Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
1. ‘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 ’
a. Explain: ‘With many a curve my banks I fret.’
The poet refers to the erosion of the bank by the constant brushing of
the brook against the bank.
b. What kind of terrain is referred to here?
The kind of land being referred to here is land that is fertile and also
land that has become infertile due to successive efforts of farming.
c. Comment on the movement of the brook at this stage.
The brook moves swiftly and powerfully.
2. ‘I wind about, and in and out
With here a blossom sailing
And here a lust trout
And here and there a grayling’
a. How does the brook’s movement ‘i wind about, and in and out,’
differ from the brook’s earlier movement?
In the beginning the brook hurries downhill but gradually it gently
meanders along.
b. Name the flowers that grow on the banks of the brook. .... forget-me-nots and mallow.
c. Name the fishes that live in the river.
The fishes that live in the river are trout and grayling.
3. ‘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 glanc
Among my skimming swallows
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows’ a. Comment on the movement of the brook at this stage.
The movement of the brook is sedate and subdued.
b. What place does the brook pass by at this stage?
The brook passes by lawns, grassy plots of land, where hazel trees
grow and bushes bearing forget-me-nots.
c. Which bird flies near the brook at this stage?
The swallow flies near the brook at this stage.
d. Name the poetic device used in line 2
.......... alliteration
e. What does ‘netted sunbeam’ mean? How does it dance?
The interplay of sunshine and shadow makes sunbeams appear to be
trapped on the surface of the brook; they appear to dance to the
movement of the brook.
B. Answer the following briefly.
1. How does the brook babble> why has the narrator used this word?
When the brook passes over pebbles and stones, it makes a lot of
noise. It seems as if it were babbling or talking gaily.
2. Why is the sound created by the brook called ‘chatter’?
As the brook passes over small and large stones, it makes a series of
high-pitched sounds like monkeys do. Hence it has been called
chatter.
3. When doe the sound of the brook resemble a ‘murmur’?
When the brook reaches the end of its journey it slows down in speed
considerably and the sound then made by the brook resembles a
‘murmur’.
4. What do ‘skimming swallows’ refer to?
The phrase ‘skimming swallows ‘refers to the swallows (a kind of bird)
that ‘skim’ or lightly touch the surface as they fly very close to the
surface of the water.
Long Answers
1. How does the poet use the brook to draw a parallel with the life of
man?
This is a poem that traces the life of a brook or a small stream as it
emerges from the mountaintop and flows down the hills and across
valleys to empty into the river. On a deeper level, the poet uses the
brook to draw a parallel with the life of a man. Like the brook, man is
energetic, lively and moves swiftly when he is young as he is striving
to overcome the obstacles or challenges that he encounters. Man
slows down later on in life just like the brook does before it reaches
the river. The brook carries a blossom, a trout or a grayling just like
man who meets people, forges bonds and gathers memories that he
cherishes till his life ends.
2. Describe the various things a brook travels past to join the river.
The brook emerges from the mountaintop where coots and heron live
and flows down the hills and across valleys to empty into the river. It
bubbles with energy as it flows down the hill-side making a lot of
noise. As it passes through different landforms like forests, fields that
are either fertile or fallow, grassy lawns or flower-filled gardens with
forget-me-nots and hazel trees, it slows down considerably. It does
not follow a straight path but meanders on around rocks and
boulders without letting anything stop its path. Thus it continues to
flow from its source to the river eternally.
3. Explain the lines: ‘For men may come and men may go but I go on
forever.’
These lines highlight the eternal nature of the brook which continues
to flow year after year from its source to the river without fail. It
expresses the fact that though men die and others are born the brook
is immortal. Therefore these lines highlight the short-lived quality of
human-life as compared to nature which is eternal.
4. The brook appears to be a symbol of life. Pick out examples of
parallelism between life and the brook.
The brook is definitely a symbol of life. Tennyson has personified the
brook to draw parallelism between life and the brook. These are :
Stages of life: the brook emerges from the place of its birth just like an
infant that is born.
Youth: In human beings this is the period when life is at its peak. One
is strong full of energy and enthusiasm. Similarly, the brook in its youth
– ‘By thirty hills I hurry down’, Words like: ‘bickers’, ‘frets’ and ‘chatters’ are used to bring out the
vitality of the brook just after it emerges from its source.
Life support system: the brook is a symbol of life. It provides a support
system to life and the living. The brook is full of ‘trouts’ and ‘graylings’
which provide food for animals and living beings.
Old age: before it ultimately joins the brimming rive, the brook
assumes a leisurely and peaceful demeanour while stealing by
grassy lawns and plots or ‘sliding’ by hazel covers.
