प्रश्न बैंक - सह - उत्तर पुस्तक (Question Bank-Cum-Answer Book)
Class - 12
English Elective
4. Kubla Khan Or A Vision In A Dream - S.T. Coleridge
Q1. Does the poem have a real geographical location? How does
the poet mix up the real and the imaginary to give a sense of the surreal?
Ans-
Yes, the poem has a real geographical location. Kubla Khan ordered a
magnificent pleasure dome to be built for him in Xanadu. Xanadu is located in
China. It was the summer capital of Kubla Khan and from this place Kubla Khan
established the Yuan dynasty that ruled China over a century. Then in the last
stanza there is a reference of an abyssinian maid playing her dulcimer.
Abyssinia is now called Ethiopia which is in Africa.
The
poet describes Kubla Khan's pleasure dome. This dome was a specimen of rare
architectural skill- it had sunny domes with caves of ice. The description of
the landscape is very vivid and precise. The bright garden and sinuous rills,
the incense bearing trees laden with sweet blossoms, the sunny spots of
greenery and so on. Then there is a description of romantic chasm, the wailing
woman, the vision of the Abyssinian maid etc. Thus, the poet mixes up the real
and the imaginary to give a sense of the surreal.
Q 2. Pick out -
(i) contrasting images that are juxtaposed throughout the poem.
(ii) images that strike the eye and images that strike the ear,
both positive and negative.
(iii) the words used to describe the movement of water
Ans
(1)
contrasting images that are juxtaposed throughout the poem are
(a)
The dome is sunny and warm while the caves are icy cold.
(b)
The noisy and fast speeding river is put with a calm, quiet and peaceful
garden.
(c)
The wailing woman is juxtaposed with her demon lover.
(d)
The ocean is gloomy and mysterious but the forest is sunny and warm.
(ii)
(a)
Images that strike the eyes both positive and negative are the visual
descriptions in the poem as garden bright and sinuous rills, sunny spots of
greenery, incense-bearing trees, forests ancient as the hills, a mighty
fountain and rebounding hail and chaffy grain etc.
(b)
Images that strike the ears both positive and negative are the tumult of the
river, wailing of a woman, maiden's playing on dulcimer and songs of Abora,
Kubla Khan's ancestral prophesying voices etc.
(c)
The words used to describe the movement of water are a mighty fountain
momentarily forced, the river rushing down the hillside, floated on the waves
and the fountain, meander with a mazy motion, bright with sinuous rills etc.
Q3. What is the discordant note heard at the end of the third
stanza? Can we relate this to the grandeur and turmoil that are a part of an
emperor's life?
Ans-
The poet feels that if he could recapture within him the melody and song, it
would fill him with such a divine inspiration that he would write powerful
poetry on Kubla Khan's pleasure dome. Those who would hear him would be able to
see that palace in the air. They would then cry out to others to beware of him
for they would see his floating hair and flashing eyes. They would weave a
circle around him thrice to protect themselves from his magical power.
Yes,
we can relate this to the grandeur and turmoil that are apart of an emperor's
life. The emperor has to go on wars to protect his empire or to expand it. The
emperor always cannot enjoy the comforts,luxuries and pleasures of life.
Q4. Which are the lines that refer to magical elements?
Ans-
The lines that refer to magical elements are
(a)
Ancestral voices prophesying war.
(b)
"Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree". This line creates a
magical world
(c)
His flashing eyes, his floating hair! There is ant atmosphere of supernatural
mystery.
(d)
It was a miracle of a rare device-A sunny pleasure dome with caves of ice.
Representation of the dome is magical here.
(e)
Weave a circle round him thrice.
(f)
That romantic chasm which slanted. In this line, the world is presented with
some sort of a spell cast by some unknown power.
Q5. What is poetic ecstasy likened to?
Ans-
The poet feels that if he could recapture within him the melody and song of
Abyssinian maid, it would feel him with such divine inspiration that he would
write powerful poetry to give a vivid description of Kubla Khan's pleasure dome
and those caves of ice. His poetic frenzy would make the people think that he
was a superhuman being fed on honey-dew and the milk of Paradise. This is what
poetic ecstasy is likened to be.
Q6. The poem is a fragment. What do you think has made it a
lasting literary piece?
Ans-
'Kubla Khan' is a fragmentary poem describing a vision that the poet saw in a
dream. In 1797 he had been prescribed a drug for relieving pain and while
reading an account of Kubla Khan's palace he fell asleep. He was asleep for
three hours, when about 200 lines of a poem were conceived by him without any
effort. On awakening he began immediately to write down the lines but he was
called away on business after about an hour. When he returned he could not
remember the rest of the poem. The result is this fragment or incomplete poem.
