English 12

On Killing a Tree, Asleep in the Valley, Shall I compare thee to a summer's day, The Poetry of Earth, The Proposal, The Eyes Have It, Strong Roots, Thank You, Ma’am, Three Questions, "It takes much time to kill a tree, / Not a simple jab of the knife / Will do it." "And out of its leprous hide/Sprouting leaves."

Justify the title of the poem "Asleep in the Valley."

The word 'asleep' has the connotations of peace, rest, innocence and contentment. In Rimbaud's poem, the beautiful sunlit valley serves as an ideal setting for the youthful soldier to take rest or have a peaceful sleep. So, the young soldier is seen sleeping under the open sky, in the lap of nature, amidst the plants and humming insects. Putting his hand on the chest, the soldier sleeps with an innocent smile on his face. It is an image of absolute peace and tranquillity. It is only in the last line, when the poet mentions, "In his side, there are two red holes", the readers come to know that the soldier is dead. He has fallen asleep in the valley of eternal sleep, far away from the world of suffering and brutality. Beyond the cruelty of butchery and warfare, the soldier has truly found the place of undisturbed peace. The poet here intentionally and ironically uses the title which implies a striking contradiction between the scenery of the poem, and the stern reality behind it. Hence, the title is very much appropriate and suits the purpose of the poem.

Discuss the central idea of the poem, 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?.

The poem "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" testifies to Shakespeare's high idealism of love and his glorification of its triumph even over time. The poet pays a cordial tribute to the eternal appeal of his friend's beauty through his verse. Shakespeare thinks his friend's beauty will surely resist the ravages of time where even the fairest elements of nature lose its beauty in the course of time. This inevitable destruction caused by time is experienced by every element. It is only his friend's beauty that is not a victim to the devastating power of time. The sonnet would mark the victory of his love over time and make his friend's beauty immortal. The concluding couplet announces that transience of time would not be able to devour his friend's beauty as Shakespeare's love for his friend would beat the cycle of time and eternalise the friend's beauty through these written lines.

Justify the title of the poem 'The Poetry of Earth'.

John Keats, in his sonnet 'The Poetry of Earth', unfolds the theme of never-ending poetry inherent in nature. This poetry of earth is expressed in the form of the songs of different creatures, big or small. In summer, when the unbearable heat silences the song-birds, the grasshopper keeps the song of earth going through its merry voice. Undaunted by the fury of summer, the grasshopper sings merrily from hedge to hedge. Then in winter, as the frost engulfs the earth and creates a contrasting environment of summer immersed in numbness and silence, the shrill voice of the cricket announces that the poetry of earth just can't stop. There is always somebody or the other through the cycle of seasons to recite it in admiration and delight. So, the title of the poem is appropriate and accordant to the theme of it.

Give a brief sketch of the character of Lomov in the play The Proposal'.

Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov is a long time neighbour of Stepan Stepanovitch Chubukov in the play The Proposal' written by Anton Chekhov. He is a 35-year-old bachelor. The playwright further describes him as a large and hearty, but a very suspicious landowner. He is a stock character. He is a hypochondriac who is obsessed with his imaginary illness and spends sleepless nights. It is through him that Chekhov satirises the attitude of the Russian upper-middle-class society towards marriage. Lomov chooses "a quiet and regular life" instead of searching for ideal or real love. Hence he decides to marry Natalya.