1. Read The Poem, Then answer the following Question
Two Mothers Remembered
– Joann Snow Duncanson
I had two Mothers–two Mothers I claim.
Two different people, yet with the same name.
Two separate1 women, diverse by design,
But I loved them both because they were mine.
The first was the Mother who carried me here,
Gave birth and nurtured and launched my career.
She was the one whose features I bear,
Complete with the facial expressions I wear.
She gave me her love, which follows me yet,
Along with the examples in life she set.
As I got older, she somehow younger grew,
And we’d laugh as just Mothers and daughters do.
But then came the time that her mind clouded so,
And I sensed that the Mother I knew would soon go.
So quickly she changed and turned into the other,
A stranger who dressed in the clothes of my Mother.
Oh, she looked the same, at least at arm’s length,
But now she was the child and I was her strength.
We’d come full circle, we women three,
My mother the first, the second and me.
And if my own children should come to a day,
When a new Mother comes and the old goes away,
I’d ask of them nothing that I didn’t do.
Love both of your Mothers as both have loved you.
বাংলা অনুবাদঃ
দুই মায়ের স্মরণ
– জোয়ান স্নো ডানকানসেন
আমার ছিল দুই মা- দুই মায়েকেই দাবি করি আমি,
দুই ভিন্ন মানুষ, তবে একই নামে পরিচিত।
দুই ভিন্ন নারী, সৃষ্টির নকশায় ভিন্ন,
কিন্তু আমি দুজনকেই ভালোবাসতাম, কারণ তারা আমার ছিলেন।
প্রথম মা ছিলেন যিনি আমাকে পৃথিবীতে এনেছিলেন,
আমাকে জন্ম দিলেন, লালন পালন করে আমার কর্মজীবন শুরু করালেন,
তিনি ছিলেন একমাত্র যার বৈশিষ্ট্য আমি বহন করি,
আর যার মুখের অভিব্যক্তি আমি সম্পূর্ণ ধারণ করি।
তিনি আমাকে ভালোবাসা দিয়েছিলেন, যা এখনও আমার সাথে রয়ে গেছে,
এবং জীবনের উদাহরণ হিসেবে যা তিনি স্থাপন করেছিলেন।
আমি যত বড়ো হলাম, তিনি যেন আরও তরুণ হলেন,
এবং আমরা হাসতাম ঠিক যেভাবে মায়েরা ও মেয়েরা হাসে।
কিন্তু এমন এক সময় এলো যখন তার মন মেঘাচ্ছন্ন হলো,
আর আমি বুঝলাম যে মায়ে আমি চিনি তিনি শীঘ্রই চলে যাবেন।
তিনি দ্রুত বদলে গেলেন। আর অন্য কারো রূপ ধারণ করলেন,
এক অচেনা ব্যক্তি যিনি আমার মায়ের পোশাককে সজ্জিত।
ওহো, তিনি দেখতে আগের মতোই ছিলেন, অন্তত কাছ থেকে,
কিন্তু এখন তিনি হলেন সন্তান আর আমি তার শক্তি।
আমরা তিন নারী, যেন মিলিত হলাম এক পূর্ণ চক্রে-
আমার প্রথম মা, দ্বিতীয় মা আর আমি।
আর যদি আমার নিজের সন্তানদের এমন একদিন দেখতে হয়,
যখন নতুন মা আসে আর পুরোনো মা চলে যায়/বিদায় নেয়,
তাহলে আমি তাদের বলব যে কিছুই এমন নেই, যা আমি করিনি।
তোমরা দুই মাকে ভালোবাসো, কারণ দুজনেই তোমাকে ভালোবাসত।
QUESTIONS FROM ENGLISH FOR TODAY
(1) How are the two mothers different from each other?
(2) How are they the same?
(3) What did the first mother do to the speaker?
(4) Who was the speaker’s second mother? Describe her briefly.
(5) What would be the speaker’s advice to her own children?
(6) Who are the three women referred to in the poem? Briefly describe them.
(7) What should children do to their mother and why?
(8) Do you like this poem? Why?
QUESTIONS FOR MORE PRACTICE
(a) Which two different mothers does the poet refer to in the poem? Describe them in short.
(b) Did the speaker love both of the mothers? Why?
(c) Who was the first mother? What did she do to the poet?
(d) What happened when the speaker got older?
(e) When did the poet sense that her mother would soon pass away?
