Success-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Appreciation
- Question answers
Appreciation of the poem:
Success is a fine lyric poem by the famous American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem starts by saying that we human beings do not have wings and so we can’t fly. But we can use our feet to move and climb. By steady climbing we can reach the heights we want to reach. The mighty stone pyramids divide the desert atmosphere like a wedge. But when we go near them and look at them they look like huge flights of stairs or steps of a ladder. The distant mountains that back up the skies above are crossed by pathways that appear as we rise to higher levels. The heights reached and kept by great people were not attained by a sudden flight. But they were working upward in the night when their friends were sleeping. Success is not something that comes suddenly to people but it is the result of their continued hard work.
“Success” is a 4-stanza poem. It is in rhyme. The rhyming scheme is abab. It has fine images. We can see the birds flying and the men climbing. We see the great pyramids. We see the distant mountains. We can also see the hardworking people steadily climbing the stairs of success while their companions are sleeping.
We have fine similes in the poem. The pyramids are compared to wedges that cleave the desert airs. We also have metaphors. The pyramids are gigantic flights of stairs. The mountains are bastions of the skies.
The poem gives a fine message especially to the young who aspire to do great things. Success does not come overnight. To be successful one has to work hard. If you are looking for success, be ready to sweat for it. The poem teaches the importance of hard work.
Sea-Fever -John Masefield
♦️Imp from this chapter
- Appreciation
- Question Answers
Appreciation:
"Sea-Fever" by John Masefield is one of the finest poems in English literature. The theme of the poem is the speaker's irresistible longing for the sea and a life of adventure. "I must go down to the seas again" is the opening line. For this the speaker wants a tall ship, a star to steer the ship by, the wheel's kick, wind's song, the white sail's shaking, a grey mist on sea's face, and a grey dawn. The 2nd stanza is a big treat for our senses. We are taken to a beachside setting where we can hear "sea-gulls crying". We see "white clouds flying". We feel the coolness of a "windy day". We taste the saltiness of "flung spray and blown spume" on our tongue. The poet emphasizes the sea's powerful attraction by using the word "call" more than once.
The theme of wanderlust is emphasized in the third stanza. The poet wants to identify himself as a "vagrant gypsy" and longs for a "laughing fellow-rover" who will tell him merry stories. He wants to go to the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind is like a sharpened knife. At the end of this thrilling journey, he wants quiet sleep and a sweet dream.
To present the theme the poet has used many poetic devices. We can see simile: the wind's like a whetted knife. We can see metaphors: vagrant gypsy life, and long trick. We see alliteration: whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife. We see assonance: white sail shaking; sleep and a sweet dream. There is fine imagery. Some of the visual images are: the lonely sea and the sky, the star, the white sail, grey mist, grey dawn and the laughing fellow-rover. Auditory images can be found in the call of the running tide, sea gulls crying and the merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover. Tactile images are found in the wheel's kick, flung spray and blown spume. The poem, which has 3 stanzas, is in rhyme. The rhyming scheme is aabb. After reading the poem and seeing the thrill and adventure, we too are persuaded to go down to the seas.
A Shield of Courage
♦️Imp from this chapter:
- Paragraph writing
- Question Answer
- Notice
- Speech
- Profile
◾Notice
The English club of your school has decided to conduct a meeting to commemorate Neeraja Bhanot's Heroism. You have been asked to inform the students about the meeting. Prepare a notice for the meeting.
NOTICE
ABC SCHOOL DELHI
Commemorating Neeraja Bhanot’s Heroism
27th July 2020
Respected,
The English Club invites all students to a special meeting to honor the bravery of Neeraja Bhanot. Neeraja, a young flight attendant scarified her life to save hundreds of passengers during a hijacking. The program will be held on 30th July 2020 at 2.00 clock at the school auditorium. Join us to learn about her courageous act and pay tribute to her selfless sacrifice. Let's celebrate the spirit of heroism!
Secretary
EnglishNotice
◾Speech
Imagine that at the commemoration meeting, a survivor of the hijacking recounts her trauma and relief in a speech praising Neerja’s courage and sacrifice. Prepare the likely speech.
