On Killing a Tree by Gieve Patel

1. Aptness of the title.
2. What is irony? Bring out the irony in the title of the poem. / What is ironical about the poem?
3. Substance of the poem.
4. “This alone won’t do it” – What is meant by “this”? What is referred to as “it”? Why won’t it be done alone?
5. Why does it take much time to kill a tree? Describe the stages of killing a tree? (Higher Secondary – 2018)
6. What is a symbol? What are the symbols used in the poem to establish the subject matter?
7. What is an image? Describe the images of life and death used in the poem?
8. “The source, white and wet” – What is referred to as “source”? How is it described in the poem?
9. “It has grown slowly consuming the earth”- What is referred to as “it”? How has it grown consuming the earth?
10. “The bleeding bark will heal” – What is the context of the line quoted? Why is the bark bleeding? How does the tree heal itself?
11. “On Killing a Tree” is a poem of protest. Explain whom does the poet protest against and why?

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Asleep in the Valley by Arthur Rimbaud

1. Aptness of the title.
2. Substance of the poem.
3. “Asleep in the Valley” as an anti-war poem.
4. “In his side there are two red holes” – Who is referred to here in the quoted line? What caused the “two red holes”? What do they signify? Describe the “pity of war” implied in the line at the end of the poem.
5. What is an image? How does the poet use images to establish his point?
6. “The humming insects don’t disturb his rest” – Who is resting and where? Why is he resting? Why are the insects unable to disturb his rest?
7. Structure of the sonnet “Asleep in the Valley”. / Assess “Asleep in the Valley” as a sonnet.
8. “His smile is like an infant’s” – Whose smile is referred to here? Why is his smile compared to that of an infant? How has nature treated him? / Bring out the irony in the quoted line above.
9. “Ah, Nature keep him warm” – Who is referred to here? Why does the poet implore nature to do so? Describe the “pity of war” implied in the line.
10. Elucidate the tragedy of war with the help of the picture of the soldier.
11. How does the poet make the soldier uphold the futility of war? (Higher Secondary – 2018)

Descriptive type Questions for Higher secondary 2018 – Prose

Shall I Compare Thee by William Shakespear

1. Justify the title of the poem. /
2. Substance of the poem.
3. What is an image? What are the imagery used in the poem? What images of summer do we find in the poem?
4. What does “summer” stand for in sonnet 18? What makes the poet to assert “Every fair from fair sometimes declines”? (Higher Secondary – 2018)
5. Assess “Shall I Compare Thee” as a sonnet. What type of sonnet is “Shall I Compare Thee”?
6. “But thy eternal summer shall not fade” – Whom does the poet address? What is meant by the “eternal summer”? What makes say so?
7. “So long lives this, and this gives life to thee” – What does “this” refer to in the line quoted above? Who is referred to as “thee”? How does “this” give him life?
8. “When in eternal line to time thou growst” – What is expressed by “eternal lines”? Write a note on the concluding couplet.
9. “Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines / and often is his gold complexion dimmed” – What is referred to as “eye of heaven”? What is meant by “gold complexion”? How does the eye of heaven shine and how is his gold complexion dimmed?
10. “Every fair from fair sometimes declines” – What do the first and second “fair” mean? How does every fair decline from fair? Mention the examples of such decline used in the poem. (Higher Secondary – 2018)
11. “Nor shall death brag thou wand” rest in his shade” – Who is referred to as “thou”? How according to the poet the “brag of death” is conquered?
12. Why according to the poet is a summer’s day an inappropriate comparison the poet’s fair friend? / What are the qualities that make the poet’s fair friend superior to a summer’s day? / What are the striking qualities the poet finds in his friend in Sonnet 18?

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The Poetry of Earth by John Keats

1. Aptness of the title of the poem. (Higher Secondary – 2018)
2. Substance of the poem.
3. Assess “The Poetry of Earth” as a sonnet.
4. What is meant by “The Poetry of Earth”? How is the continuity of the poetry of earth established in the poem?
5. Identify the voices of poetry in the poem. How does Keats establish continuity through these voices?
6. “He has never done with his delights.” – Who is referred to here as “he” in the line quoted above? Why has he never done with his delights?
7. Describe the scene of summer as depicted in the octave of Keats’s sonnet “The Poetry of Earth”.
8. Which season is described in the sestet? How is it depicted in the poem?
9. “He takes the lead/ In summer luxury.” – Who is referred to here as “He”? When and how does he take the lead? What is meant by “summer luxury”?
10. “When the frost has wrought a silence.” – Mention the context of the line quoted above. Describe the scene depicted in the line.
11. Mention in detail the role of the two representatives of the poetry of earth through the cycle of seasons.
12. Describe the picture of the two seasons Keats draws in “The Poetry of Earth”. How are the two seasons related?