1. Where do the events narrated in the story take place?
The story takes place in the palace of the Archduke of Battenburg.
2. Mention the two central characters you identify at this point?
Tyl Ulenspiegel and Captain of the Guards.
3. What do you understand about the character of Tyl? Is he a serious man or one with sense of humour? How do you know this?
Tyl is a man who wanders from court to court. He wears a cap with feathers. He is slim and looks like a skeleton. His appearance and mannerisms make us feel that he is a man of good sense of humour.
4. Is there a change in the attitude of the Captain? What is the reason behind it?
Because the Captain of the Guards understood that Tyl was a Flemish painter.
5. What does Tyl wish to become?
Tyl wishes to become court painter.
6. Do you think Tyl and his donkey are hungry? Give reasons for your answer.
The donkey was not hungry because it fed himself fairly well all along the way on the thorns in the hedges and the grass on the roadside. But Tyl had nothing to eat for the last three days.
7.What does the Archduke want Tyl to do?
The Archduke wanted to paint his portrait, so as to leave his memory to his descendants.
8. What does the sentence, 'We do not know when God will think fit to summon us,' mean?
It means that death will come at any time without any warning.
9. Why does Tyl feel unhappy?
Tyl was unhappy because the Archduke wanted to paint his portrait without the courtiers in it.
10. What were the demands of the Archduke and the courtiers in painting their pictures?
The Archduke demanded realistic picture of the courtiers. But the courtiers demanded to paint their picture more beautiful than they actually were.
11. Why did Tyl think that if he painted the picture, he would definitely be killed.’?
Tyl thought that he would be killed, because the Archduke and the courtiers warned him that if he painted against their wish,he would be killed.
12. How did Tyl manage to stay in the court for long? How many days did he finally get to complete the picture?
Tyl convinced the Archduke very cleverly that he was nearing to complete the picture and demanded more days for final touch. (60 days to complete the picture.)
13. What is special about the picture?
Tyl claimed that the special feature of the portrait is that those who have royal blood in their veins will be able to see the painting. But actually there was not a picture in the wall. He fooled everyone with lies.
14. Imagine you were one of the courtiers present while Tyl invited the courtiers to have a look at his picture. What would be the likely conversation between Tyl and you?
I: I cannot see anything on the wall. Where is your picture?
Tyl: The picture is there on the wall. You cannot see it because you don't have royal blood.
I: You are telling a lie and make every courtiers fool.
Tyl: Don't you see every courtiers sitting here prizing my picture?
I: I am not like those one's.You are fooling all of them. I want to tell this to the Archduke.
Tyl: I'm not interested to argue with you.
I: You cannot hide the truth all time. Truth will come out one day.
15. Read the following script. It is based on the first event in the story, ‘Tyl’s arrival at the palace gate’.
The main entrance of the Archduke of Battenburg. The Captain and another officer are playing a game of chess. The Captain’s sword is in the sheath. The guards have spears close to them placed against the wall. Tyl Ulenspiegel enters from the left, mounted on his donkey. He wears attractive dress and has a cap with three bright feathers on it. He makes a comical appearance. |
Read the script again.
How is the script different from the story?
The script has
- a setting
- Stage directions
- Dialogues
- Costumes
- Gestures and actions
The following are some of the major events in the story, ‘The Mysterious Picture’.
- The meeting between Tyl and the Archduke and his appointment as the court painter.
- The meeting between Tyl and the courtiers.
- The progress of Tyl's painting.
- The exhibition of Tyl's painting and the reaction of others.
Work in four groups. Each group may take up one of the events for developing the script.
Rehearse the script in groups.
The meeting between Tyl and the Archduke and his appointment as the court painter.
(The court of the Archduke. The Archduke is seated on his throne wearing kingly costumes. The guards with spears are positioned on his sides. Tyl enters along with the Captain or Guards. Tyl appears wearing a cap with feathers and with a painting in his hand.)
Captain (bowing): Your Highness, this is Tyl who is a Flemish painter.
Archduke (excited): Oh! A Flemish painter. That's great.
Tyl(Saluting three times): Your Highness, I am here to show you one of my paintings.
Archduke: Whose portrait is it?
Tyl (showing the portrait): It's a picture of Our Lady, the Virgin in her royal robes. Tyl (continues) Pardon me Your Highness, if I dared to hope that this picture will please you.
Archduke (appreciating the picture): What do you expect from me?
Tyl (anxiously): Your Highness might offer me the chair of your Court Painter.
Archduke (embraces Tyl and kisses): I shall be delighted to make you my Court Painter.
