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Here we are providing The Duck and the Kangaroo Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive, Extra Questions for Class 9 English was designed by subject expert teachers.

The Duck and the Kangaroo Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive

The Duck and the Kangaroo Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.
Where did the Duck live and what did he long for?
Answer:
The Duck lived in a pond which he considered nasty as he was bored of his life there. He wanted to leave that place and see the world beyond.

Question 2.
Where did the Duck want to go? What did he request the Kangaroo to do?
Answer:
The Duck wanted to see the world away from the pond he lived in. He thought that he would visit the ‘Dee’ and the ‘Jelly Bo Lee’. He requested the Kangaroo to let him ride on his back as he hopped away.

Question 3.
Why did the Duck want to take a ride on the Kangaroo’s back?
Answer:
The Duck felt bored with his life in the pond. So, he wanted to see the whole world. He wanted to travel to places like Dee and Jelly Bo Lee. But he did not have that capability. So he wanted to take the Kangaroo’s help as he could hop far and wide.

Question 4.
What did the Duck promise the Kangaroo?
Answer:
The Duck promised the Kangaroo that if he took him for a ride on his back, he would sit quietly the whole day and only say Quack.

Question 5.
How did the Kangaroo respond to the Duck’s request?
Answer:
The Kangaroo said that he would have to ponder over his request. He first objected to the Duck’s wet and cold feet because he feared they would give him rheumatism. Later, he agreed to his request. In fact, he thought that it might bring him good luck. So he accepted the Duck’s request to give him a ride on his back.

Question 6.
What did the Duck do to overcome the Kangaroo’s objection?
Answer:
The Duck bought four pairs of worsted socks which fit his web-feet neatly. Moreover, he promised to wear a cloak and to smoke a cigar to keep out the cold. He did it to overcome the Kangaroo’s objection to his cold feet

Question 7.
How did the Duck and the Kangaroo go round the world?
Answer:
The Duck sat at the end of the Kangaroo’s tail. He sat still and spoke nothing. The Kangaroo hopped and leapt. They went round the world three times. They enjoyed their journey and were very happy.

Question 8.
The Kangaroo does not want to catch ‘rheumatism’. Why it is spelt differently. Why is it in two parts? Why does the second part begin with a capital letter?
Answer:
The word ‘rheumatism’ is spelled differently and is in two parts so that it can rhyme with ‘kangaroo’ in the following line. As a result of splitting the word into two and changing its spelling, ‘roo’ rhymes with ‘kangaroo’. The second part ‘Matiz’ begins with a capital letter because it is the first word of the line. In a poem, every line begins with a capital letter even if it is in continuation with the previous line. Hence, this has been done in order to enhance the poetic effect of the lines.

Question 9.
What do you learn about the Duck from the poem?
Answer:
The Duck is adventurous. He is bored in his pond and wants to travel and see far-off places. He is considerate and promises not to disturb the Kangaroo with his chatter, but sit quietly on the Kangaroo’s back. He is resourceful, and when the Kangaroo objects to his wet and cold feet, he buys worsted socks and a cloak to keep warm. The Duck is envious of the Kangaroo’s ability to hop off and see the world.

Question 10.
What do you learn about the Kangaroo from the poem?
Answer:
The Kangaroo is a true friend. He agreed to take the Duck for a ride on his back, provided he did something about his cold and wet feet. He takes his friend around the world three times.

The Duck and the Kangaroo Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Briefly narrate the story of the Duck and the Kangaroo.
Answer:
The Duck and the Kangaroo, both were very good friends. The Duck lived in a pond and was bored with his life. He wished to travel far and wide and see places like Dee and Jelly Bo Lee. So, he requested the Kangaroo to allow him to ride on his back and travel with him. The Kangaroo agreed to the Duck’s entreaty, but at the same time put a condition. He felt the duck’s feet were unpleasantly wet and cold and may cause with rheumatism.

The Duck assured his friend he had the remedy for the problem. He had already bought four pairs of woollen socks and a cloak to cover himself. He said he would also smoke a cigar for warmth. In this way both the Duck and the Kangaroo journey and went around the world thrice.

The Duck and the Kangaroo Extra Questions and Answers Reference to Context

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo,
“Good gracious! how you hop!
Over the fields and the water too,
As if you never would stop!
My life is a bore in this nasty pond,
And I long to go out in the world beyond!
I wish I could hop like you! ”
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.

(a) What are the Duck’s feelings as she sees the Kangaroo hop?
Answer:
The Duck is struck with wonder to see the Kangaroo hop. She is also envious of his ability to hop around without stopping because he is stuck in his nasty pond.

(b) How did the Duck express her wonder at the way the Kangaroo hopped?
Answer:
The Duck exclaimed with surprise at the way the Kangaroo hopped “Good gracious! how you hop!”

(c) What did the duck wish for?
Answer:
The duck wished to hop like the Kangaroo.

(d) What does the Duck want the Kangaroo to do for him?
Answer:
The Duck wants the Kangaroo to take him for a ride on his back.

Question 2.
“Please give me a ride on your back! ”
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
“I would sit quite still, and say nothing but ‘Quack
The whole of the long day through!
And we’d go to the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee,
Over the land, and over the sea;
Please take me a ride! O do! ”
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.

(a) What does the Duck want the Kangaroo to do?
Answer:
The Duck wants the Kangaroo to take him away from his nasty pond and give him a ride on his back.

(b) What promise does the Duck make to the Kangaroo?
Answer:
The Duck promises to sit still and quiet.

(c) What are Dee and Jelly Bo Lee?
Answer:
These are probably imaginary distant places.

(d) What does line three in the stanza show?
Answer:
The duck is in the habit of talking too much and the Kangaroo does not like it.

Question 3.
Said the Kangaroo to the Duck,
“This requires some little reflection;
Perhaps on the whole it might bring me luck,
And there seems but one objection,
Which is, if you ’ll let me speak so bold,
Your feet are unpleasantly wet and cold, .
And would probably give me the roo- Matiz! ” said the Kangaroo.

(a) What does the word “This” in Line 2 refer to?
Answer:
This refers to the Duck’s request for a ride on the Kangaroo’s back.

(b) What did the Kangaroo mean by the word ‘reflection’?
Answer:
Reflection here means serious thought.

(c) What was expected to bring luck?
Answer:
The Kangaroo’s travels with the Duck would bring him luck.

(d) What was the Kangaroo’s objection?
Answer:
The Kangaroo’s objection was that the Duck’s feet were unpleasantly wet and cold and would give him rheumatism.

Question 4.
Said the Duck, “As I sat on the rocks,
I have thought over that completely,
And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
Which fit my web-feet neatly.
And to keep out the cold I’ve bought a cloak,
And every day a cigar I’ll smoke,
All to follow my own dear true Love of a Kangaroo! ”

(a) Why does the Duck want to go for a ride? Where?
Answer:
The Duck is bored his little pond. He wants to go for a ride on the Kangaroo’s back to see distant places like the Dee and the Jelly Bo Lee.

(b) What will the Duck do to make the Kangaroo feel comfortable over land and sea?
Answer:
The Duck will sit quietly on the Kangaroo’s back and say nothing but Quack the whole day.

(c) What did the Duck buy? Why?
Answer:
The Duck bought four pairs of woollen socks to keep his feet web.

(d) What will the Duck smoke every day?
Answer:
The Duck will smoke a cigar everyday.

Question 5.
Said the Kangaroo, “I’m ready!
All in the moonlight pale;
But to balance me well, dear
Duck, sit steady!
And quite at the end of my tail! ”
So away they went with a hop and a bound,
And they hopped the whole world three times round;
And who so happy — O who,
As the Duck and the Kangaroo?

(a) What was the Kangaroo ready for?
Answer:
The Kangaroo was ready to take the Duck for a ride on his back.

(b) Where did the Kangaroo tell the Duck to sit?
Answer:
The Kangaroo told the Duck to sit at the end of his tail to maintain his balance.

(c) Where did the two friends go?
Answer:
The two friends went around the world three times.

(d) Why were they happy?
Answer:
The Duck and the Kangaroo were happy to be travelling together.

Here we are providing No Men are Foreign Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive, Extra Questions for Class 9 English was designed by subject expert teachers.

No Men are Foreign Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive

No Men are Foreign Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.
What does the poet mean when he says “Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign”?
Answer:
The poet is making an impassioned plea telling readers to give up extreme nationalism and perceived differences between people belonging to different nations. We are brothers because we inhabit the same planet, drink the same water and breathe the same air, but we feel different and behave like enemies at times. The poet wants us to give up our misplaced patriotism and live in universal brotherhood.

