Poem 5: The School Boy

 

Summary

The speaker of poem is a school boy who love to rise in summer morning, when birds are singing on the trees. The boy gets entertained by the company of the hunter who blows his clarion from a distance field and sweet lullabies of skylark.

But the thing he don’t like is going to school which pulls all his happiness and joy. He is tired and even puzzled under the strict supervision of his teacher. Instead of enjoying the pleasures of summer, the child has to spend many tensed hours in his school nor in the garden where he can learn many things in interesting way with the nature.

A bird can never sing sweet song when he if caged. Similarly, a child if remained under the umbrella of annoying fear and tension, the skepticism of his teacher can never enjoy the natural instincts of joy and playfulness.

In last stanzas, he tried to make understand his parents that if a budding child is picked and swept of in the early stage of life, where there is no one to care for then how he could grow in mature plant

 

Textual Questions and Exercises

Q1. Find three or four words/phrases in stanza 1 that reflect the child’s happiness and joy.

Ans. 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’.

Q2. In stanza 2, the mood changes. Which words/phrases reflect the changed mood?

 Ans. The phrases that reflect the changed mood are ‘it drives all joy away’ and ‘spend the day in sighing and dismay’.

 

Q3. ‘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.

Ans. the dull/uninspiring life at school with lots of work and no play.

 

Q4. ‘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 though teachers go on lecturing and explaining.

(iii) Nor can I sit in the school garden for fear of getting wet in the rain.

Ans. (ii) Nor can I learn anything at school though teachers go on lecturing and explaining.

Q5. Why child hates going to school?

Ans. Child hated school because there he is under strict control of his teacher like he has been caged.

Q6. How child happiness turn into sorrowness?

Ans. The child rose in the fresh and delightful summer morning. He is very happy but his parents force him to go to the school where he spend his time in sorrowness.