“His first flight” (class 10)

The theme of the story “His first flight” is having courage and self-confidence. The story is about a seagull who is on its stage of learning how to fly. It also deals with the theme of how to overcome fears and move forward. It speaks about the self-confidence which is one of the most important features which an individual should possess. The mother seagull turned to be cruel but her intention was kind. She wanted the fear of the young seagull to go away.

His First Flight Questions and Answers

Q1. Why was the young seagull afraid to fly? Do you think all young birds are afraid to make their first flight, or are some birds more timid than others? Do you think a human baby also finds it a challenge to take its first steps?

A. The young seagull was afraid to fly because it was his first flight. He doubted that his wings would not be able to support him. We are well aware that “Journey to a thousand miles begins with a single step” and it is very difficult to take that first step. Thus, I think all birds must be hesitating before taking their first flight, some more than others. Yes, just like young birds, human babies also hesitate while taking their first step.

Q2. “The sight of the food maddened him.” What does this suggest? What compelled the young seagull to finally fly?

A. On not being able to gather courage to fly and acting like a coward, the young seagull’s family left him alone. As a result, he was starving since he could not fly to get his own food. When he saw his mother coming near him with fish, he got excited and dived straight at the fish, forgetting for a moment that he was afraid of flying. Thus, he got so maddened by the sight of food because he was starving, which compelled him to take his first flight.

Q3. “They were beckoning to him, calling shrilly.” Why did the seagull’s father and mother threaten him and cajole him to fly?

A. Unlike his younger siblings, the poor seagull could not gather enough courage to take his first flight. Thus, his parents taunted him for being a coward. They even threatened it to let it starve if he did not try. They thought hunger would make him fly looking for his food. They did all of this because they wanted him to fly.

The Road Not Taken (class 9)

Introduction to the Poem

In the poem - ‘The Road Not Taken’, the road symbolizes our life. The poet says that the path that we don’t choose in our life is ‘the road not taken’. He describes his feelings about that choice that he had left in the past. The path which we have chosen, decides our future, our destination. The important message that the poet wants to give is that the choice that we make has an impact on our future and if we make a wrong choice, we regret it but cannot go back on it. So, we must be wise while making choices.

Page No: 16 Thinking about the poem

I. 1. Where does the traveller find himself? What problem does he face?

Ans: The traveller finds himself in the yellow woods at a point where the road forks into two.
The problem that he faces is that he cannot decide which road to take to continue his journey since it is not possible for him to travel both roads at the same time.

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2. Discuss what these phrases mean to you.

(i) a yellow wood
(ii) it was grassy and wanted wear
(iii) the passing there
(iv) leaves no step had trodden black
(v) how way leads on to way

Ans: (i) Yellow wood symbolises the autumn season. Autumn corresponds with old age. The poet could be symbolically talking about the later stages of life.
(ii) It conveys that the road was full of grass and nobody has used that road. It was a smooth road which had not worn out.
(iii) The use of the path by passersby.
(iv) The leaves had not changed their colour and turned black because of less people stepping on them. It could represent a path one may have never/seldom taken in life for the fear of uncertainty.
(v) This phrase means how certain decisions one makes in life could pave the way for many other decisions.

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3. Is there any difference between the two roads as the poet describes them
(i) in stanzas two and three?
(ii) in the last two lines of the poem?

Ans: (i) In stanza two the poet explains that the only difference between the two roads was that the road he took had the right to be chosen (the better claim) because it was covered with grass and looked as if it had not been used too much. Besides this difference, both roads had been equally worn down by passersby travelling on them.
In stanza three the poet says that both the roads were equally covered with leaves and that no person had stepped on.
(ii) In the last two lines of the poem the poet says that there is a difference between the two roads because he took the road that was less travelled by other people and that made all the difference to his journey.

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4. What do you think the last two lines of the poem mean? (Looking back, doesthe poet regret his choice or accept it?)

Ans: The last two lines of the poem mean the acceptance of reality. The poet made a choice and accepted the challenging path. He took and unexplored path in his life. He wanted to do something different in his life so he chooses the less travelled road. No he does not regret his choice.

How to Tell Wild Animals

 How to Tell Wild Animals

Central Idea of the Poem
The poem ‘How to Tell Wild Animals’ by Carolyn Wells revolves around the dangerous ways to identify the wild animals. The poet tries to distinguish one animal from the other in a humorous way. The poet suggests that its very risky to be in such a close proximity to these wild beasts. The poem is, thus, very educative as it tells us about various features of wild animals.

How to Tell Wild Animals Question and Answers

Q1-Does ‘dyin’ really rhyme with ‘lion’? Can you say it in such a way that it does?

A1-The actual word is dying which does not rhyme with lion. In order to create rhyme, it is written as ‘dyin’ in the poem.

Q2- How does the poet suggest that you identify the lion and the tiger? When can you do so, according to him?

A2-The poet differentiates between the two in the following manner-

He says that if the beast is of yellow- brown colour that is tawny colour and it roars out so fiercely that you may die out of fear, then this is an Asian lion.
Whereas, if the animal has black stripes on yellow background of hthe skin and he attacks to kill you, then it is a Bengal tiger.

Q3- Do you think the words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ in the third stanza are spelt correctly? Why does the poet spell them like this?

A3-The words ‘lept’ and ‘lep’ have not been spelled correctly. It is a poetic device known as poetic license which is used by the poet to lay emphasis on the actions of the leopard.

Q4- Look at the line “A novice might nonplus”. How would you write this ‘correctly’? Why is the poet’s ‘incorrect’ line better in the poem?