Question 2.
How does the poet prove that there are no foreign countries?
Answer:
Everyone shares the same sun, earth and air. They have the same body structure and its functioning elements. So there should be no biased attitude towards anyone.

Question 3.
What is meant by uniforms? What is there beneath all uniforms?
Answer:
The word “uniform” refers to the distinctive clothing worn by members of the same organization or body or by children attending certain schools. In this poem, the poet uses “uniforms” to mean both the uniforms worn by soldiers and the varied traditional dresses belonging to different cultures and civilisations of the world, or the different clothes that symbolise who the wearers are. Beneath all uniforms lies the same human body.

Question 4.
Bring out the irony in the use of the word “uniform”?
Answer:
Uniform implies a dress, costume or identification code that is similar to a group or organisation. Uniforms are necessary especially during war in order to differentiate between and identify soldiers on different sides who would otherwise appear to be same. But uniforms give rise to differences. Because every nation has a uniform, the world remains divided rather than united.

Question 5.
How are all the people of the world brothers?
Answer:
All human beings are similar in structure as we are all flesh and blood. We walk on the same land as long as we are alive and will be buried in the same earth when we die. We also use the same sun, air and water.

Question 6.
How can we be one people though we belong to different nations?
Answer:
Even if we belong to different nations, we can be one people because we all have the same body and we live and die on the same planet. All of us enjoy the same sun, air and water.

Question 7.
What are peaceful harvests? What do the peaceful harvests symbolise?
Answer:
Peaceful harvests are the bountiful crops grown during times of peace. They are said to be peaceful because they can be nurtured only during times of peace. They symbolise happiness and prosperity.

Question 8.
What does the poet mean when he says “by war’s long winter starv’d”?
Answer:
If a war is raging in a country then that country faces the threat of starvation since all agricultural production comes to a halt. Just as there are no crops in winter, war renders a land barren. That is why there is a shortage of food in winters and in times of war, too, there is deprivation and famine. People starve to death. Thus, starvation is associated with war and with winter.

Question 9.
What do you understand by “Their hands are ours”? What are their lines? How can we conclude that their labour is same as ours?
Answer:
Their hands are ours means that people living in other countries have hands just like ours which toil hard to earn a living. Their lines mean the lines on their face and body which are just like ours. Hence, we can conclude that though they belong to another land, they have worked hard throughout their lives, just like us.

Question 10.
The poet says that men from other countries have the same basic requirements as us. Elaborate.
Answer:
The poet says that men from other countries have the same requirements as his own countrymen by saying that they enjoy the same sunlight, breathe the same air and drink the same water. Not only this, they also work hard to earn a living. They too eat when their harvest is plentiful during times of peace and starve during war.

Question 11.
How can we win over the strength of our opponents?
Answer:
The strength of our opponents can be won over by love, instead of through brute force because everybody responds to love and appreciates the feeling of brotherhood. .

Question 12.
What does the poet mean by “In every land is common life That all can recognise and understand”?
Answer:
People who live in a different country are just like us. They too understand the concept and feeling of universal brotherhood. The implication is that if we extend a loving hand, they will recognise it and willingly join hands with us.

Question 13.
How does the poet bring out in the extract the idea that men are not strangers to one another?
Answer:
The poet specifies that just like us they wake and sleep and respond to love. Even if we look different on the exterior we all can recognise and understand the universal language of love and brotherhood.

Question 14.
“ … whenever we are told to hate our brothers …. “ Who ‘tells’ us to hate our brothers? What is the poet’s opinion regarding this?
Answer:
Sometimes some selfish people, who work for their own personal gains, instigate the innocent to harm others. They do it for their own benefit. The common or ordinary man does not understand their tricks and starts hating his fellow human beings. This leads to wars. The poet says that one should not follow their advice because all human beings are the same.

Question 15.
What happens when we hate our brothers?
Answer:
When we hate our brothers, we try to take away what they own, we betray our brothers and we criticise them. But when we hate our brothers, in effect we rob, cheat and condemn our own selves. We do not realise that in perpetuating hatred on our brothers, we are actually harming ourselves.

Question 16.
What happens when we pick up arms against others?
Answer:
The very earth is ruined through war and hatred. When we arm ourselves against each other, we defile the purity of our own earth through bloodshed. The bombs and other weapons of war ravage and pollute the earth. Due to the constant firing, there is destruction and piling up of dust and debris. The air that we breathe also becomes polluted as a result.

Question 17.
What do you understand by hells of fire and dust?
Answer:
Hells of fire and dust are the effects caused by bombs and other instruments of warfare. They destroy the purity of the air we breathe and depend upon for our survival.

Question 18.
How do we defile the earth?
Answer:
We defile the earth by considering other human beings as our enemies, outsiders and foreigners; by dividing our earth into countries and by developing enmity against another group of people. We wage wars and the weapons of war pollute the air we breathe, by raising dust and smoke and by piling debris on earth.

Question 19.
How does air remind us of our sharing the earth? How is air innocent?
Answer:
Although human beings have divided land, the air we breathe remains undivided. Air doesn’t belong to any country or territory, but moves freely across countries and is breathed by all men and women. Air is essentially clean so is it innocent. Human beings wage wars and raise dust and emit smoke, thereby polluting the air.

Question 20.
What does the poet emphasize by beginning and ending the poem with the same line?
Answer:
By beginning and ending the poem with the same line, the poet emphasizes his message of the oneness of spirit of brotherhood. Although the message in both the lines is same, the opening line uses the adjective ‘strange’ with regard to men and ‘foreign’ in regard of countries, while in the end, the adjective ‘foreign’ is used to describe men and ‘strange’ is used to describe countries. This means that the two adjectives are one. Countries exist only because men create nations; nature does not divide humanity, it is man who does so. However, all human beings are the same.

Question 21.
What message does the poet want to convey?
Answer:
The poet wants to say that there should be no discrimination or enmity between people on the basis of their appearance religion or region. It is inhuman to hate one because of one’s different background. The poet wants that the people should love their fellow human beings as all men are brothers.

Question 22.
State briefly the theme of the poem.
Answer:
The theme of the poem is one of globalisation, universal brotherhood and the renunciation of war. The world is one big family, no one is a stranger: no one is different; we all need and want the same things. Hence, waging wars against our brothers does not make sense.

No Men are Foreign Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
How are all men our brothers?
Answer:
All men are our brothers. No human beings are strange or unfamiliar. Underneath the external trappings of different cultures or civilisations or any colour of any soldier’s uniform belonging to any nation, all human beings are the same. All men walk upon the same earth and one day are laid to rest in their graves under the same earth. Each and every human being is nourished by the same sun, breathes the same air and drinks the same water to survive.

All human beings have eyes that wake or sleep. In every land, there is a common life. Love is paramount everywhere that wins the heart. When we hate others, fight with them, raise arms against them, it is ourselves that we shall dispossess, betray and condemn Thus, despite different living conditions, all human beings are one in spirit.

Question 2.
In the James Kirkup’s poem “No Men Are Foreign” explain the poet’s use of the word uniform.
Answer:
The literal meaning of “uniform” is a dress, costume or identification code that is similar to a group or organisation. The poet, here, uses the word “uniform” metaphorically to denote the universal brotherhood of man. On the other hand, uniforms are necessary especially during war in order to identify oneself as belonging to that country so as not to kill or harm its own people.

In the wearing of their country’s uniform, they contradict the meaning of the word since they are set apart and identified as different—the enemy. Thus, James Kirkup points out the irony in the word uniform. This contradiction is based on the uniformity of man, as the poet suggests that all men are uniform themselves in the sense that they are “aware of sun and air and water” and they share humanity, and different uniforms identifying the wearers as being different from each other.

No Men are Foreign Extra Questions and Answers Reference to Context

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign
Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes
Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon
Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.

(a) Who does the poet address in the poem? Name the poetic device used in line 1.
Answer:
The poet is addressing the readers in the poem. The poetic device used here is Apostrophe.

(b) What does the word “uniform” mean?
Answer:
The word “uniform” refers to the distinctive clothing worn by members of the same organization or body or by children attending certain schools.

(c) What breathes beneath all uniforms?
Answer:
A single body breathes beneath all uniforms. This means beneath superficial differences, there is a similarity.

(d) What is the irony in uniform?
Answer:
Uniform implies a dress, costume or identification code that is similar to a group or organisation. But because every nation has a different uniform, the world remains divided rather than united.

Question 2.
Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign
Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes
Like ours: the land our brothers walk upon
Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.

(a) Why does the poet feel ‘no men are foreign’?
Answer:
The poet feels that no human beings are strange or different as beneath a different exterior all human beings breathe just like any other person.

(b) Who are referred to as brothers?
Answer:
All human beings are brothers, irrespective of their superficial differences.