16. What are the words that the author uses to describe the Captain of the Guards? The following is a character map of the Captain of the Guards.
Answer.
17. Which character did you like the most? Share your views with the class. Here is what Athira, a student like you, said when she was asked this question.
Dear friends, This is indeed an interesting question. Of course, we all like Tyl very much for his intelligence and ability to speak cleverly. Still, I like Duke's jester the most. Without him, the folly of the courtiers would never have been revealed. His honesty and intelligence helped them to understand the foolishness of their reaction. We think that just like a circus clown, he showed the real wisdom. And the others who were the honourable members of the illustrious court proved to be mere fools. For all these reasons I like the jester the most. Now, you may present your views before the class. |
Of all the characters in the play I like Tyl the most, because of his intelligence and ability to speak cleverly. He is a man with a good sense of humour. His appearance and mannerisms make us think so. He becomes in a dilemma when the Archduke demanded him to paint all the courtiers as such, and the courtiers demanded he should make them more attractive than they actually were. But he successfully handed the situation. He enjoyed more days in the palace with his friends. He convinced the Archduke very cleverly that he was nearing to complete the picture and demanded more days for final touch. He fooled every one with his trick. He claimed that the special feature of the portrait is that those who have royal blood in their veins will be able to see the painting. But actually there suddenly Tyl escaped by saying 'when fools begins to talk, it's time for wise men to walk'. From the very beginning to the end of the story Tyl shows his brilliant performance. So I like from the most.
18. Look at the sentence from the story, 'You are a very talkative fellow, aren't you?'
A short question put at the end of a sentence is a question tag. A question tag is generally used in a conversation to confirm a statement made.
The following ten sentences are about a friend of yours in the class. You may seek her confirmation on the statements made. Some hints are provided for you.
1. You ....... Sandra, aren't you?
2. Venu and Reshma ............your parents, .............?
3. Your father works in a bank, ...............?
4. Your mother is a house wife,................?
5. Syam and Sayanth ..............., .............?
6. Your hobby.................., ..............?
7. You wake up...................., .....................?
8. You have been studying ..............?
9. You studied at .............. before coming here, .........?
10..............., ..............?
Choose a friend of yours and present ten statements about him/her and seek his/her confirmation. You may do this as a pair activity. Don't forget to reverse your roles.
1. are
2. visited, didn't they?
3. doesn't he?
4. isn't she?
5. have complained their work, haven't they?
6. is collecting stamps, isn't it?
7. at 5 O'clock, don't you?
8. for three hours, haven't you?
9. Kollam, didn't you?
10. Please open the door, will you?
19. The following is a write-up by a student of Class 8 after reading the story, ‘The Mysterious Picture’. Some words are missing in it. Select appropriate words from the box below and complete the write-up.
I have read ___________ ‘The Mysterious Picture’. I like the character ___________ in the story very much. He is a ___________. One day he visited ___________ of the Archduke of ___________. He was stopped at ___________ to the palace by the Captain of the Guards. Later ___________ was allowed to meet the Archduke. Tyl and his companions enjoyed their life in the palace. Everybody praised his___________. But ___________ could see only___________.
| the duke's jester, painting, a blank wall, the palace, Battenburg, an interesting character, the entrance, painter, Tyl, he, the story |
the story, Tyl, painter, the palace, Battenburg, the entrance, he, painting, the Duke's jester, a blank wall
The word/words you have used to fill in the above write-up are either nouns/pronouns or noun phrases. A noun phrase is a word or group of words containing a noun. In the above example, 'the duke's jester', jester is the head word or head noun..
Nouns/pronouns have the following properties:
- Most of them have singular and plural forms (story-stories, I - we).
- They can express gender (duke - duchess, he - she).
- They can be used as the subject (Tyl, I, he, it) of a sentence and the object of a sentence (the story, me, him, it).
- They have possessive forms (duke's my, his, her).
- They show if someone/something is speaking (I, we) or being spoken to (you) or is being spoken about (he, she, they, it).
20. Read the paragraph written by Sunil, a student of Class 8. There are some errors in it which are underlined. Help Sunil to edit the errors.
Tyl reach (a) the palace of the Archduke of Battenburg. He had to wait there for sometime. the (b) Captain of the Gaurds (c) was play (d) chess with his friends. He stopped Tyl on (e) the gate and asked why he came over there. Tyl showed the captain a pitcure (f) he had drawn and asked to let him into the palace.
a. reached
b. The
c. Guards
d. playing
e. at
f. picture
