Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies (William Shakespeare)

Your father lies full thirty feet below the surface of the sea. His bones have been changed into pieces of coral. His eyes have been transformed into pearls. Every part of his body that was supposed to decay has been changed into something rich and strange, but something belonging to the sea or connected with it. The sea nymphs who live in the sea are ringing his death-bell every hour.

Questions and Answers.

1) Is death meaning full in this poem?

Ans:- Death is quiet meaningful in this poem. No part of the dead body had decayed. They have been changed into something valuable. Coral are made of the bones, and his eyes are changed into pearls.

2) Find examples of onomatopoeia, alliteration and assonance in the poem. How do they contribute to the meaning of the poem?

Ans:- Onomatopoeia is the formation and use of words that suggest by their sounds the object being named. In the poem "Ding-dong" is the example of onomatopoeia. It imitates the sound of the bell and makes the reader feel that he is listening to the bell. Alliteration is the repetition of an initial first sound in two or more words of a line of poetry. In the first line of the poem "full fathom five thy father lies" the sound 'f" had been repeated four times. It reminds us of the flow of the sea. Similarly, "suffer a sea change" "Hark! now I hear them' other examples. Assonance is the repetition of the vowel sounds in stressed syllables: "five...lies", 'nymphs...ring" are the examples of assonance. All these rhetorical devices have enhanced the singing quality of the song.

3) Write an essay on 'Life and Art'.

Ans:- In a broad sense, art is skill in making or doing. The word art used in a more specialized way. Activities such as painting a picture, writing a novel or composing music are often called fine arts.

Human beings are makers of many things and they make them for many purposes. Some creations server obvious practical needs. For example, people have always needed tools for cutting, digging, Killing, and eating. But people also seem to have felt two less obvious purposes. First, they want to make something that is worth looking at or worth hearing. Second, people want to make an object that  will remind other people of certain memorable things.

people who love music, who can lose themselves in a book, or who can spend hours painting a picture of a mountain know deep satisfaction that can be found in art. But works of art are among the things that provide the deepest experiences and are of higher value in our lives.

A fine piece of music, a masterpiece of painting or a first-rate play has the power to capture and hold our fullest and most concentrated attention. We are completely warped up in it, and every thing works out right. When we enjoy the arts, we perceive harmony in the object and feel harmony within ourselves. When the aesthetic experience has ended, we often feel uplifted and refreshed. Our eyes and ears or our insights into other persons, may be sharpened and refined. We may feel more at home with ourselves. Works of art have value for us in some such way as this.

Practice Questions

1) 2072 Set E 

    What is the relation between life and art? Describe briefly.

2) 2067 

     Write the central idea of the poem 'Full fathom Five Thy Father Lies'.

     

Two long-term Problems: Too Many People, too Few Trees ( Moti Nissani)

In this essay Moti Nissani shows twin problems of over population and deforestation. 

In 1992 over fifteen hundred of world scientists signed a document which expressed their worry about the condition of biosphere. According to them, human activities have caused a great damaged to the natural world. This will endangered human society and the plant and animal kingdoms. Such practices must be checked.

 The royal society of the London the US National Academy of Science are also worried about environmental damage. Now more people suffer from cancer, emphysema and Asthma. Many people have lost their hearing power before they are old because of the noise pollution. The rivers, lakes and the seas all are polluted. We are uneasy about poisons in our foods and drinks. Some species of animals and birds are going to disappear, and some have already been vanished. But the number of human beings is rapidly growing. We are using natural resources wastefully. We are producing different type of poison which can not be removed for thousands of years. We pollute even the space instead of preventing pollution, we clean it up after we pollute our land or water. Soil erosion, desertification and deforestation are taking place quickly. As a result, we have to face very hot temperatures, floods, tropical diseases and mass migrations. 

A human population always change because some people die while other are born. But the birth rate was little higher than the death rate and the population grew slowly in the past. After industrial revolution, the death rate decreased to a large extend and the population grew rapidly. Now every year there are eighty million people than those of the previous year. In 1951, Nepal's population was nine million. After less than fifty years, the number rose to twenty-three million. By the beginning of twenty-first century Nepal's population will be 24,000,000. In 2026, it will be 46 million and in 140 years the number will be 368 million. 

On first site we may think that more people we have the richer we become and that more people may invent more to make more profits. But the finite world is already over populated. For example, can Nepal support 44 million people? more people will need more food. To grow more food we must cut down the forests and there will be no trees. The land, water and air will be polluted. Both towns and village will be crowded. Food production and facilities for health will not grow to the ratio of population growth and it may make crime, ethnic conflicts and warfare more common. 

