Prasanna

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The Lost Child Summary in English by Mulk Raj Anand

The Lost Child by Mulk Raj Anand About the Author

Mulk Raj Anand was one of the first Indian writers who wrote in English and gained popularity at an international scale. He produced a remarkable body of work that contains several short stories, novels and essays. Anand was bom in Peshawar and his father was a coppersmith. Anand was a highly educated man; he graduated with honors from Punjab University and then went to University College, London. While studying in England, he worked at a restaurant to finance his education. He went on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. This was also the time when he became involved in India’s struggle for independence.

He first gained popularity for his novels, Untouchable and Coolie. Among his other notable works is a trilogy consisting of The Village, Across the Black Waters and The Sword and the Sickle. Anand wrote extensively about the lives of the poor, oppressed Indian people and about social evils like the caste system, untouchability and communalism. Through his empathetic portrayal of the lives of the common Indian people, he provided stark social commentaries on the structures of society. Anand is regarded as one of the founding figures of Indian English literature.

The Lost Child Summary in English

The story is set during a spring festival. The road to the fair is full of people. An excited little boy is running alongside his father. He watches the toys in the shops with wonder and his parents tell him to hurry up. The child goes to his parents and feels the urge to tell his parents that he wants a toy, though he knows from the look on their faces that they will refuse. His father gives him a strict look while his mother gently tries to distract him by showing him the flowering mustard field. The child then begins chasing dragonflies and his mother has to call him back to the footpath. He walks with his parents for a while till once again, he becomes distracted by the insects and worms on the footpath. His parents call him from under the shade of a grove where they are seated and he runs towards them.

As he enters the grove, flowers begin to fall upon him and he begins collecting petals. Then he hears doves cooing and he runs towards his parents, dropping the petals and looking for the dove. He begins running around a banyan tree. His parents pick him up and take a narrow, winding footpath through the mustard fields to the fair. As they approach the village, the child sees that a huge crowd is gathering at the fair. He is both frightened and fascinated. The child sees a sweetmeat seller’s shop stacked with many coloured sweets. He murmurs that he wants to have a burfi—his favourite sweet. But he knows that his parents will call him greedy if he demands a sweet, so he does not wait for their answer. He then sees a flower-seller selling garlands of gulmohur flowers. He is very attracted by the flowers and softly murmurs that he wants one. But he knows his parents will say that the flowers look cheap, so he does not wait for an answer from them and walks ahead.

Next, the child sees a man selling balloons of many colours. He wants to get them all. But he knows his parents will say he is too old to play with balloons and so he walks ahead. Then he sees a snake charmer playing music to a snake that is coiled in a basket. The child knows that his parents will scold him for listening to such coarse music and so he walks on ahead.

Then the child comes upon a merry-go-round. He sees grownups and their children on it laughing and having fun. Finally, he requests his parents for a turn at the merry-go-round, but he receives no reply. He realises that his parents are nowhere around him. He panics and starts running around crying for his parents. He becomes overcome with fear and runs around, crying out for his parents. His yellow turban comes off and his clothes become dirty.

Soon, he exhausts himself and starts sobbing. He looks around for people dressed in yellow, but he cannot find his parents anywhere. He then runs to a shrine, walking under people’s legs, sobbing for his parents. The crowd thickens near the temple’s gates. Here, men are pushing each other and the child struggles to get ahead. He shrieks for his parents and a man notices him and lifts him up into his arms. He shields the child and takes him

away from the crowd. The man asks him who he is and how he came to be there. The child now cries even more bitterly and weeps for his mother and father.

To soothe the crying child, the man asks him if he wants to ride the merry-go-round. But the child says that he just wants his parents back. He then takes him to the snake charmer and tells him to listen to the music. But the child puts his hands over his ears and cries even louder. He keeps saying that he wants his parents.

The man offers to buy him a multi-coloured balloon from the balloon seller, but the child turns his eyes away from the balloons and asks for his parents. The man then takes him to the flower-seller and asks if he would like to wear a garland of fragrant flowers. The child turns his nose away and continues sobbing for his mother and father.

Lastly, the man brings the child back to the sweet-seller, hoping to console him with a sweet. He asks the child to choose a sweet. But the child continues to sob and says that all he wants are his mother and father.

The Lost Child Title

The title beautifully captures the reactions of the child to the world around him before and after he is lost.

The lesson is about an event that takes place in the life of a child who gets lost in a fair. It expresses the fears, anxieties and worries of this very young child who is separated from his parents due to his fascination with the world around him. When he gets lost and separated from his parents, however, his fascination with the world around is also lost.