(f) Why does the poet call her biological mother the second mother?
(g) Why should children love their mothers in their old age?
(h) “A mother’s love for her children is divine.” – Do you support it? Why/Why not?
(i) How do mothers and children reverse their mutual roles?
(j) How does the poem represent a divine relationship between the poet and her mother?
2. Read The Poem, Then answer the following Question
“The Sands of Dee”
Charles Kingsley
“O Mary, go and call the cattle home,
And call the cattle home,
And call the cattle home,
Across the sands of1 Dee.”
The western wind was wild and dank with foam,
And all alone went she.
The western tide crept up along the sand,
And o’er and o’er the sand,
And round and2 round the sand.
As far as eye could see;
The rolling mist came down and hid the land—
And never home came she.
“Oh! is it weed, or fish, or floating hair—
A tress of golden hair,
A drowned maiden’s hair
Above the nets at sea?
Was never salmon yet that shone so fair,
Among the stakes on Dee.”
They rowed her in across the rolling foam,
The cruel crawling foam,
The cruel hungry foam,
To her grave beside the sea:
But still the boatmen hear her call the cattle home
Across the sands of Dee.
বাংলা অনুবাদ:
দা স্যান্ডস অফ ডি
— চার্লস কিংসলি
“ও হে মেরি, যাও আর গোরুগুলোকে বাড়িতে নিয়ে এসো,
আর গোরুগুলোকে বাড়িও নিয়ে এসো,
ঐ নদীর ওপার থেকে গোরুগুলোকে বাড়িও নিয়ে এসো!”
পশ্চিমা বাতাস ছিল উন্মত্ত আর ফেনাভরা আর্দ্র,
আর সে গিয়েছিল সম্পূর্ণ একাকী
পশ্চিমা জোয়ার বালুকাময় তটের উপর দিয়ে
হাওড়াভিড় দিয়ে নিঃশব্দে সমুদ্র বালুকাময়
তট প্লাবিত করলো,
আর বালুকাময় তটের চারদিকে
যতদূর চোখ গিয়েছিল ভাসিয়ে নিয়ে গেলো।
ঘন কুয়াশা গড়িয়ে এলো আর সব মাঠকে ঢেকে দিলো;
আর মেরি কখনও বাড়িতে আসেনি।
“আচ্ছা! এটি কি কোনো আগাছা,
না কোনো মাছ, না কোনো ভাসমান চুল—
সোনালি কেশগুচ্ছ,
সমুদ্রজলে ডুবে যাওয়া কোনো কুমারী মেয়ের চুল?
ঐ নদীতে জালের খুঁটির মধ্যে
এই উজ্জ্বল, এত সুন্দর, স্যামন মাছ কখনও দেখা যায়নি।”
তারা তাকে ভাসমান ফেনার মধ্য দিয়ে
নিষ্ঠুর হামাগুড়ি দিয়ে চলা ফেনা,
নিষ্ঠুর, ক্ষুধার্ত ফেনার উপর দিয়ে
নৌকা চালিয়ে এনে সমুদ্রের পাশে
এনে তাকে সমাধি করলো;
কিন্তু এখনো মাঝিরা ঐ নদীর ওপার থেকে
তাকে গোরুগুলোকে বাড়ি আনার ডাক শুনতে থাকে।
QUESTIONS FROM ENGLISH FOR TODAY
(1) What was the weather like when Mary went out to bring the cattle home?
(2) Look at some words, phrases and sentences that have been repeated several times. Explain why the poet has done that.
(3) How has the poet described the sea?
(4) Narrate the story of Mary in your own words.
(5) Suppose, you were walking on the shore with a couple of your friends while Mary was drowning. Describe what you would have done.
QUESTIONS FOR MORE PRACTICE
(a) What task was Mary given in the poem?
(b) What does the phrase “all alone went she” suggest about Mary?
(c) What is the significance of the ‘rolling mist’?
(d) What tragic discovery is described in the poem?
(e) What lingering effect does Mary’s voice have after her death?
(f) What theme does the poem explore through Mary’s fate?
(g) How does the poet use ‘imagery’ to describe Mary’s hair?
(h) Why is the sea described as ‘hungry’?
(i) How does the poem portray the relationship between humans and nature?
(j) What is the significance of the final line, “Across the sands of Dee”?
3. Read The Poem, Then answer the following Question
Time, You Old Gipsy Man
—Ralph Hodgson
Time, you old gipsy man,
Will you not stay,
Put up your caravan
Just for a day?