In America some 60,000 people die each year from respiratory disease caused by air pollution. The situation is even worse in Kathmandu. But this situation could be improved by controlling population and pollution. The main cause of environmental problem is population growth. More people use more energy and it will have more pressure on environment. If we can control population growth, we can solve many of the environmental problems. The examples of Germany and Sweden show that population can be reduced. In Thailand, China and Egypt, the rate of population growth has slowed down because of combined governmental actions. The measure cause of this decline are modernization, literacy, media campaigns, easily available contraceptives and equal opportunities for women. We know now how to control our numbers, but we must put this knowledge into practice. 

Because of rapid population growth many people in developing countries are forced to cut down the trees in the forest in order to grow food. They are also cutting down the trees to sale them at higher prices. The people of developed countries are also guilty. When they ask for more ham burgers, they Brazilians keep more cows by cutting down the forest. The demand of wood and paper products help people to destroy the forest. Population of different kinds has affected the health of the forest. The problem of deforestation was faced in the past, but now the rate of the destruction is faster. 

In the beginning of the century 40% of earth's total land was covered by forest by but now it is about 25%. The destruction of the forest will cause floods, landslide, soil erosion, and filling the river beds.

We may not know the result of massive deforestation what human being can't fell the trees and still hope for better future. We can save the forest by controlling the number of people and by educating them. We can also impose special tax on wood- products. More over some money should be given to those who help to preserve the forest. Reforestation will have bio-diversity, pure wilderness, and it will minimize desertification. Flooding and declines in rainfall the smokeless stove uses less firewood and the people will have more time to pursue study and other more profitable business. If we have fewer people and more trees, we can save planet for our children. For this we need wisdom, courage and compassion. 

Question and Answers:

1) Are most winning Nobel Prize winners optimistic about the future of humanity? Why or why not?

Ans: Most Nobel prize winner are optimistic about the future of humanity. They are worried about the present condition of bio-sphere. Human being has caused a great damage to the environment . Te future of human society is dark if we continue our current practices. But if we check them, the living world will be able to sustain life in manner we know. For this, complete changes are necessary. They hope that our urgent actions will safe the future of humanity. 

2) What leads Nissani to the belief that the world is facing over population crisis?

Ans: After the world became industrialize the human population started to rapidly. Now every hours we add 10,000 people to our numbers. Nissani is worried by this fact because it will have a direct impact on the natural world. In order to fill more people, more land should be cultivated and more people cut down the trees and cultivate the forest. More over, the growing population has polluted rivers, lakes, air, drinking water and soil. Now about 60,000 Americans die each years by respiratory diseases which are cause by human made pollution. Fourteen Americans dies each year by human asthma which is again made more serious by air pollution. Desertification, depletion of non-renewable resources, acid rain, loss of species, wild species, Ozone layer depletion, the greenhouse effect, flooding, landslides, soil erosion, droughts and weather extremes indicate that the world is facing the problem of over population. 

3) What's wrong in his view, with a treeless Nepal?

Ans: If there will be no trees in Nepal, it will have the number of harmful effects after trees are cut down, the top soil will be carried away by rain water and the rivers bed and dams are filled with such soil. It will cause devastating floods in the Terai of Nepal, in India and Bangladesh. After the fertile soil is carried the land will be less productive. Deforestation will also cause landslide. Many species of plants and animals will disappear. It may contribute to droughts and greenhouse effect. 

Practice Questions:

Short Questions:

1.) 2073 Partial A

      What are the causes of deforestation, according to Moti Nissani?

2.) 2071 Partial Set B

      What are the key elements in environmental change?

3)  2067 

      What leads Moti Nissani to the belief that the world in facing an overpopulation problem?

Long Question:

1) 2070 Supp Set B

    'Deforestation has become a serious long term problem today'. Write about he causes,                            consequences and cures of deforestation, especially in the context of Third World Countries.

The Lamentation Of The Old Pensioner (W.B Yeats)

This poem is notable for its bitter words of an old man  "I spit into the face of time / that has transfigured me" and its skillful dramatic variations of the bare refrain "Time / that has transfigured me" pointing towards the stripped yet intricate bitterness of Yeats's Last Poems.
When the poet is in trouble he takes a shelter, but it is only a broken tree. Before time changed him he talked of love and politics with his friends, but his was never closer to the warmth of power. He had been left far behind. Some young people are excited to get power and so they fight against the opponents,but the poet thinks on time which has changed him completely. Now in his old age no women takes care of him but he still remembers the beautiful women. He thinks that his only enemy is time which has made him old. Therefore, he express his anger by spitting into the face of the time.