The Lost Child Theme

The underlying theme of the story “The Lost Child” is the universality of a child’s desire for everything that he claps his eyes on. All that the child witnesses—from the toys lining the street, to the dragon flies in the mustard field, to the snake swaying to the tunes of a snake charmer’s pungi—obsesses the child. It is a visual assault on his senses. He looks at everything in wonder, his senses almost rejoicing at being alive. His parents on the other hand are like a parental control filter, making him abstain him from the lures of the illusionary world as if secretly knowing that what he needs most is something else entirely. They offer a quiet reminder that the child must learn to prioritise what is important and what is not in life.

In the end when the child loses his parents he understands what his parents’ silent gestures and reprimands were trying to teach him. He realises now that what he wanted most was his parents. He continuously refuses everything that the kind stranger offers to console him with—the very same things he was goading his parents for moments ago. Within minutes his life changes and offers him an entirely new perspective of looking at life and understanding what is truly important.

The Lost Child Setting

The story is set in an Indian village around the time of Independence. Set during springtime, the story offers a look into a period of time in history when changing seasons were celebrated with fairs, which offered simple pleasures like the sweetmeat seller, the flower seller, the snake charmer, a balloon seller, etc. The time period is emphasised further by mention of the modes of transportation, such as people riding on horses on the roads, while Others rode in the bamboo and bullock carts.

The Lost Child Message

The story highlights the value of relationships over material goods. The child realises the true value of his parents once he is separated from them. It also sheds light on the universal fear of children and parents of getting separated from one another and the result of such a calamity as seen from the eyes of a little child.

The Lost Child Characters

There are four characters without any names—the child, his parents, and the unknown man who tries to console the lost and sobbing child.

The child is very young and full of joy and excitement at the thought of visiting the fair. He is attracted by all the sights and sounds of the fair. Like all children of his age, he wants whatever catches his fancy, whether a sweetmeat or a dragonfly. He is however quite obedient and disciplined as he does not throw a tantrum when his parents don’t give him any of the things that he demands. In the end he dissolves into tears asjie realizes that he has lost his parents and makes a valiant effort to look for them, almost getting trampled underfoot by the people at the temple before he is rescued by a stranger. The same things that he had desired a little while ago lose all meaning when he gets separated from his parents.

The Parents

The father of the child appears to be a strict disciplinarian who does not give into the demands of the child for toys and sweets. He is the head of the family and both his wife and child do not question his decisions. In fact he seems to be leading the family, expecting them to follow him without dawdling.

The mother has been described as a typical loving mother who tries to soften the disappointment of the child by diverting his attention from the objects that he wants to possess. She seems to be tom between her husband and her child as she struggles to keep pace with her husband and at the same time keep her child from straying. At some point her attention seemed to have wavered, when her child gets separated from her.

The stranger appears to be a kind hearted man who rescues the lost child from under the feet of people thronging outside the temple. He tries hard to stop the child from weeping by offering him all the goodies at the fair and appears to be genuinely concerned to restore the child to his parents.

The Lost Child Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair?
Answer:
He sees people gaily dressed, some on horses, some in bamboo or bullock carts. He also sees toys, dragon ‘flies, insects, worms, flowers, and doves on his way to the fair.

Question 2.
Why does the child lag behind?
Answer:
He lags behind because he is attracted by several of the things he sees on the way like toys, sweetmeats, dragonflies, flower garlands, the snake charmer and the roundabout.

Question 3.
What are the things that he wants at the fair?
Answer:
At first he wanted a burfi, then a garland of gulmohur flowers, next some colourful balloons, after that he was attracted by the snake charmer and finally he wanted a ride on the roundabout.

Question 4.
Why does the child move on without waiting for his parents’ answer whenever he asked for things that attracted him?
Answer:
He moves on without waiting for an answer because he knew they would not pay attention to his demands or give him what he asked for.

Question 5.
When does the child realize that he had lost his way?
Answer:
At the roundabout, when he turned to request his parents to allow him to sit on the ride, he did not get any reply. When he looked around for them he realized he had strayed away from his parents and lost his way.

Question 6.
How has the lost child’s anxiety and insecurity been described?
Answer:
His anxiety and insecurity have been described through his reaction to his realisation that he was lost. Tears rolled down his cheeks, his throat became dry, his face flushed and convulsed with fear and he ran in all directions in panic without knowing where to go.

Question 7.
Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier?
Answer:
He lost all interest in the things that he had wanted earlier because he felt fearful and insecure at being separated from his parents and all he wanted was to be reunited with them.

