Gujarat Board GSEB Class 12 English Textbook Solutions Flamingo Poem 4 A Thing of Beauty Textbook Exercise Important Questions and Answers, Notes Pdf.
Gujarat Board Textbook Solutions Class 12 English Flamingo Poem 4 A Thing of Beauty
GSEB Class 12 English A Thing of Beauty Text Book Questions and Answers
Think it Out
Question 1.
List the things of beauty mentioned in the poem.
Answer:
According to the poet, there are numerous things of beauty that help us forget our sorrows. These are the sun, the moon, old and young trees that provide shade to ‘simple sheep’, daffodils, clear streams of rivers, musk-roses in the forest and the lovely tales of mighty men.
Question 2.
List the things that cause suffering and pain.
Answer:
The poet lists a number of things that cause suffering and pain, such as despondency, depression, unhealthy and wrong ways taken up by humans to acquire their desired goals, etc. The poet also feels that there is a real dearth of noble souls in this world.
Question 3.
What does the line, ‘Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing a flowery band to bind us to the earth’ suggest to you?
Answer:
This line suggests that things of beauty bind us to the earth with a beautiful connection. According to the poet, even if the world is not worth living because of the innumerable reasons that ultimately result in gloom and depression, the zeal to live a happy and content life can be derived from the sight of the beautiful bounties of nature around us.
Question 4.
What makes human beings love life in spite of troubles and sufferings?
Answer:
Human beings love life in spite of troubles and sufferings because of the existence of several natural and beautiful things around them. These things of beauty never fade. They give joy and optimism to human mind, and thus, help in overcoming or bearing the troubles and sufferings.
Question 5.
Why is ‘grandeur’ associated with the ‘mighty dead?
Answer:
The ‘grandeur’ of the ‘mighty dead’ lies in their noble deeds. They have left behind the beautiful legacy of their brave acts. Their selfless sacrifice for their nation and deeds for the welfare of mankind still continue to inspire us.
Question 6.
Do we experience things of beauty only for short moments or do they make a lasting impression on us?
Answer:
The poet believes that when we encounter a beautiful thing, even for a small moment, the pleasure remains with us forever. It leaves a lasting impression that inspires us to live life with hope and optimism.
Question 7.
What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth?
Answer:
The poet uses the image of ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’ to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth. The earth, like a fountain, pours unto us numerous beautiful sights like the sun, the moon, flowers, rivers and greenery.
GSEB Class 12 English Keeping Quiet Additional Important Questions and Answers
Answer the following question in three to four sentences:
Question 1.
How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?
Answer:
According to John Keats, a thing of beauty is a joy forever. It is a constant source of happiness and pleasure. Its loveliness increases every moment. It will never pass into nothingness. In other words, a thing of beauty is never devalued.
Question 2.
How does a thing of beauty provide us shelter and comfort?
Answer:
John Keats’ is a great Romantic poet. He is rich in sensuous imagery. Nature provides us things of rare beauty. It keeps a bower quiet for us. A bower is a pleasant place in the shade under a tree. A thing of beauty also provides us peace and security. We enjoy a sound sleep which is full of sweet dreams, health and peaceful breathing.
Question 3.
How do we bind ourselves to the earth every morning?
Answer:
All the Romantic poets stress upon the relationship between man and nature. Keats believes that there is an unbreakable bond which binds man with nature and the earth. The beauties of the earth fascinate man. Every object of nature is a source of beauty and happiness. Every day we are weaving a wreath of flowers. This flowery band binds us to the beauties of the earth.
Question 4.
What are the things that cause miseries, sorrows and sufferings to man?
Answer:
Man himself is the root cause of all his sufferings. We suffer from malice and distress because we lack human qualities that make us inhuman. Our life becomes gloomy. We cultivate unhealthy and evil ways. All such things bring miseries, sorrows and sufferings to man.
Question 5.
What spreads the ‘pall of despondence’ over our dark spirits? How is it removed?
Answer:
Man is the creator of his woes. His own nature and actions make his life miserable. He faces miseries and pains. A pall of despondence covers his dark spirits. A thing of beauty provides a ray of hope to man. Some shape of beauty works wonders amid these sorrows and sufferings. It is a thing of beauty that removes the pall of despondence over our dark spirits.
Question 6.
Name the beauties of nature that are constant source of joy and happiness to man.
Answer:
Nature is a storehouse of beauty. The beauties of nature are endless. The sun, the moon, old and young trees, beautiful daffodil flowers and green surroundings are some of such beautiful things. Small streams with clear water, thick mass of ferns, thickets of forest and musk- rose are some other things of beauty. All such things of beauty are a constant source of joy and happiness to man.
Question 7.
How is a thing of beauty lovelier than all the lovely tales we have heard and read?
Answer:
All beautiful things of nature are a boon for humanity. The magnificence and beauty of objects of nature surpass the grandeur of dooms that we have imagined for our mighty dead forefathers. It is lovelier than all the lovely tales that we have heard or read.
Question 8.
What is the source of the ‘endless fountain’ and what is its effect?
Answer:
A fountain of eternal joy and immortality pours into the heart and soul of man. It flows right from the heaven’s brink and pours into the human heart. It is like an immortal nectar. The immortal drink that nature’s endless fountain pours into our hearts is a source of immense joy for us.
Question 9.
What is the message of the poem ‘A Thing of Beauty?
Answer:
The very first line contains the message that John Keats, the great Romantic poet, wants to convey. Keats was a worshipper of beauty. For him, beauty was truth and truth, beauty. Hence, for him, a thing of beauty is a joy forever. Beauty never fades. Nor is it ever devalued. It never passes into nothingness. When we are full of sorrows and sufferings, some form of beauty comes to our rescue. It removes the pall of sadness and sorrows and gives us joy and pleasure. Thus, beauty is a boon for human beings.
