Saturday, 17 March 2018

Questions and answers of the poem " Where The Mind Is Without Fear"

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        Where the Mind is without Fear 
                                       Rabindranath Tagore

1. What kind of freedom does Rabindranath Tagore want for his countrymen?
  
 Ans:   Rabindranath wants spiritual, intellectual and political freedom for his country. Intellectual freedom enables his countrymen to think freely and enter into new worlds of thought. Spiritual freedom will make them fearless, truthful noble and free from all narrow prejudices.                                 
2. How does Rabindranath Tagore describe the domestic wall? What do they do to the world?
   
 Ans: Rabindranath Tagore describes the domestic wall as ‘narrow’. The small concerns of home prevent us from taking part in the broader concerns of the world. It makes us narrow minded. So they are like walls.                                                    
     OR,
   
   Ans: Rabindranath describes the domestic walls as ‘narrow’. These walls are now broken in fragments. These fragments indicate many small groups in a country, separated from each other by prejudices, castes, religion etc.
       The walls break the world into fragments. They are at the root of narrowness

3. What is meant by “heaven of freedom’’ in the poem “Where the mind is without Fear”?

  Ans: The words ‘heaven of freedom’ indicates an ideal world of freedom. There people will be fearless, dignified and truthful. They will also be free from all narrow prejudices.
                                                               
      OR,
     
Ans: According to Rabindranath, ‘heaven of freedom’ means freedom from ignorance, narrowness, prejudices, fear, foreign rule etc. This state of freedom inspires us to acquire free knowledge, to achieve dignity, to try continually for perfection. In such a state of freedom mind is guided by God. Rabindranath wishes his countrymen to achieve this kind of freedom.

4.  “Where the clear stream of reason has not lost
  its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit.’’
--- Explain the comparison made in the lines.
    
Ans: Rabindranath here compares reason to a clear stream that flows smoothly in its own way. Reason is an intellectual power in man that helps him to move forward and get at perfection. On the other hand, he compares ‘dead habit’ to a sandy desert. Just as a flowing river loses its way in a sandy desert, dead customs also harm all the good intellectual qualities of man.

5. “Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”
--- Who is addressed as ‘my father’? Why does the poet want to let his country awake?

  Ans: Here ‘my father’ refers to God, the divine Father.
 Under the foreign rule, the Indians are in a state of spiritual slumber. The poet wants that under the guidance of God his countrymen will awake from that slumber and achieve perfection through tireless efforts.
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Textual Grammar , Class xii (wbchse) (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?)

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                         TextualGrammar
 
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

CHANGE OF VOICE :

1. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Ans. Will thou (you) be compared to a summer's day by me?
 
2. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.

Ans. The darling buds of May are shaken by rough winds.

3. And often is his gold complexion dimmed.

Ans. And often the cloud dims his gold complexion.
 
4. Every fair from fair sometimes declines by chance.

Ans. Chance declines every fair from fair.

5. Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade. 

Ans. Thy wandering in his shade will not be bragged by death.

6. This gives life to thee.

Ans. Life is given to you by this.

Do as Directed:

1. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.(Turn into a complex sentence)

ANS. Winds that are rough do shake the darling buds of May.

2. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?(use the noun form of 'compare')

ANS. Shall I make a comparison between you and a summer's day?

3. Thou art more lovely than summer. (Turn into a negative sentence/positive degree)

ANS. Summer is not as lovely as you.

4. Thou art more temperate than summer (Turn into a negative sentence/positive degree)

ANS. Summer is not as temperate as you.

5. But thy eternal summer shall not fade (Turn into an affirmative sentence)

ANS. But thy eternal summer shall remain unfade.

6.  Summer's lease hath all too short a date. (Turned into a complex sentence)

Ans. All summer's lease hath a date wich is too short.

7. But thy eternal summer shall not fade. (Turn into a complex sentence)

Ans. But it is thy eternal summer which  shall not fade.

8. So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (Turned into a complex sentence)

Ans. As long as this lives, this gives life to thee.

9. The poet said, "Shall I compare thee  to a summer's day?" (Change the mode of narration)

Ans. The poet asked if he would compare  thou  a summers day.

