Working with the poem :-

Q1. Find three or four words/phrases in stanza 1 that reflect the child’s happiness and joy.

Ans. There words are :-

Love to rise in a summer morn

Huntsman winds his horn

The birds sing on every tree

The skylark sings with me

Q2. In stanza 2, the mood changes. Which words/phrases reflect the changed mood ?

Ans. These words are :-

Drives all joy away

Under a cruel eye

Sighting and dismay

Q3. ‘A cruel eye outworn’ (stanza 2) refers to

(i) The classroom which is shabby / noisy.

(ii) The lessons which are difficult / uninteresting.

(iii) The dull / uninspiring life at school with lots of work and no play.

Mark the answer that you consider right.

Ans. The dull / uninspiring life at school with lots of work and no play.

Q4.  ‘Nor sit in learning’s bower

worn thro’ with the dreary shower’

Which of the following is a close paraphrase of the lines above ?

(i) Nor can I sit in a roofless classroom when it is raining.

(ii) Nor can I learn anything at school though teachers go on lecturing and explaining.

(iii) Nor can I sit in the school garden for fear of getting wet in the rain.

Ans. (ii) Nor can I learn anything at school though teachers go on lecturing and explaining.