Respected teachers, dignitaries on stage and dear friends,
We have assembled here to commemorate Neerja Bhanot’s heroism, professionalism, and sacrificing spirit. I was on the Pan Am Flight 73, which was hijacked by terrorists at Karachi International Airport, Pakistan. The flight had started from Mumbai. It was going to New York City with scheduled stops in Karachi and Frankfurt. Neerja was on duty when it was hijacked.
I had boarded the flight in Mumbai with my 10-year-old son. I was going to New York to join my husband who works there. I was going to meet him after nearly two years and I was full of dreams about my life with him in New York. My son too was jubilant.
The hijackers entered the aircraft when it was stopped in the Karachi International airport for refuelling and taking some passengers. The hijackers entered the plane in the guise of security guards. The plane was about to take off and the doors were closed. Suddenly the hijackers threatened to kill the passengers if the American Government did not release certain terrorists who were in jail in America.
There were different nationals in the plane. There were many Americans also. The target of the hijackers was mainly American citizens. Neerja hid the passports of the American citizens so that the terrorists would not identify them. She also opened the emergency door and the chute. As passengers began to jump through the chute, the hijackers opened fire. I saw my son moving towards the emergency door with two other kids. Neerja tried to protect these children from the bullets of the hijackers and in her effort to save the children and others she was killed.
Her determination to save the passengers, her professionalism and her spirit of self-sacrifice should be a model to the workers in the airline industry. The world recognized her sterling qualities and she was given many awards posthumously. In a deeply moving ceremony on the Republic Day in 1987, Neerja Bhanot was posthumously awarded the “Ashoka Chakra,” India’s most prestigious gallantry award for bravery during peacetime. The United States Congress Special Courage Award was posthumously conferred on her. The Flight Security Foundation, an international organization for aviation security, also honoured her posthumously with the Heroism Award. Pakistan honoured her with the “Tamgha-e-Pakistan” (1987) award. The 2016 Bollywood film “Neerja” is a biopic on her life and sacrifice.
She gives a big message to humanity.By laying down her life for the sake of others, Neerja showed her love for others. Let’s all imbibe her determination, courage, will power and the spirit of self-sacrifice.
Thank you all!
Walk Alone - Rabindranath Tagore
♦️Imp fom this chapter
◾Appreciation
Appreciation
"Walk Alone" is a beautiful poem by Rabindranath Tagore, often called "Gurudev". Tagore got the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1931 for his "Gitanjali". He is the one who composed the Indian national anthem "Gana Gana Mana" and the Bangladesh national anthem ""Amar Shonar Bangla".
The poem "Walk Alone" celebrates the beauty of life and the resilience and independence of the human spirit.
The poem has 3 stanzas. In the first stanza the poet says, if no one listens to your call then you must walk on alone. Move on alone. If no one speaks to you, if everyone turns the other way, if everyone is afraid, then open your heart and speak out your mind alone.
In stanza 2, this is the advice of the poet: If everyone turns away, if as you walk alone on a dark road no one joins you on your journey, then you must crush the thorns on your path with your bleeding feet and walk ahead alone.
In the final stanza the poet tells us: If no one holds up a light on a dark, stormy, and rainy night and if everyone seeks refuge behind a closed door, then, with the flame from a roaring lightning set your own heart on fire and shine alone that many may aspire.
Tagore has used different poetic devices to make his poem beautiful. He has used alliteration as in "flame from". Assonance can be found in "must crush", "bleeding feet", and "rainy night". Anaphora can also be seen in the use of 'you' for the 'hapless one'. The poem is full of symbolism as in "crush the thorns", "bleeding feet" and "roaring lightning". A fine metaphor can be seen in "the thorns in your path". Repetition is the most obvious poetic device here. The phrases "oh my hapless one" and "walk alone" are repeated. The imagery of the unfortunate man walking alone deeply touches our heart. All these devices have helped in making the poem rich in its theme and highly musical.
The poem's theme is resilience and independence. We may have a lot of problems before us. But we should not give up even if we are alone. With determination, a will to win, and hard work we are sure to succeed as our hearts are set on fire with hope and optimism.