All things I’ll give you,
Will you be my guest?
Bells for your jennet
Of silver the best,
Goldsmiths shall beat you
A1 great golden ring,
Peacocks shall bow to you,
Peacocks shall bow to you,
Little boys sing,
Oh, and sweet girls will
Festoon you with May.
Time, you old gipsy,
Why hasten away?
Last week in Babylon,
Last night in Rome,
Morning, and in the crush
Under Paul’s dome;
Under Paul’s dial2
You tighten your rein –
Only a moment
And off once again;
Off to some city
Now blind in the womb,
Off to another
Ere that’s in the tomb.
Time, you old gipsy man,
Will you not stay,
Put up your caravan
Just for a day?
অনুবাদঃ
সময়, বৃদ্ধ যাযাবর তুমি
—রাল্ফ হডজসন
হে সময়, তুমি প্রবীণ যাযাবর,
তুমি কি থামবে না,
তুমি কি তোমার কাফেলা
মাত্র একদিনের জন্য থামাবে না?
আমি তোমাকে সবকিছু দিবো,
তুমি কি আমার অতিথি হবে?
আমি তোমার ঘোড়ার জন্য
সর্বোৎকৃষ্ট রূপার ঘণ্টা দিবো,
স্বর্ণকারেরা তোমাকে
একটি স্বর্ণের আংটি বানিয়ে দিবে,
ময়ূরেরা তোমার প্রতি মাথা নত করে অভিবাদন জানাবে,
ছোটো ছোটো বালকেরা স্তুতিসূচক গান গাইবে,
আহা, আর অতীব সুন্দরী মেয়েরা
তোমাকে মে ফুল দিয়ে সাজিয়ে দেবে।
সময়, তুমি হে প্রবীণ যাযাবর,
কেন তুমি এত দ্রুত ধেয়ে চলো?
গত সপ্তাহে ব্যাবিলনে,
গত রাতে রোমে,
সকালে, আর পলের গম্বুজে
জনতার ভিড়ের মধ্যে;
পলের ঘড়ির নিচে
তুমি তোমার ঘোড়ার লাগাম—
এক মুহূর্তের জন্য কষে ধরলে—
তারপর আবার ধেয়ে গেলে
অন্য কোনো শহরে
যা এখন কালের গর্ভে হারিয়ে গেছে,
তারপর অন্য শহরে এটির ধ্বংস হওয়া
পর্যন্ত অবস্থান করো।
সময়, তুমি হে প্রবীণ যাযাবর,
তুমি কি থামবে না?
মাত্র একদিনের জন্য তোমার কাফেলা
থামবে না
QUESTIONS FROM ENGLISH FOR TODAY
(1) Have you ever seen a gipsy? If yes, where?
(2) Do gipsies live in our country?
(3) In what ways are they different from the general people?1
(4) Why does the poet call time an ‘Old Gipsy Man’?
(5) Make a list of things the poet will offer time if it stays just for a day.
(6) What else can you offer time if it stays for a day?
QUESTIONS FOR MORE PRACTICE
(a) What is the significance of time being compared to a ‘Gipsy Man’?
(b) What do you mean by
“Put up your caravan,
Just for a day”?
(c) “Bells for your jennet
Of silver the best,” — Explain in brief.
(d) “Time, you old gipsy,
Why hasten away?” — What does the expression mean?
(e) What role does the metaphor of “tightening your rein” play in the poem?
(f) What do you understand by “Last week in Babylon, /Last night in Rome”?
(g) “All things I’ll give you,
Will you be my guest?” — What does the phrase mean?
(h) “Oh, and sweet girls will
Festoon you with May.” — Explain in brief.
(i) “Off to some city
Now blind in the womb.
Off to another
Ere that’s in the tomb.” —Explain in short.
(j) What is the main idea of the poem?