Fill in the blanks with articles and prepositions:

1. Shall I compare thee (i)  (ii) summers day?

Ans. (i) to (ii) a

2. Sometimes too hot (i)eye (ii) haven shines.

Ans. (i) the (ii) of
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Friday, 16 March 2018

Textual grammar, Class xii (wbchse) (Asleep in the valley)

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                        Textual grammar
                      (Asleep in the valley)
                         Arthur Rimbaud. 

  Change the Voice

1. A slow stream leaves long strands of silver on the bright grass.

Ans. Long strands of silver are left on the bright glass by a slow stream.

2. They fill the hollow full of light.

ANS. The hollow is filled full of light by them.

3. Keep him warm.

Ans. Let him be kept warm.OR, He is to be kept warm.

4. The humming insects don't disturb his rest.

Ans. His rest is not disturbed by the humming insects.

5. He may catch cold.

Ans. Cold may be caught by him.

Do as directed.

1. A small green valley where a slow stream flows.(Use the adverb form of 'slow')

ANS. A small green valley where a stream flows slowly.

2 A soldier, very young, lies open-mouthed. (Turn into a complex sentence)

ANS. A soldier who is very young lies open- mouthed.

3. His smile is like an infant's.(Turn into a complex sentence)

ANS. It is his smile that is like an infant's.

4. His smile is like an infant's.(Turn into a negative sentence)

ANS. It is not that his smile is not like an infants.

5.  He may catch cold.(Turn into a negatite sentence)
ANS. He may not but catch cold.

6. The humming insects don't disturb his rest. (Turn into a Complex sentence)

ANS.The insects which hum don't disturb his rest.

7.  He sleeps in sunlight.(Turn into an interrogative sentence)

ANS. Does he not sleep in sunlight?

8. In his side there are two red holes. (Turn into a complex sentence)

ANS. In his side there are two holes which are red.

Correct the error in the following sentence by replacing the underlined word with the right one from the options given below:    1x1 =1

1. A soldier, very youth, lies open mouthed.

Options: young, youngster, youthful

Ans. A soldier, very young, lies open- mouthed.

2. His smile is like an infants -gentle, without guileless.

Options: guile, guileful,gild

Ans. His smile is like an infant's-gentle, without guile.

3. Ah, Nature, keep him worm.

Options: warmly warmth, warm

Ans. Ah, Nature keep him warm

4. He may caught cold.

Options: catches catch, catched

Ans. He may catch cold.

5. The humming insects don't disturbs his rest.

Options: disturbed, disturb, disturbance

Ans. The humming insects don't disturb his rest.

6. He sleeps under sunlight.

Options : in, above, up

Ans. He sleeps in sunlight.

7. In his side there is two red holes.

Options: are, has, have

Ans. In his side there are two red holes.
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Thursday, 15 March 2018

How does Longfellow describe the activities of the wind in his poem "Daybreak"?

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What does the wind play in the poem "Daybreak"?

OR, How does Longfellow describe the activities of the wind in his poem "Daybreak"?

Ans: Longfellow in his poem 'Daybreak' has presented the wind as a messenger of Nature. It can speak like a human being. At dawn, it rises from the sea. Then it asks the mists to make room for its movement. It requests the mariners to sail on. Then it inspires the forest to hang out its leaves,  the birds to sing, the chanticleer to crow, the corn to bow and greet the morning and the belfry-tower to ring its bell to proclaim the hour. When it blows across the churchyard,  it sighs for the dead and asks them to lie quietly. Actually, the wind performs the function of an alarm clock. It announces the beginning of a new day.

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Explain the significance of the title of the poem "Meeting at Night" by Robert Browning.

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Explain the significance of the title of the poem "Meeting at Night" by Robert Browning


  ANS. The poem "Meeting at Night'' describes the lover's secret meeting with his beloved in a  distant farmhouse. The lover undertakes a long  journey across the sea and the land at night. The lover overcomes hardships and obstacles to fulfil  his mission of love. He lands on the beach and walks a mile along the warm sea- scented beach. Then he crosses three fields  to reach the farmhouse where his beloved lives. The lover makes his presence felt by tapping at the window pane. Then his beloved lights a match and starts whispering with him. They are locked in warm embrace in the midst of joys and fears.The secret meeting of the two lovers is symbolically suggested by the title. Hence, the title of the poem is quite justified.