Figures of Speech
Choose the Figures of Speech in the following lines:
Question 1.
‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever.
A. Repetition
B. Synecdoche
C. Alliteration
D. Metaphor
Answer:
D. Metaphor
Question 2.
A bower quiet for us ……………… .
A. Metaphor
B. Repetition
C. Internal Rhyme
D. Personification
Answer:
A. Metaphor
Question 3.
‘Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing’
A. Alliteration
B. Antithesis
C. Inversion
D. Simile
Answer:
C. Inversion
Question 4.
‘Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon’
A. Metaphor
B. Inversion
C. Antithesis
D. Personification
Answer:
C. Antithesis
Question 5.
‘For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
A. Synecdoche
B. Alliteration
C. Metaphor
D. Internal Rhyme
Answer:
B. Alliteration
Question 6.
‘That for themselves, a cooling covert make’
A. Alliteration
B. Antithesis
C. Inversion
D. Simile
Answer:
A. Alliteration
7. An endless fountain of immortal drink’
A. Synecdoche
B. Alliteration
C. Metaphor
D. Internal Rhyme
Answer:
C. Metaphor
Reading Comprehension (Textual)
Read the following stanzas and answer the questions given below them:
Question 1.
A thing of beauty is a joy forever Its loveliness increases, it will never Pass into nothingness; but will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Questions :
1. How is a thing of beauty a joy forever?
2. What do you understand by a ‘bower’?
Answer:
1. A thing of beauty is the source of constant joy. Its beauty goes on increasing. It will never pass into nothingness.
2. A bower is a pleasant place in the shade under a tree. It protects persons/animals from the hot rays of the sun.
Question 2.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing A flowery band to bind us to the earth, Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth Of noble natures, of the gloomy days, Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways Made for our searching:
Questions :
1. Why are we despondent?
2. What removes the pall from our dark spirits?
Answer:
1. We possess the evil qualities of malice and disappointment. We suffer from the lack of noble qualities. That is why we feel despondent.
2. Some beautiful shapes or a thing of beauty removes the pall of sadness from our hearts or spirits.
Question 3.
………………….. yes, in spite of all, Some shape of beauty moves away the pall From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon, Trees old, and young, sprouting a shady boon For simple sheep; and such are daffodils With the green world they live in, and clear rills That for themselves a cooling covert make ‘Gainst the hot season; the mid forest brake, Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;
Questions:
1. What sprouts a shady boon for sheep and how?
2. How do ‘daffodils’ and ‘rills’ enrich the environment?
Answer:
1. Old and young trees sprout to make a green covering. It proves a blessing for simple sheep as it serves them as a shelter.
2. Daffodils bloom among the green surroundings. The rills or small streams of clear water make a cooling shelter for themselves against the hot season.
Question 4.
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms We have imagined for the mighty dead; All lovely tales that we have heard or read; An endless fountain of immortal drink, Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.
Questions:
1. Explain: ‘the grandeur of the dooms’.
2. What is the things of beauty mentioned in these lines?
3. What image does the poet use in these lines?
4. What do the words ‘from the heaven’s brink’ suggest?
Answer:
1. The magnificence that we imagine for our mighty dead forefathers on the doomsday.
2. The lovely tales of mighty men – our forefathers are mentioned in these lines.
3. The poet uses the image of ‘an endless fountain of immortal drink’ to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth. The earth has bestowed us with flora and fauna that lends us ‘joy forever’ endlessly.
4. The words ‘from the heaven’s brink’ suggest that all the ‘things of beauty that bring us ‘joy’ are the gifts of nature. They have been blessed to us from the threshold of Heaven, i.e., from the abode of God.
A Thing of Beauty Summary in English
A Thing of Beauty Introduction:
John Keats (31 October 1795-23 February 1821) was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his works having been in publication for only four years before his death from tuberculosis at the age of 25.
Although his poems were not generally well-received by critics during his lifetime, his reputation grew after his death, and by the end of the 19th century, he had become one of the most beloved of all English poets. He had a significant influence on a diverse range of poets and writers. Jorge Luis Borges stated that his first encounter with Keats’ work was the most significant literary experience of his life.
A Thing of Beauty Summary:
‘A Thing of Beauty is a poem taken from the poem titled – ‘Endymion – a poetic romance’ written by the famous poet John Keats. The poet says that a beautiful thing is a source of endless joy. It has eternal beauty which never fades a why. A beautiful thing is like a shady shelter which gives us a sleep Full of sweet dreams, good health and relaxation. Our attachments to the Earthly things are like a flowery wreath.
They are traps which bind us to the materialistic things and keeps us away from eternal happiness. The Earth is full of hatred, greed and negativity. According to the poet, the gloom and sadness caused by this negativity fades away with the positive vibes of the beautiful things that surround us. The poet lists out some of the beautiful things that surround us. As the saying goes – ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.
He says that the numerous creations of God like the Sun which gives us energy, the moon’s beauty, the trees which give us shade are the natural beauties around us. The various animals like the sheep that surround us make our world lively. The pretty flowers like daffodils make the world green and lively. The flowing streams of water cool and refresh us in – the hot summer season. The forests which are full of the pretty musk rose flowers are a beautiful sight to the eye.
All these are the things of beauty. Also, the stories of the brave soldiers who laid their lives to protect their people are beautiful and inspiring. These beautiful things are like a fountain of immortality bestowed upon us by God. They inspire us to live on and maintain our faith in goodness.