Question 8.
What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents?
Answer:
This question can be answered in either way –
In my opinion the child is reunited with his parents who are also searching for him and find him crying in a stranger’s lap.
Or
No, the child is not reunited with his parents but is taken by the man who finds him and is brought up by him.

Question 9.
Why was the fair being held in the village?
Answer:
It was being held to celebrate the spring season.

Question 10.
What tells us that the little boy was excited about going to the fair?
Answer:
The fact that the little boy has been described as “brimming over with life and laughter” tells us that he was happy and excited to be going to the fair.

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If I Were You Summary in English by Douglas James

If I Were You by Douglas James About the Author

Douglas James bom in Bray in 1929 as written frequently for television, most notably as the creator of The Riordans, RTE’s long-running serial in the 1970s. He has also written a number of plays including The Savages, The Ice Goddess and North Traffic Straight Ahead, an ironic drama of wasted urban lives.

If I Were You Introduction to the Chapter

If I Were You by Douglas James is an interesting play that has mystery, suspense, surprise and humour. It is a story in which an Intruder intends to kill Gerrard and impersonate him to escape the law but the tables are turned on him as he is trapped due to Gerrard’s presence of mind. The play thus brings out that intelligence and presence of mind can help us come out of trickiest of situations.

If I Were You Summary in English

If I Were You is the story of Gerrard a cultured playwright. He is something of a mystery man. He is not very social, lives in a lonely cottage in the wilds of Essex, gives his orders on the phone and never meets the tradesmen.

The play opens with Gerrard answering a phone call which is from a client to whom he promises to deliver the props for rehearsal. He is busy packing for travel in this connection when a flashily dressed Intruder, wearing an overcoat and a soft hat and carrying a revolver in his hand enters the room. However, before he can take Gerrard by surprise, the Intruder bumps accidentally against a table, and alerts Gerrard to his presence. Not at all nonplussed, Gerrard tries to figure out who the Intruder is when the latter threatens him with dire consequences if his questions are not answered. The Intruder declares that he is not there to tell him about himself but to learn more about Gerrard.

The Intruder, who looks somewhat like Gerrard, wants to murder Gerrard and thereafter steal his identity. He is a robber who specialises in the theft of jewels and plans to use Gerrard’s house and car for his schemes. By assuming his identity, he can evade the police and lead a peaceful life. The Intruder further surprises Gerrard by telling him that he has noticed his (Gerrard’s) manner of speech and has taken care to adopt a resemblance to him in looks too. He needs to change his identity because the cops are searching him for having killed on of their colleagues. He also tells Gerrard how he has come to know about him, and his habit of keeping aloof, by overhearing a conversation between two people.

But it is the clever Gerrard who has the last laugh when he fools the Intruder into believing that he, too, is running from the law and is about to flee. He explains to the Intruder that unfortunately one of his men has been caught.

He is expecting trouble that night. That is why he is ready to make his getaway. He has a disguise outfit ready; false moustaches and what not.

He adds that he has posted a man on the road to call him the moment he sees the police.

The Intruder seems taken in.

As the telephone bell rings, Gerrard tells the Intruder that it might be the call from the Informer. He completely befools the Intruder by making him check for himself if everything is safe outside before they escape. He makes him peep into a dark cupboard giving the impression that it leads to the garage. The moment the Intruder peeps in, Gerrard pushes him into the cupboard, knocking the revolver out of his hand.

While the Intruder keeps rattling the door and shouting, “Let me out of here!”, Gerrard gets down to business. Very coolly he answers a phone call, apologising that he wouldn’t be able to deliver stage props in time for rehearsal. At the same time he requests the caller to send the sergeant to his place. All this while he guards the cupboard with the Intruder’s revolver.

Gerrard is so impressed by this incident that he decides to use it as the plot for his next play.

If I Were You Title

If I WAre You is a very appropriate title. It refers to the wishful thinking of the Intruder who wants to assume Gerrard\s identity in order to escape the law. His idea of eluding the police by living on a borrowed identity remains unfulfilled as he is trapped by Gerrard and outwitted before he can end Gerrard’s life assume his identity. His dreaiij to impersonate Gerrard comes to an end, when Gerrard turns the tables on him and captures him. The speculative “If’ in If I Were You remains just that – mere speculation.

If I Were You Setting

The setting of the play is a room in the cottage of a playwright, Vincent Charles Gerrard, in the in the wilds of Essex. The dottage is isolated and quite sitable as a writing retreat for a playwright who is something of a mystery man as he is not very social and never meets the tradesmen. It is also quite suitable as a hideout for a criminal on the run.