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Project Work Class XII (WBCHSE)

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                          Project Work
                                  On
         Indianization of Oscar Wilde’s Story
                    “The Happy Prince”

             GANGARAMPUR HIGH  SCHOOL
           P.O. Gangarampur, Dist. Dakshin Dinajpur




                         Project Work
                                       
                                        Submitted by


Name of the Student _____________________________
Roll No.  ______________ Section _______________
Registration No.  _________________ (2015-2016)
   In partial fulfillment to class XII English Course.
                    

                   

             

                      Acknowledgement

             This project has given me golden opportunity for learning and self-development through collaborative activities. I want to thank respected Mr. /Mrs.__________________________  to whom I owe specially for preparing this project based on the beautiful story, entitled “The Happy Prince” written by Oscar Wilde.
I do want to extend my heartfelt thanks to my friends, parents and others who helped me in various ways to make a final draft of this work and submit the same to our school.


Signature of the student
                                                                 ………………………………………………………………..








                             CERTIFICATE

    This is to certify that this Project Report entitled Indianization of Oscar Wilde’s short story “The Happy Prince” submitted by ___________________ Class XII Roll No._______ Registration No. ______________ Year_________ submitted in partial fulfillment to class XII English Course during the academic year 2015-2016 is a bonafied record of project work carried out under my guidance and supervision.


Signature of the Project Guide
     Name: …………………………………………………………………….....
Designation: Assistant teacher
                                      Department: English
    School: ……………………………………………………………………….





                              Contents

(1)                            Introduction                                                             Page

(2)                      Procedures and Input                                         Page

(3)                     Out of the project                                                  Page

(4)                      Conclusion                                                                 Page

(5)                      References/Bibliography                               Page










                                           1.   Introduction

1.1 Project in our syllabus:

As per the new syllabus, Project work has been included as a part of the curriculum. We have made the choice according to the availability of works.

1.2 Objectives


(i) finding out the structural divisions of a story.

ii) visualising the story in Indian context.

(iii) adding Indian flavour to the strong.

(iv) taking more of the characters in Indian context.

1.3 Guiding Principle:

(i) We should try to locate its difference from Indian cultures.

(ii) Then we must try to fit in the writing in to Indian context.

(iii) We should use our daily life experience of Indian culture and society by adding enough Indian words.
1.4 Limitations

(i) The duration for the entire project was only ten periods.

(ii) It took a long time to select the exact piece of writing which could be transformed.

(iii) For this particular project, group work doesn't help much as it demands individual imagination and not a number of opinions.





                                 2.  Procedures and Input

           For the Indianization of Oscar Wilde’s story ‘Happy Prince’ we worked in groups and sometimes in pairs through a systematic process. Our teacher fixed 10 interventions for carrying out the project.  The details of our activities are enumerated below:

First intervention: On the first day, we chose the prose piece Happy Prince’ written by Oscar Wilde. We planned that a rich theatrical script can be made to develop from this prose piece. Then we went through the main events of the story and studied the characters and setting.

Second intervention: On the second day, we explored the behavioral types of each of the characters.

Third intervention: On the fourth day, we were divided into groups and the story was divided into different parts. Then we started writing dialogues. Our teacher sketched the necessary improvisations and modifications.

Fourth intervention: On the fifth day developed a draft script as per the instructions that were given by our teacher.

Fifth intervention: On the sixth day, we distributed copies of the draft script to each group and the instruction was to go through the script. We incorporated a number of dialogues and erased some of them according to the suggestions made by the teacher for a better impact.

Sixth intervention: Roles were distributed through tests.  Then short listed students were asked to read out their script roles

Seventh intervention: On the seventh day, the copy of the final script was distributed to each student. Rehearsal of the drama started. Some students were given off-stage duties like playing music, preparing the stage, arranging props etc. our teacher was unanimously selected the director to conduct the rehearsal.