Questions and Answers:

1.) Explain the title of the poem.

Ans: The retired old man thinks of his youth and feels sorry for its loss. Now his power as well as his lover is lost.The young boys and young girls neither love him nor take care of him.

2.) What does the poem add to your knowledge of the old man (his character, attitude, circumstance)?

Ans: The poem says that the old man was a powerful person in politics. He was equally liked by beautiful women. Although he is old now, he wants to do the same thing. So, he is sad and throws his anger at the time that has transfigured him.

3.) Describe the shifts in subject matter in the three stanzas. What is the effect of this shifts?

Ans: The first stanza describes his favourable condition in politics and love. The second stanza describes how the angry young people behave today in contrast to the old man's youth which was lovely and quiet. The last one shows his neglected condition and thus he throws all the anger to the time, which is the main cause of all this loss.

4.) Summarize the poem in one sentence.

Ans: This poem represents the poet memories of his youth which becomes more painful when he looks at his present condition and contrasts it with his condition in the old age.

Practice Questions:

Short Answer Questions:

1) 2073 Set C

    What makes the old pensioner feel isolated in his old age?

2) 2072 Set E

    What is the lamentation of the old pensioner?

3) 2073 Set D

    Why does the poet spit into the face of time?

4) 2071 Supp 

    How and why does the old pensioner lament?

Long Answer Questions

1) 2060

 Write an essay on Youth and Age.

Ans: An old man has not much left but memories. His life is already done. But a few years remain. So the future does not much occupy his mind. He dwells a good deal in the past looking back over the long life he had live, which seems to have gone so quickly. He thinks of his lost youth and of all he dreamed of and meant to do then. 

A boy lives mainly in the present, and takes short views of life and he is an erratic creature, moved by sudden and in calculable impulses. One can never know what he will be up to next. One can no more calculate what will he do or say than you can win and how and where the wind will blow. So " a boy's will is wind's will".

But when the boy grows up to be a young man, he begins to think of his future. He stands on the threshold of his life, and all the years to come stretch away before him to a far off horizon. And what a long life it looks! to youth of twenty, the forty or fifty or even sixty years he may live seem and eternity. He begins to dream of all he will do and become in that vast period ahead. He dreams of effort and achievement. He will become a famous scholar. He will develop a great business and become a billionaire. He will write great books or paint great pictures of compose great music, and earn fame. He will take up politics, and rise to position and powers. So he will think of his distance future. 

About Love (Anton Chekov)

In this story we read the dynamics of romantic love almost at platonic level. It tries to show that 'love' as such is not bound by marital relations.

In a country house there were three person having breakfast. Alyohin, the narrator, and his guests Burkin and Ivan Ivanych. Just then Nikanor the cook came in and asked what to prepare for dinner. According to Alyohin, Pelageya loved this cook. She did not want to marry him, but was ready to live with him just so. The cook was deeply religious and therefore he was ready to live with her if she married him.

Alyohin thinks that love is a hindrance and a source of dissatisfaction and irritation. To prove this he starts telling his own story.

Alyohin Has been living a farmer's life at Sofyino since he graduated from the university. As a graduate, he was not fit for rough work but his father had spent a lot of money on his education by mortgaging the estate. So he had to work hard until he paid off the debt. Although he was a landowner, he would work with his men and women like a peasant. He also tried to maintain his civilized life by reading books and by drinking coffee and liquers after lunch and dinner. Later in summer he would be so tired that he could not go upstairs to his bed. He would sleep anywhere and began to eat in the servant's kitchen .

He had been elected honorary magistrate many years before. And sometimes he had to go to town to take part in court sessions. Then he would lead a luxurious life and meet educated people. He made friends in the town. One of his friends was Luganovich, who unexpectedly invited him to dinner. In his house he met Anna  Alexeyevna, Luganov's wife. Her first baby was born just six months before. She was a young, beautiful, kind, intelligent, fascinating women. When he was near her, he felt as if he had been familiar with her long ago in his childhood. Her husband was good-natured and simple-minded. He could not express his personal opinion on the decision of the court even at dinner and in private conversation. Both the husband and the wife entertained the guest. Their active participation made him think that they lived in peace and harmony.

Alyohin spent the wholw summer at Sofyino. Her memory remained in his mind all those months. He felt as if her shadow was lying lightly in his soul.