If I Were You Theme

The theme of the play emphasizes the need of retaining one’s presence of mind and a cool head in situations of crisis. Panic complicates matters but cool temperament can help one escape fro any tight comer with ease. Criminals, who mastermind most well thought out crimes, can also be outwitted because they are fearful of the law and of getting caught. Hence, tactful planning and handling of a situation can trap even ‘experienced’ criminals.

If I Were You Message

The play gives the message that over-confidence can lead to disastrous results. One should never consider oneself to be smarter than the opponent. The Intruder makes the serious error of thinking that Gerrard is no match for him. Therefore, he lets down his guard. The play also conveys the message that intelligence, presence of mind, and keeping a cool head can help us overcome the gravest of problems that we may encounter. Gerrard retains his cool and turns the situation to his advantage and cleverly tricks the Intruder and locks him up in the cupboard before calling the police.

If I Were You Humour

Though the play deals with a criminal and a playwright threatened by him, there is a thread of humour that runs through the play. The humour is neither boisterous nor unnatural. It is refined and subtle. Gerrard’s cool- headedness and presence of mind make him come out with such witty and sarcastic remarks that annoy the Intruder and amuse the audience. When the Intruder asks him to talk about himself, rather than panicking, he says he is happy to have a sympathetic audience. When the Intruder says he intends to live in his cottage, Gerrard, rather than being shocked, says, “You have not been invited”. Talking about the Intruder’s looks, Gerrard remarks, “You are not particularly decorative”. Such humour runs throughout the play and making it not just a gripping drama but also an entertaining one.

If I Were You Characters

Gerrard

Gerrard, the protagonist of If I Were You is portrayed as a man of many virtues. He is endowed with a brilliant wit, a sharp mind, smart thinking, and a sense of humour. All these qualities, combined with his ability to keep a cool head enable him to handle even a life-threatening situation very successfully and easily.

Gerrard is associated with the theatre. He is a playwright who also acts in and provides props for plays. He is not very social, lives in a lonely cottage in the wilds of Essex, gives his orders on the phone and never meets the tradesmen. This is probably because he likes his solitude while writing.

A refined and a cultured man, Gerrard keeps his cool even in the most difficult situations. The sight of an Intruder doesn’t ruffle him and he talks to him very courteously and pleasantly. His sense of humour irritates the Intruder many times. He calls the situation melodramatic and calls himself a sympathetic audience.

Even when he is confronted with a life-threatening situation, Gerrard retains his presence of mind and lays a trap for the Intruder. He handles the situation with the Intruder very cleverly. He convinces the Intruder that he, too, is a criminal on the run, and they can both escape together.

Everything comes so naturally and spontaneously to him that the Intruder walks into his trap unsuspectingly. Gerrard’s intelligence not only outwits the Intruder and saves his own life, but also helps the police in nabbing a Wanted criminal. In fact, Gerrard, with his unagitated, composed manner serves as a foil to villainous Intruder who is edgy and agitated.

Intruder

The Intruder is a criminal on the run. His “speciality” is jewel robbery. The police is on the lookout for him. So, he is looking for a safe place to hide. The villainous scoundrel, makes an intriguing plan to dodge the police. Cold blooded, as he is, he has hatched a crafty plan to achieve his aim. He plans to kills Gerrard and steal his identity. He is smart and has chosen Gerrard, as he realises he is a bit of a mystery man – a recluse – and that they are somewhat alike in looks. He decides to use these facts to his advantage.

The Intruder is a criminal who has been eluding the police ever since he killed a cop. He has no sense of remorse for the crime he has committed. In fact, he is further sinking in the mire of criminal activities by killing Gerrard and stealing his identity.

The Intruder is a bungler. This is probably because he is edgy and agitated. He enters Gerrard’s cottage silently, but accidently bangs against a table. This alerts Gerrard to his presence. He, thus, is not able to take him by surprise. In the end, too, he goes to inspect what is actually a cupboard, but which Gerrard claims is the garage and is trapped.

The Intruder copies the American way of speaking. “Put those paws up!” An amused Gerrard asks him “Are you American, or is that merely a clever imitation?” This shows he either watches a lot of Hollywood films or reads Crime novels.

If I Were You Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Briefly describe Gerrard’s appearance.
Answer:
Gerrard is a man of medium height and wears horn-rimmed glasses. When the play opens, he is dressed in a lounge suit and a great coat. He talks in a cultured voice and his demeanour is confident.