(c) What two things are common to all people as referred to in lines three and four of the extract?
Answer:
This is because all walk on the same land and will be buried in the same earth after death.

d) ‘In which we shall all lie.’ When will this happen?
Answer:
We shall lie under the soil, in our grave, after our death.

Question 3.
They, too, aware of sun and air and water,
Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv’d.
Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read
A labour not different from our own.

(a) Whom does ‘they’ refer to?
Answer:
They refers to those people who hail from countries different from ours.

(b) What is the significance of the word “too”?
Answer:
The word too is significant because it emphasizes that “they” or people who are said to be our enemies are just like us in their need of sun, air and water.

(c) What does the poet mean by ‘peaceful harvests’?
Answer:
Peaceful harvests are the crops grown in abundance during times of peace.

(d) What is the message of the poem?
Answer:
The message of the poem is that no men are strangers in this world because all people on earth are connected through their common humanity. We share a number of similarities even with our supposed enemies.

Question 4.
They, too, aware of sun and air and water,
Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv ’d.
Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read
A labour not different from our own.

(a) What are the common elements in the universe that are shared by all?
Answer:
All of us share the common elements of sun, air and water.

(b) What happens to people during wartime?
Answer:
Wars lead to deprivation causing famines, starvation and deaths.

(c) Explain “Their hands are ours.” What can we see in ‘their’ hands?
Answer:
Our hands, and the hands of our so-called enemies are similar. Our hands show the same signs of hard work and struggle.

(d) “In their lines we read.” What do we read in their lines?
Answer:
In the lines on their face and body we can read that though they belong to another land, they have worked hard throughout their lives, just like us.

Question 5.
Remember they have eyes like ours that wake
Or sleep, and strength that can be won
By love. In every land is common life
That all can recognise and understand.

(a) How does the author show that men from other countries have the same basic requirements as his own countrymen?
Answer:
Men from other countries have the same requirements as his own countrymen by saying that they enjoy the same sunlight, breathe the same air and drink the same water.

(b) In what respect are their eyes compared to ours?
Answer:
Their eyes are compared to us in that they too wake and sleep, just as we do.

(c) Whose strength is referred to in the extract?
Answer:
The poet is referring to the strength of people who are from another country.

(d) Explain how strength can be won by love?
Answer:
Their strength can be won by love because everybody responds to love and appreciates the feeling of brotherhood.

Question 6.
Remember they have eyes like ours that wake
Or sleep, and strength that can be won
By love. In every land is common life
That all can recognise and understand.

(a) Name three basic requirements the author feels that men from other countries have which are the same as his own countrymen.
Answer:
The author feels that men from other countries enjoy the same sunlight, breathe the same air and drink the same water. Not only this, they also work hard to earn a living.

(b) What is it that can be recognised and understood?
Answer:
It can be recognised and understood that life is common everywhere.

(c) Explain: In every land is common life That all can recognise and understand.
Answer:
People living in another land are just like us. They too understand the concept and feeling of universal brotherhood.

(d) What is the poet’s message in this stanza?
Answer:
Every population of every nation in this world recognizes the similarity in the life of people and that physical strength that can be won by love.

Question 7.
Let us remember, whenever we are told
To hate our brothers, it is ourselves
That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn.
Remember, we who take arms against each other

(a) Who are our brothers?
Answer:
People from countries other than ours are our brothers.

(b) Why do we hate our brothers?
Answer:
We are told by some selfish people to hate the others.

(c) The poet implies that one picks up arms for three reasons. What are they?
Answer:
We pick up arms to take away what someone owns, to cheat or betray our brothers, or to condemn them.

(d) What happens when we hate our brothers?
Answer:
When we hate our brothers, in effect we rob, cheat and condemn our own selves.

Question 8.
Let us remember, whenever we are told
To hate our brothers, it is ourselves
That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn.
Remember, we who take arms against each other

(a) Who is the narrator of the poem? To whom is the poem addressed?
Answer:
The poem appears to have an omniscient narrator and is addressed to all of mankind.

(b) Who tells us to hate our brothers?
Answer:
Our leaders tell us to hate our brothers who belong to another country or a different religious, social or political group.

(c) Why do they tell us to hate our brothers?
Answer:
They tell us to hate our brothers for their own personal gains.

(d) Should we believe those who tell us to hate our brothers? Why/why not?
Answer:
We should not become puppets in the hands of those who incite us to hatred. If we fight our brothers, we condemn ourselves too.

Question 9.
It is the human earth that we defile.
Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence
Of air that is everywhere our own,
Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.

(a) How do we defile earth?
Answer:
We defile the human earth by dividing our earth into countries and by developing enmity against another group of people.

(b) What you mean by the innocence of the air?
Answer:
Air is essentially clean and pure so is it innocent.

(c) How does air become defiled?
Answer:
We fight wars and carry on other such activities that raise dust and emit smoke. As a result, the air gets defiled.

(d) State briefly the theme of the poem.
Answer:
The theme of the poem is one of universal brotherhood, internationalism and the renunciation of war.

Question 10.
It is the human earth that we defile.
Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence
Of air that is everywhere our own,
Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.

(a) What do you understand by ‘human earth?’
Answer:
Human earth refers to the earth on which human beings live and that is full of human feelings and human values of love and brotherhood.

(b) Explain: hells of fire and dust?
Answer:
The hells of fire and dust are the fire and dust caused by wars between countries.

(c) How is the innocence of air outraged?
Answer:
Fire and dust caused by wars make the air impure.

(d) How does the poet bring out the idea that men are not strangers to one another?
Answer:
The poet specifies that just like us they wake and sleep and respond to love. Even if we look different on the exterior we all can recognise and understand the universal language of love and brotherhood.

Here we are providing A Legend of the Northland Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive, Extra Questions for Class 9 English was designed by subject expert teachers.

A Legend of the Northland Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive

A Legend of the Northland Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.
What is a legend? Why is this is called a legend?
Answer:
A legend is a very old story from ancient times, which may not always be true, and one that people tell about a famous event or person. A legend often teaches a lesson. This poem is called a legend because it tells an old story of Northland. This is the story of an old greedy woman who angered St. Peter and was turned into a woodpecker because of her greed, and the poet herself says, ‘I don’t believe it is true’.

Question 2.
Where does this legend belong to and what kind of country is it?
Answer:
The legend belongs to the “Northland”, an area that could refer to any of the extremely cold countries in the Earth’s north polar region, such as Greenland, the northern regions of Russia—Siberia, or the Scandinavian countries – Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland. It is a cold place where days are short and the nights are long.

Question 3.
Why does the poet say that the hours of the day are few?
Answer:
In the poem, the poet says the legend is told Northland. The Northland is a cold snow-covered region near the North Pole. Here the days are shorter and the nights are longer. As a result there are very few hours in a day.

Question 4.
Why are the People unable to sleep through the night?
Answer:
The people are unable to sleep through the night because the nights are very long and very cold.

Question 5.
‘And the children look like bear’s cubs.’ What have the children been compared to? Why?
Answer:
Northland is a cold place so the children have to wear funny furry dresses to protect themselves from cold. These dresses make them look like bear cubs.

Question 6.
What does the poet tell us about the story she is about to narrate? Why does she want to tell the tale?
Answer:
The poet says that she is going to tell a strange tale told by the people of Northlands. She admits that thoughthe story may not be true, still she wants to tell the story because it contains an lesson in generosity and philanthropy. She wants the readers to learn a lesson from the poem.

Question 7.
Who came to the woman’s house and what did he ask for?
Answer:
Saint Peter, while preaching round the world, reached the woman’s door. He had been travelling the whole day and was tired and hungry. When Saint Peter saw the woman making cakes, he asked her for one of her large store of cakes.

Question 8.
Why was Saint Peter tired and hungry?
Answer:
Saint Peter was an apostle of Jesus Christ. He travelled around the land, preaching the message of Christ. During the course of his journey, sometimes, he did not get food and water. Besides, he had to observe fasts also. This often left him tired and hungry.

Question 9.
What did Saint Peter ask the woman for? What was the woman’s reaction?
Answer:
Saint Peter asked the old lady for a cake from her store of cakes. The woman, who was very greedy, did not wish to part with her cakes as she felt they were too large to be given away. So she made a small cake for him, but, that too, seemed to her too big to be given away. In the end, she made a very small and thin cake. But she did not give even that cake to St. Peter and she put it away on the shelf.

Question 10.
Why did the woman bake a little cake?
Answer:
The woman in the poem has been shown as being highly stingy, miserly, greedy and mean by nature. Whenever she picked up a cake to give it away, it appeared to be too large to give away. Hence, she baked a ‘ very small cake for Saint Peter that was as thin as a wafer.

