Poem A
TRAGIC STORY
A. Answer the following.
1. What made the sage upset?
The sage’s handsome pigtail hung behind him. This made
the sage upset.
2.Why did the sage spin all day?
The sage wanted to change the
pigtail’s place. So the sage span all day.
3. What solution did he arrive at for the mystery that he
found?
He thought that he can change
the place of his pigtail
4. Was he finally successful in changing his pigtail’s
position? Support your answer with
a line from the poem.
No. He was not successful in
changing his pigtail’s position. ‘ the pigtail hangs behind him’.
5. Did something dreadful happen? How would you describe
the events in the poem–
comedy or tragedy?
No. there was no dreadful
incident happened, because it was a humorous behaviour of the sage. It is a
comedy.
B. Read the poem lines and
answer the questions given below.
1. But wondered much and sorrowed more
Because it hung behind him.
a)
What was he wondering about?
He was wondering about his pigtail.
b)
What does the word ‘it’ refer to here?
It refers to the pigtail.
2. And though his efforts never slack
And though he twist, and twirl, and tack,
Alas! Still faithful to his back
The pigtail hangs behind him.
a)
Pick out the rhyming words from the above lines and give the rhyme scheme for
the same.
Slack
– tack – back
aaab
b) Did
he quit his trying? How can you say
No. he did not quit trying. From the poetic
lines ‘And though his efforts never
slack,
And though he twist and
twirl, and tack,’ we can say that he never quit.
3. ‘He mused upon this curious case’
What
is the figure of speech used in this line?
4. Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in
such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning. It
may also be a situation that ends up in quite a different way than what is
generally anticipated. In simple words, it is a difference between appearance
and reality.
Can
this poem be called an ironic poem? Justify your answer.
The sage expects that he can
change the position of his pigtail by turning around. However, he tried hard but
the pigtail remains behind him. This contradiction between his expectations and
reality creates irony.
C. Fill in the table with the appropriate poem lines. A few lines
may be used more than one time.
|
Suggest the sage lacked practical common sense |
"And swore he'd
change the pigtail's place" |
|
Make the poem humorous |
"Then round and
round, and out and in, All day the puzzled sage did spin;" |
|
Show the clowning movements of the sage |
"Then round and
round, and out and in, All day the puzzled sage did spin;" |
|
That are actually funny but have a serious tone |
"In vain–it
mattered not a pin – The pigtail hung behind him." |
D. The
summary of the poem is given. But there are some words missing. Fill in the
blanks with the help of the box given below.
faithfully,
change, pigtail, round, sage, down, slack, out, hung, place, behind, vain, face
Once upon a time, there lived a sage.
He had a handsome pigtail. He was worried
and pondered over his pigtail's place. He
wanted to change its place. He wanted it
hanging at his face. He didn’t like it
hanging there behind him. So he turned right
and left and round about, up and down, and in and out, but it still hung behind him. However he
tried, his efforts were in vain. But he
didn’t slack in his efforts. Nevertheless,
his pigtail hung faithfully behind him.