Question 2.
Who was the Intruder in Gerrard’s house? Why did he break into his house?
Answer:
The Intruder, who broke into Gerrard’s house, was a criminal. He had murdered a cop and was being chased by the police. He broke into Gerrard’s house with the intention of murdering him and taking on his identity to evade the police.

Question 3.
How did Gerrard behave on seeing a gun-totting stranger in his cottage?
Answer:
Gerrard kept his cool and remained absolutely unruffled when he saw the gun-totting stranger in his cottage. There was neither any panic nor any ring of tension in his voice. He remained his normal self and talked to him casually.

Question 4.
Why does the Intruder intend to kill Gerrard?
Answer:
The Intruder is a criminal who is being chased by the police for having murdered a cop. As per his plan, the Intruder intends to kill Gerrard in order to take on his identity and escape capture by the police. In this way, he can lead a peaceful life without living in constant fear of arrest and punishment.

Question 5.
Why does the Intruder not kill Gerrard immediately?
Answer:
The Intruder does not kill Gerrard immediately because he first wants to get all the necessary information from him. Without this information, his plan to take on Gerrard’s identity will not succeed.

Question 6.
What impression do you form of the Intruder as he comes in? Give examples to illustrate.
Answer:
The Intruder is similar in build to Gerrard enters from the right silently – revolver in hand. He is flashily dressed in an overcoat and a soft hat. He seems to be a dangerous person as he is carrying a pistol and threatens Gerrard. He claims to have killed a cop. He is mean, heartless and crafty, for he plans to kill Gerrard and assume his identity in order to escape the police. He is over-confident because he claims that Gerrard is no match for him.

Question 7.
“You’ll soon stop being smart.” Why did Intruder think that Gerrard was being smart?
Answer:
The Intruder thought that Gerrard was being ‘smart’ or clever and facetious because he did not show any fear at the sight of an armed man enter his house and threaten him. To the contrary, he was giving the Intruder smart answers to his questions.

Question 8.
How did the Intruder threaten Gerrard ?
Answer:
The Intruder threatened Gerrard by saying that he would soon stop being smart. He would make Gerrard crawl.

Question 9.
“I want to know a few things, see.” What sort of information did the Intruder want from Gerrard?
Answer:
The Intruder wanted personal details from Gerrard like whether he lived alone, what his Christian name was, whether he had a car and whether people visited him. All this information was necessary for the execution of his plan to dodge the police by killing Gerrard and taking on his identity.

Question 10.
Why did the Intruder say, “They can’t hang me twice?”
Answer:
The Intruder said this because he was already wanted for having murdered a cop. If he managed to kill Gerrard, as per his plan, and was later arrested, it would not matter as the punishment for this murder, too, would be a hanging. They could not hang him for the two murders twice.

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A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Summary in English by William Wordsworth

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal by William Wordsworth About the Poet

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication of Lyrical Ballads. This piece of work is considered to be Wordsworth’s magnum opus. The Prelude is a semi auto biographical poem of his early years which the poet revised and expanded a number of times. The work was posthumously titled and published, prior to which it was generally known as the poem “to Coleridge”. Wordsworth was England’s Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Introduction to the Chapter

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal is a poem written by William Wordsworth in 1798 and published in the 1800 edition of Lyrical Ballads. During the autumn of 1798, Wordsworth travelled to Germany with his sister Dorothy and fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. From October 1798, Wordsworth worked on the first drafts for his Lucy poems, which included Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known, She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways and A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal. Eventually, A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal, was published in the 1800 edition of Lyrical Ballads.

The poem is unique amongst Lucy poems as it does not directly mention Lucy. The decision by critics to include the poem as part of the series is based in part on Wordsworth’s placing it in close proximity to the other Lucy poems in the Lyrical Ballads. All these poems are about a young girl named Lucy whose identity and relationship with Wordsworth are unknown. However, the poems reveal that the poet loved her dearly and she died very young. As in other ‘Lucy Poems’, here too, the poet presents Lucy as having become one with nature after her death.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Summary in English

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal is one of the five Lucy Poems, a cluster of elegies about the death of a young girl named Lucy (though she remains unnamed in this poem) which brings to Wordsworth the realization that bad things can happen in a beautiful world. In this poem, the poet seems to be immortalizing Lucy’s death as he describes and appreciates life beyond death.

The poem is a mere eight lines long; two “stanzas.” The first stanza reveals the poet’s innocent unawareness about the fact that one day Lucy too would age or meet her death like other human beings. The second stanza deals with her death that has made her motionless, forceless, and without the faculties of sight and hearing. However, the poet is at peace even after losing Lucy to death because he finds that she has become an inseparable part of the earth by mingling with the rocks, the stones, and the trees.