Question 11.
What happened to the cakes the woman baked for Saint Peter?
Answer:
The woman was greedy. When Saint Peter, tired and hungry, after his travels arrived at her cottage and asked for a cake from her large store, she had no desire to share anything with him. The woman tried time and again to bake a smaller and smaller cake for Saint Peter. But even when the cake was as thin as water, the woman felt the cake was too big to be given away to Saint Peter and she put it on her shelf.

Question 12.
Explain: ‘And surely such a woman was enough to provoke a saint.’ Who was the lady and how did she provoke the saint?
Answer:
The woman, who was making cakes when the saint visited her was mean and greedy. Though she could see the visitor was tired and hungry, she did not give him anything to eat. She baked caks that were smaller and smaller, till she made one that was as thin as a wafer, but she could not bear to part even with that. The old lady did not help the hungry and tired saint. Saints are known for their patience, but her selfishness angered the saint, who cursed her.

Question 13.
Why did Saint Peter curse the woman? What did he turn her into?
Answer:
Saint Peter cursed the woman because she had been miserly and selfish. He felt she was not fit to live in a human form and enjoy food, shelter and warmth. He turned her into a woodpecker who has to build its nest “as birds do” and gather its scanty food by boring in the “hard, dry wood” all day long.

Question 14.
‘For she was changed to a bird.’ Who was she and why was she changed to a bird?
OR
‘You are too selfish to dwell in a human form.’ Who said this and to whom? Why did he say so?
Answer:
A woman of Northland, who was miserly and selfish was changed to a woodpecker by Saint Peter. She had refused to give even a cake as thin as a wafer to the tired and hungry saint. So, as a punishment, she was turned to a bird who would have to live in a nest and bore into wood for her food.

Question 15.
How is the woman seen by the people of Northland?
Answer:
Boys going to the forest have seen the woman, as a woodpecker in the wood. She lives in a nest in the tree and bores into the hard dry wood for her food.

Question 16.
Do you think that the woman would have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter really was? What would she have done then?
Answer:
No, she would not have been so greedy and turned Saint Peter away. On the contrary, since she was a greedy woman, she would have wanted a reward from Saint Peter, and would likely have given him a large piece of cake to make him happy.

Question 17.
Describe the theme of the poem ‘A legend of the Northland ‘?
Answer:
Saint Peter once asked a woman baking cakes for something to eat. She was selfish and did not give any cake . to the hungry saint. It made the saint angry. He turned the lady into the bird. The bird keeps on searching for her food the whole day. We should not be greedy and always help the needy person.

Question 18.
What is a ballad? Is this poem a ballad?
Answer:
A ballad is a song narrating a story in short stanzas. Ballads are part of the folk culture and are passed on orally from one generation to another. The poem ‘A Legend of the Northland’ is also a ballad as it contains the story of an old selfish woman and has been passed on from generation to generation, “They tell them a curious story”.

Question 19.
What do you learn about the woman in the poem?
Answer:
The woman in the poem is greedy and selfish. She has a large store of cakes but refuses to give away even one that is as small as a wafer to a tired and hungry traveller.

Question 20.
What do you learn about Saint Peter in the poem?
Answer:
Saint Peter goes about the land preaching the message of God. As he goes on his journey, sometimes, he does not get food and water. Besides, he has to observe fasts also. This often leaves him tired and hungry. Despite being a saint, he is provoked to anger and he curses the woman, and she is turned into a woodpecker. Being a saint, he should have forgiven the woman and shown her some mercy.

A Legend of the Northland Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Describe Northland as done by the poet?
Answer:
The Northland is the area around the North pole, an area that includes any of the extremely cold countries in the Earth’s north polar region, such as Greenland, the northern regions of Russia—Siberia, or the Scandinavian countries Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland. It is a cold, snow-covered place where days are short and the nights are long.

In this region, hours of the day are few and nights are so long and so cold in winter that people are unable to sleep through the whole night. When it snows people harness their reindeers to pull their sledges. Because of extreme cold children look like bear’s cubs in because of funny and furry clothes.

Question 2.
Briefly narrate the legend of the old woman and St Peter?
Answer:
Once Saint Peter stopped by an old lady’s cottage because he was feeling hungry and weak after the day’s fasting. The lady was baking cakes on the hearth. When Saint Peter asked her for one of cakes, she tried to make a tiny cake for him. But as it was baking, she found it too large to be given away.

She tried baking two more times but even the smallest of cakes seemed too large to her. Such greedy behaviour of the lady annoyed the hungry saint.He cursed her saying that she was far too selfish to be a human, to have food, shelter and fire to keep her warm. Thus, she was transformed into a woodpecker.

All her clothes except her scarlet cap were gone as she went up the chimney and flew out of the top. Every country schoolboy is said to have seen her in the forest, boring into the wood for food till date.

Question 3.
What is the message of the poem?
Answer:
This poem teaches us that true happiness lies in sharing things with the persons who are in need. If we are greedy, we cannot have happiness in our life. On the other hand our charitable nature makes us think about pains and sorrows suffered by the other people. The little woman baking cakes was asked for something to eat by a tired and hungry traveller. The woman, who had a large store of cakes, was greedy and selfish.

She made smaller and smaller cakes, but in the end refused to part with any. Her greed and miserliness angered the weary traveller, Saint Peter, who told her that she was too selfish to dwell in human form, where she had food, warmth and shelter. He cursed her to become a bird and live in a nest and search for scanty food by digging all dry and hard wood.

A Legend of the Northland Extra Questions and Answers Reference to Context

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
Away, away in the Northland,
Where the hours of the day are few,
And the nights are so long in winter
That they cannot sleep them through;

(a) Why is the word ‘away’ repeated twice?
Answer:
The word away has been repeated to create a sense of distance

(b) Which place is discussed in this stanza?
Answer:
Northland, or the cold polar region of the North, including Greenland, northern Europe and Siberia are being discussed here.

(c) What does “hours of the day are few” mean?
Answer:
The days are shorter than the nights

(d) Why can the people not sleep through the night?
Answer:
The winter nights are long and cold.

Question 2.
Where they harness the swift reindeer
To the sledges, when it snows;
And the children look like bear’s cubs
In their funny, furry clothes:

(a) What does ‘Where’ refer to?
Answer:
Where refers to Northland.

(b) Where are the reindeer harnessed? What does ‘swift reindeer’ convey?
Answer:
The reindeer are harnessed to the sledges. The phrase ‘swift reindeer’ conveys that the reindeer are very fast when they pull the sledges on the snow.

(c) Why do children look like bear cubs?
Answer:
Because of the cold, children are made to wear heavy woollen clothes that cover them up fully and make them look like bear cubs.

(d) Mention two characteristics of the place.
Answer:
The place is very cold; the days are shorter than the nights; people cannot sleep through the night.

Question 3.
They tell them a curious story—
I don’t believe ’tis true;
And yet you may learn a lesson
If I tell the tale to you.

(a) What is the ‘curious story’ that the people tell?
Answer:
The curious story is a legend of an old greedy lady who angered St. Peter and he cursed the lady for her greed.

(b) Who does not believe in the story?
Answer:
The poet does not believe the story to be true.

(c) Why does the poet narrate this tale?
Answer:
The poet narrates the story because it has a moral lesson.

(d) What lesson does it give?
Answer:
The tale teaches us a lesson that greed is a vice. One should not be greedy like the old lady who was cursed by St. Peter.

Question 4.
Once, when the good Saint Peter
Lived in the world below,
And walked about it, preaching,
Just as he did, you know

(a) Which line shows that St. Peter is not alive today?
Answer:
‘Once, when the good Saint Peter lived in the world below’ shows that St. Peter is not alive today

(b) Who was St. Peter?
Answer:
St. Peter was an apostle of Jesus Christ. His mission was to spread the teachings of Jesus Christ.

(c) What does the line “Lived in the world below,” mean?
Answer:
St Peter lived on earth

(d) What did St Peter do when he ‘Lived in the world below’?
Answer:
He went about the world preaching the message of God.

Question 5.
He came to the door of a cottage,
In travelling round the earth,
Where a little woman was making cakes,
And baking them on the hearth;

(a) Who does “he” refer to in the first line?
Answer:
He refers to Saint Peter.

(b) What was the little woman doing?
Answer:
The woman was baking cakes.

(c) What request did “he” make to the woman? Why?
Answer:
Saint Peter asked the woman for a cake because he was weak with hunger.

(d) Why did Saint Peter curse the woman?
Answer:
Saint Peter cursed the woman because she was highly stingy and mean and could not spare even a small cake from her large store for a weary traveller.

