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Tuesday 21 August 2012

The Voice Of Rain || Chapter Detailed




THE VOICE OF RAIN

|:| DETAILED EXPLANATION |:|


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

WALTER "WALT" WHITMAN (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse.[1] His work was very controversial in its time, particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass, which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality.

INTRODUCTION

In this poem, the poet goes and asks the rain shower who it is, and the shower replies that its the poem of the earth.....it rises from the land and seas in the form of untouchable mist, in a form thats physically very different from its true self but otherwise just the same, to the sky. from there, it goes back down, and quenches the thirst of everything, right down to small dust particles. it also gives life to seeds and helps them grow into thriving plants. thus, it gives back what it takes, life, to the earth, and also makes it pure and beautiful.

Hearing this, the poet compares it to a song, which rises from its birthplace (the heart) roams around for a bit, and, whether heard and enjoyed or not, returns back to the heart and settles there when he stops singing, remaining a happy memory.


SUMMARY IN ENGLISH

|:| The VOICE OF RAIN |:|



The speaker enquired from the soft falling shower as to who or what it really is? Though it may appear to be very strange to express it in words, yet the soft rain seemed to give the speaker an answer which can be translated as follows: that it is the poem of the earth that rises eternally from an impalpable; not palpable; incapable of being perceived by the sense of touch; intangible: difficult for the mind to grasp readily or easily:(of powder) so fine that when rubbed between the fingers no grit is felt; something that cannot be touched; portion of the land and the bottomless sea. 

Upward to heaven, to the immeasurable heights of the sky, from whence it vaguely forms, altogether change and yet the same. 

It descends to lave; (of a river, sea, etc.) to flow along, against, or past; wash: Obsolete. To ladle; pour or dip with a ladle: wash or bathe; the droughts; a period of dry weather, esp. a long one that is injurious to crops: an extended shortage; atomies; tiny particles; and the dust layers of the globe. 

All that is in the world without the rain were only seeds that are latent; hidden; and unborn. Eternally, day and night, and round the clock, it gives back life to its own origin, to make the earth pure and beautify it. (For song, issuing from its birth place, after fulfillment, wandering Reck'd or unreck'd, duly with love returns); to have care, concern, or regard (often fol. by of, with, or a clause): to take heed: Archaic . 
To be of concern or importance; matter.




SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. How does the rain justify its claim ‘I am the Poem of Earth’?
The rain calls itself the poem of earth because, the poem rendered by a poet,has the task of bringing joy, happiness, life to its readers. In the manner, therain drops, and falling over drought stricken earth, brings new life to the land asit also returns to its origin just like the rain drops.

2. What does the rain do to the things day and night?
The rain falls on the earth, and washes away the drought, it also helps the seedsto germinate and bring forth new life on the earth. Without it, all life on earthwould become lifeless.

3. What answer did the rain give to the poet about its origin?
The rain answered that it was the poem of the earth. It rose eternally out of theland and bottomless sea into the sky. There its form changed but essenceremained the same.

4. On what does the ‘rain descend’? What does it do to the things on which itfalls?
The rain descends on droughts, atoms and dust particles on the surface of theearth. It also falls on everything that is on the earth. It gives life to the things onwhich it falls. The things that do not get rain remain like seeds latent andunborn.

REFERENCE PASSAGE QUESTIONS

.....1st Stanza.....

And who art thou? Said I to the soft falling shower,
This, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here
Translated:
I am the poem of Earth, said the voice of the raina


a. Name the poem and the poet.
The poem is ‘The Voice of the Rain’ and the name of the poet is ‘WaltWhitman’.

b. Who does ‘I’ refer to in the first and third line of this extract?
‘I’ in the first line is referred to the poet asking a question. ‘I’ in the third line isthe rain drop.

c. What do you understand by the phrase ‘Strange to tell’?
‘Strange to tell’ means that it is an unusual and extraordinary answer given bythe raindrops to the poet who asked who ‘it’ was.


d. How has the answer been conveyed to us and what is it?
The poet has personified the rain drop and it is answering the poet’s questionby saying that it is the ‘poem of the Earth’.



.....2nd Stanza....

Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land
And the bottomless sea,
Upwards to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d altogether
Changed, and yet the samea


a. From where does the rain originate?
The rain originates from the land and the bottomless (deep sea) in the form of water vapour.

b. How does it originate?
With the heat of the sun, the water evaporates from the sea or land and formswater- vapour which rises up in the atmosphere.

c. What happens to the rain in the sky?
In the sky, the rain drops form the rain. Their form has changed but the essencehas remained the same.



d. Name the poem and the poet.
The poem is ‘The Voice of the Rain’ and the poet is Walt Whitman.



.....3rd Stanza....

I descend to lave the droughts,
Atomies, dust- layers of the globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds
Only, latent, unborna


a. With what purpose does the rain descend from the sky?
The rain drops fall from the sky in order to give life to the dry areas and washthe famine-stricken lands.

b. How does the rain help the seeds?
The rain helps the seeds to germinate and grow into a new life.

c. Give the meanings of the words from the given lines:

come down - descend
to wash - lave


d. What is latent and unborn and why?
The seeds are dormant and unborn because of lack of water which is needed for them to germinate and form a new plant.


.....4th Stanza.....

And forever, by day and night, 
I giveBack life to my own origin,
And make pure and beautify it;


a. In what manner does the rain help its own origin?
The rain helps its own origin by watering the land and quenching the thirst of drought stricken areas.

b. Why has the poet given the life cycle of the song?
The poet has compared the life cycle of the rain drops to that of the song sayingthat they both return to their origin after fulfilling their tasks.

c. What is made ‘pure’?
The earth on which rain falls is made ‘pure’.


d. Which words in the given lines mean:


eternal - forever 
source - origin





......5th Stanza...... 

(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfillment, 
wanderingReck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns)


a. Why are the last lines put within brackets?
The last lines are put in brackets because they do not form the voice of the rainor the poet. They only certain a general observation by the poet about thecourse of a song.

b. ‘Reck’d or unreck’d’, what does this phrase mean?
Reck’d or unreck’d means whether cared for or not cared for.

c. Where does the song return?
The song returns to the place of its origin i.e. comes back to the poet.


d. Which word in the lines means ‘originating’?
Issuing


.................................................

~ BEST OF LUCK ~
.................................................


Friday 3 August 2012

A Photograph || Chapter Detailed



A PHOTOGRAPH

|:| DETAILED EXPLANATION |:|



ABOUT THE AUTHOR


SHIRLEY TOULSON, who lives in Somerset, was drawn into the spell of Celtic Christianity as she worked on her books dealing with the oldest roads and folklore of Britain and Ireland, and found herself following the routes taken on their journeys by the saints of the early church.


INTRODUCTION


The poet remembers her mother who died about twelve years ago. There is a photograph taken when her mother had gone for a sea holiday with her cousins and her uncle. Looking at the photograph, she experiences the great loss of her mother.


SUMMARY IN ENGLISH


|:| The Photograph |:|


The poet looks at the photograph of her mother, which was taken when her mother was 12 years old. She had gone for a sea holiday with her cousins Betty and Dolly and while they were paddling, her uncle took a photograph of them. Each of the cousins was holding the hands of the poet’s mother who was the eldest among them. All the three of them stood smiling through their hair while the photo was taken. Her mother had a sweet face. All these happened before she was born. Years fled past since then. Her mother grew up into an adult. They all underwent changes while the sea stood still. After about twenty or thirty years the poet’s mother would look at the photograph laughing nostalgically and remembering the past. She would appreciate the dress worn by her cousins Betty and Dolly. The sea holiday belonged to the past of her mother and the poet still remembers how her mother would laugh looking at the snap shot. For the poet both these bring great sadness and an acute sense of loss. He mother died 12 years ago and now the poet has noting to say about this circumstance of the photograph. 




UNDERSTANDING THE LESSON THROUGH KEY SENTENCES


1. The poet looks at the cardboard on which there is a childhood photograph of her mother.
2. She had gone for a sea holiday with two her cousins Betty and Dolly
3. While they were paddling, their uncle took a photograph of them.
4. Both the cousins were holding the hands of her mother who was the eldest among the girls.
5. This was before the poet was born
6. Time fled past since and all those who are in the photograph under went changes while the sea remained the same.
7. Her mother would look at the photograph after about twenty to thirty years and laugh nostalgically.
8. Now for the poet her mother’s laughter and her sea holiday is a thing of the past.
9. Her mother died about 12 years ago.
10. The silence of the photograph silences the poet.
11. She experiences great loss.