4. Read The Poem, Then answer the following Question ।
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
—Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping1 here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
অনুবাদঃ
একটি তুষারময় সন্ধ্যায় বনের ধারে থামা
—রবার্ট ফ্রস্ট
এগুলো কার বন সেটা আমার মনে হয় আমি জানি,
তার বাড়ি যদিও পল্লিগ্রামে;
সে দেখবে না আমি এখানে থেমেছি
তার এ বনভূমিগুলো যা তুষারে পূর্ণ হচ্ছে
তা দেখার জন্য।
বছরের তিমিরতম এ সন্ধ্যায়
এ বনগুলো আর বরফাবৃত এ হ্রদের মাঝে
যেখানে কোনো থামারবাড়ি নেই
সেখানে থামার বিষয়টিকে আমার ছোট
ঘোড়াটি অবশ্যই উদ্ভট ভাববে।
কোনো ভুল হয়েছে কি না সেটি জিজ্ঞেস
করতে তার সাজের ঘণ্টাগুলোতে সে একটি ঝাঁকুনি দেয়।
অন্য একটিমাত্র শব্দ হলো ঝড়ো
বাতাস আর তুলার ন্যায় তুষারকণার প্রবাহ
বনগুলো মনোরম অন্ধকার ও গভীর,
কিন্তু আমায় রক্ষা করতে হবে আমার প্রতিশ্রুতি,
আর যেতে হবে বহুদূর চিরনিদ্রায় যাওয়ার পূর্বে,
আর যেতে হবে বহুদূর চিরনিদ্রায় যাওয়ার পূর্বে।
QUESTIONS FROM ENGLISH FOR TODAY
(1) Do you enjoy natural beauty like flowers, trees, woods, hills, etc.?
(2) Have you ever been to a place where you enjoyed such beauty? If yes, briefly describe1 it.
(3) Where do you think the poet is going? Why is he going there?
(4) Why did the poet stop by the woods though it was dark and he was alone?
(5) Guess what promises the poet had to keep before he would sleep.
(6) Write an imaginary dialogue between the poet and his horse.
QUESTIONS FOR MORE PRACTICE
(a) Why and when did the poet stop by the woods?
(b) What does the dark and deep woods symbolize?
(c) How does the horse of the poet react to his stopping by the woods?
(d) The woods are lovely, dark and deep – What does the poet want to mean by this expression?
(e) Where does the poet stop? What was the speciality of the place?
(f) There is a great telepathy between the poet and the horse – How will you prove it?
(g) “But I have promises to keep.
And miles to go before I sleep” – Explain these two lines with reference to the metaphors used in them.
(h) Why did the horse shake his harness bells?
(i) Do you find any universal traits in this poem? If yes, show it in brief.
(j) The poet suffers from a mental conflict between his obligations and his desire for peace of mind – How?
(k) How does the first stanza of the poem show the poet’s sense of the offence of trespassing?
Answer Sheet
Two Mothers Remembered
JOANN SNOW DUNCANSON
(1) The two mothers are gently different from each other. The first mother was the biological and affectionate mother who gave birth to, and nurtured the poet and helped her to start her career. Contrarily, the second mother is an old and changed one. Her mind becoming clouded, she is now helpless and dependent on the poet. She wears the same clothes and looks the same, but she seems to stranger to her.
(2) They are the same in the sense that she is the biological mother. She wears the clothes of the poet’s mother and looks the same, at least at arm’s length.
(3) The first mother gave birth to and nursed the speaker. She helped the speaker to start her career. She gave her (Speaker) affectioned love which continued until she reached a feeble and helpless condition.
(4) The speaker’s second mother was the same biological mother who has now grown old, feeble and dependent on her. Her mind getting clouded, she has become helpless. In a word, she has become quite different from the one at her youthful healthy state.
(5) The speaker’s advice to her own children would be that they must love both of their mothers as both have loved them. More clearly speaking, the speaker would advise her own children to love their biological mother both in her youthful vigorous state and in her old, feeble, helpless state because this mother loved and raised them most affectionately, and enabled them to be established in life. They must be sympathetic and careful to her in her critical days.
(6) The three women referred to in the poem are the mother who gave birth to and nurtured the speaker, the same biological mother who has grown old who and helpless and the herself . These three women make a full circle.
(7) The children should love their mothers both in their youthful state and in her old, helpless state because their mothers loved and raised them most affectionately and helped them to start their career. Now, their mothers becoming helpless, they must be sympathetic and careful to them.
(8) Yes, I like this poem very much because this poem puts up the real nature of mothers, and what the duties of children should be to their mothers in their old and helpless state. More clearly, the poem represents the affectionate nature of mothers in rearing their children and how children should requite their mothers’ love in their old and helpless state.