Question 6.
And being faint with fasting,
For the day was almost done,
He asked her, from her store of cakes,
To give him a single one.

(a) Why was St Peter about to faint?
Answer:
Saint Peter was tired and hungry, and so ready to faint.

(b) What had Saint Peter been doing?
Answer:
Saint Peter had been travelling, spreading the message of God.

(c) What time of the day was it?
Answer:
It was evening

(d) What did he ask the woman for?
Answer:
Saint Peter asked the woman for a cake from her large store.

Question 7.
So she made a very little cake,
But as it baking lay,
She looked at it, and thought it seemed
Too large to give away.

(a) Why did she bake a small cake?
Answer:
The woman baked a small cake for giving to the saint

(b) What did she think about it as she saw it being baked?
Answer:
She thought that the cake was too big to be given away in charity.

(c) What aspect of her character does this reveal?
Answer:
She is selfish and miserly.

(d) How was she punished for her greed?
Answer:
Saint Peter turned her into a woodpecker.

Question 8.
Therefore she kneaded another,
And still a smaller one;
But it looked, when she turned it over,
As large as the first had done.

(a) Who does ‘she’ refer to?
Answer:
‘She’ refers to the old little woman in the cottage.

(b) Who had come to her door? Why?
Answer:
Saint Peter had come to her door. He was hungry and wanted something to eat.

(c) Why was she kneading smaller and smaller cakes?
Answer:
She did not want to give away a large one to Saint Peter.

(d) What quality of the woman do her actions reveal?
Answer:
She is miserly and selfish.

Question 9.
Then she took a tiny scrap of dough,
And rolled and rolled it flat;
And baked it thin as a wafer —
But she couldn’t part with that.

(a) Who had asked the woman for a cake? Why?
Answer:
Saint Peter had asked the woman for a cake. He had been fasting the whole ay and was weak with hunger.

(b) Why did the old lady take a tiny scrap of dough?
Answer:
The old lady was a greedy woman. She wanted to give St. Peter, the smallest cake she could make.

(c) Why did she make the thin cake?
Answer:
She wanted to save her dough. She wanted to give him a very small cake. So, she made a cake as thin as a water.

(d) What did Saint Peter do?
Answer:
Saint Peter cursed the woman and turned her into a woodpecker.

Question 10.
For she said, “My cakes that seem too small
When I eat of them myself
Are yet too large to give away. ”
So she put them on the shelf.

(a) Who is the speaker in these lines?
Answer:
The woman is the speaker in these lines.

(b) When do the cakes seem too small?
Answer:
The cakes seemed too small foe eating them herself.

(c) What kind of cakes did the woman make?
Answer:
The woman made cakes that were smaller and smaller, till the last one was as thin as a wafer.

(d) What did the woman do with her cakes? Why?
Answer:
The woman put the cakes away because she felt that they were to big to be given away in charity.

Question 11.
Then good Saint Peter grew angry,
For he was hungry and faint;
And surely such a woman
Was enough to provoke a saint.

(a) Who was Saint Peter?
Answer:
Saint Peter was one of the apostles of Jesus Christ.

(b) Who was Saint Peter angry with? Why?
Answer:
Saint Peter was angry with the woman because of her greed and selfishness.

(c) How had the woman provoked the Saint?
Answer:
The woman had provoked Saint Peter by not giving him any cake from her plentiful store.

(d) What did Saint Peter do?
Answer:
Saint Peter cursed the woman and turned her into a woodpecker who would have to bore for her food.

Question 12.
And he said, “You are far too selfish
To dwell in a human form,
To have both food and shelter,
Andfire to keep you warm.

(a) Who is ‘he’? Who is he speaking to?
Answer:
He refers to Saint Peter. He is talking to the woman in the cottage.

(b) What did the saint say about the woman?
Answer:
He said she was too selfish to live in human form.

(c) Why was he angry with her?
Answer:
She had refused to give him anything to eat from her plentiful store, when he was faint with hunger.

(d) What benefits did he want her to forego?
Answer:
He wanted her to forego the basic benefits of food, shelter and a fire to keep her warm.

Question 13.
Now, you shall build as the birds do,
And shall get your scanty food
By boring, and boring, and boring,
All day in the hard, dry wood. ”

(a) What did St Peter turn the old woman into?
Answer:
Saint Peter turned the woman into a bird, a woodpecker.

(b) Why did he curse her?
Answer:
Saint Peter was angry with her because of her miserliness.

(c) What would she build?
Answer:
She would build a nest in the woods like other birds.

(d) How would she get her food?
Answer:
She would get her food by boring into the hard wood.

Question 14.
Then up she went through the chimney,
Never speaking a word,
And out of the top flew a woodpecker,
For she was changed to a bird.

(a) Who is ‘she’? How did she go up?
Answer:
“She’ refers to the woman. She went up through the chimney.

(b) Who changed her into a bird?
Answer:
Saint Peter had changed her into a bird by cursing her.

(c) Why did she change into a woodpecker?
Answer:
As the woman passed through the chimney and came out through the top, her clothes were burned and had become black but the scarlet cap on her head remained unchanged.

(d) Where did the woman live?
Answer:
She lived in a country in the Earth’s north polar region, such as Greenland, the northern regions of Russia, or the Scandinavian countries.

Question 15.
She had a scarlet cap on her head,
And that was left the same;
But all the rest of her clothes were burned
Black as a coal in the flame.

(a) What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for?
Answer:
Saint Peter asked the old lady for one of her baked cakes to satisfy his hunger.

(b) What was the lady’s reaction?
Answer:
The lady tried to bake a small cake for the Saint, but did not give him even that.

(c) Why did Saint Peter feel the woman should leave her human form?
Answer:
She was too selfish to live in human form and enjoy food, shelter and warmth.

(d) How does the woodpecker get its food?
Answer:
The woodpecker gets its food by boring holes into trees.

Question 16.
And every country schoolboy
Has seen her in the wood,
Where she lives in the trees till this very day,
Boring and boring for food.

(a) Where can the woman be seen now?
Answer:
She can be seen in the forest

(b) What is she doing?
Answer:
She can be seen boring into the trees for food

(c) What lesson do you learn from the poem?
Answer:
We should not be greedy and must always help the needy. ”

(d) Who was Saint Peter?
Answer:
Saint Peter was an apostle of Christ, who went about preaching the message of God.

Here we are providing The Lake Isle of Innisfree Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive, Extra Questions for Class 9 English was designed by subject expert teachers.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive

The Lake Isle of Innisfree Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.
Describe the Lake Isle of Innisfree as seen through the eyes of the poet.
Answer:
The Lake Isle of Innisfree is an island that is incredibly peaceful. The island is also a place of great natural beauty. Yeats describes many different aspects of its appeal, from the various birds and insects to the striking light at different times of day. This is a landscape that has not been damaged or diminished by human interference.

Question 2.
Why does the poet want to go to Innisfree?
Answer:
The poet wants to go Innisfree in search of peace. He does not like London with its noise and grey pavements. He wants to live in a place which is the opposite of London; he craves for some peace and hence he wants to go to Innisfree where he will be self-sufficient. He will build a small cabin and grow beans and make his own honey by keeping honeybees. Instead of city noise, he will hear the buzzing of the bees and the sound of lake water lapping against the shore.

Question 3.
How is the city life different from the life at the Lake of Innisfree?
Answer:
City life according to the poet is routine and wearisome. The city is noisy, the pavements are dull and grey; there is chaos all around. But at Innisfree, he can escape the noise of the city and be lulled by the “lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore.” On this small island, he can return to nature by growing beans and having bee hives, by enjoying the “purple glow” of noon, the sounds of birds’ wings, and, of course, the bees. He can even build a cabin and stay on the island.

Question 4.
What kind of life does the poet William Butler Yeats imagine in his poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”?
Answer:
Yeats imagines Innisfree as an idyllic place of peace and solitude. He imagines living in a “small cabin” of “clay and wattles” where he will support himself on beans he plants and honey from his beehive, and he will “live alone in the bee-loud glade.” There is also a sense that the “peace” he will find there is connected to its natural beauty.

Question 5.
Write three things that the poet would like to do when he goes back to Innisfree.
Answer:
Innisfree is a perfect island that provides everything desired by the poet. The poet will build a small cabin of clay and fence. He will have nine rows of beans. He will also have a hive for the honeybees.

Question 6.
How will the poet live on the island of Innisfree ?
Answer:
The poet will go to Innisfree and live in the lap of nature in quiet solitude. He will build a small cabin there. He shall have nine rows of beans and a hive of bees. He will survive on the beans and the honey cultivated by himself.