TEXT BOOK QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS


1. What does the word ‘cardboard’ denote in the poem? Why has this word been used?
‘Cardboard’ refers to the photograph only. In the past photographs used to be fixed to a cardboard and hung from the wall for every one to see it.


2. What has the camera captured?
The camera has captured some happy moments from the childhood of the poet’s mother. It was a scene taken from a beach where she had gone with her cousins and her uncle for a sea holiday. The girls were paddling in the water.


3. What has not changed over the years? Does this suggest something to you?
The sea has not changed over the years. It is still the same. The sea symbolizes eternity.


4. The poet’s mother laughed at the snapshot. What did this laugh indicate?
This laugh indicates her remembering her past. She looked back to her childhood with nostalgia and remembered the innocent joys of her childhood days.


5. What is the meaning of the line “Both wry with the laboured ease or loss”
‘Both’ refers to the sea holiday as remembered by her mother and the poet remembering her mother’s laughing face. Both these now belong to the past. Her mother is no more now.


6. What does “this circumstance” refer to?
‘This circumstance’ refers to the circumstance when the photo was taken.


7. The three stanzas depict three different phases. What are they?
The three stanzas depict three different phases. The first stanza refers to the childhood of the poet’s mother. The second stanza refers to the poet’s childhood when her mother was an adult. The last stanza refers to the poet’s adulthood when she is not with her mother.


ADDITIONAL SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS


1. What scene from mother’s childhood has been captured in the photograph? Who had taken the photograph?
The scene that has been captured in the photograph is from mother’s childhood when she went for paddling with her two cousins. Mother’s uncle had taken the photograph.


2. How did the cousins accompany mother for paddling?
Her cousins accompanied mother by holding her hands when they went for paddling.


3. Explain the contrast given in the last two lines of the first stanza.
The contrast is between the sea and the humans. The sea had remained the same for all these years, but the humans have undergone changes. Her mother grew up and now she had been dead for the past twelve years.


4. How does the poet feel when she remember the sea holiday of her mother?
The poet feels sad when she remembers the sea holiday of her mother. Her mother died twelve years ago.


5. Why doesn’t she want to think about the photograph any more?
She doesn’t want think about the photograph any more because it brings the pain of loss to her mind.




REFERENCE PASSAGE QUESTIONS




.....1st Stanza.....


The cardboard shows me how it was
When the two girl cousins went paddling
Each one holding one of my mother’s hands,
And she the big girl- some twelve years or so.


a. What does the cardboard refer to?
The cardboard refers to the childhood photograph of her mother.


b. Who was the big girl and how old was she?
The big girl was the poet’s mother. She was then twelve years old.


c. How did the cousins go paddling with mother?
The girl cousins went paddling with mother holding her hand.




.....2nd Stanza....


All three stood still to smile through their hair
At the uncle with the camera, A sweet face
My mother’s, that was before I was born


a. Who does ‘all three’ refer to here?
‘all three’ refers to the poet’s mother and her two cousins.


b. Where are they now?
They have gone to the seashore. They are paddling in the water.


c. Why did they smile through their hair?
They smiled through their hair because they were posing for a photograph.




.....3rd Stanza....


…………………………………………………..A sweet face,
My mother’s, that was before I was born
And the sea, which appears to have changed less
Washed their terribly transient feet.


a. Where was her mother?
Her mother was on the sea shore with her cousins and posing for a photograph.


b. When did this incident took place?
This incident took place when she was twelve years old.


c. How is the poet able to remember her mother’s childhood?
The poet is able to remember her mother’s childhood when she looks into the photograph of her mother.


d. What has stood the onslaught of time and what has not?
The sea has stood the onslaught of time. It is still the same. However, her mother and her cousins underwent changes. Her mother grew up to be an adult and now she is no more.




.....4th Stanza.....


Some twenty- thirty- years later
She’d laugh at the snapshot. “See Betty
And Dolly,” she’d say, “and look how they
Dressed us for the beach.”


a. Who would laugh at the snapshot after twenty – thirty years later?
The poet’s mother would laugh at the snapshot after twenty – thirty years later.


b. How did mother remember her past?
Mother remembered her past with nostalgia.


c. Who were Betty and Dolly?
Betty and Dolly were her cousins who had gone with her to the beach for paddling.




