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'.