Question 7.
Why does the speaker in the poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” desire to spend his time alone in his cabin?
Answer:
The speaker longs for a quiet place where he can live in peace and in harmony with nature. He envisions a simple life in a cottage surrounded by a garden instead of the dull “pavement” of the city. In his mind, he hears the gentle “lapping” of the water against its shore, the bee loud glade instead of the noise of city traffic. And he will be self-sufficient, growing his own food.

Question 8.
‘And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow.” Where will the poet have some peace ? How?
Answer:
The poet indicates that peace of mind can be slowly acquired in the lap of Nature. From the morning, when the mist is like a veil thrown over the lake, to the noon when the purple heather blazes finder the sun and the evening is Ml of the sound of the linnet’s wings and finally, at night, the glow of stars lighting up the sky, the poet will have peace.

Question 9.
How does the poet describe the lake’s waves?
Answer:
The poet says that the lake’s waves hit its shore and create a low sound. The sound, different from the sounds of the city, gives him great pleasure. He hears it in his heart and enjoys it. It also gives him solace and comfort as he realises he can visualise the island in his heart in the city.

Question 10.
How is the ‘roadway in London’ different from the Lake Isle of Innisfree?
Answer:
The roadway in London is dull and grey. But there is nature’s beauty all round in the isle of Innisfree. The poet finds himself surrounded by the beauty of nature and its sounds. He hears the sweet sound of the lake water lapping against the shore.

Question 11.
What does the poet hear in his ‘heart’s core’ even when he is far away from Innisfree?
Answer:
The poet is far away from the island of Innisfree in London. However, he hears not the sound of city traffic, but the lake water lapping against the shore with low sounds in his heart’s core.

Question 12.
What words does the poet use to describe how calmness and tranquillity will come to him at Innsifree?
Answer:
The poet declares that he will get up and go to Innisfree, where he will build a small cabin “of clay and wattles made.” There, he will have nine bean-rows and a beehive and live alone in the glade loud with the sound of bees. He says that he will have peace there, for peace drops from “the veils of morning to where the cricket sings.”

Question 13.
How does the poet describe midnight, noon and evening?
Answer:
According to the poet, Innisfree is a magical place. In the morning, the mist is like veils thrown over the lake. At noon, the purple heather blazes under the sun, and the sky glows with a purple glow. In the evening, the environment is filled with the chirping of crickets and the fluttering of the linnet’s wings. In the night, the bright stars cause the sky to shimmer.

Question 14.
Innisfree is a simple, natural place, full of beauty and peace. How does the poet contrast it with where he now stands?
Answer:
The poet contrasts the clay and wattle made cabin, bee-loud glade, morning with dews and cricket songs, midnight with its sky filled with glimmering stars, noon with purple glow that is almost magical, evenings filled with the sound of the flapping of linnet’s wings, and lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore as compared to the sombre monotony of the “grey” London pavements and the sound of traffic.

Question 15.
Where is the speaker when he hears lake water lapping?
Answer:
The speaker says he is standing “on the roadway, or on the pavements grey”. Yeats was walking down the Strand in London, when a fountain in a shop reminded him of lake water lapping against the shore at Innisfree.

Question 16.
In “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” what does the poet feel while standing on the pavement?
Answer:
The speaker in “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” is clearly in an urban environment, London, as he thinks about Innisfree. He stands “on the roadway, or on the pavements grey”. He says he will have peace in Innisfree, implying he is not at peace here in the city. His tone expresses his regret that he is so far from where his heart tells him he should be.

Question 17.
What does Innisfree symbolize for the poet? Does the poet actually miss the place of his boyhood days?
Answer:
Innisfree represents poet’s state of mind. The poet wishes to escape to Innisfree as it is more peaceM than where he is now-the city. Innisfree is representative of what the poet considers an ideal place to live, which is devoid of the restless humdrum of his life. Yes, the poet actually misses the place of his boyhood days. Even when he is away from Innisfree, he recalls the sound of the lake water washing the shore.

Question 18.
What is the tone of the poem?
Answer:
The poem has a very calm and relaxed tone. The speaker starts on a dreamy, with note, but as he pictures the place in his mind, it helps him to make up his mind. His desire to escape becomes stronger and he determinedly repeats his desire to escape. Finally, the poet has a relaxed tone as the speaker realises that even though he lives in an urban area, he will hear the sounds of tranquil nature resonate in the deepest part of his being.

Question 19.
What sound is the poet looking forward to hear in Innisfree?
Answer:
The speaker wants to be surrounded by the sounds of nature. The glade or the clearing he lives in will be filled with the sound of bees buzzing and the fluttering of birds’ wings, as also, the peaceful sounds of the cricket.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
Briefly describe the major theme of the poem ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree”, Nature vs City life.
Answer:
A major theme in “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”, is nature versus the somber monotony of city life. Civilization, as represented by London, is monotonous and wearisome. On the other hand, Innisfree is magical with its He is not at peace, because peace is there only at Innisfree. Further, his use of “pavements gray” tells us that the urban environment in which he finds himself is exactly the opposite of the natural world he desires to return to.

On the other hand, Innisfree, which represents Nature, is magical in its appearance. The sounds one hears are the buzzing of bees, the flapping of the linnets’ wings, the singing of crickets and the lapping of the lake water aginst the shores. The sky is magical too. The dew drops from the sky in the morning light, the noon sky glows purple and the stars shimmer at midnight.

Question 2.
How does Yeats create the atmosphere of the island and its sights and sounds in “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”? Refer closely to the use of language in the first two stanzas.
Answer:
The speaker begins by declaring that he will rise and go to Innisfree, a small island in the middle of Lough Gill, located in County Slogh. There the speaker will construct a cabin of mud and intertwined twigs or branches. He will lead a life of peace and quiet solitude, keeping busy with his garden of beans and a beehive.

The speaker reiterates that he will find calm in the dripping morning dew and singing crickets in the morning light, and this calm will continue throughout the day, when the sky glows purple in the noon and he hears the beating or finches’ wings in the evening, and finally, when the sky shimmers in the light of the stars at midnight.

Question 3.
In W.B. Yeats’s poem, “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” what indications does the speaker give of his present environment?
Answer:
The first line of the poem makes it clear that the speaker is not at Innisfree. In this line, he expresses his wish to go there. Given his peaceful, idealistic description of Innisfree as a magical place that he would want to escape to, we might surmise that his current environment is quite different. If he longs so badly to escape to such a place, perhaps his current environment is bland, boring, oppressive.

He will have peace at Innisfree in the lap of Nature, implying he does not have peace where he is at present. He also brings out the sombre, monotony of the “grey” London pavements and the sound of traffic, by contrasting them with the sounds of bees, birds and crickets and the colours of the sky.

Question 4.
Explain the contrast between the last four lines of “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” and the rest of the poem.
Answer:
In the opening lines of the poem, the poet’s tone is dreamy and hopeful as the poet declares his intention of going to Innisfree. This is mainly achieved by the use of the future tense and the speaker’s desire to “arise and go now” to Innisfree. The speaker is sure he will live happily, will build his own home and grow and harvest his own food.

Innisfree takes on a magical character in the second stanza. The buzzing of the bees has, quietened and has been replaced by the gentler noise of crickets, the air is filled with birds in flight, and night and day have reversed their roles: “midnight’s all a glimmer and noon a purple glow.” It is also a place where peace is slow in coming but arrives nonetheless.

The reader is, however, aware that the speaker is not where he wishes to be, yet. The longing becomes more intense in the final stanza when the speaker says he hears the call to go to Innisfree “always night and day” and is even more determined to go to Innisfree. There is a sharp tone shift in the final two lines created by use of present tense “I stand” and “I hear”.

The soothing tone and mood is abruptly cut off and replaced by cold reality and the imagery of the street – to “roadway” and “pavements grey”. The speaker would rather not be where he is in that moment and his tone is sombre. But this mood does not last, as the speaker shifts to the present tense showing that though he stands on the “grey” pavement, he can access Innisfree in his own heart at any time.

Question 5.
Why does the poet want to go Innisfree?
Answer:
The speaker is standing on the pavement in London. He is surrounded by the sombre monotony of “grey” roadway and pavement and the sound of traffic. In that moment, perhaps fed up of the hubbub of the city life, the speaker decides to go to Innisfree. There, the speaker will construct a cabin of mud and intertwined twigs. In a life of quiet solitude, the speaker will keep busy with his garden of beans and a beehive. The speaker reiterates that he will find calm in the easy pace of dripping dew and singing crickets in the morning light, and this calm will continue throughout the day, the purple glow of the afternoon, and the beating of finches’ wings in the evening and shimmering of stars in the sky at midnight.