......6th Stanza...... 


………………………………… The sea holiday
was her past, mine is her laughter. Both wry
With the laboured ease of loss


a. Who went for the sea holiday in the past?
The poet’s mother had gone for the sea holiday in the past when she was a young girl.


b. What does ‘both’ refer to?
‘Both’ refers to the poet’s mother remembering her past sea holiday as well as the poet remembering her mother’s laughter.


c. How does the poet feel when she remembers her mother?
The poet experiences great sorrow when she remembers her mother who left for heavenly abode twelve years ago.




........7th Stanza.......


Now she’s has been dead nearly as many years
As that girl lived. And of this circumstance
There is nothing to say at all,
Its silence silences.


a. How many years are over after the death of her mother?
Her mother died 12 years ago.


b. What does ‘this circumstance’ refer to?
‘This circumstance’ refers to the sea holiday enjoyed by her mother.


c. Why has the poet nothing to say about this circumstance?
The poet has nothing to say about this circumstance as the memory of it brings pain to her.


d. What impact has the photograph on the poet?
The silence of the photograph silences the poet. She experiences the great loss of her mother.


.................................................

~ BEST OF LUCK ~
.................................................




Beautiful White Horse || Summary






THE SUMMER OF THE 
BEAUTIFUL WHITE HORSE

|:| Summary |:|



Aram and Mourad are cousins in the Garoghlanian family (an Armenian tribe), which has a reputation for honesty that has been maintained by its family members for hundreds of years. But the tribe is extremely poverty stricken though they never resort to unfair means to get money. Both boys long to ride a horse, but their poverty keeps them from their deepest dream. Early one morning, Mourad shows up at Aram's home on a charming white horse. Aram is awestruck! He cannot understand where Mourad got this beautiful horse when they do not have enough money to afford one. 

But he also cannot think that his cousin--a member of the honest tribe--can ever steal. But he is too surprised to try and find out the truth. He so longs for a ride. Also Mourad is determined to keep it, and they try their best to keep the horse a secret from others and learn to ride it. 

In the days to follow, both the boys take out the horse from its hiding place every morning to ride in the countryside. Though, only Mourad can ride the horse properly as he has mastered the art by having riding practice for a month before revealing his secret to Aram. 

Aram tries hard to master the skill. He is determined to learn to ride and tells Mourad not to return the horse until he himself learns to ride. Mourad says it would take Aram a year to learn to ride. He cannot keep the horse that long but Aram tells him to keep it.

Mourad has a special quality---a deep understanding with all animals. He says "I have a way with a horse". Really he has a way with all animals and birds. Once he was repairing the hurt wing of a young robin and whispering to it. Mourad is considered a crazy fellow--the descendant of his crazy uncle Khusrove. 

Uncle Khusrove has a very bad temper and always stops people from talking by shouting--"It's no harm,pay no attention to it!" Even when his son informs him that their house in on fire when uncle is having a hair-cut, uncle simply sends the boy away repeating his famed dialogue! Also when John Byro--the real owner of the stolen horse-- comes to Aram's house to recount his sad tale of losing his beautiful horse, uncle simply says the matter is of no use and he should pay no attention to it. Then follows a humorous conversation between Khusrove and Byro at the end of which the sad farmer stomps out the house in frustration.

One day when Mourad and Aram are taking the horse to the farm at which they have been hiding it, they come face to face with the horse's owner John Byro. He looks at the horse very eagerly and studies it tooth by tooth. He exclaims that this white horse is identical to the one horse he owns. Finally he says that it cannot be the same one, for the Garoghlanian tribe is noted for its honesty. Aram notes that Mouצing thing happens. The guard dogs of John Byro instead of barking at the strangers follow them around silently. Yes Mourad communicates with them, perhaps telling them to not make noise!

