Important Question and Answers
Q. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.
She neither hears nor sees,
Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course
With rocks and stones and trees.
- Name the poem. In whose memory, did the poet write this poem ?
- Who is ‘she’ in the given lines ?
- In which state, is ‘she’ in ?
- Which word in the lines mean ‘during the day’ ?
Answer
- The poem is ‘A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal’. The poet wrote this poem in the memory of his beloved Lucy.
- ‘She’ refers to the poet’s soul.
- ‘She’ is in a slumber.
- Diurnal
Q. How does the poet’s beloved become an inseparable part of nature?
Ans. The poet mentions that there is no motion in the body of his beloved as the death has overcome her. All her senses are dead by now. As the earth completes its routine of day and night with the rocks, stones and trees, so does the beloved of the poet. She has become a part of nature now.
Q. Why does the poet refer the word ‘slumber’ in the poem?
Ans. The poet here refers ‘slumber’ for death. The literal meaning of slumber is deep sleep which is used here for death. It invokes the feelings of memories which are still there.
Q. According to the poet, what kind of a thing did the beloved become after death?
Ans. According to the poet, the beloved became such a thing after death as she could not be able to feel the impact of life on the earth when she had her existence here.
Q. Why is the poet’s beloved at peace now ?
Ans. The poet’s beloved is at peace now because she is a soul now. She is in deep slumber. No human fears, joy and sorrow affects her anymore. She has become a part of the earth.
Q. Why has the poet used the rocks, stones and trees? What context does he express through them?
Ans. The poet has used rocks, stones and trees to show the diurnal course of the earth The poet refers them in the context that they are the integral parts of the earth’s daily rotation. They have no effect of any thing over them.
Q. What is the different attitude of the poet in comparison to the common belief? What qualities does he want express by doing so?
Ans. No doubt, death is inevitable and everyone has to die some day. Everyone knows that death is the ultimate truth but the fact is that no one wants to die. He wants to remain in this world forever. All of us are afraid of death and want to escape from it but the poet has a different attitude in the poem towards death. No doubt, he was bitterly sad on the death of his beloved yet he accepted his fate. He consoled himself by saying that the bond between them was sure and destined to break one day. This is the reason why he is not much affected by it. The poet is bold enough to show a unique and uncommon quality of his heart and that is — acceptance. Now, he has come to know that after death, his beloved was free from all the worldly bondages and affairs and she has become a part of nature. Now she has no effect of worldly activities.