Class 11 & 12 Reading Poem No- 5 ALL IS OVER (150 Words Subjective/Objective Solved)

ALL IS OVER

All are over: does truth sound bitter

As one at first believes?

Mark, ‘tis the sparrow’s good night twitter

About our cottage eaves?

And the leaf-buds on the vine are woolly,

I noticed that, today;

One day more bursts them open fully

You know the red turns grey.

Tomorrow we meet the same then, dearest?

May I take your hand in mine?

Mere friends are we — well, friends the merest

Keep much that I resign:

 For each glance of the eye so bright and black,

Though I keep with heart’s endeavour, —

Your voice, when you wish the snowdrops back,

Though it stays in my soul forever!

Yet I will but say what mere friends say,

Or only a thought stronger.

I will hold your hand but as long as all may,

Or so very little longer.

– R. Browning

Word-Meanings

1.twitter: a succession of small, tremulous sounds made by birds, to talk quickly 2. endeavour: effort 3. burst: to break open or apart 4. eaves: overhanging the lower edge of a roof 5. Woolly: disorganised; soft grey in colour

 Questions:

1. Choose the correct option:

(a) What two things are praised in the poem?

 (i) eyes and lips             (ii) eyes and fingers             (iii) eyes and voice           (iv) eyes and face

(b) The lover looks:

 (i) defeated                    (ii) heartbroken                    (iii) pessimistic                  (iv) optimistic

(c) Stress on ‘mere’ to ‘merest’ shows:

(i) lover’s pleading                                      (ii) lover’s dejection

 (iii) lover’s defeat                                      (iv) lover’s restlessness

 (d) The lover praises the beauty of his love to the sky too:

 (i) look miserable                                    (ii) look hopeless

(iii) soften his mistress                           (iv) flatter his mistress

 (e) The word ‘woolly’ means:

 (i) soft                       (ii) soft grey                    (iii) weak                      (iv) soft red

(f) The lover looks like a………….

(i) fighter                     (ii)loser                     (iii) helpless person             (iv) flatterer

2.Answer the questions briefly:

 (a) What is meant by the words—`All is over’?

 (b) What did the poet notice?

(c) Is the poet satisfied with being ‘mere friends’?

 (d) What is the deep-rooted desire of the poet?

(e) What is the style and tone of the poet?

(f) What does holding of hand `so very little longer’ suggest?

Answers:

1. (a) iii                 (b) iv              (c) i              (d) iii             (e) ii           (f) iv

2.(a) ‘All is over’ means that the love affair between the lover and his mistress has come to an end.

(b) The poet noticed that the leaf-buds on the vine had gone woolly.

(c) No, the poet is not satisfied with being ‘mere friends’.

(d) The deep-rooted desire of the poet is to win back his lost beloved.

(e) The poem is written in a conversational style and the poet seems to be pleading with his lady love to give him the more chance.

(f) This suggests that the lover is dissatisfied and he wants to win his love back.

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