SOLUTION TO QUESTIONS FOR MORE PRACTICE:
(a) The two different mothers the poet referred to in the poem are two different states of the same biological mother. By the first mother, the poet means the mother who has given birth to and nurtured her and helped her to be established in life. Contrarily, the second mother refers to the same mother who has grown old, helpless and dependent on her.
(b) Yes, the speaker loved both of the mothers because both of these mothers were hers and they loved her most dearly. The first mother brought her into this world, reared her and helped her to start her career. She loved the speaker selflessly. Even, the second mother also loved her until she had sense.
(c) The first mother was the speaker’s biological mother who gave birth to and raised her. She also enabled her to start her career. Her love for the speaker never lessened.
(d) When the speaker got older, her mother somehow grew younger. They (mother and daughter) together had pleasant times. Her mother went on growing old and feeble. At one point, she sensed that her mother’s mind clouded and she would pass away.
(e) When her mother’s mind clouded and she grew helpless like children, the poet sensed that she (mother) would soon pass away.
(f) The poet knew that her biological mother brought her into this world, raised her and helped her to be established in life. But now this very mother in her old age has lost her senses, grown feeble and become helpless and dependent on her. Now, she seems a stranger to her. So, she calls her the second mother.
(g) Children should love their mothers in their old age because mothers bring them into this world, raised them most affectionately and helped them to start their career. In their old age, mothers become feeble, senseless and helpless. So, children should love their mothers and take care of them most affectionately.
(h) Yes, I fully support that a mother’s love for her children is divine. When a baby is born, its mother feels a divine love for the baby. She nurtures it most affectionately. In fact, the Creator creates such divine love in a mother’s heart for her baby.
(i) Mothers and children reverse their mutual roles according to the law of nature. Mothers love and raise their children and help them to get established in life. Mothers do these owing to their natural love for their children. But, these great women with the passage of time grow old, feeble and helpless. Then their children take up the role of looking after their mothers.
SOLUTION TO QUESTIONS 02
The Sands Of Dee
Charles Kingsley
(1) When Mary went out to bring the cattle home, the weather was wild and dangerous with a western wind that was dark with foam. The western tide slowly and steadily rose over the sand, advancing inland. These unsafe conditions ultimately drowned the tragedy that follows.
(2) The poet repeats phrases like “call the cattle home”, “cruel crawling foam” and “cruel hungry foam” to emphasize the emotional and thematic elements in the poem. Repetition creates a haunting musical rhythm that mirrors Mary’s lingering voice. It also reinforces the relentless power of nature and the tragedy of Mary’s fate.
(3) The poet describes the sea as cruel, crawling and hungry, portraying it as a relentless and predatory force. Its waves are personified as if they were actively consuming life, highlighting its dangerous nature. The depiction emphasizes the stark imbalance between humans and nature. The sea becomes a central antagonist in Mary’s tragic story.
(4) Mary was sent to call the cattle home across the sands of Dee. Despite harsh weather and dangerous tides, Mary ventured out alone. Tragically, the advancing tide overcame her and she drowned in the cruel, relentless sea. Later, her golden hair was found entangled in fishing nets, confirming her tragic fate. Even after her death, her
(5) I had been Mary’s family would have immediately called for help and tried to alert the nearby fishermen. My friends and I would have worked together to use available resources, like ropes or a boat, to reach her. Ensuring our own safety, we would have done everything possible to pull her out of the water. The goal would have been to save her life and prevent the tragedy described in the poem.
SOLUTION TO QUESTIONS FOR MORE PRACTICE:
(a) Mary was given a task and she was asked to call the cattle home across the sands of Dee. This task symbolizes her sense of duty and responsibility. Despite dangerous weather, she went out bravely to bring the cattle home, showing her determination.
(b) The image highlights Mary’s isolation and bravery as she faced the perilous situation alone. It also emphasizes her vulnerability amidst the overwhelming forces of nature. Her solitude adds to the tragic tone of the poem.
(c) The rolling mist creates an eerie and mysterious atmosphere, intensifying the danger. It obscures visibility, symbolizing Mary’s helplessness. The mist also serves as a metaphor for the unknown perils that await her.
(d) A tress of golden hair belonging to a drowned maiden is found in fishing nets. This discovery confirms Mary’s death and her connection to the sea. It symbolizes beauty lost to the merciless forces of nature.
(e) The fishermen seem to still hear her calling the cattle home across the sands of Dee. This haunting presence symbolizes her unfulfilled duty and tragic end. It also evokes a sense of lingering sorrow and mystery.