1. ‘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 ’
a. Explain: ‘With many a curve my banks I fret.’
The poet refers to the erosion of the bank by the constant brushing of
the brook against the bank.
b. What kind of terrain is referred to here?
The kind of land being referred to here is land that is fertile and also
land that has become infertile due to successive efforts of farming.
c. Comment on the movement of the brook at this stage.
The brook moves swiftly and powerfully.
2. ‘I wind about, and in and out
With here a blossom sailing
And here a lust trout
And here and there a grayling’
a. How does the brook’s movement ‘i wind about, and in and out,’
differ from the brook’s earlier movement?
In the beginning the brook hurries downhill but gradually it gently
meanders along.
b. Name the flowers that grow on the banks of the brook. .... forget-me-nots and mallow.
c. Name the fishes that live in the river.
The fishes that live in the river are trout and grayling.
3. ‘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 glanc
Among my skimming swallows
I make the netted sunbeam dance
Against my sandy shallows’ a. Comment on the movement of the brook at this stage.
The movement of the brook is sedate and subdued.
b. What place does the brook pass by at this stage?
The brook passes by lawns, grassy plots of land, where hazel trees
grow and bushes bearing forget-me-nots.
c. Which bird flies near the brook at this stage?
The swallow flies near the brook at this stage.
d. Name the poetic device used in line 2
.......... alliteration
e. What does ‘netted sunbeam’ mean? How does it dance?
The interplay of sunshine and shadow makes sunbeams appear to be
trapped on the surface of the brook; they appear to dance to the
movement of the brook.
B. Answer the following briefly.
1. How does the brook babble> why has the narrator used this word?
When the brook passes over pebbles and stones, it makes a lot of
noise. It seems as if it were babbling or talking gaily.
2. Why is the sound created by the brook called ‘chatter’?
As the brook passes over small and large stones, it makes a series of
high-pitched sounds like monkeys do. Hence it has been called
chatter.
3. When doe the sound of the brook resemble a ‘murmur’?
When the brook reaches the end of its journey it slows down in speed
considerably and the sound then made by the brook resembles a
‘murmur’.
4. What do ‘skimming swallows’ refer to?
The phrase ‘skimming swallows ‘refers to the swallows (a kind of bird)
that ‘skim’ or lightly touch the surface as they fly very close to the
surface of the water.
Long Answers
1. How does the poet use the brook to draw a parallel with the life of
man?
This is a poem that traces the life of a brook or a small stream as it
emerges from the mountaintop and flows down the hills and across
valleys to empty into the river. On a deeper level, the poet uses the
brook to draw a parallel with the life of a man. Like the brook, man is
energetic, lively and moves swiftly when he is young as he is striving
to overcome the obstacles or challenges that he encounters. Man
slows down later on in life just like the brook does before it reaches
the river. The brook carries a blossom, a trout or a grayling just like
man who meets people, forges bonds and gathers memories that he
cherishes till his life ends.
2. Describe the various things a brook travels past to join the river.
The brook emerges from the mountaintop where coots and heron live
and flows down the hills and across valleys to empty into the river. It
bubbles with energy as it flows down the hill-side making a lot of
noise. As it passes through different landforms like forests, fields that
are either fertile or fallow, grassy lawns or flower-filled gardens with
forget-me-nots and hazel trees, it slows down considerably. It does
not follow a straight path but meanders on around rocks and
boulders without letting anything stop its path. Thus it continues to
flow from its source to the river eternally.
3. Explain the lines: ‘For men may come and men may go but I go on
forever.’
These lines highlight the eternal nature of the brook which continues
to flow year after year from its source to the river without fail. It
expresses the fact that though men die and others are born the brook
is immortal. Therefore these lines highlight the short-lived quality of
human-life as compared to nature which is eternal.
4. The brook appears to be a symbol of life. Pick out examples of
parallelism between life and the brook.
The brook is definitely a symbol of life. Tennyson has personified the
brook to draw parallelism between life and the brook. These are :
Stages of life: the brook emerges from the place of its birth just like an
infant that is born.
Youth: In human beings this is the period when life is at its peak. One
is strong full of energy and enthusiasm. Similarly, the brook in its youth
– ‘By thirty hills I hurry down’, Words like: ‘bickers’, ‘frets’ and ‘chatters’ are used to bring out the
vitality of the brook just after it emerges from its source.
Life support system: the brook is a symbol of life. It provides a support
system to life and the living. The brook is full of ‘trouts’ and ‘graylings’
which provide food for animals and living beings.
Old age: before it ultimately joins the brimming rive, the brook
assumes a leisurely and peaceful demeanour while stealing by
grassy lawns and plots or ‘sliding’ by hazel covers.
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