In the late autumn, Alyohin attended a charity ashow in the town and he saw ANna there. She looked wonderfully beautiful with her lovely and caressing eyes and she gave him and same feeling of nearness. She said that he looked dull and old, and that she expected that he would come to the theater. The next day he lunched with the Luganoviches. After that he would visit the family every time he went to town. He went into their house as though he were one of the family. She would welcome him and ask why he hadn't seen them for so long. Her gaze, her beautiful hand, her simple dress, her hairstyle, her voice her gait would make him feel new, extraordinary and very important. They would talk for hours. If she was not in the home, he would wait for her. When she came home from the market, he would take all her parcels from her as a boy.

Alyohin, an educated person, was not devoted to scholarship or literary work, but worked on the farm and yet was penniless. This distressed the Lyganoviches. They considered that Alyohin tried to hide his sufferings. They requested him to borrow some money form them. But he never accepted money form them.

Alyohin was unhappy. He wondered why Anna had married Luganovich, not him. Luganovich was not energetic, but old and obedient. Whenever he went to the town, he would find that she was expecting him. They would talk for a long time, but they never told that they loved each other. They tried to conceal it. He supposed that his gentle love could ruin the life of her husband, her children and it was not a good thing. If he had married her, she would not have been happier in his country house. They might not hve loved each other afterwards. Anna also might have thought like this. She might not make him happy because she was young enough for him and not labourous to start a new life. So she would ask her husband to find a suitable girl for Alyohin.

He would come to the Luganovich's and he was warmly welcomed there. He would to the theatre with her. In the hall they would sit side by side, and he felt that she was his own. But when they came out, they would go separately as strangers.

Anna's behaviour had been changed recently. She would frequently go to her mother and sister. She began to be moody. She felt that her life was unsatisfactory and ruined. At such times she did not care to see her husband and her children. She was being treated for nervous tiredness. She would disagree with Alyohin and wanted to tease him knowingly.

Luganovich was transferred to the western provinces aand Anna had to go to crimea for her treatment. A lot of people had come to the railway station to see Anna off. She had said goodbye to her husband and her children. But she had almost forgotten her basket. Alyohin ran into her compartment with it and then he had to say goodbye. When their ayes met together, their spiritually left them. He took her in his arms. She pressed her face to her breast, and tears flowed from her eyes. Kissing her face, he said that he loved her. Now he realized that the thing that stopped them from loving each other was unimportant. He understood that one should reason about love from higher level, and that one should not think of happiness or unhappiness, sin or virtue. Hw kissed her for the last time, pressed her hand and separated from her forever. The train was already moving. He went into another empty compartment. Until he reached the next station, he sat crying. Then he walked home to Sofyino.

The rain stopped and the sun came out. Burkin and Ivan Enjoyed the scene outside. At the same time they were sorry for Aoyohin. He could make his life happier by doing something else instead working on the farm. They also thought of ANna's sorrowful face.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1) The second paragraph of "About Love" is a brief account of violent love affair between two servants. Is it significant that contrast with Alyohin's own story? How does the anecdote contrast with Alyohin's own story?

Ans: Pelagya is in love with Nikanor. She does not want to marry him but is willing to live with him just so. Nikanor insists that she marry him. When he is drunk he swears at her and beats her and she has to hide herself from him.

Alyohin, a landowner, goes to town and is invited to dine by him friend, whose wife Anna Alexeyevna attracts him very much. He frequently visits her family, but both of them do not express their love to each other. They are afraid that they might ruin each other's life by doing so. As a result, she suffers from mental tiredness and has to go to Crimea for treatment. At the last meeting they confess their love to each other and part forever.

 Alyohin told his friends both of these events. It is quite important because they contrast with the other. The first one describe the love between the two servants, whereas in the second one describes the love between the landowner and the official's wife. Nikanor and Pelagya frankly express their desires but Aloyhin and Anna think it better to conceal their feelings. The servants are violent. He drinks and swears at her and even beats her. she sobs and hides herself. But Aloyhin and Anna beave very politely. They talk for a long time and sit silently for hours. They go to the theatre together but come out like a strangers. Pelageya does not hesitate to express her sensual love. She wants to live with Nikanor without marrying him. But Alyohin and Anna control themselves until their spiritual strength deserts them at their final meeting. Nikanor is called "mug" (fool) but Alyohin and Anna are both intelligent and educated. The servants might be happy in their own way, but Alyohin and Anna are dissatisfied with their lives. Thus a violent love affair between the servants contrasts with the quiet and unexpressed love between the intelligent person.

2) How does an account of the occasion and of the setting in which the narrative occurs affect our understanding of Alyohin? 

