English IX - Chapter No.9 - Questions / Answers and Text Book Exercise

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CHILDREN (POEM)

Questions And Answers

Q: What is Stanza? How many stanzas are there in this poem?
Ans: A stanza in a poem is what a paragraph is in a lesson. Each stanza has 4 lines. In each stanza, the last word of the second line produces the same sound as the last word of fourth line. For example, play, away sun, run, flow, snow. But the last word of the first line and last word of the third line do not produce the same sound in all stanzas, though in some it does.
This poem has 9 stanzas.

Q: What is the message or central idea of the poem" Children"?
Ans: The poem " Children is written by Henry Longfellow. The message or the central idea of the poem is that "Children are a great source of happiness on earth. There would be no life on earth without children. All the world would be dark and desert without children.

Text Book Exercise

Difficult Words and Comprehensions

STANZA NO. 1

S.NO.	Words	Meanings
1.	Perplexed	Complicated, puzzled
2.	Vanish	Disappear

Question and Answers
Q.1: What are the children doing?
Ans. The children are playing a game.

Q.2: What is the question that is disturbing the poet? OR What questions perplexed the poet?
Ans: The poet was perplexed by the thought of his old age and ultimate death.

Q.3: How has this question been answered?
Ans. Seeing the children playing happily and innocently, the poet thought that children are the signs of life. The old people depart from the world and the children replace them. He understands the life cycle of man and is satisfied now.

OR

What was the question that was disturbing Henry Longfellow? How has this question been answered? (KHI-Board, Science Group 2015)
Ans: Answer of Q.2 and Q.3

STANZA NO. 2

S.NO.	Words	Meanings
1.	Ye	You ‘Ye’ is sometimes used in poetry for “you”.
2.	Swallow	A kind of small bird.
3.	Brooks	Small streams

Question and Answers

Q.1 What does the poet mean by saying that the children open the windows that look to the east?
Ans. The poet says that just like the sun gives warmth and lights the world when it rises in the earth, the children make our life brilliant and shinning and fill it with happiness..

Q.2 With what does the poet compare the thoughts?
Ans. The poet compares the thoughts to singing swallows and flowing brooks.

Q.3 Why does he compare them so?
Ans. Singing swallows and following brooks are birds, objects of nature  and care free.   they sing and fly away like them are the thoughts so the poet compare them with the birds.

Q.4: Who compose the poem "Children" ? With what does the poet compare thoughts and why does he do so? (KHI Board Science group 2007, 2014)
Ans: Henry Longfellow composed the poem "Children".  The poet compares the thoughts with the birds. The birds sing and fly away like them are the thoughts so the poet compare them with the birds.


Question and Answers

Q.1: How can the birds and the sunshine be in the hearts of the children? What does the poet mean? (KHI Board Science 2012)
Ans. Birds are always happy. The sunshine is a sign of life and brightness. When the poet says that the birds and the sunshine are in the hearts of children he means that they are happy, energetic and full of life and brightness.

Q.2 The poet says that the children are thinking of the brooks while he is thinking of autumn. What does this mean?
Ans.The poet says that children are thinking of brooks because they are young and free from worries and troubles and the chapter of life is opening to them.  While he is thinking of the autumn as he is old and worried and approaching the end of his life.

Q.3 Is the poet using the word autumn for old age?
Ans. Yes, he is using the word autumn for old age. Autumn is the season before winter when the leaves turn yellow and fall. In the same way in old age the body becomes weak and less active and finally give way.

Q.4 What other words does the poet use to show the coming of old age upon him?
Ans. The first fall of snow shows the coming of old age upon him.

Q.5 How are the children different from the poet?  (KHI Board Science 2016, General Group 2007, 2012)
Ans. The children are young, happy, lively, full of life and energetic, without a care in the world. While the poet is old, tired, unhappy and full of worries. The chapter of life is opening to children while he is approaching the end of his life.

STANZA NO. 4

S.NO.	Words	Meanings
1.	Dread	Fear.

Questions and Answers

Q.1: What question does the poet ask?
Ans: Sadly, poet asked that what would happen to the world , if there were no children in this world.

Q.2: In the third and fourth lines of this stanza, the poet says that if there were no children, we would fear the desert behind us and more than that we would fear the dark in front us. what do the desert and the dark mean?

OR

What happen to us if there were no children?
Ans: Desert means barren area without life and dark means no light, sign of sadness and cheerless . Children are a source of life, joy and brightness. The world would become a dark desert without children. We would feel sad and fearful because the life cycle of man would end without children.

STANZA NO. 5- 6

S.NO.	Words	Meanings
1.	Tender	Delicate
2.	Trunk	Main stem or part of a tree, the thick bark of a tree

Questions and Answers

Q.1 What would happens to the trees if there were no leaves?
Ans. If there were no leaves, the trees would lose their beauty, colour and life.

Q.2 What would happen to us if there were no children? 
Ans. If there are no children, our lives would be dull, barren and absolutely lifeless.

STANZA NO. 7

S.NO.	Words	Meanings
1.	Whisper	To speak slowly
2.	Atmosphere	Air

Question and Answers

Q.1 Why does the poet ask the children to come to him?
Ans. The poet asks the children to come to him so that h could get joy and happiness from their company and for the time being forget about his worries and troubles.

Q.2 What songs does the poet wish to be whispered in the ear?
Ans. The poet loves to hear the innocent talk of the children and asks them to come to him so that he could enjoy their natural sincere hatter.

STANZA NO. 8

S.NO.	Words	Meanings
1.	Contriving	Devices, invention
2.	Wisdom	Quality of being wise.
3.	Caresses	Love or affection, kiss, embrace

Question and Answers

Q.1 The grown up people have wisdom and books. What do the children have?
Ans. The children have innocent happy looks and are full of affection and warmth.

STANZA NO. 9

S.NO.	Words	Meanings
1.	Ballads	Simple songs with a story, poems containing old stories.

Question and Answers

Q.1 With what does the poet compare the children?
Ans. The poet compare the children with ballads.

Q.2 How can the children can be like the ballads and the poems?
Ans. Ballads and the poems give one phase and happiness  In the same way children are source of joy and happiness.

Q.3 The poet call the children living and the rest all dead. Why does he say this?   
Ans. Ballads and poems consist only of words, where as children are living human beings and are full of life and energy.

Q.4 How are children important for elders?
Ans. Children are important for elders because without them life would be dull and their care free and their happy ways help elders to forget there troubles, their caresses brings sun shine in to the life of the old people.

Q.5:Why does the poet call the children the living poems? (KHI Board Science Group 2013)
Ans: Ballads and the poems both give us amusement and happiness. In the same way children are source of joy and happiness. But the poems are without life and the children are full of life. That's why the poet calls the children the living poem. (Answer of Q.2 and Q.3)