(f) The poem explores the themes of nature’s power, human vulnerability, and tragedy. It shows how nature’s indifference can lead to devastating loss. The theme also highlights the haunting aftermath of such tragedies.
(g) Mary’s hair is described as golden and shining even in death. This vivid imagery contrasts the beauty of life with the reality of her loss. It also serves as a poignant reminder of her tragic fate.
(h) The sea is described as hungry to personify its consuming and relentless nature. It symbolizes the forceful and predatory tone of the poem.
(i) The poem portrays nature as powerful, indifferent, and often hostile to human life. Mary’s fate highlights humanity’s vulnerability in the face of such forces. It also reflects the tragic consequences of this imbalance.
(j) The final lines underscore the lingering sorrow and haunting memory of Mary’s voice. It symbolizes her enduring connection to the place where she met her tragic end. This repetition leaves the reader with a sense of melancholy and loss.
SOLUTION TO QUESTIONS 03
Time, You Old Gipsy Man
-Ralph Hodgson
(1) Yes, I have seen a gipsy in my village home. In fact, she was not a simple individual. There were quite a few. Now they give up wandering on the roadsides to live and travel for a few days. In our village, these gipsies are known as ‘Bedey’. They travel from one place to another by boat.
(2) Gipsies live in our country in their own peculiar way, travelling from one place to another by boat.
(3) They are different in their ways of living, cooking, trading, and travelling. They put up caravans on the roadside near a market with their boat usually unchored in the canal adjacent to their caravans. Unlike the general people, they have no permanent address and do not stay long in any particular area or place. They manage their livelihood usually by means of snake charming and selling the medicine and by treating the patients with ‘blows’. The women are predominant over their male counterparts.
(4) The poet calls time an ‘Old Gipsy Man’ because it marches forward and forward and never stays long in one and the same place. It is on its movement and is personified as an elusive and relentless figure which never knows how to stop.
(5) The things the poet will time if it stays just for a day include the various gifts like the following:
(1) Bells of silver
(2) A great golden ring
(3) Admiration of peacocks
(4) Little boys will be singing in honour of time
(6) Sweet girls will adorn time with festoons and flower-displays for a day that may include the following:
(1) Reciting poem in praise of time
(2) Arranging discussion and staging one act play on time, its triumphant onward march.
SOLUTION TO QUESTIONS FOR MORE PRACTICE
(a) Time is compared to a “Gipsy Man” to emphasize its unpredictable and restless nature as well as its constant movement. The metaphor suggests that time is a wanderer, always moving on and never staying in one place.
(b) The “up you caravan / Just for a day” means asking time to pause or temporarily stop, as if it could rest like a traveller setting up camp for a short time.
(c) “Bells for your Bonnet and silver the bear” refers to offering something precious, like silver bells, to a beautiful or valuable horse in the poem. It symbolizes a gift or tribute representing the speaker’s/poet’s desire to offer something in exchange for time to slow its passage.
(d) The lines express the speaker’s/poet’s plea for time to slow down. By addressing time as an ‘Old Gipsy’, the speaker/poet personifies it as a wanderer, relentless figure and questions why it must pass so quickly, asking it to delay or stay a while longer.
(e) The metaphor of “lightening your rein” suggests an attempt to slow down time but time cannot be fully controlled and will continue its journey despite any effort to stop it.
(f) These lines suggest the timeless, ever moving nature of time, visiting different places. They (these lines also) highlight how time is constantly moving, unaffected by location or historical context, emphasizing that the passage of time is universal and unending.
(g) The phrase means the speaker offers everything in exchange for time’s pause or company, hoping to slow down its inevitable journey.
(h) These lines suggest that young girls will decorate time with flowers, symbolizing beauty and joy. It conveys a sense of celebration or offering representing the fleeting, joyful moments of life that time takes with it.
(i) The above mentioned lines suggest the rapid, inevitable passage of time. It portrays the cycle of life (from birth (‘bids to the womb’) to life in the world (‘some city’), and then to death (‘in the tomb’), all happening swiftly, without pause).
(j) The main idea of the poem is the relentless passage of time, personified as an ‘Old Gipsy man’. The speaker’s plea expresses frustration and longing and wishes to slow down or pause time, highlighting its inevitability.
SOLUTION TO QUESTIONS 04
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
-Robert Frost
(1) Yes, I enjoy natural beauty like the trees, woods, hills, etc. When I feel bored with city life, I come in contact with nature i.e. flowers, trees, woods, hills, rivers, and birds. They give me great pleasure.