Question 6.
In the poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree’, what does the poet find so attractive about ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’.
Answer:
The thing that the poet finds so attractive about Lake Isle of Innisfree is its promise of peace. The poet, who stays in London, longs for this place, in the lap of Nature, which affords a sense of contentment and relaxation far from the busy modem life. He remembers the beauty of Innisfree and the simple life he can lead there in quiet solitude. He will build a cabin and live on beans and honey which he will cultivate himself. He dreams of living in a delightful environment listening to the buzzing of bees, the songbirds and crickets at dusk and lake water lapping against the shores. He wishes to escape to a beautiful place with wonderful light and colour.

Question 7.
Does the poet wish to escape reality in The Lake Isle of Innisfree?
Answer:
The Isle of Innisfree is a place of escape for the speaker, who is unhappy living in the city. The thing that the poet finds so attractive about Lake Isle of Innisfree is its promise of peace. The speaker describes Innisfree as a simple, natural environment where he will build a cabin and live alone in the lap of nature.

He talks of the island as an inherently restorative place where human beings can go to escape the chaos and cheerless monotony of city life. The poet, then, longs for this place which affords a sense of contentment and relaxation far from the busy modem life. The poem’s slow and regular meter helps to convey this languid, dreamy effect.

There is also the vivid impressionistic description of the colours and beauties of this place, and the soothing stir of nature which is so different from the strident noise of the city where the poet actually is, as the final stanza makes clear. The poet, who is physically trapped in the city, imagines the beauty of Innisfree and this gives him spiritual sustenance in an increasingly fast-paced, modem world.

However, the speaker is only dreaming of “getting away from it all. Even if he never goes, he will at least escape to this Garden of Eden in his mind. He can imagine the escape as he can will himself to hear the lake water lapping even while he stands on the pavement in the city.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree Extra Questions and Answers Reference to Context

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; 
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

(a) Who does T refer to in the stanza?
Answer:
I is the speaker/ the poet William Butler Yeats

(b) Where is he at the present moment?
Answer:
He is walking down a road in London.

(c) Where does he want to go?
Answer:
He wants to go to the lake island of Innisfree, a place where he had spent a lot of time as a boy.

(d) What does he wish to do there?
Answer:
He wishes to build a small hut of clay and wattles. He will sow nine rows of beans and keep a hive for the honeybee.

Question 2.
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

(a) Name the poetic device used in the first line.
Answer:
Allusion: The poet’s declaration ‘’I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree” echoes the words of the prodigal son in the Bible when he says, ‘’I will arise and go to my father.”

(b) What does the word ‘there’ in the above lines refer to?
Answer:
‘There’ in the above lines refer to Lake Isle of Innisfree.

(c) Why does the poet wish to do go to Innisfree?
Answer:
The poet wishes to live in the lap of Nature, away from the hubbub of the city.

(d) What does the stanza suggest about the poet?
Answer:
The poet loves to live in the lap of nature.

Question 3.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow.
And evenings full of the linnet’s wings.

(a) What is the poet going there to find?
Answer:
The poet hopes to find peace in Innisfree.

(b) Explain: What do you think “for peace comes dropping slow/ Dropping from the veils of the morning”?
Answer:
The given lines indicate that peace of mind can be slowly acquired from the natural surroundings. It is peace that comes slowly, falling like morning mist from the sky and slowly fades away until it is night.

(c) How has noon been described in the stanza?
Answer:
Noon has been described as a purple glow. Here, a purple glow in the sky gives noon a magical quality. The poet could also be referring to the sight of purple flowers of heather in the afternoon

(d) What is a ‘Linnet’?
Answer:
A mainly brown and grey finch with a reddish breast and forehead.

Question 4.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow.
And evenings full of the linnet’s wings.

(a) Where is the poet at the moment?
Answer:
He is standing on a pavement in London, imagining he is at Innisfree.

(b) What did the poet see in the morning?
Answer:
The poet saw dewdrops which seemed to be dropping from the skies and which brought peace.

(c) What did the poet hear?
Answer:
The poet heard the singing of the crickets and the flapping of the linnet’s wings.

(d) How does peace come in the morning?
Answer:
The peace comes dropping in the form of dewdrops in the morning when the sun rises from behind the curtains of mist. It gives immense pleasure to the poet.

Question 5.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear the lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

(a) What is the poet’s tone as he repeats “I will arise and go now”?
Answer:
The poet is determined to go back to Innisfree.

(b) What does the poet hear?
Answer:
The hears the lake water lapping with low sounds against the shore.

(c) What do you learn about the poet in this stanza?
Answer:
The poet loves nature and is determined to return to live with nature.

(d) How does the poet contrast London and Innisfree?
Answer:
The poet contrasts the colours of nature with the grey of the London streets.

Question 6.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear the lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

(a) Explain the line “lake water lapping with low sounds”.
Answer:
The poet hears the quiet sound of lake’s waves as they gently break on the shore.

(b) Bring out the internal rhyme used in the above lines.
Answer:
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey

(c) Why does the poet want to go to Lake Isle of Innisfree?
Answer:
The poet is unhappy with the life in the city. He wants to lead a peaceful life in the lap of nature. He wants to go to Innisfree because it is natural place full of beauty.

(d) Why is the poet looking for peace in Innisfree?
Answer:
The poet is living in London at the moment. He does not find peace in the city.

Here we are providing Rain on the Roof Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive, Extra Questions for Class 9 English was designed by subject expert teachers.

Rain on the Roof Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive

Rain on the Roof Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.
What is the setting of the poem?
Answer:
The poet is lying comfortably snug in his bed with his head pressed against the pillow, in a room in his cottage listening to the patter of the soft rain as it falls on the shingles of the roof.

Question 2.
How old do you think the poet is? Justify your answer.
Answer:
The poet is a young man. He remembers his mother looking down at him and his siblings, who are sleeping in their room, long ago. The poet’s mother also is no longer alive as he says she lives on in his memories.

Question 3.
How does the sky look before the rain falls?
Answer:
Before the rain falls, the weather turns humid and great dark clouds gather in the sky. They cover the stars and spread darkness. The poet feels these dark clouds are gloomy and melancholic. To the poet the darkness spells despondence and gloom as the clouds – humid shadows – weep gentle tears that fall as rain.

Question 4.
‘And the melancholy darkness gently weeps in rainy tears.’ Explain the phrase ‘melancholy darkness’. What does it do?
Answer:
“Melancholy darkness” refers to the dark rain bearing clouds. The poet imagines that the clouds covering the sky are gloomy and depressed because they are heavy and grey. The poet further imagines that the clouds are weeping and their tears are falling down as rain drops.

Question 5.
What is a ‘bliss’ for the poet in the poem ‘Rain on the Roof?
Answer:
The poet thinks it is blissful to lie in his cozy bed with his head on the pillow and listen to the sound of rain falling on the shingles of the roof. He enjoys the music of nature which arouses fantasies and memories in his mind.

Question 6.
What does the poet like to do when it rains?
Answer:
The poet likes to lie in his room in his cottage, snug in bed with his head on a pillow when it rains. It gives him the greatest pleasure.

Question 7.
What feelings does the falling rain arouse in the poet in the poem ‘Rain on the Roof?
Answer:
The poet first describes the falling rain as the tears of the dark, gloomy clouds. However, as he lies snug in his bed, listening to the patter of rain on the shingles, the sound provides him immense pleasure and he is lost in fantasies and memories.

Question 8.
What are the poet’s feelings as the rain falls on the shingles?
Answer:
As the rain falls on the shingles, its tinkling sound creates an echo in the poet’s heart. As he listens to the patter of the raindrops on the roof, his gloom is lifted and his heart is filled with a thousand fantasies and fond memories of his mother.

Question 9.
When do the ‘thousand dreamy fancies’ begin to weave in the poet’s mind? What are these fancies?
Answer:
When the poet is in his cottage and lies in his cosy bed listening to the soft music of rain on the roof, his mind is flooded with various thoughts and imaginations. These fancies or imaginary thoughts and ideas spin threads of bright fanciful colours in his mind.

Question 10.
“And a thousand dreamy fancies into busy heart.” When do the ‘thousand dreamy fancies’ begin in the poet’s heart?
Answer:
When the poet is in his cottage and lies in his cosy bed listening to the soft music of rain on the roof, his mind is flooded with various thoughts and imaginations. The soothing sound of the gentle rain on the shingles fires his imagination.

Question 11.
‘Now in memory comes my mother.’ When does the poet remember his mother? What does it show about him?
Answer:
As the poet lies in his bed in his room in the cottage, listening to the sound of The poet loved his mother. He remembered her when he lied on his cozy bed to enjoy the sound of rain. It appears to him as if she was fondly looking at him.