The next day John Byro visits the Garoghlanian family home to tell of a great miracle. The horse which had mysteriously disappeared from his barn has returned! It was a very amazing happening; and the horse returned better trained and well-tempered. All this happened due to Mourad. This is the story of the beautiful white horse. The Garoghlanian family thus maintained their good name too.  
- By William Saroyan


A Photograph || Summary






A PHOTOGRAPH

|:| Summary |:|


The cardboard; here it refers to the photo frame; showed the speaker how life was when the two cousin sisters went paddling; to propel or travel in a canoe or the like by using a paddle: to row lightly or gently with oars: to move by means of paddle wheels, as a steamer: to propel with a paddle: to spank or beat with or as with a paddle: to stir, mix, or beat with or as with a paddle: to convey by paddling, as a canoe: here it means walked barefoot in shallow water; with each one of them holding the speaker’s mother’s hands. 


The bigger girl of the cousin sisters must be about twelve years old. All three of them stood still shoulder to shoulder to smile through their long hair at the camera whose picture was taken by the uncle holding it. The mother had a sweet and pleasant smile before her child was born into this world. 


The sea in which they were paddling; which seemed to not have been changed; washed their terribly transient; not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory: lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary: staying only a short time: here it means short lived; wet feet.
After twenty to thirty years later, the mother took out the photograph and laughed at the snapshot. The two cousin sisters were Betty and Dolly. She found it so hilarious at the manner that they dressed up for the beach. The sea holiday was her past for the mother while it was laughter for the speaker. 


Both mother and daughter wry; produced by a distortion or lopsidedness of the facial features: abnormally bent or turned to one side; twisted; crooked: devious in course or purpose; misdirected; contrary; perverse: distorted or perverted, as in meaning: bitterly or disdainfully ironic or amusing; at the labored ease of loss. 


But now the mother has been dead for the past few years just as one of those cousin sisters’ lives. Out of all these circumstances, there is nothing else left to say. The matter is closed and silence has sealed its fate.
- By Shirley Tolson


Portrait Of A Lady || Summary





THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY

|:| Summary |:|


The writer speaks of his own grandmother. By the time, he wrote the story, she was quite old and all her hairs had been white. Her wrinkled face and body gave him a kind of surprise. Since twenty years, the writer is with his grandmother. People said that once the old lady was as beautiful as a fairy. Her husband – writer’s grandfather was also very handsome. His photo was being hung in the drawing room of the writer.
Grandmother had always been short and fat, and her back was slightly bent. Wrinkles were across on her face. When the writer came to know her, she had been such condition. She was wearing a spotless white saree. Her silver locks were scattered untidily over her pale puckered face, and her lips constantly moved in inaudible prayer. She was like the winter landscape in the mountains.
Both the writer and his grandmother were good friends. His parents had left him with his grandmother at village. His parents were in city. Every day, she used to wake up the writer to be ready to go to school. She was uttering the monotonous song while she was bathing. The writer liked her very much. His grandmother was going to school with him because there was the temple nearer the school. She would sit among the children and listen to the priest’s prayer.
When writer’s parents were settled in the city, they sent for them. That was a turning point in their friendship. Both the writer and his grandmother started spending days separately and the writer became separated from the close relation with his grandmother. When he reported her about the music lesson he was being taught his grandma felt sorrow, because she knew that music had been associated with hariots. She said nothing but her silence meant disapproval.
When the writer went to University, he was allotted a room for his staying. His grandmother spent time with her spinning wheel. From sunrise to sunset she sat by her wheel spinning and reciting prayers. In the afternoon, she relaxed for a while to feed the sparrows. She was always getting surrounded by sparrows that were perching on her legs and shoulders. Some even sat on her head.
When the writer decided to go abroad for further studies and his grandmother would be upset. But she came to leave him at the railway station but did not talk or show any emotion. She was totally absorbed in prayer and her fingers were busy telling the beads of her rosary.
After five years, he came back home and was received at the station by his grandmother. She did not look a day older. The author could feel her pulse as usual and her sparrows were with her. That evening she was seen very happy spending time with the older women folk.
The next day morning she was found being ill. Doctor was called for and he told that the fever was mild and she would be well within a short time. But she told others that her time had come. She lay peacefully in bed praying and telling her beads. Next time she breathed her last.
Then the funeral arrangements and proceedings went on. The dead body of the grandmother was covered with a red shroud. A crude stretcher was brought to take her to be cremated. By that time, thousands of sparrows sat scattered on the floor. There was no chirruping. When her corpse was taken, the sparrows flew away quietly. Here ends the portrait of a pious lady.
- By Khushwant Singh