(2) Yes, I have been to the Sundarbans where I enjoyed such beauty. The place is located in the Southern belt of Bangladesh. It abounds with different species of trees, animals and birds. The natural beauty of this forest is charming indeed.
(3) Apparently the poet is going to a destination that is miles away. He is going there because it was his destination. In fact, it is an allegorical poem where the journey of the poet represents the ultimate journey of human life. The poet is carrying out his duties and commitments in life. As such, the poet is going through the process of carrying out his duties and responsibilities. And when all of them are performed, the poet will be satisfied thinking that he has reached his destination fulfilling his aim.
(4) The poet stopped by the woods though it was dark and he was alone because the woods were alluring, lovely, dark and deep. This mysteriously beautiful scene attracted him so much that he stopped there to enjoy it. Symbolically, the poet’s stopping by the woods though it was dark and he was alone represents his being fascinated by the attractive or mysterious aspects of life. This stopping also symbolizes the poet’s trying to find an answer to the mystery of life.
(5) I think the promises that the poet had to keep before he would sleep was to carry out his duties and commitments. Here the ‘promises’ symbolize the poet’s obligations and commitments of life while ‘sleep’ symbolizes eternal rest or death. The poet wants to fulfill his obligations and commitments of life before he embraces the cold death.
(6) An imaginary dialogue between the poet and his horse about his stopping by woods on a snowy evening:
Horse : Why have you compelled me to stop here? Have I made any mistakes?
Poet : No, you have done nothing wrong. I have stopped you just because I want to enjoy this very attractive scene.
Horse : But there is no farmhouse nearby. Besides, it is very dark and cold.
Poet : Yes, it is the darkest evening of the year. But “the woods are lovely, dark and deep!” Well, let’s go. I should not be overwhelmed with this intriguingly beautiful scenery. I have miles to go!
SOLUTION TO QUESTIONS FOR MORE PRACTICE:
(a) The poet stopped by the woods because they were very beautiful, dark and deep. He stopped there on a snowy evening. To the poet, the evening seemed to be the darkest evening of the year.
(b) The dark and deep woods symbolizes the mysterious aspects, or the complexities of life. As in the dark and deep woods, nothing can be clearly seen, in the same way, there are many things in human life which are mysterious and difficult to realize.
(c) The horse of the poet reacts to his stopping by the woods by shaking his harness bells. It occurs to the poet that the horse does so to ask if there is any mistake.
(d) By this line, the poet wants to mean that the forest is intriguing, attractive and mysterious. In fact, this lovely dark and deep forest symbolizes the dark, and unfathomable mystery of life.
(e) The poet stops by an attractive, dark, deep forest. The speciality of the place is that there is no farmhouse nearby between the woods and frozen lake.
(f) Yes, there is a great telepathy between the poet and the horse. When the poet stops by the woods near which there is no farmhouse, it seems queer to the horse. So, he gives his harness bells a shake to ask if there is any mistake.
(g) When the poet was fascinated by the lovely, dark and deep forest, he thought that he had promises to realize and long distances to cross. In fact, the attraction to the lovely, dark and deep forest represents mysteries of life to death while ‘promises to keep’ and ‘miles to go’ represent obligations and commitments to be fulfilled by the poet. Here ‘sleep’ symbolically means death.
(h) The horse shook his harness bells to ask the poet if there was any mistake. Because the poet’s stopping by the woods near which there was no farmhouse on such a dark snowy evening, it seemed queer to the horse.
(i) Yes, I find some universal traits in this poem. Sensing the existence of mysterious things in life. The conflict between getting attracted to beautiful things and sense of dutifulness, is undoubtedly common to the people of the all countries and all ages.
(j) On a snowy, dark evening, the poet gets attracted to a lovely, dark, and deep forest. He finds the scene intriguingly attractive. But at the same time, he becomes aware that he has obligations to fulfil, and so he becomes ready to leave the place. Thus, the poet suffers from a mental conflict between his obligations and his desire for peace of mind.
(k) The first stanza of the poem shows the poet’s sense of the offence of trespassing because he raises to himself the question of the owner of the woods and his house. He also considers the fact that the owner would not see him stopping by his woods and watching his woods fill up with snow. All these thoughts are the products of his sense of the offence of trespassing.