Eighth intervention: On the eighth day, a rehearsal was performed without taking help of the script and further improvements were made in our acting skills.

Ninth intervention: On the ninth day, the drama was performed in our school auditorium. We were asked to evaluate the performance. This was given as our Homework.

Tenth intervention: We read out the evaluation report of the performance and then a general discussion started. Finally the Project Report was submitted for evaluation


                                         3.   Output of the Project       
                 Final implementation of the project Indianization
                                                      of an
                                                    English Short Story
                                                                  &
                            The Happy Rajah (Abridged and Altered)
           
            Once in our country there lived a Rajah who was fond of hunting birds with his bow and arrow in the forest. Oneday he went to the forest all alone and happened to come across a flight of parrot on top of a tree. No sooner had he aimed his arrow at the birds tha they sensed a danger and flew away in panic. Only one of their playmates, Hiramon stoo still. The Rajah was so much moved by the colour and beauty of the bird that he did no kill it. Hiramon came down and said to the Rajah, "Will you give me shelter in you house?"
          
            At first the Rajah did not agree and told him to stay beside the marble statu outside the gate of his house. He said, "You can stay inside the house during the day but at nigh you stay beside the statue”. "Whose statue is it?" asked Hiramon. The Rajah said, "I buil it myself over the years. It was made of costly marble, although I had not drained all the resources from the treasury of my state."
       
            Hinamon stayed inside the house throughout the day, yet at of the Rajah in th the feet of the huge statue. At night he sensed the pangs of loneliness of the Rajah in the groaning noise of the breeze and the hooting of the owl presaging disaster of the country for want of proper heir to the throne. Oneday Hiramon came to sing a song at the Rajah’s palace and mesmerised him with his melodious voice. The Rajah was so pleased that he told him, “Don't fly away and leave me alone. Inspite of my riches I am really alone. If you desert me, I’ll die. Will you be my messenger?''
       
            Hiramon, the little bird was moved to tears, seeing the misery of the Rajah. Although his other friends had left him, he could not forget the Rajah and became his messenger. One day the Rajah told him to go to Natibpur and visit Rahim chach's house. Rahim's chacha was a marginal farmer and he had been starving for many days. So the Rajah said, I can neither sleep at night nor I find peace at home until I get to know how Rahim chacha is." Then Hiramon flew away over the meadow and passed by the temple. He passed over the market and school building. He saw a vast paddy field where many farmers could not produce crops for want of rain. At last Hiramon came to Rahim chacha's  home and discovered him lying sick on the bed. He was about to die from hunger. Hiramon began his magical song with his mellifluous voice to make Rahini chacha feel little better than before. But his eyes were so heavy with distress that he sank into sleep. As soon as the Rajah knew about the object misery of Rahim chacha, he went to his ante-chamber and brought out a handful of gold coins in a small bag. Then he requested Hiraman to give it to Rahim chacha. "I don't want any of the farmers of my country to die from hunger and poverty", the Rajah said. Hiraman immediately flew up to Rohim's chacha's home and let the small bag beside his pillow and came back to the Rajah to narrate what he had done. The Rajah remarked, " Oh, you've really done a wonderful job."
           
            Alter a couple of days the Rajah came to know from one of his neighbours that a patient had been suffering from an incurable disease in the village, Ratikantapur. Her daughter had been begging from door to door only to raise fund for the treatment of her ailing mother for the treatment of Soon the Rajah summoned Hiramon, brought in a bagful of jewels from the vault of his house and told the bird to give it to the poor girl. Hiramon flew away and came to the room of the little girl through a little hole of the ventilator. He saw the little girl keeping her head between her knees. Hiramon put the bag down and flew away. When the girl found it, she could not hold back her tears and said, "I cannot but feel happy for the grace of God”.
      
              Hiramon returned to the Rajah and described what he had heard and seen on his way to the little girl's home. Hiramon and the Rajah became so intimate that one could not live without the other. One day the Rajah looked sad and depressed. He was wandering in the verandah of his house. Hiramon came to him and said, "Why do you look so upset?" The Rajah said, "One of my courtiers have informed me that an old man is shelterless as his wicked son has driven him out. I can give no more this day than these silver coins from my savings. Will you give it to the old man?”  
         