The opening lines of the poem tell us about the poet himself. “A slumber did my spirit seal” could mean that the speaker is in some sort of a lethargic state, as if he isn’t living in reality but rather in fantasy. This ‘slumber’ transports him to a state of unawareness which keeps away all his human fears like the fact that age and death spare none, not even his dear Lucy.

However, the poet soon encounters the hard fact that the young girl has passed away. He does not address the matter directly perhaps because the pain and agony that he is because of her death is far too overwhelming for him to even mention it in a direct manner.

The lines
“No motion has she now, no force;” tell us how she is lying still, how she is now an inanimate object, devoid of life. In this way the poet subtly implies that she had once been an energetic person, not one to stay put in one place for long. When he writes about her current lack of senses he also implies that the woman might have been one to live life fully, using all of her senses to enjoy each day. He emphasizes how she can no longer enjoy the world through sight or sound by stating that she can no longer see, hear or move; she doesn’t have power.

The last two lines explain how her body has become one with earth, how she is now a part of nature. She is one among the other elements of nature like rocks, stones, and trees. Her only movement is along with the rolling of earth, of which she is now an integral part.

This movement is seen positively by the poet and he does not feel sad or bitter at the girl’s death. For him, her integration with nature transforms her human form and she continues to live like the animate and inanimate objects of nature.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Theme

The theme of A Slumber Did My Spirits Seal is the idea of life, death, and life after death. The poem, like all Lucy Poems, treats the subject of her death. The poet deals with the theme of loss through death and the sorrows that follow. The death of Lucy has left the poet in great pain to the extent that he talks of her death as transforming her into “rocks and stones and trees”. The poet does not mourn her death as an ultimate end. He, who had once considered her to be above old age and death, now finds her inseparably blended with the earth and the nature. Thus, another theme is the immortality of the human soul; Williams Wordsworth immortalizes Lucy by stating that she lives in nature after her physical death. Finally, the third theme is nature. After her death Lucy has become a part of nature and lives on in it.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Tone

The poems tone is one of acceptance as the poet comes to terms with the death of his beloved Lucy.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Message

The keynote of this poem is immortality. Through the death of Lucy, Wordsworth conveys the message that death is inevitable. Nobody is beyond the reach of death. But death does not imply a complete end as the dead person gets integrated with nature and thus lives on. Although to the poet Lucy had seemed a ‘thing’ that could not be touched by the passing of time, ‘the touch of earthly years’, Lucy has breathed her last. She now lacks ‘motion’ and ‘force’, both ideas associated with positive human action. Now she ‘neither hears nor sees’; all those special marks of humanity are gone. But Lucy has been absorbed into nature. She is now one with the rocks, stones and trees and part of the greater pattern of the universe. After death she has become immortal as she is now a part of the earth and its routine rolling.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Title

The title A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal is taken from the opening line of the poem. The title refers to the drugged, drowsy, nearly unconscious state of the poet’s mind that has kept him from realizing reality. He has been in a dream-like state, devoid of any common fears (“human fears”). To the speaker, “she” (his unnamed female love) seemed like she would never age:. However, the death of Lucy has awakened him to the bitter truth of life – its ultimate end in death.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Literary Devices

Alliteration

Alliteration is a poetic device in which the poet repeatedly uses a sound at close intervals with the purpose of making the poem lyrical.

Example: A slumber did my spirit seal-

Enjambment

Enjambment is a literary device in which a line does not have a comma or a full stop at the end; the line rolls on to the next line.

Example: She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.

Rhyme Scheme

Rhyme is a popular literary device in which the repetition of the same or similar sounds occurs in two or more words, e.g., covers and lovers. Rhyme occurs usually at the end of a line in a poem. The rhyme scheme in this eight-lined poem is abab cdcd.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
What does the poet mean by ‘spirit’ and in what state was it?
Answer:
In the poem the word ‘spirit’ refers to the mind of the poet. He was in a slumber. That is, a deep sleep or a state of unawareness as if unconscious to the realities of life. It is as if he was drugged or under some spell.

Question 2.
What caused the slumber of the poet?
Answer:
The poet was passionately in love with the girl. Her death shocked and saddened him. He felt bitter grief. His deep emotion overwhelmed his mind. Such was the intensity of his sorrow that it overpowered his consciousness.

Question 3.
What changes did the slumber bring in the poet’s feelings?
Answer:
The poet was shocked and saddened by his beloved’s death. But the slumber brought peace to his mind. He realised that his beloved had become part of Nature and would always remain around him.