Question 12.
‘As I list to this refrain.’ Which kind of refrain is the poet referring to?
Answer:
The poem is lying in his cosy bed in his cottage listening to the sound of rain falling incessantly on the roof of his cottage. Here, refrain refers to the continuous patter of the rain falling on the shingles of his roof.

Question 13.
What feeling does every tinkle on the shingle create for the poet?
Answer:
Every raindrop falling on the tiles of tile roof creates a rhythm with the poet’s heartbeat. This evokes thousands of dreams making his thoughts busy. While he focuses on the listening to the pitter- patter on the roof, his mind starts weaving recollections of fond memories of yesteryears.

Question 14.
Do you think the poet is praising the healing power of rain in the poem ‘Rain on the Roof?
Answer:
As the poet lies in his bed, looking at the dark clouds gather, he first is filled with feelings of gloom and unhappiness. He feels the clouds are weeping and the rain is tears of these gloomy clouds. However, as he lies snug in bed, listening to the sound of rain, his gloom is lifted and his mind is filled with fantasies and fond memories. This rain and its sound resurrect the fondest memory of the poet—that of his mother—in his mind. As the rain continues, the poet tries to recollect all that caused him pain, yet at the same time lifted his spirits.The rain has thus brought comfort to him.

Question 15.
Do you think the poet enjoys the rain?
Answer:
At first when the clouds gather and rain starts, the poet is filled with dismay and gloom at the gathering darkness. His mood is somber. However, the patter of the raindrops on the shingles soon soothes him and his mind is filled with imaginings and fond memories of his mother.

Question 16.
What is the central idea of the poem ‘Rain on the Roof?
Answer:
The central idea of the poem ‘Rain on the Roof’ is that nature brings solace to the mind. The poet derives immense happiness from lying in bed listening to the sound of rain falling on the roof of his cottage. He is lost in dreams as many fancies and memories crowd his mind.

Rain on the Roof Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
How does the poet describe the falling rain in the poem ‘Rain on the Roof?
Answer:
The poet first describes the falling rain as the tears of clouds. The dark rain bearing clouds appear gloomy and depressed to him. Therefore, they are weeping. Their tears fall to earth as gentle rain. However, as he listens to the patter of rain on the shingles, it provides him immense pleasure. The poet loves to hear the melodious sound of nature. He listens to the patter of soft rain on the wooden roof and is lost in fantasies.

He considers it a rare happiness to listen to the patter of the rain on the roof. Rain brings to his mind memories . of long gone days when he was a child, and he lay sleeping in his room along with his siblings, as his mother gazed down at them with love.

Question 2.
How does the rain affect the poet? Describe.
Answer:
Though at first the sight of the gathering dark clouds fills the poet’s mind with dismay and unhappiness, the gentle patter of the rain falling on his roof soon soothes him. The poet liees in his cosy bed, his head on his pillow and listens to the patter of the raindrops on the shingles. The gentle sound ills him with bliss. A thousand fantasies fill his mind. He is filled with nostalgia as he remembers his mother. He recalls how his mother had looked at him and his sleeping siblings with fondness as they lay in their beds. Hence, the rain is a bliss for the poet.

Question 3.
What happens when the poet listens to the patter of the rain? Do you think that rain is a narrative tool in the poet’s life?
Answer:
The raindrops play music on the roof and create a tinkling sound on the shingles. To the poet this music is blissful. At the beginning of the poem there is certain tinge of sadness, and the poet talks of “melancholy darkness/ Gently weeps in rainy tears’. However, as he lies in his cosy bed, a feeling of bliss washes over him. Every raindrop on the tiles of the roof creates a rhythm with the poet’s heartbeat.

The poet tries to focus on listening to the pitter-patter on the roof whereas his mind weaves the recollections of fond memories of yester years. Rain bears a subtle link with all aspects of life. It serves as a powerful narrative tool in the poet’s life as it evokes fantasies and nostalgia in the poet. He recalls his mother in a poignant manner.

Question 4.
In what way are the poems The Road Not Taken and Rain on the Roof evocative of the past?
Answer:
In both the poems The Road Not Taken and Rain on the Roof there is a certain nostalgia for events long gone by. In The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost talks with regret about a decision taken long ago to take a certain path in the woods. He had thought of taking the second path sometime in the future. Though he knew, even at that time, that the chances of his returning that way were slim. So his tone is one of regret.

On the other hand, the poet in Rain on the Roof is first filled with melancholy and gloom at the sight of the gathering clouds. However, the gentle patter of the rain soothes him and fills his mind with fond memories of his mother smiling down at him. Thus Kinney’s feelings of unhappiness vanish and he is at peace.

Rain on the Roof Extra Questions and Answers Reference to Context

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.

Question 1.
When the humid shadows hover
Over all the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a bliss to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed
And lie listening to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!

(a) What does the phrase “humid shadows” refer to?
Answer:
“Humid shadows” refer to the dark clouds that cause rain.

(b) What are “starry spheres”?
Answer:
The stars that shine in the sky at night are called starry spheres.

(c) Why does the poet call the darkness melancholy?
Answer:
The night is dark and gloomy. Perhaps the poet is also in a despondent mood. Where is the poet at the moment?

Question 2.
The poet is in his bed in his cottage.
When the humid shadows hover
Over all the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a bliss to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed
And lie listening to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!

(a) Who weeps in the form of rainy tears?
Answer:
The dark rain-bearing clouds weep tears of rain in their sadness.

(b) Which line shows that the poet is happy when it rains?
Answer:
What a bliss to press the pillow shows his happiness.

(c) What memories does the rain bring to the poet’s mind?
Answer:
The poet remembers his mother looking down at her sleeping children before going to her room. Name the poetic device used in the above lines.

Question 3.
Alliteration: Over all the starry spheres
What a bliss to press the pillow
And lie listening to the patter
Every tinkle on the shingles
Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
And a thousand recollections
Weave their air-threads into woof,
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof

(a) What echoes in the poet’s heart?
Answer:
The patter of soft rain on the roof echoes in the heart of the poet.

(b) Explain: a thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start.
Answer:
This phrase refers to the various imaginary thoughts and fantasies that are aroused in the poet’s mind.

(c) What starts ‘a thousand dreamy fancies’?
Answer:
The tinkling sound of the raindrops on the roof starts a thousand dreamy fancies.

(d) What is a refrain? Find lines from the poem that form its refrain.
Answer:
A refrain is the repetition of lines or whole phrases in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza. It creates a musical effect and lends unity to a piece.
Example:
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof.

Question 4.
Every tinkle on the shingles
Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
And a thousand recollections
Weave their air-threads into woof
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof

(a) Explain ‘shingles’. What is tinkling on the shingles?
Answer:
Shingles are thin rectangular tiles, especially made of wood, that are laid with others in overlapping rows to form the roof. Rain is making a sharp sound as it hits the tiles.

(b) What finds an echo in the poet’s heart?
Answer:
The tinkle of rain on the shingles finds an echo in the poet’s heart.

(c) Who is a busy being? What happens to his mind?
Answer:
The ‘busy being’ refers to the poet. His mind is flooded with fantasies and memories.

(d) Explain: “A thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof’.
Answer:
While weaving a fabric, the threads that run lengthwise are called warp and the threads that run across are known as woof. The poet means that numerous memories intermingle to form a beautiful picture that the poet recollects.’

Question 5.
Now in memory comes my mother,
As she used in years agone,
To regard the darling dreamers
Ere she left them till the dawn:
O! Ifeel her fond look on me
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the shingles
By the patter of the rain.

(a) Whom does the poet remember?
Answer:
The poet remembers his mother.

(b) Who are the darling dreamers?
Answer:
The darling dreamers are the poet and his siblings who are fast asleep.

(c) How did the poet’s mother gaze at the dreamers?
Answer:
The poet’s mother gazes her sleeping children with fondness.

(d) What does he feel? Is his mother alive?
Answer:
The poet remembers his mother who died many years ago with longing.

Question 6.
Now in memory comes my mother,
As she used in years agone,
To regard the darling dreamers
Ere she left them till the dawn:
O! Ifeel her fond look on me
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the
shingles By the patter of the rain.

(a) What is the poet doing at the moment?
Answer:
The poet is lying in his bed listening to the sound of the rain,

(b) What is the memory that comes to the poet?
Answer:
The poet remembers his mother standing next to their bed and gazing at her children fondly.

(c) What are the poet’s feelings for his family?
Answer:
The poet loves his family. He calls his sleeping siblings “darling dreamers” and he remembers his mother very fondly.

(d) Name a poetic device used in the last line.
Answer:
Onomatopoeia : Patter of rain