For Anne Gregory- Extract Based comprehension test Questions

For Anne Gregory

By– William Butler Yeats

Extract Based / comprehension test Questions and Answers of For Anne Gregory

Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow.

1.”I heard an old religious man But yesternight declare That he had found a text to prove That only God, my dear, Could love you for yourself alone And not your yellow hair.”

(a) What does the old man’s text prove?

(b) What, according to the poet, is more essential in the eyes of God?

(d) How is God’s love different from the love of the young lovers?

(a) Only God could love her———-

(b) Whom did he hear?

(d) What does the colour of hair signify?

(a) What did the man find?

(b) Who is the speaker of the above lines?

(d) What is the listener’s view in the above lines?

Ans. (a) That only God could love Anne for herself.

(b) God loves an individual for himself/herself alone.

(d) Young lovers love her hair that represents physical beauty whereas God loves an individual for being himself/herself.

(a) for herself

(b) An old religious man.

(d) Beauty.

(a) A text.

(b) The young man.

(d) That she is being loved because of her golden hair but wants to be loved for herself.

2.”Never shall a young man,

Thrown into despair

By those great honey-coloured

Ramparts at your ear.

(a) Why would a young man never be disappointed by the woman?

(b) What creates ramparts around the young woman’s ear?

(d) The colour of the hair is————-

(a)Name the poem and the poet.

(b)Who speaks these lines and to whom? `

(d) What is the honey-coloured rampart?

(a) According to the narrator, why does the young man love her?

(b) This poem is a between a young man and a young woman.

(d) The poet through these lines suggests that human beings are incapable of seeing the————

Ans. (a) He would appreciate the golden hair of the woman.

(b) Her yellow hair.

(d) yellow

(a) For Anne Gregory; W.B. Yeats

(b) A young man to Anne Gregory.

(d) Anne’s yellow hair

(a) He loves her for her hair.

(b) conversation

(d) inner beauty

3.”But I can get a hair-dye

And set such colour there,

Brown, or black, or carrot,

That young man in despair

May love me for myself alone

And not my yellow hair.”

(a) What different colours have been mentioned in the extract?

(b) The speaker wants

(d) Why does the speaker talk about changing the colour of hair?

Ans. (a) Brown, black, carrot and yellow.

(b) that she should be loved for what she is and not for the colour of her hair.

(d) So that she would be loved for what she is and not for the colour of her hair.

COMPREHENSION OF STANZAS

Read the following stanzas and answer the questions that follow :

STANZA 1

“Never shall a young man,

Thrown into despair

By those great honey-coloured

Ramparts at your ear,

Love you for yourself alone

And not your yellow hair.”

Questions :

(a) What feature of the woman has put the young man into despair?

(b) Who is this woman?

(c) What is the colour of the woman’s hair?

(d) What will the man love her for?

(e) Name the poem and the poet.

Answers :

(a) The portion of hair behind the woman’s ear has put the young man into despair.

(b) This woman is Anne Gregory.

(d) The man will love her for herself.

(e) Poem: For Anne Gregory,

Poet: W.B. Yeats.

STANZA 2

“But I can get a hair-dye

And set such colour there,

Brown, or black, or carrot,

That young man in despair

May love me for me alone

And not my yellow hair.”

Questions :

(a) Who is the speaker in these lines?

(b) How can she’ ye her hair?

(c) Why does she want to dye her hair?

(d) Does the lady want her yellow hair to be loved?

(e) What colour will she give to her hair?

Answers :

(a) The speaker in these lines is Anne Gregory.

(b) She says that she can dye her hair brown, black or carrot.

(d) No, she does not want her yellow hair to be loved.

(e) She will give a brown or black or carrot colour to her hair.

STANZA 3

“I heard an old religious man

But yesternight declare

That he had found a text to prove

That only God, my dear,

Could love you for yourself alone

And not your yellow hair.”

Questions :

(a) Who is the speaker of these lines?

(b) Whom did he hear the previous night?

(c) What matters for God more to love human beings?

(d) Find a word rhyming with ‘declare’.

(e) Name the poem and the poet.

Answers :

(a) The speaker is the poet.

(b) He heard a religious man the previous night.

(d) Despair – hair.

(e) Poem: For Anne Gregory,

Poet: W.B. Yeats.

Stanza-4:

“Never shall a young man,

Thrown into despair

By those great honey-coloured

Ramparts at your ear,

Love you for yourself alone

And not your yellow hair.”

Word-Meaning: Never shall— will never, Thrown into despair— disappointed in love, sighing in despair, Honey-coloured— yellowish, blonde, Ramparts— outer walls around a castle. Love you for yourself alone— loves you on merit, loves you for your real self.

paraphrase

The poet addresses to Anne Gregory and reminds her that no young man will ever love her for what actually she is. She will never be loved for ‘herself alone’ on her merits. It is also not possible that any young man will not be attracted by her yellow hair. The hair falling on her ears look like the ramparts walls surrounding a castle. It is not possible that any young man may start sighing in love without being attracted and tempted by her beautiful yellow hair.

Questions:

(a) Who is being addressed to here?

(b) What is the colour of her hair?

(c) What is her falling hair on her ears, compared here?

(d) Who is thrown into despair?

Answers:

(a) A young woman, Anne Gregory is being addressed to in these lines.

(b) The colour of her hair is yellow.

(d) A young lover is thrown into despair.

Stanza-5

“But I can get a hair-dye

And set such colour there,

Brown, or black, or carrot,

That young man in despair

May love me for me alone

And not my yellow hair.”

Word-Meaning: Hair-dye— dye for colouring hair, Carrot— (here) of carrot’s colour, Despair— disappointment, Myself alone— judge her on her qualities,

Paraphrase

In the second stanza, Anne Gregory says that she can get a ‘hair-dye’ and colour her hair. What will be the colour of her hair, depends on her. She can dye them brown, black or of carrot colour. The choice will be her own. She asks the young man who is sighing for her in love, to remember one thing. The young man should love her for ‘herself-alone’ and must judge her on her good or bad qualities. He should not fall in love with her merely by developing a fancy for her yellow hair.

Questions:

(a) Who is speaking in these lines?

(b) Why is the young man in despair?

(c) What does the woman want?

(d) How much does she like her beautiful hair?

Answers:

(a) A young lady, Anne Gregory is the speaker of these lines.

(b) The young man is in despair as he is disappointed in love.

(d) She gives only secondary importance for her beautiful yellow hair.

Stanza-6

“I heard an old religious man

But yesternight declare

That he had found a text to prove

That only God, my dear,

Could love you for yourself alone

And not your yellow hair.”

Word-Meaning: Yesternight— yesterday night. Declare— to announce, Text— a quotation, Prove— to demonstrate truth by evidence or argument, Yourself alone— as you are, good or bad,

Paraphrase

Anne Gregory gets her answer. The poet (or her lover) says that the previous night he heard an old religious man. The old religious man quoted a text to prove his point. The text read that only God can love her (Anne Gregory) for ‘herself-alone’. Only God can love her and accept her as she really is. God never loves her for her external physical beauty. But for a man, it will not be possible to love her without her beautiful yellow hair. She may not be loved if she doesn’t possess beautiful yellow hair.

Questions:

(a) Who did the poet hear?

(b) What did he find to prove his point?

(c) How can God love her?

(d) What truth of life is expressed in the above stanza?

Answers:

(a) The poet heard an old religious man.

(b) He found a text to prove his point.

(d) Human beings love a woman for her physical beauty and for her beautiful blonde hair while God judges and loves a woman for herself alone or as she really is.