Ans: Alyohin told his story in the country. At that time a gray sky and trees drenched with rain could be seen from the windows. In such weather people could go nowhere and there was notheing for them to do but to tell and listen to stories. After he told his story to Burkin and Ivan, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Outside, there was a fine view of the garden and the river, which was shining in the sunshine like a mirror. The account of the time and the place helps us to understand Alyohin better. The rainy weather shows Alyohin's compulsion. He could not go out of it freely. But at he end of he story the rain stopped and the sun shone out. It expresses his freedom. now, after telling his story to his friends, he felt free. he could start a new life if he wished.

3) Alyohin is said to rush around like a squirrel in a cage and this judgement is echoed in the final paragraph of the story. What is the significant of this repetition?

Ans: The Luganoviches thought that Alyohin rushed around like a squirrel in a cage. They meant to say that he, being an educated happy like a squirrel in the jungle. he would not be free and happy like a squirrel in the jungle. He would work hard in order to earn more, but he always remained penniless. At the end of the story, Burkin and Evan hold the same opinion of his huge estate lie a squirrel in a cage. They intend to say that he could not make his life happier by devition his life to something else. He was trapped by his promise and reason. He could not come out of it. First, he lost his love because he was trapped by the reason. He argued that his love might ruin her happy life. He realized his mistake at the last meeting. Then he went to his house at Sofyino. Again he was trapped there by his promise to pay off the debt which his father had borrowed to spend on his education.

Practice Questions:

Short Answer Question:

1) 2072 Supp 

   How did Alyohin define love?

2) 2072 Set C

   Describe the circumstances which compelled Alyohin, The narrator of the story, quit the position of    the judge?

3) 2072 Partial Set

   Explain the significance of the statement- "a village cat driven by hunger to eat cucumber in the          kitchen garden".

Long Answer Question:

1) 2071 Set C
   Sketch the character of Alyohin. Do you consider him a successful or a failure person?
2) 2062
   Sketch the character of ALyohin.

The Grandmother (Ray Young Bear)

American Indian poet Ray Young Bear in his poem Grandmother describes his grandmother using similes, metamorphose and sense verbs. Depicting (pointing) a portrait (image) of grandmother of his tribe. The poet also reveals (show) the socio-economic status of Mesquaki tribe which he belongs.

In this poem the American- Indian poet, Ray Young Bear, draws a picture of his grandmother, all-loving, all-inspiring. His grand-mother would wear a purple scarf round her head for warmth and she would go to market with a plastic shopping bad in her hand. Her shape was also quite remarkable. If the poet saw her from a long distance, he could tell that she was his grandmother. She would come home working in the field and wash her hands. They were wet and had the smell of roots. She would put her hands on his head and cares it lovingly. Although they were wet, they would be warm out of love. Before he looked at her face, the smell and warmth would make him guess that it was his grandmother.
Sometimes the poet would go to her grave. He would imagine to have heard a voice coming from the tombstone. He could feel to be his grandmother. He could feel that her words were moving smoothly inside faint glimpse of hope. He would remember the winter night when they were shivering with cold. His grandmother would wake up and try to move the fire which was covered with thick ashes and he would see her from his bed and hope that he would warm his body by the open Fire.

Questions and Answers:
1) What images do you find in this poem written by a member of the Sauk and Fox (Mesquaki) Indian tribe of North America? To what sense do these images appeal?
Ans: The poet has given two examples of metaphor and one example of simile. The metaphors are 'rock' and 'flow'. Here 'rock' stands for the gravestone and the word 'flow' reminds us of 'the smooth
movement of the stream'. And 'like to light at night' is an example of simile. The poet has succesfully drawn the picture of his grandmother. These image appeal to all senses. Her shape, her purple scarf, the plastic shoping bag, the light, a sleeping fire and damp appeal to our sight. 'The smell of roots' appeal to our smell. 'Warm and damp' appeals to our touch. ' A voice' and ' her words' affects our hearing.

2) How does the speaker feel toward his grandmother? In what words or lines does he make his feelings clear?
Ans: The speaker find s his grandmother all-locing and all-inspiring . 'Warm and damp' shows how deeply she loved him and "her words flow inside me like the light" shows how he is inspired by her. Her words would thrill her.

Practice Questions:

1)2071 Supp 

   How does the speaker feel towars his grandmother?

2) 2071 partial set B

   The speaker in 'Grandmother' seems to be emotional attached to grandmother. How?
3) 2070 Set C 
   How does the poer express his memory and honour toward his grandmother?
4) 2070 Set D
   How does the speaker remember his grandmother?