Question 4.
Who does not feel any human fears? Why?
Answer:
The poet does not feel any fears and his soul feels at peace, as though asleep and existing in a deep calm where he has nothing to fear. His love for Lucy was so strong that he did not want her to grow old and suffer the problems of old age as human beings do. She would not now be marked by the passing of time or the ravages of nature as other mortals are. For him, she has attained the status of a supernatural being.

Question 5.
Explain the line: “The touch of earthly years”. Who would not feel the touch of earthly years?
Answer:
The expression “The touch of earthly years,” refers to the ravages of old age faced by human beings – the depletion of energy, diseases, senility and death which a person has to suffer as one grows old during life on this earth. The poet’s beloved Lucy will not face the problems of old age as she is no more alive.

Question 6.
How does the poet come out of his ‘slumber’?
Answer:
The poet comes out of ‘slumber’ as the realisation dawns of him that with her death Lucy is no longer a human being and as vulnerable to death as others. She has become an immortal being and he sees her as a supernatural goddess. This brings him out of his unconsciousness or ‘slumber’.

Question 7.
How does the poet react to his loved one’s death?
Answer:
At first the poet is shocked by the death of his beloved and he feels bitter grief. But after some realisation, he feels a great peace. He is content that the passing of time will no longer affect her. She has become part of Nature and is free from human travails.

Question 8.
The poet does not refer to the death of Lucy. How does he reveal that she is no more?
Answer:
The poet does not refer to Lucy as being dead directly. However, he makes it obvious that she is no longer alive by stating that she has become completely still, motionless, inactive and inert. Moreover, she has lost her senses of hearing and seeing.

Question 9.
How does the poet imagine “her” to be after death?
Answer:
The poet imagines her to be at peace after death. She is in a deep sleep, no longer affected by worldly affairs or by the passage of time. She is now part of nature.

‘No motion has she now, no force
She neither hears nor sees,’

Question 10.
What does the poet mean by “earth’s diurnal course”? How has “she” become a part of earth’s diurnal course?
Answer:
The phrase “earth’s diurnal course” refers to the daily rotation of the earth on its axis that causes day and night. According to the poet Lucy has become an inseparable part of the earth after her death. As she has mingled with the earth, she naturally participates in its daily course just like the stones, the rocks, and the trees.

We have decided to create the most comprehensive English Summary that will help students with learning and understanding.

The Snake Trying Summary in English by W.W.E. Ross

The Snake Trying by W.W.E. Ross About the Poet

William Wrightson Eustace Ross (1894-1966) was a Canadian geophysicist and poet. He was the first published poet in Canada to write Imagist poetry, and later the first to write surrealist verse, both of which have led some to call him “the first modem Canadian poet.” Ross’s passion for the natural world is evident in his poetry through its focus on Canada’s physical environment. He published only two collections during his lifetime: Laconics (1930) and Sonnets (1932). After 1930 the majority of Ross’s work was published in anthologies and LITERARY MAGAZINES at the behest of editors. Though now considered to be Canada’s first Imagist poet, Ross remained relatively unrecognized during his lifetime.

The Snake Trying Introduction to the Chapter

Snakes generate both horror and fascination because our reasoning often misleads us into looking at them as fearsome symbols of death. Though snakes are creations of nature, we are afraid of them. Snakes fascinate us but we do not understand the beauty of nature, and we have the impulse to kill it even though we are astounded by its beauty. In the poem The Snake Trying, WWE Ross shows the snake as a victim and man as the assailant.

The Snake Trying Summary in English

In The Snake Trying the poet describes how a snake is trying to get away from a man who is chasing him with a stick.

The snake, who has been lying on the sandy bank of a water body – a pond or a stream – is trying to escape from the man pursuing it with a stick. As it gracefully glides away, curving its thin long body, the snake looks very beautiful. It glides through the water trying to escape from the stroke. The poet exhorts the person attacking the snake to let it go over the water into the reeds to hide, and not hurt it. He adds it is a small, green snake, completely harmless even to small children. The snake lies on the sand until it is observed and is chased away. In the end, it disappears in the ripples in the green reeds.

The Snake Trying Theme

The theme of the poem The Snake Trying is man’s relationship with nature. The narrator offers us two possible ways we can relate to the natural world. The first way is to admire the beauty and grace of the snake. The small green snake is harmless, even to children. We can simply stand by and appreciate its grace and beauty. The second way to relate to nature is through fear and try to eliminate the cause of fear – the snake. Most people perceive the snake as being dangerous and attack it before it can harm them, even if it is lying peacefully until it is disturbed. It is a harmless snake, who is lying on the sand till he is chased by a human being with a stick. Yet, despite being attacked, the snake makes good its escape, rather than retaliate. The snake is in that case a victim.