Kubla Khan is known for its poetic merits. It is a piece of verbal magic
inspired in a dream. Coleridge blended superbly natural and supernatural
elements in the poem.
Q7. What idea does the poet want to convey through the woman
wailing for her demon lover?
Ans-
Through the description of a wailing woman for her demon lover, the poet wants
to give reference to the medieval tales of love and romances. Coleridge wants
to give a touch of romance and medievalism along with supernaturalism through
this poem. To serve this purpose, Coleridge has imparted a touch of remoteness
to the story as well as added to it a sense of supernatural, mystery and wonder
through different medieval symbols.
Q 8. Discuss the role of imagination in the poem Kubla Khan.
Ans-
Coleridge was a romantic poet. He wants the reader to form a mental picture of
the world. His romantic poetry employs imagery and scenery in order to inspire
human beings. It is the power of his imagination that gives him the necessary
power to recreate the charm and wonder of the miraculous pleasure-palace of
Kubla Khan. The entire poem develops on the true imagination of the poet.
Q9. Discuss the role of nature in the present poem.
Ans-
The poem Kubla Khan has been weaved in natural surroundings. When the poem
starts, we find a description of Xanadu and its mystical scenery. The deep
romantic chasm presents peace and beauty with its flowing water. The depiction
of the fountain and the river running in a zigzag way and finally falling in
the sea. Nature is described in its vivid forms. Thus, nature has a deep impact
on the poet and his imagination.
Q 10. Write a central idea of the poem Kubla Khan.
Ans-
The poet has laid the scene of action in the remote and unknown place Xanadu to
make us believe in the supernatural elements. The poem takes us in those semi-
mythical ages when Kubla Khan was supposed to have ruled. Kubla Khan was an
very powerful king who created his pleasure-dome by only an order. There was a
river Alph in Xanadu which used to pass through the woods and valleys and then
reached the unfathomable caverns and sank noisily into a lifeless ocean.
The
presence of the supernatural in the form of ghostly ancestors warning him of
the approaching danger is realistic. The element of mystery and surprise is
found in the bringing together the opposite charms of sunny domes and caves of
ice together. A mysterious chasm stretching across a green hill covered with
cedar groves is also described. Hearing the music and song of the Abyssinian
maiden, the poet thinks to create such a pleasure palace in his imagination
which is a remarkable allusion of supematuralism.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Who wrote the poem 'Kubla Khan'?
a.
John Donne
b.
John Milton
c. S.T. Coleridge
d.
W.B.Yeats
2. What is another name for the poem 'Kubla Khan'?
a. A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment
b.
A Lecture Upon Shadow
c.
Blood
d.
The Human Abstract
3. Coleridge was a close friend of..............
a.
W.B. Yeats
b. William Wordsworth
c.
John Milton
d.
William Blake
4. Coleridge and Wordsworth belonged to ……. Age.
a.
Victorian
b.
Modern
c.
Puritan
d. Romantic
5. Coleridge and Wordsworth belonged to ………. generation of
Romantic poets.
a. first
b.
second
c.
third
d.
fourth
6. The poem, Kubla Khan is a/an …….. poem.
a.
abstract
b.
complete
c. incomplete
d.
none of the above
7. Where was Kubla Khan's capital situated?
a.
Beijing
b. Xanadu
c.
Rome
d.
Mesopotamia
8. Which river ran through the capital?
a. Alph
b.
Nile
c.
Thames
d.
Sutlej
9. What did Kubla Khan order?
a.
to build a bridge
b. to make a pleasure dome
c.
to go to war
d.
to celebrate his birthday
10. The river ran down to a ……..
a.
mountain
b.
Indian ocean
c. sunless sea
d.
valley
11. The lifeless ground described in the poem was of ..........
miles.
a.
five
b. ten
c.
seven
d.
six
12. Which figure of speech is employed in the phrase 'ancient as
the hills'?
a. simile
b.
metaphor
c.
alliteration
d.
personification
13. Why was the woman described in the poem wailing?
a.
because she had lost her parents
b.
because she had lost her child
c. because her demon lover had abandoned her
d.
because she was punished by Kubla Khan
14. Kubla Khan heard from far ancestral voices prophesying
a. war
b.
birth of a male child
c.
victory over Chinese
d.
peace all over the world
15. The Abyssinian maid was playing a
a.
guitar
b.
violin
c.
sitar
d. Dulcimer
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. | |