A4-The correct order of the sentence is ‘a novice might be nonplussed’. The poet wrote it in order to bring rhyme to her poem. nonplus rhymes with thus.

Q5- Much of the humour in the poem arises from the way language is used, although the ideas are funny as well. If there are particular lines in the poem that you especially like, share these with the class, speaking briefly about what it is about the ideas or the language that you like or find funny?

A5- Yes, it is true that the poet has used the language in a way that it arises humour. The poet has used many lines that are funny. One such is ‘If he roars at you as you’re dyin’.You’ll know it is the Asian Lion...’ or the other one is ‘A noble wild beast greets you’. So his idea of explaining the characteristics of the wild animals is quite funny.

Fire and Ice Summary

Fire and Ice Summary

Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice” is a strong symbolic poem where fire is used as the emotion of desire and ice, that of hatred. He has used the idea of two groups who have their own possible explanation for the end of the world. One is of the opinion that fire alone, can destroy each and every possibility of life on Earth while the other thinks that if ice as a result of extreme low temperatures could cover the earth’s surface, it would lead to the end of the world. Both the components are compared with self-destructing human emotions: desire and hatred. The poet is originally of the opinion that he has been very closely associated with the “fiery desires” and considers it capable of bringing human beings on the verge of destruction. Thus, he considers fire as more competent for destruction. But then he thinks that “icy hatred” is just as capable of ruining humans, though slowly and steadily. Therefore, if Earth was to end twice, ice would be just as good as fire. If fire would lead to rapid destruction, ice would lead to silent damage. Similarly, if fire is pure passion, ice is pure reason. Thus, the poem, very artistically, underpins the philosophy that we let our emotions rule us and if don’t control them they will surely bring us all on the verge of chaos.

Fire and Ice Question and Answers

1. There are many ideas about how the world will ‘end’. Do you think the world will end some day? Have you ever thought what would happen if the sun got so hot that it ‘burst’, or grew colder and colder?

A. Unfortunately, the world is going to end one day and there is nothing we can do about it. There are many ideas as to how it will end but one can’t say surely. The reason that life exists only on Earth is that the circumstances and temperature is apt to make it possible. If the sun gets so hot one day that it is at the verge of bursting, it would lead to rapid destruction as there would be fire everywhere. Conversely, if it grows colder and colder, there will be ice everywhere on Earth and life in any form would not be able to sustain at such low temperatures. 

2. For Frost, what do ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for?

Here are some ideas:

• greed
• avarice
• cruelty
• lust
• conflict
• fury
• intolerance
•  rigidity
• insensitivity
• coldness
• indifference
• hatred

A. According to Frost, ‘fire’ stands for greed, conflict, fury, cruelty, lust and avarice whereas ‘Ice’ stands for insensitivity, coldness, intolerance, indifference, rigidity and hatred.

3. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it help in bringing out the contrasting ideas in the poem?

A. The rhyme scheme of the poem is “aba abc bcb”. The poet has used the rhyming beautifully to bring about contrasting ideas in the poem. He has used the ideas of two groups who believe that the world would come to a catastrophic end either as a result of fire or ice. Simultaneously, he portrays these two essential components as features of destructive human emotions: desire and hatred. Just like fiery desires and icy hatred can cause damage to an individual in an irreparable manner, fire and ice can lead the world at the verge of chaos and thus, apocalypse.

tiger in the zoo

 Tiger in the Zoo Question and Answers

Q1- Read the poem again, and work in pairs or groups to do the following tasks.

(i) Find the words that describe the movements and actions of the tiger in the cage and in the wild. Arrange them in two columns.

(ii) Find the words that describe the two places, and arrange them in two columns.

Now try to share ideas about how the poet uses words and images to contrast the two situations.

A1- (1)

In the cage	In the wild
Stalks, quiet rage, ignoring visitors, hears the sound of patrolling cars, stares at stars	Lurking in shadow, sliding through the long grass, snarling around houses, baring his white fangs, terrorizing the village

(2)

CAGE	WILD
Few steps of his cage	Shadow, long grass
Locked in concrete cell	Snarling around houses
His Strength behind bars	Baring his white fangs, his claws
Terrorising the village	Ignoring visitors

Q2- Notice the use of a word repeated in lines such as these:

(i) On pads of velvet quiet, In his quiet rage.

(ii) And stares with his brilliant eyes At the brilliant stars.

What do you think is the effect of this repetition?

A2- The poet has repeated the words to give a nice impact to his poem. Like the use of quiet with velvet pads describes that the tiger has to walk in the limited area of his cage. He cannot run as he would have done had it been in the forest. Whereas ‘quiet rage’ shows the hidden anger inside him which has grown stronger because of his confinement in the cage. The next word he used is ‘brilliant’. The word brilliant in the first line means the twinkling bright stars and the brilliant words used for the tiger’s eyes shows the sadness of the tiger who would have led a free and fearless life if it were in the jungle.

Central Idea of the Poem
The poem ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ by Leslie Norris. In this poem, the poet tries to depict the mental condition of a caged tiger. He compares the life of a tiger in the zoo with its life in its natural habitat. The poet conveys an important message that the wild animals should be in their natural habitat. In the poem, he heightens the contrast between freedom and captivity. He, very impressively, shows us how love for freedom is the natural instinct of every living being.

Poetic Devices Used in the Poem
Repetition
velvet quiet quiet rage
brilliant eyes brilliant stars
Alliteration
He stalks in his vivid stripes
But he’s locked in a concrete cell
Rhyme
The rhyme scheme for first, second and fifth stanza is abcb and for third and fifth stanza is abed.