The Snake Trying Message

In the poem the poet tries to say that human beings react to snakes based on their own fears. He points out that not all snakes are poisonous; in fact, some of them are quite harmless. It is cruel to attack a snake as soon as we see it. Even if a snake is poisonous, it will do us no harm if it doesn’t see any danger from us because a snake only bites in self-protection. Otherwise, it is as harmless as any other creature. Sadly human beings are the ones who attack a snake without provocation.

The Snake Trying Tone

The poet’s mood is that of fear as he sees the man pursue the snake with a snake. The snake’s beauty and grace fill movements arouse awe and fascination in the poet. His tone is filled with admiration for this beautiful creation of nature. He takes on a pleading tone as he begs the man to let the snake go because it is harmless. As he thinks of man attacking the snake, his mind is filled with regret at man’s cruelty.

The Snake Trying Setting

The setting of the poem is the sandy bank of a water body – a pond or a stream with reeds growing on the banks.

The Snake Trying Literary Devices

Imagery is a poetic device wherein the author uses words or phrases that appeal to any of the senses or any combination of senses to create “mental images” for the reader. Imagery helps the reader to visualize more realistically the author’s writings. Imagery is not limited to only visual sensations, but also refers to igniting kinesthetic, olfactory, tactile, gustatory, thermal and auditory sensations as well.

Example: The snake trying
to escape the pursuing stick,
with sudden curvings of thin
long body, (movement)
and now
he vanishes in the ripples
among the green slim reeds, (visual imagery)

The Snake Trying Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
What is the snake trying to escape from?
Answer:
The snake is trying to escape from a being hit by a stick, or even worse, being killed. It is being chased by someone with a stick. The person is afraid of the snake and perceives it as a potential threat.

Question 2.
Is the snake harmful?
Answer:
No, it is not a harmful snake as it is not poisonous. The poet says the snake is a green one. Green snakes are generally garden snakes and are considered harmless as they are not venomous.

Question 3.
Why did the person with a stick attack the snake?
Answer:
The person attacked the snake when he saw it lying on the sand. He was driven by his own fear of snakes and their being venomous that led him to attack the snake to either kill it or drive it away.

Question 4.
What do you learn about the person attacking the snake?
Answer:
The person attacking the snake is governed by his fear of snakes. He wishes to kill or hurt the snake and rushes in to attack the snake, without pausing to consider that the snake is a green garden snake which is not venomous. Moreover, the snake is lying on the sand, and is not about to attack anyone. The man is also pitiless as he goes to hurt or kill the snake.

Question 5.
What does the poet wish for the snake?
Answer:
The poet sees the snake as a beautiful creation of Nature. Moreover, it is a green garden snake and not a harmful one. He wishes that it should not be assaulted with the stick. It should be allowed to go under the water into the reeds to hide without being hurt.

Question 6.
Where was the snake before someone saw it and chased it away? Where does the snake disappear?
Answer:
The snake was lying unobserved on the sand till someone saw it and, fearing it, rushed to attack it with a stick. The pursuer chased it away. The snake disappeared in the ripples of the water among the green reeds.

Question 7.
What does the poet mean when he says ‘O Let him go’?
Answer:
The poet tells the man chasing the snake with a stick to let the snake go. The poet wishes that the snake should not be hurt and should be allowed to make its escape and reach its destination safely.

Question 8.
‘He is harmless even to children.’ What does the poet think about the snake?
Answer:
The poet is of the opinion that the snake which is being chased is a green snake of the garden variety and is not venomous. It is not harmful, not even to children who are more vulnerable. He feels the snake should not be hurt and should be allowed to reach its place safely.

Question 9.
What impression do you form of the poet in this poem?
Answer:
The poet loves Nature and all its creations. He finds the snake and its graceful movements beautiful. He is compassionate and does not want the snake harmed. He tries to stop the person with the stick from attacking the snake and is happy to see the snake glide away into the reeds.

Question 10.
What is the central idea of the poem “The Snake Trying”?
Answer:
The poet says that all snakes are not venomous or harmful. Nor do they attack without provocation.

Even if a snake is poisonous, it will do us no harm if it doesn’t see any danger from us. It is wrong to attack or kill a snake as soon as we see it. But sadly, human beings always try to kill a snake as soon as they see it. All creatures have a right to their life. Like the snake in this poem all try to save themselves in case of danger.