Question 1:
Find three or four words/phrases in stanza 1 that reflect the child’s happiness and joy.
Answer:
(i) love to rise in a summer morn
(ii) the birds sing on every tree
(iii) huntsman winds his horn
(iv) the skylark sings with me
Question 2:
In stanza 2, the mood changes. Which words/phrases reflect the changed mood?
Answer:
(i) drives all joy away
(ii) under a cruel eye
(iii) The little ones spend the day in sighing and dismay
Question 3:
‘A cruel eye outworn’ (stanza 2) refers to
(i) the classroom which is shabby/noisy.
(ii) the lessons which are difficult/uninteresting.
(iii) the dull/uninspiring life at school with lots of work and no play.
Mark the answer that you consider right.
Answer:
(iii) the dull/uninteresting life at school with lots of work and no play.
Question 4:
‘Nor sit in learning’s bower
worn thro’ with the dreary shower’
Which of the following is a close paraphrase of the lines above?
(i) Nor can I sit in a roofless classroom when it is raining.
(ii) Nor can I learn anything at school though teachers go on lecturing and explaining.
(iii) Nor can I sit in the school garden for fear of getting wet in the rain.
Answer:
(ii) Nor can I learn anything at school though teachers go on lecturing and explaining.
Question 5:
Answer:
Both the poems: The School Boy and The One Furrow - talk about the experience of school children who go to school to get education. The child in the first poem is unhappy as he wants to enjoy his day out in the sun. He hates the monotonous schedule of school that restricts joy and freedom. In the second poem, the narrator goes to the school to learn about various things but when he grows up he realises that all the knowledge acquired in school is futile. It gives no peace of mind to a person. He goes back to Nature and finds solace in the company of cattle and barrow. Both the poems emphasise on the importance of learning amidst Nature. Nature can be a great teacher and gives peace and joy to those who spend time amidst Nature. Both the poems denounce the rigidity of the school system which robs children of creativity and freedom.