Ch 5 The School Boy
By William Blake
Working with Poem (Page No: 85)
1. Find three or four words/phrases in stanza 1 that reflect the child’s happiness and joy.
Answer- The phrases that reflect the child’s joy and happiness are ‘love to rise in a summer morn’, ‘birds sing on every tree’, ‘the skylark sings with me’, and ‘sweet company’.
2. In stanza 2, the mood changes. Which words/phrases reflect the changed mood?
Answer- The phrases that reflect the changed mood are ‘it drives all joy away’ and ‘spend the day in sighing and dismay’.
3. ‘A cruel eye outworn’ (stanza 2) refers to
(i) the classroom which is shabby/noisy.
(ii) the lessons which are difficult/uninteresting.
(iii) the dull/uninspiring life at school with lots of work and no play.
Mark the answer that you consider right.
Answer- (iii) the dull/uninspiring life at school with lots of work and no play.
4. ‘Nor sit in learning’s bower Worn thro’ with the dreary shower’ Which of the following is a close paraphrase of the lines above?
(i) Nor can I sit in a roofless classroom when it is raining.
(ii) Nor can I learn anything at school through teachers go on lecturing and
explaining.
(iii) Nor can I sit in the school garden for fear of getting wet in the rain.
Answer- (ii) Nor can I learn anything at school through teachers go on lecturing and explaining.