accept counsel without getting sore and irritated.
2. The poet is looking for the kind of person who has the will to live and courage to die.

A2 Fill in the blanks :
The poet is looking for the person who is a ......... for people and ignores ......... and exposes the lie " That ....... and ..... do not go hand in hand.
A3 Name and explain the Figures of speech of following lines
 1. If you have the will to live and courage to die
2. "You are a beacon-light for people far and wide."

Ans: 1. Antithesis : The opposite words ' live' and 'die' are used effectively.
2.Metaphor: A man is implicitly compared to a beacon-light.
A.4 Rewrite the first stanza changing one word in each line.

If you accept advice without getting sore
And re-examine yourself in the light thereof.
If you promise not to be obstinate any more
And meet others without any anger or scoff.
You may be the person I am seeking for.

Activity 2

If you crave not for praise when you win
And look not for sympathy while you lose
If cheers let not your head toss or spin
And after a set back you offer no excuse
You may be the person I am looking for.

A.1 Complete the statement :  When you win you should not............
Ans :You should not crave for praise.
A.2 Write your idea of an idol or role model in society .
Ans : My role model should neither look for sympathy when he loses nor crave for praise when he wins.
A.3 Find an example of Alliteration from the extract.Write down the rhyme scheme
Ans:And look not for sympathy while you lose. The consonantal sound 'l' is repeated pleasingly.
Rhyme scheme :ababc
A4 : Compose a poem with the title ' The student I am looking for'
Ans :
If you hope not for marks but for knowledge
And look not for rank in the college
If success let not your collar tight
And after a failure you quit not. Right
You may be the student I am looking for.

2.1 I RAN INTO A STRANGER

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh, excuse me Please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me too;
Wasn't even watching for you."
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said good-bye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked her down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.
She walked away, her little heart was broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

A.1 Match the column A with column B
                     A.                                      B.                1. Behaviour with stranger.           harsh.
  2. Behaviour with daughter.         polite
A2 Write four pairs of rhyming words along with rhyme scheme
Ans: Rhyming words : by-reply ; told-old ; meal-still ; down-frown
Rhyme scheme : aabbcc

A.3 Arrange the following sentences in order as they occur in the story.

1. They went on their way.
2. Daughter stood beside her.
3. Mother ran into a person.
4. Mother knocked her down.

A4. Compose following lines as if daughter is the speaker


that day, cooking the evening meal,
My daughter stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked her down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

Mother was cooking the evening meal,
I stood beside her very still.
When she turned, she nearly knocked me down.
"Move out of the way," she said with a frown.

3.1 Suburbs

"I celebrate the virtues and vices
of suburban middle-class people
who overwhelm the refrigerator
and position colorful umbrellas
near the garden that longs for a pool:
for my middle-class brother
the principle of supreme luxury:
what are you and what am I, and we go on deciding
the real truth in this world.
A1 Complete the statement:  A middle-class man's principle of luxury is ............
Ans:A middle-class man's principle of luxury is to have refrigerator, a big garden with swimming pool.

A2 Show the differences you see between rich class and middle class.
Ans: The rich class can enjoy the luxuries of life easily. But middle class people have to just dream about it.

A3 Symbolic use of words makes the expression pointed. Give one example.
Ans: The poem has many symbolic words such as refrigerator, colourful umbrellas,granaries, shy hotels,endless track.Refrigerator, colourful umbrellas stand for luxuries of life.Granaries symbolise shabby workplaces.

A4  Add two lines of your own with rhyme scheme aabb or abab.
I celebrate the virtues and vices
_________________________________

who overwhelm the refrigerator
___________________________________

I celebrate the virtues and vices
Though goods are of high prices
People who overwhelm the refrigerator
Will buy on loan the generator.

4.1 Old Women

They whisper like drizzles
as they roam the street
with a lost gaze as though
something they had thrown up
never returned to earth

They shiver like December nights
in their dreamless sleep on shop verandahs.

Q.1 Give reason: The old women are seen roaming aimlessly because..............
Ans: The old women are seen roaming aimlessly because they are not taken care of by their children. They had thrown something which didn't return.
Q. 2 Find out tow examples of Simile
Ans: "They whisper like drizzles" "They shiver like December nights"
Q. 3 Pick out the lines that reveal the loneliness of the old women.
Ans: "as they roam the street with a lost gaze
Q. 4 Write two metaphorical lines about grandmother.
  Ans :  " My grandmother is my lifeboat
   Her treasure of stories made me float."



Some more questions

1 What role do your grandparents play in your life?
Ans: Our grandparents play a vital role in our life.They keep family united.They take care of us.

2. Identify the figures of speech of the following line and explain.
Ans : "dreamless sleep"

5.1 The Felling Of The Banyan Tree

My father told the tenants to leave
Who lived in the houses surrounding our house on the hill
One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees
Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say
Felling them is a crime but he massacred them all
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives
My father ordered it to be removed.

A1 . List the names of trees .
Response : The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem , the huge banyan tree

A2. 'But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem'. Identify and explain the figures of speech.
Ans : Simile :The banyan tree is compared to problem.
A3. Write down what the poet's father did with the trees.
Ans: The poet's father massacred all the trees as he was leaving the place to settle in city. He did not leave any tree.
À4 Compose four lines telling importance of trees.

Some more activities

A1. Explain why  the tenants were asked to leave their houses.
The tenants were asked to leave their houses because the poet's was about to leave the place and settle in city.
À 1 Complete the statement: According to the grandmother a crime is......
According to the grandmother felling the trees is a crime.

6.1 A Nation's Strength

What makes a nations pillars high
And its foundation strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?

It is not gold. its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock :
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand
Not on abiding rock.

A 1 Describe the foundation and pillars of nation.
Ans The foundation of nation should be strong. The pillars should be high enough to defy the attack.
A2. What figure of speech is used in "it is not gold"?
Ans: Metonymy: The word "gold" is used to mean wealth.
A3. Suggest how we can make our nation strong.
Ans:Neither wealth nor strength makes the nation strong. Hard work with honesty and devotion can make our nation strong.
A4. Write an imaginary next stanza that suits to the poem.

Some more activities
A2. Write rhyming words and the rhyme scheme followed in the poem.

Ans:  Rhyming words : high-defy; strong-throng ; grand- sand; shock-rock

Rhyme scheme:  abab

7.1 Peace Is A Woman And A Mother

How do you know
Peace is a woman?
I know, for
I met her yesterday
on my winding way
to the world's fare,
She had such a wonderful face
just like a golden flower faded
before her prime.

A1 . Prove how does the poet know that peace is a woman.
Ans :Peace has a wonderful golden face and symbolizes a woman.

A2. a) Name and explain the figure of speech in the following line : ‘on my winding way’
b) Find an example of metaphor
Ans: a)Alliteration as the sound ‘w’ is repeated.
b) Peace is a woman
A3. Do you think a mother can be a symbol of destruction or evil? How?
Ans: No, she can’t be a symbol of destruction or evil as she gives birth to mankind and loves humanity.
A4. Arrange the words in last three lines differently.
Ans : Such a wonderful face she had
           Just like a faded golden flower
           her prime before

Some more activities

A3.Pick out the lines from the extract that describe the face of peace.
Ans: She has a wonderful face just like a golden flower faded before her prime.

Concrete Jungle