          Hirannon said, Where does he live? "- “It is in the village, Gadhadharpur.” Hiramon obeyed as he was commanded. But he could not trace out the old man anywhere. He was sad. While returning to the Rajah, he suddenly discovered an aged man leaning his back against the statue of the Rajah. Hiramon fluttered his wings over his head and said in an almost inaudible voice, "May you be saved with the bagful of silver coin I'm keeping here.” The old man was extremely happy to get his bag and thanked God for his munificence.
          
           Meanwhile Hiraman fell severely ill and had no hope to survive in adverse situation. He was unable to hear the hardship anymore and passed away. The Rajah also could not endure the pain of seperation and courted a premature death. Later the zamindars of the village subiects and courtiers came to see the statue. It stood in solitude, expressing the meaninglessness of human pride. It remained broken and disjoined and there was none to look after it.
                                     

                                             4. Conclusion
         
          Indianization of an English story offered us a great scope to learn in detail about the process of writing a story in view of the Indian context and made us learn diverse aspects of literature. We discovered the art of classroom management and rudimentary principles of Indianizing a story.
   
                                  

                                          5.  Bibliography:



   Name of the book      
     Name of the author
          Name of the publisher  
1. The Happy Prince   
           Oscar Wilde
          Sreejith Publications             
     2. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary  
         A.S. Hornby
   
       Oxford University Press

 3. Indian Fairy Tales
   K. J. Bose
Inter University Press
 4. The Angel
Hans Christian Andersen
C, A. Reitzel
 5. The Blue Bird
 6. Brother and Sister
Madame d'Aulnoy
Brothers' Grimm (Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm)
London Lawrence an Bullen, 1892
Grimm's Fairy Tale  Classics


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Questions and answers of the poem "NATURE"

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                           NATURE
                                                                                                                                    Henry Wordsworth Longfellow
1. How does Nature prepare us for the ultimate rest?
  
   Ans: Through our life, we, the human beings, remain busy with our earthly possessions.  But at the end of our life, we feel tired and sleepy. Nature, like a fond mother, takes away all these possessions one by one and prepares us gently for the ultimately rest. Thus we are led to the unknown world of eternity.
2. what according to Longfellow, are the feeling of the child being led away to bed?
  
  Ans: The child is playing with his old and dear playthings. So when his mother leads him to bed at the end of the day, he is unwilling to leave his playthings and go with his mother. He gazes at his broken playthings through the open door. His mother promises him of more splendid toys instead of broken ones. But he is not fully comforted.
3. ‘’So Nature deals with us, ----‘’---- How does Nature deal with us?
 
  Ans: Like a fond mother, Nature takes away our earthly possessions one by one. She holds our hands and gently leads us towards eternal sleep. We became so tired that we feel sleepy. We cannot understand where Nature leads us to.                       
                                                                              OR, 
  
  Ans:  Here the poet Longfellow presents Nature as a loving mother. At the end of the day, a fond mother leads her child to bed. The child is unwilling to go to bed. Similarly, at the end of our life, Nature takes away our dear possessions one by one and prepares us for ultimate rest.
                                                                                                                                                               
4. Why is the child half-willing and half-unwilling go to bed?

     Ans: The child has played whole day with his playthings. He feels tired and sleepy now. So he is half-willing to go to bed with his mother. But he does not want to leave his playthings. So he is half-unwilling to go to bed.
5. ‘’Which, though more splendid, may not please him more.’’---- What is referred to as ‘which’? Why may it not ‘please him more’?
     Ans: The poet here refers to the new playthings which the mother promises to give.
         The new playthings, though more splendid, may not please the child more because he has great attraction for his old playthings.
6. Why is ‘Nature’ compared to a fond mother?
Ans:  In order to highlight the motherly influence of Nature on human life, Longfellow compares Nature to a fond mother. At the end of the day a fond mother takes away the playthings from the child and gently leads him to bed. Nature also takes away our earthly possessions one by one and prepares us for ultimate rest.
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