प्रश्न बैंक - सह - उत्तर पुस्तक (Question Bank-Cum-Answer Book)
Class - 12
English Elective
6. The Wild Swans at Coole - W.B. Yeats
Q1. How do the trees in their autumn beauty', 'dry woodland
paths', 'October twilight', 'still sky' connect to the poet's own life?
Ans-
The 'trees in their autumn beauty', 'dry woodland paths', 'October twilight',
'still sky' all represent a sign of old age and loneliness as the poet is
experiencing. Autumn is the season in which the trees prepare to shed their
leaves. This season is compared to death. The woodland remains dry and there is
no new life evolving until the rains set in. Though the twilight is the most
beautiful part of the day, it lasts for a very short period of time and leads
into the darkness of night. The stillness of the sky too is counted similar to
the coldness of death. Everything associates to the poet's old age and the
setting is of sadness and lonely atmosphere.
Q2. What do 'the light tread' and 'the sore heart' refer to?
Ans-
The 'light tread' refers to how the poet would walk some nineteen autumns back.
He was a free man and could go wherever he wanted to - just like the Swans. But
now he has a 'sore heart' while looking at the Swans since he is burdened by
the responsibilities of life. He can no longer tread around like a free soul.
Neither do his mental and physical conditions allow him to do so.
Q3. What is the contrast between the liveliness of the swans and
human life?
Ans-
Yeats is fascinated by the swans. He admires the beautiful birds referring to
them as "brilliant creatures". The poet seems to be jealous of the
swans. The heart of the swans have not grown old. By commenting on the
"unwearied swans", the speaker is comparing the liveliness of the
swans to his own life. The beauty, youth, love and loyalty of the swans do not
change with the passage of time. While all these qualities or virtues change in
human life with the passage of time. With our growing age, our energy and
enthusiasm decreases
Q4. What contributes to the beauty and mystery of the swans'
lives?
Ans-
The poet confesses that the swans have not grown old and weary. They remain
faithful to their lover and paddle as friends in the water. Their beauty is
permanent and the hearts are still young. Yeats questions their future and
wonders where else they will inhabit. He imagines they will fly away from him
to show their beauty to other people. These contribute to the beauty and
mystery of the swans' lives.
Q5. What do the swans represent in 'The Wild Swans of Coole'?
Ans-
The swans in the 'Wild Swans at Coole' represent the viability of youth and
beauty, as life and love "attend upon them still". Their vitality is
juxtaposed against the poet who is growing old and can only remember a time when
he "trod with a lighter tread". While the poet's body is decaying,
the swans remain constant in his life. After nineteen autumns he came to gaze
upon them, and they serve as a nostalgic reminder of the past.
Q6. What are the main themes of the poem?
Ans-
The main themes of the poem are Nature, Aging and Immortality. The poet
appreciates nature and contrasts the changes time has brought in his body and
soul. Then it turns towards the immortality of nature and wants to be a part of
that.
Q7. What are the feelings that the poet presents regarding the
swans?
Ans-
W.B. Yeats has presented the swans as the most significant symbols. Everything
in the world changes with the passage of time but the swans are still
unchanged. They are the symbols of beauty and energy who finally become
mythical and divine creatures who have no effect of time in their lives. They
do not experience worldly pain and weariness. They are the perfect incarnation
of creation.
Q8. What does the poet want to say in these lines? "Passion
or conquest, wander where they will, Attend upon them still."
Ans-
According to the poet, passion and conquest are two opposite concepts which he
sees to be eternal force within the swans. Passion is a desire and pursuit
while conquest is the outcome of it. He believes that his own time is passing
but swans will always be there so that they may inspire people with their
beauty and peaceful life. They will also inspire people to accept life's
duality and its complex nature in day-to-day life.
Q9. Discuss the theme of nature in the poem.
Ans-
The poet has presented Nature in different forms in the poem. On one hand, he
presents Nature which is eternally suspended in time and continuously coming to
an end but reshaping it again. But on the other hand, he presents his own image
who has lost much of his former energy and vigour which is a natural
phenomenon. When he revisits the lake after nineteen years, he finds that the
swans and the lake remain unchanged. Thus, he wants to say that though human
generations will die yet, nature will remain the same, beautiful and eternal.
Q 10. Write the summary of the poem 'The Wild Swans at Coole'.
Ans-
The poet is loitering through a forest in Coole in autumn. While observing the
beauty of the forest, he is thinking about his own bygone days. Slowly, he
moves towards the shore of the lake and finds fifty-nine swans swimming on the
water of the lake under clear sky. The poet, at once, recalls his earlier visit
to the lake nineteen years ago. That time, he was trying to count the swans but
all of a sudden, all the swans flew away in the sky. The poet finds that swans
are unaffected from the clutches of time. They have their own love partners and
wherever they go, they are accompanied by their companion. The poet feels that
the swans are the living testimony to the fact that some things are immortal
and they remain unchanged even in a rapidly changing transient world.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Who is the poet of the poem 'The Wild Swans at Coole'?
a.
John Donne
b. W.B. Yeats
c.
John Milton
d.
William Blake
2. To which country Yeats belonged?
a.
England
b.
America
c. Ireland
d.
India
3. Yeats was a :
a.
poet
b.
dramatist
c.
mystic
d. all of the above
4. Yeats was the co-founder of ………..
a.
Globe Theatre
b.
Swan Theatre
c.
Rose Theatre
d. Abbey Theatre
5. Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in ………..
a. 1923
b.
1925
c.
1920
d.
1921
6. In the poem which season has been talked about?
a.
summer
b.
winter
c.
spring
d. autumn
7. Which month has been described in the poem?
a.
December
b. October
c.
March
d.
May
8. What mirrors the sky?
a.
mountain
b.
desert
c.
meadows
d. water
9. How many swans are there in the lake?
a.
55
b.
50
c. 59
d.
57
10. The woodland paths are ………..
a. dry
b.
wet
c.
green
d.
yellow
11. After how many years has the poet visited Coole again?
a.
10
b.
15
c. 19
d.
12
12. What is the meaning of 'clamorous'?
a. noisy
b.
loud
c.
vocal
d.
all of the above
13. The poet has described the swans as ……….. creatures.
a.
brilliant
b.
mysterious
c.
beautiful
d. all of the above
14. Who moves in pairs?
a. swans
b.
poet
c.
ducks
d.
peacocks
15. One day the poet awakes and finds the swans ………..
a.
swimming in the lake
b. have flown away
c.
delighting men's eyes
d. are lying dead
JCERT/JAC English Elective प्रश्न बैंक - सह - उत्तर पुस्तक (Question Bank-Cum-Answer Book)
English Elective Contents
Short Stories | |
1. | |
2. | |
3. | |
4. | |
5. | |
Poetry | |
1. | |
2. | |
3. | |
4. | |
5. | |
6. | |
7. | |
8. | |
Non-Fiction | |
1. | |
2. | |
3. | |
4. | |
5. | |
6. | |
Drama | |
1. | |
2. | |
Novel | |
1. | |
2. | |
