Animals- Comprehension Passages

Animals is one of the Poem taken from First Flight. It is well explained through Animals Introduction, Message from the chapter Animals, Theme, Title, Characters in the lesson Animals, Summary in English Animals, Summary in Hindi, Word meanings from Animals, complete lesson in Hindi, Extracts, Long answers, Short answers, Very short Answers, MCQs of the lesson Animals and much more.

Animals

By– Walt Whitman

COMPREHENSION OF STANZAS

Read the following stanzas and answer the questions that follow :

STANZA 1

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are

so placid and self-contained,

I stand and look at them long and long.

Questions :

(a) What is the poet’s wish?

(b) How do the animals appear to the poet?

(c) What does he do thereafter?

(d) Who does ‘I’ refer to in the first line?

(e) Name the poem and the poet.

Answers :

(a) The poet wishes that he could live with animals.

(b) The animals appear to be calm, peaceful and self-confident.

(d) ‘I’ refers to the poet.

(e) Poem: Animals,

Poet: Walt Whitman.

STANZA 2

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,

Questions:

(a) What is the attitude of the animals about their condition?

(b) Who lies awake in the dark and weep for their sins?

(c) What do men make the poet sick?

(d) What is the attitude of the animals for their sins?

(e) Do the animals make the poet sick?

Answers :

(a) The animals do not perspire or complain about their condition.

(b) People lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins.

(d) They do not weep for their sins.

(e) No, they don’t make the poet sick.

STANZA 3

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with

the mania of owning things,

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that

lived thousands of years ago,

Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

Questions :

(a) What mania do human beings suffer from?

(b) What is the attitude of human beings about those who lived thousands of years ago?

(c) Who is unhappy over the whole earth?

(d) Who is the poet talking about?

(e) Name the poem and the poet.

Answers :

(a) Human beings suffer from the mania of owning things.

(b) They kneel to the images of those who lived thousands of years ago.

(d) The poet is talking about animals.

(e) Poem: Animals,

Poet: Walt Whitman.

STANZA 4

So they show their relations to me and I accept them,

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince

them plainly in their possession

I wonder where they get those tokens,

Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?

Questions : [H.B.S.E. March, 2017 (Set -C)]

(a) Who are ‘they’ here in the first line?

(b) What are these ‘tokens of myself’?

(c) What is the main point about animals here?

(d) What does the poet wonder about?

(e) What does the poet accept?

Answers :

(a) ‘They’ here are the animals.

(b) These ‘tokens of myself’ are the love and affection of the animals towards the poet.

(d) The poet wonders how the animals got those tokens of love and affection.

(e) The poet accepts that the animals are related to him.

Stanza-5: (Page 83)

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contain ‘d,

I stand and look at them long and long.

Word-Meaning: Tttrn— Change into, Placid— calm, Self-contained— self-satisfied, not dependent on others,

Paraphrase

The poet wants to change places. He wants to be converted to an animal from a human being. He wants to leave the company of men and start living with animals. Animals are so calm and self-satisfied. He is so much impressed with animals that he stands and goes on looking at them for a long time.

Questions:

(a) What does the poet think of turning into?

(b) Why does he want to live with animals?

(c) For what qualities are animals known?

(d) Why does he look at the ‘long and long’?

Answers:

(a) The poet thinks of turning into an animal.

(b) He is fed up with human beings and loves to live with animals for their noble qualities.

(d) He is so impressed with animals that, he looks at the ‘long and long’.

Stanza-6: (Page 83)

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,

Word-Meaning: Sweat— sweat after working hard, Whine— complain Mattingly/crying, Awake— don’t sleep, Sins— wrong deeds,

Paraphrase

Animals never sweat unnecessarily. Nor do they cry over their (miserable) condition. They enjoy full sleep at night. Their conscience is clear. They don’t weep over their sins keeping awake the whole night. They don’t make anyone (poet) sick by discussing their duty to God.

Questions:

(a) How do animals react to their condition?

(b) Do animals enjoy a sound sleep at night?

(c) What do humans do at night?

(d) Why don’t animals make the poet sick?

Answers:

(a) They never feel miserable at their condition but remain contented.

(b) Yes, they enjoy a sound sleep at night.

(d) Animals don’t discuss what is their duty towards God and don’t make others sick by doing so.

stanza-7: (Page 83)

Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things,

Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago,

Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth

Word-Meaning: Demented— mentally sick, Kneels— bends down on knees, Mania— Obsession, madness,

Paraphrase

All animals are satisfied with their lot. No one is dissatisfied. No animal has the mania of collecting things. Animals don’t get mad in the race of owning things like humans. They don’t kneel down to show respect to others or to those who were born thousands of years ago. No animal considers himself more respectable than others (like human beings). Nor can you find any animal on this whole earth who is unhappy over his lot.

Questions:

(a) Are animals remain dissatisfied with their lot?

(b) What is the mania that humans are demented with? Do animals suffer from this mania?

(c) Do they kneel down to show respect to their ancestors?

(d) How are animals compared with human beings?

Answers:

(a) No, animals are always satisfied with their lot.

(b) Animals don’t suffer from the mania of collecting things like human beings.

(d) They don’t suffer from their inflated egos like human beings.

Stanza-8: (Page 83)

So they show their relations to me and I accept them

They bring me tokens of myself, they evince them plainly in their possession.

Word-Meaning: Tokens— symbols, Evince— show,

Paraphrase

Animals keep on showing and cementing their relations to the poet. The poet accepts those relations with them happily. They provide all token of noble virtues that are present in the poet. They show that they possess all these virtues in plenty.

Questions:

(a) What do animals show?

(b) Does the poet accept their relations?

(c) Explain the ‘tokens of myself’.

(d) What do they evince?

Answers:

(a) Animals show their relation to humans as well as to the poet.

(b) Yes, the poet accepts his relations with animals happily.

(d) They show all those noble qualities which humans possessed once but given up now.

Stanza-9: (Page 83)

I wonder where they get those tokens,

Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?

Word-Meaning: Tokens- symbols, Huge times ago— long-long ago, Negligently— carelessly,

Paraphrase

The poet wonders from where animals got those noble virtues and tokens of love. The path of noble virtues which animals are still following even now, humans and the poet himself, have left negligently long-long ago.

Questions:

(a) What does the poet wonder here?

(b) What are those tokens?

(c) Do humans still possess those tokens?

(d) How did humans leave that path?

Answers:

(a) The poet wonders how animals got those noble virtues and tokens of those noble qualities.

(b) Those tokens stand for all those noble virtues which are needed in mutual relationships.

(d) They lost the path leading to those noble virtues long ago, negligently.