Std 12 Poems
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.